MAC Vera Collection Haul and Swatches

I'm currently typing this with an eye patch on because I only have my contact in one eye. Feels weird and sad. I can't wait till my eye gets better but I had to post this ASAP.

MAC had two collections out today. Although there wasn't anything that I particularly had in mind, I just felt that I had to see it for myself.

Huge ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Haul + Swatches (17 Colors)

 

I just received my ELF package yesterday and I'm very excited to share with you what I purchased and show you swatches. I originally bought the Sea Blue and Green Field sets from Target and Rustic Brown set from Big Lots. I was quite pleased with the products so I wanted to try more.
About a week ago, ELF had a sale on their Mineral line and they were all half off. I took advantage of that sale to try out the rest of the mineral eyeshadows.
ELF has 27 different shades to select from, which the majority of them are shimmers. I bought 12 colors from their website. My total came to $18.00 plus $6.95 shipping. The sets were previously purchased but I just didn't get a chance to review. So I decided, I might as well combine them in here.

 

 

• Caffeinated - shimmery medium bronze with a gold sheen
• Celebrity - light shimmery bronze
• Confident – dark shimmery bronze with a grey undertone and pinkish gold sheen
• Flirty – shimmery violet
• Girly – shimmery medium purple with grey undertone
• Glamorous – shimmery dark reddish brown

 

• Mysterious – matte medium charcoal grey with silver flecks
• Partier – Dark matte grayish black
• Sassy – shimmery orange brown
• Smoldering – shimmery gunmetal with a blue undertone
• Socialite – dark pewter
• Temptress – matte burned sienna

ELF Sea Blue Set was purchased from Target for $4.99. These eyeshadows are also available individually.
One thing I noticed about the sets is that there seems to be less product in the jar. The jar appear more full when purchased individually.

• Beachy – shimmery electric blue
• Dreamy – shimmery turquoise

ELF Rustic Brown was purchased from Big Lots for $4.50.

• Elegant – shimmery light champagne
• Golden – shimmery antique gold
• Wild – shimmery dark brown with gold flecks

I'm not going to review these but just give you my first impression. I have, however, reviewed the ELF Green Field set, so if you are also interested in seeing the review, swatches, and makeup look I did, please follow the hyperlink.
FYI, the swatches above were done with a base and Q-tips. I think the eyeshadows have a decent/good pigmentation. Since they are loose, a base is highly recommended and you may experience fall outs when applying. As far as packaging goes, I'm not a fan. It has a shifter which I don't find very helpful since products get all over the place anyways. One thing, I would suggest is to tear a piece of cotton ball and plug the shifter holes when you are done using the product to prevent it from creating a mess when you open the jar. Another con is if you have a lot of these, they take up space and storing them is less than convenient.
There is nothing unique about the shades, although I find them quite pretty. I'm sure I have dupes of these colors in my stash.

What makes these eyeshadows a great buy is the price! You definitely get more than what you pay for, IMO. At $3.00 a jar (or cheaper if you buy them when they are on sale), you get plenty of product to last you many many uses. There is enough variety of colors to choose from and I don't think you will be disappointed with the quality either. I wouldn't have purchased this many if I didn't like the first couple sets that I bought.
My favorite shades are Dreamy, Golden, Smoldering, and Flirty.

Have you tried these eyeshadows yet? Which colors do you have? What would you recommend that I try?
I hope you found this post and the swatches helpful.

Neutral Makeup Look Featuring MAC Tartan Tale Pigments



I had to redo this pic with flash because without the flash, I wasn't able to capture how pretty and shimmery these MAC eyeshadows are.

With flash



Without flash...It washes away the pretty shimmery pigments



I decided to do a neutral look and since my new MAC Tartan Tale pigments have just that, I might as well make a use out of them. I try to incorporate stuff from my hauls into a look so you guys also get an idea of how the products look on a person. I picked a bolder lipcolor since the eyeshadows were neutrals. I skipped the eyelashes cause I’m lazy. See how non-existent they are, lol.

Products Used

Face – Lancome Teint Idole Ultra, Bare Escentuals foundation powder, Lacura Blush Sunset, Sephora Mattifying compact (contour).

Eyes – Benefit Erase Paste concealer, Urban Decay Primer Potion, MAC Gift’O Glamour pigment (lids and lower lash line), MAC Most Darling pigment (crease), MAC Naked pigment (brow bone), MAC Dark Soul (outer V& lower lash line), LORAC Front of the Line eyeliner black, Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara.

Lips – MAC Wicked Ways lipglass (Venomous Villains collection)  

If you haven’t done so already, please check my other posts for swatches of these Tartan Tale pigments. I bought all 3 sets.

MAC Tartan Tale – 5 Warm Thrillseekers Pigments/Glitter

These are mostly warm colors although the green pigment seems to lean on the cool side in my eyes. This set is sold for $32.50.

1. Gift O’Glamour is a frosty coppery light pink. It shines like a new penny.
2. Gold Mode is a metallic light brown shimmer.
3. Most Darling is medium brown shimmer.
4. Reflects Bronze is a golden bronze glitters.
5. Gilded Green is a frosty minty shimmer.

I used Urban Decay Primer Potion before swatching. My favorite pigment from this set is Reflects Bronze. Do any of you guys know if that’s a permanent color? The neutral shades look very similar to things I already have so I’m not a big fan of this pigment set.  Out of the three pigment sets that I purchased, I favor the cool set the most. These sets are a good value and if you don’t have too many eyeshadows or pigments in your makeup stash, this is a good way to start. If you are not a fan of shimmers or glitters, I don’t think you’ll like any of these sets. Since pigments and glitters are just loose powders, they can fall out easily during application and can be a bit tricky to apply for some people.

What do you think of this set? Love it or leave it?

MAC Tartan Tale – 5 Smoky Thrillseekers Pigments/Glitter

There is a nice and interesting combination in this set. This set is sold for $32.50.

1. Naked is a flesh-toned color with gold and pink micro-shimmers
2. Jigs & Jive is a light brownish taupe pigment with a frosty finish.
3. Reflects Blackened Red is a cranberry red and pink glitters.
4. Blue Brown has a duo-chrome effect with a brownish-red base and frosty teal blue. This color is amazing! I cannot wait to come up with a makeup look using this color.
5. Dark Soul is a black pigment with pearly shimmers.

I used Urban Decay Primer Potion before swatching. My favorite pigments from this set  are Reflects Blackened Red and Blue Brown, the rest look similar to eyeshadows I already have in my collection. Out of the three pigment sets that I purchased, I favor the cool set the most. These sets are a good value and if you don’t have too many eyeshadows or pigments in your makeup stash, this is a good way to start. If you are not a fan of shimmers or glitters, I don’t think you’ll like any of these sets. Since pigments and glitters are loose powders, they can fall out easily during application and can be a bit tricky to apply for some people.

What do you think of this set? Love it or leave it?

MAC Tartan Tale - 5 Cool Thrillseekers Pigments/Glitter

As you guessed from the name of the product, these pigments are cool-toned. This set is sold for $32.50.

1. Mauvement is a taupe pigment with a coppperish sheen to it in part contributed with the gold, pink, and pearly micro-shimmers.
2. Silver Fog is a light silver. This pigment is very frosty and metallic.
3. Softwash Grey is a medium grey with lilac/violet micro-shimmers.
4. Cheers My Dear is a frosty baby pink pigment.
5. Reflects Pearl is just silver glitters. This will instantly glam up any look.

I used Urban Decay Primer Potion before swatching. My favorite pigments from this set are Mauvement, Softwash Grey, and Reflects Pearls. Out of the three pigment sets that I purchased, I liked this set the most. These sets are a good value and if you don’t have too many eyeshadows or pigments in your makeup stash, this is a good way to start. If you are not a fan of shimmers or glitters, I don’t think you’ll like any of these sets. Since pigments and glitters are loose powders, they can fall out easily during application and can be a bit tricky to apply for some people.

What do you think of this set? Love it or leave it?