MAC Vibe Tribe: Wild Horses Eyeshadow Palette

Last Thursday, MAC launched their major summer colour collection called Vibe Tribe: "Open up to the eternal energy of the sun. Sound and self-expression converge in the vast canvas of the desert. Animated by art, music, creativity and soul, an exhilarating festival unfolds." Vibe Tribe includes a total of 32 products, of which 18 are new and limited edition, four are re-promotes, and ten are permanent. This collection sees the release of two eyeshadow quads, both of which are new and limited edition. They are housed special packaging with "graphic geometric patterns woven in eye-catching hues." Each palette contains a total of 5.6 grams of product and retails for $43.50.
Clockwise from top left: Brulé, Charcoal Brown, Blue Mesa, and Wild Horses
Brulé, Charcoal Brown, Blue Mesa, and Wild Horses

Brulé is a light warm creamy 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 warmer and less shimmery than Shroom, darker than Blanc Type, and more muted than Vanilla.

Charcoal Brown is a medium-deep cool muted taupe 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 cooler than Espresso, warmer and more brown than Coquette, and lighter and warmer than Concrete.

Blue Mesa is a medium cool brightened turquoise blue in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition 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. There is nothing similar to this in MAC's permanent range; it is darker and more green-toned than Electric Eel.

Wild Horses is a dark cool espresso brown in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition 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 similar to Brun, warmer than Concrete, and cooler than Mystery.

I found all four shades in this palette to be incredibly finely-milled, pigmented, and easy to layer and blend out — I had no issues with fallout or powdery kickback. The shadows go on smoothly and are beautiful as individual shades; Brulé, Charcoal Brown, and Wild Horses are great neutral workhorse shades that everybody can use, and also work well together to create cohesive looks. I love the inclusion of such a stunning bright shade like Blue Mesa to really give an otherwise neutral palette a gorgeous pop of colour (if putting a bright turquoise all over your lids seems daunting, it's actually beautiful worn as a liner under the eye, which is also on trend right now!). However, I wish that they had included all new and limited edition shades rather than stick in two permanent ones. Given that building a custom quad is now $42, it's just not worth it for those who already own Brulé and Charcoal Brown to get this palette. That having been said, it's a surprisingly versatile palette (both Charcoal Brown and Wild Horses can be used as eyebrow and liner shades as well) with a fun pop of colour that's perfect for summer.