MAC - Semi Precious Discussion

shannnybannny

Well-known member
So I got my order and I have to say... I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE HoS and Rare Find... I was really disappointed by Blue Sheen... like.. I like it, and maybe it will be better over like a big bounce shadow.. but it's too dark for me.. like, I was expecting more blue. It also does not contain a lot of black veining so that is why I was so surprised by that... I LOVEEEEEE the MSF's.. and I got all of them. I got 3 brushes out of the 4, and they are all so soft.
 

LMD84

Well-known member
Another quckie make up look done here this morning.

I used Unsurpassable but instead of swirling it together, I used 3 small brushes to use a lime green section, a mid green section, and a bluish section - though in the look you don't see the blue. I used MAC Painterly as a base, Mineral Mode as a highlight. I used the lime from the inner corner to mid lid, thren the mid green from the middle of the lid to the outer corner blending it out and upwards, then I used the blue to darken the mid green on the upper lid and the crease. It literally took me 5 minutes because the MES was so smooth and easy to blend, these would be great to take away on holiday if you need to save space, esp if you get one with lots of variety in the veining. I used Clarity to line my lower lashes, and RQ MSF as a blush.











Sorry if no one is interested in seeing these looks, I feel like I'm over posting a bit but I love how these MES work, and I don't think a lot of the blogs give them the credit they deserve - I've seen Unsurpassble described as muddy, and bland but I think you if get one with veining and work with it, it can be anything but!
love.gif
i love seeing your look! you look great and i agree that some peopel are giving the shadows a bad rep - some are so nice!! not all are bad!
 

Edelmc

Well-known member
i love seeing your look! you look great and i agree that some peopel are giving the shadows a bad rep - some are so nice!! not all are bad!
I am intrigued by your response Lou...which ones did you get? which did you like? and did you think some were bad?
 

MACcrazy

Well-known member
i love seeing your look! you look great and i agree that some peopel are giving the shadows a bad rep - some are so nice!! not all are bad!
i definatly agree! i LOVE smoked ruby and golden gaze! i may go back to grab more (was in a hurry at the time so i only grabbed the stuff i would be really sad if i didn't get) they are so soft and great color payoff. I don't know if they were using them weird or what but i love these shadows!
 

Alisha1

Well-known member
My order from Debenhams finally came and after playing with everything I got (Golden Gaze mes, Smoked Ruby mes, Geo Pink and Gem of Roses) I have to say I love everything! Even the mes's which I was not that keen on when I swatched them in store yesterday :) I'm very luck as the veining is perfect if I want to pick up the seperate colours :) I've yet to play with Smoked Ruby properly though but it is very pretty when swatched :)

But the stars of my haul where Gem of Roses and Geo Pink - Love them! GoR is just WOW on! Like I'm honestly considering a backup cause I can wear it everyday :) I layered Geo Pink over it and love this combo - super pretty
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and with online shopping becomeing ever more popular you'd think they would give it their all to get it right !! it was stressful ordering from them and in future will purchase from MACcosmetics.com
I agree Debenhams service was annoying this time around but I have to continue buying from them for points so I can spend them on Chanel!
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dxgirly

Well-known member
Just picked up Unsurpassable, Clarity, and Blue Sheen. :)

Unsurpassable looks amazing on you MrsB, and you're who made me want to get it!
 

tismama

Well-known member
wow you look great! that eyeshadow looks amazing on you & i LOVE how RQ looks
Another quckie make up look done here this morning.

I used Unsurpassable but instead of swirling it together, I used 3 small brushes to use a lime green section, a mid green section, and a bluish section - though in the look you don't see the blue. I used MAC Painterly as a base, Mineral Mode as a highlight. I used the lime from the inner corner to mid lid, thren the mid green from the middle of the lid to the outer corner blending it out and upwards, then I used the blue to darken the mid green on the upper lid and the crease. It literally took me 5 minutes because the MES was so smooth and easy to blend, these would be great to take away on holiday if you need to save space, esp if you get one with lots of variety in the veining. I used Clarity to line my lower lashes, and RQ MSF as a blush.











Sorry if no one is interested in seeing these looks, I feel like I'm over posting a bit but I love how these MES work, and I don't think a lot of the blogs give them the credit they deserve - I've seen Unsurpassble described as muddy, and bland but I think you if get one with veining and work with it, it can be anything but!
love.gif
 

Mac-Guy

Well-known member
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).
I don't think the quality of the brushes is less than any of the other full-size brushes from MAC. Just because something is manufactured in China doesn't mean that it is inferior quality. Today, most products are assembled in Asia and I would not worry too much about it. The quality of the bristles is comparable to the full-size versions. These four brushes cannot be compared to any of the holiday sets, which only cost a fraction of these brushes. I'm not defending MAC's choice to manufacture the brushes in China, I'm just pointing out that outsourcing is rather common.
 

Mac-Guy

Well-known member
I don't understand it either to be honest, given how low these shadows were graded for ease of use and wearability, I can't agree with any of it. I am still to use my Golden Gaze but everything I've used so far has been exceptional, and lovely to use!
I completely agree with you. I think the problem is that people over-rely too much on reviews of bloggers rather than attempting to form their own opinion. It is important to keep in mind your personal preferences, how you like to work with a product, what color pay-off you want, etc. For example, a lot of reviews for Surf Baby rated My Paradise's gold overlay in a negative way, but personally, I think it is the best feature of MP. So who is right? I would say both parties, but each of them has a different taste and dislikes. Same for Semi-Precious: some of us like glitter/shimmer, other simply cannot deal with any kind of glitter and/or fall-out.

Personally, I am very happy with the quality of Semi-Precious, but just because I like the MSF and the brushes doesn't mean they are perfect or better than any other collection. As stated above, it is important to test out the product in store - and I realize that this is not always possible. My advice is to check your stash and compare your go-to products with the qualities that the SP collection has to offer before you buy and/or order online. It's sad to see bad reviews on bloggers' website or Make Up Alley just because a person had to move out of their comfort zone (in terms of application technique) or simply applies a product the wrong way. IMO, these are not objective product reviews but simply a description of a personal experience (there is nothing wrong with it, but it should be considered with a grain of salt when evaluating a collection).

Finally, there is nothing wrong with passing a collection. The Fall collections are just around the corner and there will be new and exciting products. Happy hauling.
 

MACcrazy

Well-known member
I completely agree with you. I think the problem is that people over-rely too much on reviews of bloggers rather than attempting to form their own opinion. It is important to keep in mind your personal preferences, how you like to work with a product, what color pay-off you want, etc. For example, a lot of reviews for Surf Baby rated My Paradise's gold overlay in a negative way, but personally, I think it is the best feature of MP. So who is right? I would say both parties, but each of them has a different taste and dislikes. Same for Semi-Precious: some of us like glitter/shimmer, other simply cannot deal with any kind of glitter and/or fall-out.
Personally, I am very happy with the quality of Semi-Precious, but just because I like the MSF and the brushes doesn't mean they are perfect or better than any other collection. As stated above, it is important to test out the product in store - and I realize that this is not always possible. My advice is to check your stash and compare your go-to products with the qualities that the SP collection has to offer before you buy and/or order online. It's sad to see bad reviews on bloggers' website or Make Up Alley just because a person had to move out of their comfort zone (in terms of application technique) or simply applies a product the wrong way. IMO, these are not objective product reviews but simply a description of a personal experience (there is nothing wrong with it, but it should be considered with a grain of salt when evaluating a collection).

Finally, there is nothing wrong with passing a collection. The Fall collections are just around the corner and there will be new and exciting products. Happy hauling.

iagree.gif
exactly IMO it's fine to see blogs for other opinions and stuff but ultimately it comes down to if you like the products or not, regardless of what the bloggers reviews are.
 

Anitacska

Well-known member
Mine came in a box via Yodel, although it was left in a safe place and I didn't sign for it. I don't mind though, and my previous Debenhams orders have all been well packaged before, ofthen if two huge liffy bags, one rolled up with goodies inside it.

Mine was from Debenhams, and was in a box inside the Debenhams mailing bag. Too big to go through the letter box, and I had to sign for it anyway. It was all in polystyrene peanuts
Mrs B, I love the look you created with Unsurpassable! I just got my Unsurpassable today, it's very pretty too, mine has quite a lot of gold and green and a little blue in it. Was going to pick one myself, but the MAs were very unhelpful in House of Fraser in Guildford and so I just took the one I was handed. It's pretty though and I'm happy with it. Didn't get any lipsticks or glosses in the end, none of them seemed so special, but I do have 300 lipsticks already and 500 lipglosses, so it's not a bad thing really. :)
 

Piarpreet

Well-known member
nice! Thats super cool! I dont think they'd let me do that in the USA

Oh I'm glad to hear it. Please don't overlook Unsurpassable, it can be a very unique colour and each one is so individual depending on the veining, definitely check it out when you can :)
 

geeko

Well-known member
This is as close up a shot i could get of 2 of the MES which i bought. Do note that I didn't use the colors wet, hence the color may not appear to the fullest intensity

Inner corner: unsurpassable and outer corner blue sheen.

 

Edelmc

Well-known member
I have unsurpassable but now I want blue sheen!
This is as close up a shot i could get of 2 of the MES which i bought. Do note that I didn't use the colors wet, hence the color may not appear to the fullest intensity

Inner corner: unsurpassable and outer corner blue sheen.

 

Mac-Guy

Well-known member
This is as close up a shot i could get of 2 of the MES which i bought. Do note that I didn't use the colors wet, hence the color may not appear to the fullest intensity

Inner corner: unsurpassable and outer corner blue sheen.


This looks great!
 

UrbanSweetheart

Well-known member
Gorgeous look as always MrsB!
heart.gif


Another quckie make up look done here this morning.

I used Unsurpassable but instead of swirling it together, I used 3 small brushes to use a lime green section, a mid green section, and a bluish section - though in the look you don't see the blue. I used MAC Painterly as a base, Mineral Mode as a highlight. I used the lime from the inner corner to mid lid, thren the mid green from the middle of the lid to the outer corner blending it out and upwards, then I used the blue to darken the mid green on the upper lid and the crease. It literally took me 5 minutes because the MES was so smooth and easy to blend, these would be great to take away on holiday if you need to save space, esp if you get one with lots of variety in the veining. I used Clarity to line my lower lashes, and RQ MSF as a blush.











Sorry if no one is interested in seeing these looks, I feel like I'm over posting a bit but I love how these MES work, and I don't think a lot of the blogs give them the credit they deserve - I've seen Unsurpassble described as muddy, and bland but I think you if get one with veining and work with it, it can be anything but!
love.gif
 

UrbanSweetheart

Well-known member
Both MES look great! I didn't know unsurpassable looked like that!!
drools.gif

This is as close up a shot i could get of 2 of the MES which i bought. Do note that I didn't use the colors wet, hence the color may not appear to the fullest intensity

Inner corner: unsurpassable and outer corner blue sheen.

 

Haven

Well-known member
Thank you for all of the pics of your different looks! OK I have decided to go to Nordstroms today and look at these. I have a couple of hours to play before the big family dinner tonight b/c DH got off work & can watch the kids. Yeah! Hopefully I won't get the crappy service that everyone is complaining about - makes me think that I should order all of my anniversary sale stuff online & skip actually going to the store.

Another quckie make up look done here this morning.

I used Unsurpassable but instead of swirling it together, I used 3 small brushes to use a lime green section, a mid green section, and a bluish section - though in the look you don't see the blue. I used MAC Painterly as a base, Mineral Mode as a highlight. I used the lime from the inner corner to mid lid, thren the mid green from the middle of the lid to the outer corner blending it out and upwards, then I used the blue to darken the mid green on the upper lid and the crease. It literally took me 5 minutes because the MES was so smooth and easy to blend, these would be great to take away on holiday if you need to save space, esp if you get one with lots of variety in the veining. I used Clarity to line my lower lashes, and RQ MSF as a blush.











Sorry if no one is interested in seeing these looks, I feel like I'm over posting a bit but I love how these MES work, and I don't think a lot of the blogs give them the credit they deserve - I've seen Unsurpassble described as muddy, and bland but I think you if get one with veining and work with it, it can be anything but!
love.gif
 
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