MAC Cham Pale Paint Pots Review and Swatches

Probably the most anticipated part of the Cham Pale collection are the four new LE shades of paint pots ($20.00 CA/$16.50 US).

The most obvious difference in the four new shades is the shimmer texture. Unlike previous paint pots which were either highly pigmented matte or frost finishes, these are sheer and glittery.

Clockwise from top left: Let Me Pop, Vintage Selection,

Dangerous Cuvee and Chilled on Ice.

One layer, left to right: Chilled on Ice, Let Me Pop,

Vintage Selection and Dangerous Cuvee.

Two layers, left to right: Chilled on Ice, Let Me Pop,
Vintage Selection and Dangerous Cuvee.

Chilled on Ice - a beautiful, shimmery white gold. This would make an excellent highlight for the tear duct, or even a possible dupe on the cheekbones for NARS Albatross.

Let Me Pop - a peachy copper shimmer, quite lovely and not too warm to be paired with neutrals or cooler browns. I can see this working well with forest greens or khaki's too.

Vintage Selection - a taupey, mauvey beige? The most opaque of the three, it is still quite a light shade. Would work well under mauves, browns, greys and plums. I do wish this one was a bit deeper in tone.

Dangerous Cuvee - a sheer mid toned shimmery grey. Slightly cool but neutral enough to work with many shades.

General Comments

In texture and finish, the Cham Pale paint pots are very similar to Bobbi Brown's Metallic Long Wear Cream Shadows (I own Galaxy, which looks like Dangerous Cuvee with some gold glitter thrown in). I know that die hard paint pot afficiandos might not appreciate the sheerness of these four new shades, but I think that in terms of the general concept of the collection, they work. Cham Pale is supposed to be all about glitter and light and these certainly fit that bill. I also think that unlike other more opaque paint pots, these will be easier to wear as a stand alone shadow because of their sheerness. They require less work to look blended than the opaque shades, and won't leave you with a sharp demarcation where the shadow stops. I intend to wear these as bases, but also as quick shadows with a little bit of liner and mascara. I could also see these working nicely as an all over colour with a powder shadow thrown in to cut the crease.

Of the four, Chilled on Ice is my favourite, and I understand why this shade sold out online long before the other three. It's a gorgeous highlight shade that would work for anyone. Try a tiny bit on the end of a fluffy brush and hit the tear ducts or even the cupid's bow. I predict greatness!

J

MAC Cham Pale Caviar Dreams Eye Shadow x 4 Review and Swatches

I think MAC is trying to kill us, or more likely kill our wallets. No sooner are the holiday kits released, then they pummel us with Cham Pale, Stylishly Yours and next week Mickey Contractor and Peacocky!

Anyways, here's my haul from Cham Pale. Cham Pale is this year's version of Warm and Cozy, and I for one always welcome a neutral themed collection. The spin on this collection of neutrals is high shimmer and shine.

In this post I will be reviewing the Caviar Dreams quad ($43.00 CA/$36.00 US). All photos taken indoors with flash, skintone NC 40.

Left clockwise: Caviar Dreams Eye Shadow x 4, Chilled on Ice,

Let Me Pop, Vintage Selection and Dangerous Cuvee Paint Pots,

 I get No Kick and Feline Eye Kohls.

Caviar Dreams Eye Shadow x 4 clockwise from top left: Brule (S),

Retrospeck (L), Et Tu, Bouquet? (F) and Caviar Dreams (L).

Brule (S), Retrospeck (L), Et Tu, Bouquet? (F) and Caviar Dreams (L).

MAC Cham Pale Caviar Dreams Eye Shadow x 4

Brule (S) - A well pigmented, smooth yellow toned beige, great for a base shade or as a highlighter for medium or darker skin tones. Permanent colour.

Retrospeck (L) - A pale silvery gold slightly gritty shimmer that pulls a bit green on me. Like other lustres, fallout is a concern. Permanent colour.

Et Tu, Bouquet? (F) - A frosted iridscent white-pink, last seen in A Rose Romance. LE colour.

Caviar Dreams (L) - A pewter toned brown with fine silver shimmer. Fallout seems less of a problem with this lustre than with Retrospeck. LE colour.

General Comments

The Caviar Dreams quad definitely fits the "pale" part of the Cham Pale collection theme. While each shade in the quad is fairly nice on its own, I think most people would have some difficulty pulling together a strong look soley using this quad. If Caviar Dreams had been a pigmented veluxe pearl, or better yet the same shade in a satin or matte formula, it would have saved this quad from essentially being a palette of highlighters. That being said, this quad will look beautiful with any deeper satin or matte neutral of any shade thrown in, so in that sense this palette works and is very flexible.

I consider this a decent buy for me, but only because I only own one of the shades (Et Tu, Bouquet?). I think if you have two or more of the shades in this quad you would be better off saving your money for the Mickey Contractor quad of neutrals.

Another consideration with this quad is the heavy emphasis on shimmer and lustre finishes. This is a very shimmery/glittery quad, so if shimmer is not your MO, I would skip.

J