MAC Heirloom Mix: Pressed Pigment in Regal Affair, Noble Descent, Nostalgic, Modern Majesty, Victorian Plum, Enchantment, Prim and Proper, and Noblesse Oblige

This past Thursday, MAC launched their annual holiday colour collection called Heirloom Mix. It is inspired by "royally rich colour that exudes an aristocratic allure. The modern woman mixes up an irreverent take on tradition, as the classic collectible is cast in contemporary, glittering light. This dark collection of hues emanates a rebellious spirit of anti-antique, setting nostalgic aside in favour of an avant-garde attitude that is anything but precious. A regal, romantic, and daring affair, this holiday is all about colour that leaves a legacy." This collection sees the launch of 30 products, 23 of which are new and limited edition, one of which is a re-promote, and six of which are permanent. Heirloom Mix includes the release of eight shades of Pressed Pigment. They come in special edition glossy black round cases collaged with silver sparkles, and matching secondary cardstock packaging. Each Pressed Pigment contains a total of 1.3 grams of product, and retails for $25.

Clockwise from left: Regal Affair, Noble Descent, Nostalgic, and Modern Majesty
Regal Affair, Noble Descent, Nostalgic, and Modern Majesty

Regal Affair is a pale warm white with pearlized sparkle. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft but somewhat gritty texture, so it can go on patchy when used dry. It will look smoother and more opaque when used wet. It has medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is similar to Blonde Streak, slightly warmer than Angelic, and less yellow than Flicker.

Noble Descent is a light cool-toned pink with pearlized sparkle. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It will look smoother and more opaque when used wet. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly less cool-toned than Sweet Acting, darker and more sparkly than Pink Freeze Eyeshadow, and cooler than Sweet Lust Eyeshadow.

Nostalgic is a light-medium warm-toned pinked peach with pearlized sparkle. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It will look smoother and more opaque when used wet. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and more peach than Light Touch, more pink than Day Gleam, and more sparkly than All That Glitters.

Modern Majesty is a medium-dark plum-brown with green-teal pearl. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It looks similar used wet or dry. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more plum and has more of a green pearl than Deeply Dashing, warmer and more plum than Club Eyeshadow, and less of a green pearl than Blue Brown Pigment.

Clockwise from left: Victorian Plum, Enchantment, Prim and Proper, and Noblesse Oblige
Victorian Plum, Enchantment, Prim and Proper, and Noblesse Oblige

Victorian Plum is a medium-dark brightened cool-toned royal purple with violet pearlized sparkle. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It looks similar used wet or dry. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. There is nothing similar to this in MAC's permanent range.

Enchantment is a medium-dark violet with blue-purple pearlized sparkle. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It looks similar used wet or dry. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. There is nothing similar to this in MAC's permanent range.

Prim and Proper is a medium-dark cool-toned gunmetal grey with silver pearlized sparkle. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It looks similar used wet or dry. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter than Jet Couture, more blackened than Knight Divine Eyeshadow, and lighter and much more sparkly than Black Tied.

Noblesse Oblige is a medium warm-toned gilded pewter with pearlized sparkle. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It looks similar used wet or dry. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is less pink than Moth, darker and more grey than Retrospeck Eyeshadow, and warmer than Silver Ring.

I think a lot of people had written off the original Pressed Pigments as way too difficult to work with and having way too much fall-out to be worth using, despite how pretty and sparkly they look. But I am glad to report that these are very, very different from the original formula. Smoother, less gritty, much more opaque, way less fall-out; these definitely perform more like eyeshadows than pressed glitter. These are exactly what I wish the original Pressed Pigments would be like. These are much smaller (1.3 g vs. 3 g) and are the same price, but these are so much more worth it. Victorian Plum, Enchantment, and Prim and Proper are stand-out shades for me — these three in particular have such an amazing pearlized duochrome effect that just demands to be admired. These are actually my favourite products from the Heirloom Mix collection, and no one is more surprised by this than me.