MAC Eyes on MAC: Mellow Moderns Eyeshadow x 15 Palette

Earlier this month, MAC released a new Eyeshadow x 15 Palette in a continuation of their Eyes on MAC collection, which was initially launched two years ago (when they first introduced their Eyeshadow x 9 Palettes and made their Eyeshadow x 15 Palettes available at all MAC locations). Eyes on MAC essentially features all of their pre-assembled palettes at a value price. The new Eyeshadow x 15 Palette is called Mellow Moderns, and is described as: "A carefully edited palette of 15 modern, neutral shades to create endless looks. The highly pigmented powder applies evenly and blends well. Can be used wet or dry. Available in a wide variety of textures and finishes." If this palette looks familiar, it's because it was originally an exclusive to Nordstrom (called "Nordstrom Now") that has now been made available at all MAC locations permanently. As Nordstrom is still relatively new to Canadians, this palette will be seen as a new release, but for the Americans who have access to Nordstrom, this will be seen as a re-promote. Each palette contains a total of 19.5 grams of product, and retails for $85 (this is a new decreased price, as the Eyeshadow x 15 Palettes were previously $99). All the Eyeshadow x 15 and x 9 Palettes are now eligible for PRO discounts.
Beaded, Goldmine, Chains of Love, Cork, and Persuade

Beaded is a light-medium warm golden beige with gold shimmer in a Frost finish. This is a new and permanent shade that is exclusive to this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 darker and more brown than Ricepaper, more golden than Grain, and darker and more golden than Shroom.

Goldmine is a light-medium warm brightened yellow gold in a Frost finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 more muted and more frosted than Chrome Yellow, brighter and warmer than Gorgeous Gold, and lighter and cooler than Amber Lights.

Chains of Love is a medium-dark warm golden bronze in a Frost finish. This is a new and permanent shade that is exclusive to this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 more golden than MAC Bronze, lighter and less sparkly than Tempting, and darker and warmer than Woodwinked.

Cork is a medium warm muted golden brown in a Satin finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 darker and more matte than Soba, warmer and more golden than Charcoal Brown, and lighter than Espresso. 

Persuade is a dark warm muted taupe brown in a Matte finish. This is a re-promote from 2014's Brooke Shields collection, and is now a permanent shade that is exclusive to this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 darker and warmer than Copperplate, warmer and more brown than Print, and lighter than Concrete.

Retrospeck, Greensmoke, Felt, Print, and Carbon

Retrospeck is a light cool silvered gold with silver sparkle in a Lustre finish. This is a permanent shade, but this iteration is smoother and more pigmented than the original version. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 warmer and more golden than Forgery, brighter and more sparkly than Shroom, and cooler and more sparkly than Brule.

Greensmoke is a medium-dark cool muted olive brown with gold sparkle in a Lustre finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and 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 green and more sparkly than Coquette, cooler and more grey than Sumptuous Olive, and darker and more green than Patina.

Felt is a medium-dark warm olive brown in a Satin finish. This is a new and permanent shade that is exclusive to this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 more green than Charcoal Brown, warmer and more green than Persuade, and warmer than Coquette.

Print is a medium-dark cool charcoal grey in a Satin finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 than Typographic, warmer and more matte than Knight Divine, and darker and more matte than Silver Ring. 

Carbon is a deep dark muted black in a Matte finish. This is a permanent shade, but this iteration is smoother than the original version. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and 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 matte than Black Tied, darker than Typographic, and cooler and more matte than Dark Dare.

Orb, Luscious, Soft Brown, Trax, and Plummed

Orb is a light muted peachy beige in a Satin finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 more peach than Brule, warmer and more matte than Shroom, and softer and more peach than Vanilla.

Luscious is a medium warm peachy gold with copper shimmer in a Frost finish. This is a re-promote from 2014's Brooke Shields collection, and is now a permanent shade that is exclusive to this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and 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 orange and more muted than Amber Lights, more orange than Expensive Pink, and darker and more orange than Motif.

Soft Brown is a light-medium warm muted peachy brown in a Matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 muted than Saddle, lighter than Texture, and darker and more brown than Bamboo.

Trax is a warm muted plum with gold sparkle in a Velvet finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and 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 more muted than Star Violet, warmer and more purple than Shale, and more purple and more shimmery than Haux. 

Plummed is a medium-deep warm muted burgundy plum in a Veluxe Pearl finish. This is a re-promote from 2014's Brooke Shields collection, and is now a permanent shade that is exclusive to this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled 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 more reddened than Nocturnelle, darker than Plum Dressing, and brighter and more purple than Rich Core.

Mellow Moderns as a whole is a really well-curated palette that covers warm to cool tones and light to dark shades so you can create a plethora of different looks. There are plenty of neutrals to work with, but the gold, olive, and plum shades keep it interesting. What's great about this palette is that the shades are placed in a way that each row, column, or adjacent shades work really well together. Overall, all the eyeshadows go on smooth and pigmented, and are easy to blend out. Even some of the permanent shades — Retrospeck, Greensmoke, and Carbon — seem silkier and more finely-milled than their original versions. This palette actually reminds me a lot of the Gravitas Eyeshadow x 15 Palette that was launched with 2014's Brooke Shields collection. In fact, five of the shades here were also in the Gravitas palette, so if you missed out on Gravitas, you should definitely look into Mellow Moderns. However, it is worth noting that nine of the 15 shades here are available permanently, so definitely take note of what you have in your stash already and see if it's worth adding this palette to your collection. But if you don't have a majority of the shades, it is well worth shelling out for — with the new decreased price of $85, it really is a bargain for 15 full-sized eyeshadows.