MAC Guilty Passions: Sweetly Smoky Crushed Metallic Pigments

This past Thursday, MAC launched their holiday mini kits collection called Guilty Passions. There is a total of six kits in this collection, all of which are new and limited edition, and in special edition packaging for holiday. Guilty Passions sees the release of three Crushed Metallic Pigment sets, each containing four shades in clear stackable jars. Each kit is housed in a round, mint green, chevron-print box trimmed with a black patent bow. Each palette contains a total of 12 grams of product (3 grams of each shade), and retails for $38.50.

Clockwise from left: Maribu, Femininity, Dusty Desire, and Prettified

Stacked left to right: Maribu, Femininity, Prettified, and Dusty Desire

Maribu, Femininity, Prettified, and Dusty Desire

Maribu is a pale cool-toned pink in a metallic finish. It is a new and limited edition shade. It has a chunkier, more gritty texture, and goes on slightly patchy and unevenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered easily, but there is some fall-out when blending. It is more pink and metallic than Pink Opal, and lighter than Kitschmas.

Femininity is a medium brightened magenta with a iridescent cool-toned purple shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered easily, but there is fall-out when blending. It is lighter and cooler than Pink Pearl, and is very similar to Stars N' Rockets Eyeshadow.

Prettified is a medium-dark mauve-brown in a metallic finish. It is a new and limited edition shade. It has a slightly gritty texture, but goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. There is nothing similar in MAC's permanent Pigment line-up. It is more brown than Satin Taupe Eyeshadow, and more mauve than Sable Eyeshadow.

Dusty Desire is a dark cool-toned purple in a metallic finish. It is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. There is nothing similar in MAC's permanent line-up.

I have always been a fan of Crushed Metallic Pigments because they look absolutely stunning — in the jars and in execution. They really stay true to their product name, and really do look like crushed metal nuggets. Because they are loose pigments, they do create some fall out and it take some patience to use, but once they are applied, they are long-wearing, non-creasing, and really stay put — as long as you crush the pigment (using a brush in the lid) to create a smooth, even layer of product. I recommend a stiffer eyeshadow brush (e.g. MAC's #239) to pad on the pigment and then using a blending brush to soften the edges. Keep in mind that this is a product for fans of loose pigment eyeshadows in an extremely metallic finish (they almost have a foil-like look). I do recommend using these on top of a more emollient base as well, just so they adhere better to the eye area (I use NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base). I usually don't like loose eyeshadows because I find them messier with more fall out, but as someone who loves metallic eyeshadows, I find these totally worth working with. Bonus: The boxes are gorgeous and can be kept for storage use!