MAC Archie's Girls: Caramel Sundae Eyeshadow Palette

Today, MAC released its collaboration collection with Archie Comics, called Archie's Girls. As the name implies, this collection is inspired by Betty and Veronica and their "epic love triangle" with Archie. This collection "captures the legendary rivalry of sweet blonde Betty and vivacious brunette Veronica" with "two contrasting colour collections." This collection is comprised of 32 products — 24 of which are new and limited edition, two of which are re-promotes, and six of which are permanent — and five collectable accessories (which will only be available online and at MAC Stores). Archie's Girls sees the release of two new eyeshadow quad palettes, one for each Betty and Veronica (this is the review for Betty's palette). Each eyeshadow palette comes in a special edition white metal rectangular case featuring a comic-style design with the faces of Betty, Archie, and Veronica. This design extends to the box packaging as well. Each palette contains 5.6 grams of product, and retails for $52.

Cheryl Chic, Dreammaker, Caramel Sundae, and Showstopper
Cheryl Chic, Dreammaker, Caramel Sundae, and Showstopper

Cheryl Chic is a light-medium warm pink with a golden shimmer-sheen in a Frost finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is soft and silky, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter than Da Bling, cooler than Pink Fronter Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.

Dreammaker is a light warm yellow gold in a Frost finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2008's Starflash collection, and is limited edition. The texture is soft and silky, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more yellow than Ricepaper, and darker than Nylon. 

Caramel Sundae is a medium warm tan brown in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is soft and silky, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more shimmery than Soft Brown, and lighter and more reddened than Cork. 

Showstopper is a dark cool-toned brown in a Matte finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2003's Liza for MAC collection. The texture is on the drier, stiffer side, and as a result, can go on patchy and unevenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is less blackened than Brun, and cooler and less pigmented than Handwritten.

Overall, the texture of these eyeshadows are pretty good — soft, smooth, and relatively pigmented —with the exception of Showstopper, which has been released many, many times before in various palettes. The texture is fairly dry and stiff, and it reminds me a lot of Carbon; it's buildable and blendable, but there are so many similar shades out there with much better textures that are easier to use. Moreover, this palette as a whole isn't very unique to me, and actually seems like a variation of palettes MAC has released before (this being one of them). This is a good palette for those who like a more natural look, but for the price, you might be better off building a custom MAC palette with similar shades that have more blendable textures.