MAC - Semi Precious Discussion

[Allura Beauty]

I agree. Quartz Fusion is the worst of the MES, imo. The glitter is very chunky, and you only get decent color pay-off if you use multiple layers.

 

[kimbunney]

I have fallen in love with Gem of Roses and it wasn't even on my list. It's like my lip color but a little brighter! I can put it with anything. I also loved One of a kind but I didn't buy it ughhhh its on my mind so I'm ma have to go back and get it!

 

[katred]

This is so true - Jade's Fortune was the biggest culprit - Some were mostly black and the one I picked up was mostly bright yellow with a giant blob of lapis blue, some lime and no black in sight on the top layer ( it seemed like deeper down there was going to be some, though). Clarity was the other perpetrator - if I hadn't looked at 10 of them lined up in a row, I would have never known some have brilliant teal veins. Some were mostly copper and then some were mostly black.
I guess you have to not care about a single, consistent color with the heavily veined ones, because I'm sure as you use them, the entire color palette of your pan is going to change drastically - like Willy Wonka candy that changes into different tastes the longer you suck it.

If you want to know that what you are buying is what you will always have to the bottom of the pan, I'd steer clear of half of these MES or more. If you love the surprise, though, this shit is bananas.

Yep. Jade's Fortune and Clarity are big questions for me... I'd kinda like to go back and get them, but at the same time, I don't know what I'll end up with and there is that chance they'll be the "swamp water" green I saw in a couple of swatches. I swear to god, I'm tempted to go ask a couple of stores to give me their testers. Except that the germaphobe in me cannot come to terms with that. I was shocked when I saw the Clarity tester at The Bay and it was predominantly gold. Seriously gold. Others are more grey... I still might insist on getting the Hint of Sapphire tester at The Bay that was half pink, because that colour was incredible...

 

[ladyarwen]

I went to a counter today and played with the rest of the MES that I didn't get, and I wasn't impressed. The duos that came out a month or so back are much better quality. I'm glad to say though that Gem of Roses is definitely one of those "my lips, but better" colors. Very glad I got it.

 

[liba]

OK here's my face for tonight:

Eyes: The pale olive green Big Bounce as base all over the lid. Golden Gaze applied dry over the outer 2/3 of lid and into crease, blending inwards and then smudged under lower lashline and extended a bit out (239 for all of it). Feline liner in waterline. I'm not kidding about trying Big Bounces under these - the pigmentation and two-tone foiled effect looks like I used 3 different shadows and spent ages perfectly blending them...BUT NO. This took 2 minutes max.

Face: Contouring with Goldstone and highlighting with Pearl using the new kabuki. Again, no pores, no need for Fix+ to bring out the wet highlight. Easy peasy.

Lips: One of a Kind with Looks Like Sin over - no liner, no muss no fuss. Whole face was 3 or 4 minutes max.

I was never able to get a look this fantastic with my Surf Baby products in such a short time - the ease of use here is so much better than Mineralize products past (and Lustre lipsticks and Cremesheen Glasses too for that matter....)

EDIT: My real life makeup friend will be here and I'll get her to take a decent photo to upload

 

[liba]

Yep. Jade's Fortune and Clarity are big questions for me... I'd kinda like to go back and get them, but at the same time, I don't know what I'll end up with and there is that chance they'll be the "swamp water" green I saw in a couple of swatches. I swear to god, I'm tempted to go ask a couple of stores to give me their testers. Except that the germaphobe in me cannot come to terms with that. I was shocked when I saw the Clarity tester at The Bay and it was predominantly gold. Seriously gold. Others are more grey... I still might insist on getting the Hint of Sapphire tester at The Bay that was half pink, because that colour was incredible...

I guess a way around it would be to use a very small brush for taking the shadow out, then using something bigger to blend once it was on your eye, but I wouldn't worry about getting a muddy color - use a Big Bounce shadow or other colored base underneath and I think you'll get clear color out of it. You should see how bright Golden Gaze looks with the light olive BB under and I didn't need to wet my brush or do any other fussy stuff.

I tried a swatch of Jade's Fortune over the white BB in the store, without trying to do anything special to pull the yellow out and just using my finger and I still got a bright but grey-based yellow/green/white duochrome effect - it looked really cool and stayed on my hand until i made an effort to scrub it off hours later.

 

[internetchick]

I went into the counter today and picked out Golden Gaze (which I see is sold out online), Dark Indulgence, and Smoked Ruby. Love the texture on these. None of the other products called to me.

 

[Mabelle]

^ those were the 3 i really liked. I left golden gaze behind for today, but will prob go back next week.

hint of sapphire was pretty took, the rest were kind meh. looked gorg in the pain but no pop on the skin.

 

[internetchick]

They were the only ones I would consider must haves.

 

[LiLBeautyBarbie]

Hi friends I just swatch and photographed everything (All MSFs and GORs) and I also did face swatches on my blog.

 

[ansimi]

I was just examining my brushes and noticed that, unlike all my other MAC brushes, these do not have a country of origin on the handle. I immediately guessed that they must be made in China which was confirmed on the sleeves.

 

[clslvr6spd]

So I finally got my goodies today, after patiently waiting to get them. I did end up adding Golden Gaze & Clarity MES to my haul, I am so glad I did!

I got all 4 of the MSF's
all 3 of the MB's
Clarity, Golden Gaze, Blue Sheen, Jades Fortune & Smoked Ruby MES's

I am going to do a review tomorrow, I feel like absolute crap right now...But I am so happy with the items I got, the only one I am on the fence about it Golden Gaze. Don't get me wrong it's a gorgeous color, but I don't love it.

 

[LMD84]

i'm wearing my broken warmth of coral today. i am in love with this shade! it looks so nice on my skin, gives me a nice warm glow and still doesn't look oragey! yay!

 

[Piarpreet]

return it. It makes no sense keeping it broken. return it while supplies last!

i'm wearing my broken warmth of coral today. i am in love with this shade! it looks so nice on my skin, gives me a nice warm glow and still doesn't look oragey! yay!

 

[LMD84]

oh i's ok! they are sendingh me a new one and told me to keep the broken one anyway! i just couldn't wait and decided to use it! lol!

 

[DL83]

On my 234 brush, on the synthetic side near the bottom of the handle, it says "China"

I was just examining my brushes and noticed that, unlike all my other MAC brushes, these do not have a country of origin on the handle. I immediately guessed that they must be made in China which was confirmed on the sleeves.

 

[UrbanSweetheart]

I have fallen in love with Gem of Roses and it wasn't even on my list. It's like my lip color but a little brighter! I can put it with anything. I also loved One of a kind but I didn't buy it ughhhh its on my mind so I'm ma have to go back and get it!

I got mine today, and I've also fallen for it!

It's the perfect "My Lips, But Better" color!!

 

[Edelmc]

Ok so I tried a quick look this morning before I got my babies up...

I applied mineral mode dry to my lid (can't get over the pigmentation and quality of this one amazing). Using the synthetic side of the 234 I applied the colour to my lid and then placed the tip of the brush in my crease with the natural side facing up and blended out. I then took quartz fusion dry and applied it to the outer 2 thirds and then damped the brush with fix+ and applied some some quartz fusion to the outer third of my lid. This look took 2 minutes but looks like it took alot longer. The end result is a shimmery summery look that makes my green eyes pop and when the light catches it and I blink you get great flashes of pink shimmer. I would without hesitation say that quartz fusion is the one tricky mes in the bunch to use and its a case that if you are not mad on the colour or glitter then walk away but if you love the colour like me then its defo worth it. It wasn't actually much hassle...just like using a pigment, I applied a bit of loose powder under my eyes before I did my eye make up and then just brushes away the small amout of fall out afterwards

I also applied half of my face and body foundation this morning with the 179 and half with my usual 182 to see the difference and my feelings on it are.....
The coverage using the 179 is only slightly more as the natural bristles tend to soak up liquid product slightly where as there is more slip between the synthetic bristles of the 179 and the foundation. The difference is only slight tho. The application of the foundation with the 179 was easier for this reason - no dragging at all. I did notice that the 179 did help buff away the appearance of my pores too. I bought the 179 because I was looking for a synthetic kabuki and for that reason I love it. If you are just looking for a standard kabuki or are happy with your 182 and looking for something completely different then I don't think you need this. (this review is based only on using the brush for foundation...mac-guy would be the best person to talk to re msf application and this brush going by his in depth reviews on this thread)
I would reiterate tho that the cheek brush is amazing for applying foundation for a more done up look - the synthetic side places the foundation like a typical 190 but the combined synthetic and natural tip then blend the foundation for an amazing airbrushed finish. I use the 179 for quick, light daytime foundation and would use the cheek brush any other time

 

[wishonastar]

I am just loving Rose Quartz MSF, wearing it today and it is beautiful! I have been using the 187 to apply them, I'm not sure why I chose to use this brush but it blends the colours together nicely and I can apply them to my face without shooting glitter everywhere and make it more intense where I want. It just looks very smooth on the skin. It is good to see the colour that has been made and adjust accordingly because of the white bristles so that is a nice bonus. I'm sort of wanting the other MSFs now but that is a bit silly I think. I have bronzers so don't need Goldstone and I'm not really sure how Crystal Pink would look on my skin, I think it is better suited to cooler skintones and I don't need another highlighter. I also used Clarity today, dry again. It is preeetty! So sparkly and unique through it's sparkles. It is a colour that would suit every single eye colour and make them stand out. It is one of those effortless colours which makes you look like you haven't really bothered but still look great.

 

[dancepig]

That's so sad about the brushes made in China - I was going to get at least two, but now I don't think so. I haven't seen them in person yet, waiting for tomorrow. I have a make-over appointment at my closest MAC store tomorrow (several hours away).