MAC Antonio Lopez: 6 Eyes Palette in Violet

This past Thursday, MAC released a new collection featuring the works of Antonio Lopez. It is inspired by "this legendary fashion illustrator's vibrant energy, brazen attitude, and love of life." Antonio Lopez is comprised of 12 new and limited edition products —10 of which will be available at all locations, one of which is available at MAC Stores only, and one of which is online exclusive. Antonio Lopez will see the release of three eyeshadow palettes, each of which include six shades of powder eyeshadow and a mini 213SE brush. "Each palette displays the fiercely individual face of one of his muses, 'Antonio's girls,' while each product's packaging features an exclusive drawing by the artist." Each eyeshadow palette contains 5.3 grams of product, and retails for $52.
Top row: Lithe Spirit, Envisioning Pink, and Violet Impact Bottom row: Showgirl, Graphic Style, and Carbon
Swatches: Lithe Spirit, Envisioning Pink, Violet Impact, Showgirl, Graphic Style, and Carbon

Lithe Spirit is a pale cool-toned beige in a Satin finish. It is a re-promoted shade from 2012's Strength collection, and is limited edition. It has a somewhat dry, powdery texture, but 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 than Vanilla, and lighter than Vapour.

Envisioning Pink is a medium cool-toned cotton candy pink in a Satin finish. It is a new and limited edition shade. It has a somewhat dry, powdery texture, but 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 cooler and much less frosted than Swish, and much more blue-toned than Da Bling.

Violet Impact is a medium-dark brightened pinked violet in a Veluxe Pearl finish. It is a new and limited edition shade. It has a somewhat dry, powdery texture, but goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and more purple than Stars 'n Rockets, and cooler than Creme de Violet.

Showgirl is a medium-dark blue-toned grey in a Veluxe Pearl finish. It is a re-promoted shade from 2012's Marilyn Monroe collection, and is limited edition. 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. It is lighter and more blue than Silver Ring, and cooler and more frosted than Scene.

Graphic Style is a medium-dark warm taupe-grey in a Veluxe Pearl 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. It is much more grey than Satin Taupe, and warmer than Silver Ring.

Carbon is a soft black in a Matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a dry, stiff texture, and goes on a patchy and unevenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered easily, but is difficult to blend out well. It is more black than Nehru, and less pigmented than Typographic.

This is generally nice cool-toned palette that can creative a lot of fun looks, but there are a few things that disappointed me. The shadows that have Veluxe Pearl finishes are stiffer than typical Veluxe Pearls (e.g. Woodwinked, All That Glitters, etc.), so while they do still have good pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off, they aren't nearly as soft or buttery as they should be and, as a result, they don't look as smooth and aren't as easily blendable. Secondly, the inclusion of Carbon in this palette is really disappointing because it's just such a difficult shade to work with compared to similar shades like Nehru and Typographic. It's stiff, dry, and just doesn't want to blend out well. That having been said, there are a couple of more unique shades in this palette —Violet Impact and Showgirl in particular — that might make it worth getting if you're a fan of cool-toned eyeshadows.