MAC Semi Precious Collection — Gemstone Overtones

Though semi-precious stones tend to be dismissed as second-tier supporting players, the ladies in waiting of blue-blood gem queens like diamonds, rubies and emeralds, MAC Cosmetics is thrusting these damsels into the limelight and making everyone take note of their oft dismissed beauty. The MAC Semi Precious collection, then, incorporates tanzanite, malachite, tiger’s eye, rose quartz, turquoise, lapis lazuli, onyx, sapphire, opal, jade, jasper, carnelian, and topaz tones. Working with the semi-precious gemstone theme, some of the colors in the collection are rather opaque, while others have a luminous translucence, and a few key items boast a pelochroic effect that makes them look like they’re different colors depending on how the light hits them.

The limited-edition collection features four new shades of Lipstick, five new Cremesheen Glass glosses, four Mineralize Skinfinish powders, three Mineralize Blush options, a Mineralize Satinfinish Foundation, an assortment of eye shadow and cheek brushes, and even mineral skincare offerings (mainly the Mineralize Charged Water Skin Hydrating Mist and the Mineralize Face + Body Lotion), but the crown jewels are the Mineralize Eye Shadow hue, which look like baked and marbled surfaces, with streaks, swirls, and speckles of bold color that, when blended together, yield a mesmerizing effect.

CREMESHEEN GLASS

The  Semi Precious Collection incorporates five shades of MAC Cremesheen Glass ($18.50 at MACcosmetics.com), which have a hint of sheer color and an even vinyl-like luster, as opposed to the pearl-packed finish of the multi-dimensional Dazzleglass glosses. But the best part of the Cremesheen Glass hues is that they have less of a sticky consistency than your standard Lipglass, making them feel more comfortable on the lips.

The new Cremesheen Glass shades are: Pure Magnificence, a light, grayish pink with hints of lavender; Looks Like Sin, a sheer, reddish shade with brown and purple undertones; National Flare, a light, caramel-tinged nude hue; Richly Revered, a robust brown-ish plum; and Geo Pink, a dirty strawberry pink.

Below, you’ll find swatches of two shades: Looks Like Sin, which subtly nods to the reddish tones of jasper stones (albeit diluting these tones to render them lighter and more sheer); and Pure Magnificence, a barely there pink with cool, lavender-like undertones that recall pale pink opals.

——     —–     —–

LIPSTICK

Four MAC Lipstick ($14.50 at MACcosmetics.com) shades, all with a satin finish, are introduced in this collection: Lush Amber, a warm nude beige; Gem of Roses, a spinel-like, mid-tone strawberry pink; One of a Kind, a medium rosy mauve; and Musky Amethyst, a sheer plum with hints of dark garnet red and microscopic red shimmer particles.

Below, you’ll find swatches of Musky Amethyst and Lush Amber. Though it’s perfectly sound, the Lush Amber color is far from remarkable — it’s, in essence, a run-of-the-mill nude shade, though it has warmer undertones than other flesh-toned hues. The Musky Amethyst, on the other hand, is rather lovely. At first glance, the color looks like a wine-tined purple, a reddish plum, but, on closer inspection, the ruby and garnet speckles add a surprise twist and work nicely with the collection’s jewel theme.

 ——     —–     —–

MINERALIZE EYESHADOW

The MAC Semi Precious collection relies on twelve MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow ($20 at MACcosmetics.com) hues, each harboring a mélange of jewel-toned colors. Though you may initially be drawn to the independent colors swirling along the baked surface of these palettes, don’t let these veiny shades fool you — after all, the real magic happens when these colors are swirled together and, when that happens, the end result may just surprise you.

Below, you’ll find close-ups of six of the Mineralize Eyeshadow shades: Quartz Fusion, Clarity, Jade’s Fortune, Golden Gaze, Dark Indulgence, and Unsurpassable. To make the identification process easier, I divided the six shades into two groups and swatches three shadows at a time.

To start, then, we’ll focus on Quartz Fusion, Clarity, and Jade’s Fortune.

MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Quartz Fusion 

MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Clarity

MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Jade’s Fortune

All three of these eye shadows look gorgeous in their packaging. Quartz Fusion looks like a deep rosy mauve hue with soft pink, silver, and dark pink copper veins running along its surface. When you blend these shades together, however, the resulting shade leans towards the reddish end of the spectrum, resembling the crystals inside a rubbly red dolomite formation. Similarly, the Clarity palette looks like a gorgeous work of art with a sooty black at its base and swirls of light pink, aqua blue, antique gold, and minty green baked into the shadow. When blended, these colors transform into a dusky light gray with twilight-worthy, starry speckles of glitter, resembling a transparent smoky quartz. Jade’s Fortune, meanwhile, incorporates black, sunflower yellow, lime green, periwinkle blue, and silver tones that, when blended together, yield a moody greenish gray hue reminiscent of a chrysoberyl cat’s eye cabochon stone.

Take a look at the swatches below to see how the colors in these three palettes look when blended together:

Moving on to the next three shades, we will now concentrate on: Golden Gaze, a mixture of black and vintage gold; Dark Indulgence, a mesmerizing forest green and black combination; and Unsurpassable, which mixes together sparkling light teal, blue-toned violet, bright parrot lime green, and a touch of copper.

MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Golden Gaze

MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Dark Indulgence

MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Unsurpassable

Again, here, when the shadows’ various colors are blended together, they create a beautiful result worthy of the semi-precious name. The Golden Gaze hues, for example, create a bronzed brown hue reminiscent of a tiger’s eye stone. The shades in the Dark Indulgence palette, one of my favorites, resemble a dark malachite color when fused together. And the various tones in the Unsurpassable palette come together to create a sparkling, lime citrine hue.

Check out the final effect below:

Next, you’ll find a sample look I created using the Jade’s Fortune eyeshadow palette. Initially, I tried to isolate the lime streaks of color in the palette, carefully sweeping my brush across them, and then applied this shae to my lids. I then swept a slanted tip brush along the violet-tinged blue streaks of color on the palette and applied this color to the outer corners of eyes. Using a soft blending brush, I blended the two shades together and became enamored with the resulting color, a violet-tinged, greenish dirty silver that looked like a taupe-ish gunmetal in the dark and appeared bluer in well-lit scenarios. I brushed this blended color all along the crease area and the outer corners.

Once I was content with the eye shadow look, I lined eyes with the MAC Technakohl Liner in Colour Matters, an acid lime shade, and I lined the lower lash line with the Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes in 3L, a moody blue shade. Last, I applied two coats of Bare Escentuals Flawless Curl & Lengthen Mascara along the upper lash line and a single coat of Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara to lower lashes.

On lips, I wore the MAC Lovechild Lipglass.

——     —–     —–

MINERALIZE BLUSH

Three new MAC Mineralize Blush ($23 at MACcosmetics.com) colors allow you to contour and accentuate your cheeks. The three new colors consist of: Feeling Flush, a magenta pink shade with deep blue, soft pink, and soft brown tones; Pressed Amber, a mix of nude, beige, and brown hues; and Warmth of Coral which combines peach and coral tones.

Below, you’ll find swatches of the Pressed Amber shade, an homage to brown agate and carnelian stones that leaves skin looking sun-smooched and perfectly bronzed.

 ——     —–     —–

MINERALIZE SKINFINISH

No jewel-themed collection could possibly be complete without some powders to illuminate the skin like crushed mineral stone bits or pulverized gold and copper metals. The Semi Precious collection, then, includes four MAC Mineralize Skinfinish ($28 at MACcosmetics.com) powders, which have a blend of colors along their center an a pearly base color so that they resemble raw ore deposits inside virgin land. The four colors are: Semi Precious Goldstone, which has a coppery brown base and an inner circle composed of rosy pink, creamy white, and gold hues; Semi Precious Rose Quartz, which has a rose pink base and an inner circle with shimmering lime, silver, white pink, and copper tones; Semi Precious Crystal Pink, which boasts a golden, pink champagne base color and an inner circle composed of peachy pink, dirty green, and bronze tones; and Semi Precious Pearl, which has a champagne-meets-beige base shade and a bronze, plum, and white core.

Below, you’ll find images that show a closer view of these Mineralize Skinfinish compacts, along with swatches of the Semi Precious Pearl number.

Semi Precious Goldstone

Semi Precious Crystal Pink

Semi Precious Rose Quartz

Semi Precious Pearl

As promised, below you’ll find swatches of the Mineralize Skinfinish Semi Precious Pearl shade. Though the base color is rather neutral, when you blend it with the bronze, green, and plum shades along the center, the result is a stunning rose gold tone that illuminates your whole face.