MAC: Makeup Art Cosmetics - Richard Phillips Eyeshadow Quads

First off, let me say a big welcome & thank you to all you readers out there for checking out our new blog! Now onto the business...
Arguably the most "user friendly" of the three artist collections, the Richard Phillips collection for MAC encompasses a whopping 3 eye shadow quads, 5 lipsticks, 5 lipglasses, and 2 powder blushes - with only 2 colours being permanent of repromoted (Lightfall eye shadow from Cult of Cherry Shadowy Lady quad and High Strung from the permanent collection).

In this post I will review the eye shadow quads ($43.00 CA/$36.00 US).

All swatches taken without a base and in natural light, skintone is about NC 42.

Notoriety (left to right) - Skintone 1, Rich & Earthy, Skintone 2, Notoriety

Of the three quads, this probably has the broadest appeal - it's neutral enough to be worn by many skintones but has enough of a metallic finish to attract the junkies out there too. Rich & Earthy (veluxe pearl) and Skintone 2 (frost) apply smoothly and have very good pigmentation. Skintone 1 (lustre) tends to fall out a bit and doesn't adhere as well as its sister shades, but it is still very pretty. Notoriety (satin) is very hard in the pan and applies somewhat chalky...as well, the interesting coppery sparkles in the matte base don't tend to adhere to the skin either.

Photorealism (left to right) - Photorealism, Fresh Approach, Image Maker, Grey Range

Being a green & grey lover, this was the quad I was most excited for. Generally, I think Photorealism really delivers a range of shades that can't be found in MAC's permanent collection. Photorealism is a gorgeous white gold - imagine Solar White with a touch of taupe & grey thrown into the mix. Fresh Approach is a minty green which makes me think of spring pastels. Image Maker (which is my favourite in the quad) is a spectacular grey-green that could really lean either way depending on what you paired it with. Grey Range is an intense dark blue green with a grey base. All shades have good pigmentation & apply smoothly. Please note that in real life these colours appear more green than they do in the photographs.

In the Gallery (left to right) - Lightfall, Look at the Eyes, In the Gallery, Private Viewing

Ah, the problem child of the bunch. In the Gallery feels very hard in the pan and tends to apply somewhat chalky when swatched. I had read several mediocre/bad reviews of this quad, so I was skeptical as to whether it would even show up on my NC 35 skin. As soon as I got it home I immediately tested it out and was very surprised to get good results! Yes, you need a base with this quad (I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance) and you have to do more blending than you would with frost or veluxe pearl finishes - but I have to say I think it's worth it. I believe these are the shadows that inspired the "makeover" of Richard Phillips' painting that appears as the promo for the collection. These aren't vibrant, saturated purples - the colours all have a dusty, greyed out tone which help them mesh with your skintone.

Generally, I think the eye shadow quads are fairly successful in this launch. Phillips is a photorealist painter who focuses on images of women (often highly sexualized) taken from fashion magazines, commercials and soft porn. So it makes sense to me that he would choose palettes that all in some way relate to the colours naturally found in skin, hence the subdued, muted palettes. I think everyone will gravitate to at least one of the quads in this launch.

J