MAC Temperature Rising: Bare My Soul Eyeshadow Palette

Yesterday, MAC released a new collection in stores called Temperature Rising, which is their major colour launch for Summer. It is inspired by "a sensual, seductive rooftop society [that] comes out to play... where a rare breed of seduction emerges from the sultry heat of the day.... Bathed in neon, high on glamour, the look of polished penthouse perfection shimmers against a glowing skyline... The scene sizzles with glistening bronzed perfection." Temperature Rising is comprised of two parts, Colour and Face, which consists of a total of 26 products across two displayers. This collection sees the release of two eyeshadow quads, both of which are new and limited edition. They come in special edition bronze rubberized packaging with matching secondary cardstock boxes. Each palette contains 5.6 grams of product and retails for $52.
Top row: Romantico and Bare My Soul; Bottom row: Friendly and When in Rio
Romantico, Bare My Soul, Friendly, and When in Rio

Romantico is a medium warm taupe-brown in a Veluxe Pearl finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is soft, silky, and finely-milled, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is cooler and less reddened than Sable, darker and more taupe than Patina, and darker than Sweet Satisfaction Pro Longwear Eyeshadow.

Bare My Soul is a medium warm golden brown in a Lustre finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is soft, silky, and finely-milled, and 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 much less orange than Amber Lights, lighter and more gold than Woodwinked, and darker and more bronzed than Goldmine.

Friendly is a dark bronzed chocolate brown in a Veluxe Pearl finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is soft, silky, and finely-milled, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is less plum than Mulch, more frosted than Handwritten, and darker and more intense than Make Your Mark Pro Longwear Eyeshadow. 

When in Rio is a dark reddened brown with dark teal-green pearl in a Frost finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is on the slightly dry side, but 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 more intense with a brighter green pearl than Club, and more green than Blue Brown Pigment.

Whereas MAC's past few Summer collections have been brighter and more playful in general (e.g. last year's Hey, Sailor!, 2011's Surf, Baby!, 2010's To the Beach, 2009's Style Warrior, etc.), I love the sultry, more seductive shades in Temperature Rising. The Bare My Soul palette is by far one of the best eyeshadow quads MAC has put out in the past year in terms of formula — smooth, silky, pigmented textures across the board. The lack of matte shades may not appeal to some, but I find that the frosted finishes are in line with the whole glistening, "sultry heat" theme of the collection (to me, Summer is all about being glowy). In general, I find this palette to be incredibly wearable across all skintones; there aren't really any "wildcard" colours here (for those who want brighter shades, check out Art of the Eye instead). The colours in the palette aren't the most unique and most of them can be easily duped, but I love that you can create such a variety of eye looks with it, from a soft, natural bronze look to a full-blown sexy smoky eye. To me, the colour combination in Bare My Soul is sort of season-less, because I can see it being worn just as much in the Summer as I do in the Fall/Winter.