MAC Amber Times Nine Eyeshadow Palette

I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of my palette collection…introducing the Mac Amber Times Nine!  I picked this little palette up at Winners of all places and I scored a great deal on it – it was only $23 (marked down from $29.99).  Considering this palette runs for $42 CAD on Mac’s website, it’s not one I could pass up.  Especially since I’m one of the rare few that has never tried Mac eyeshadow before.  The reason why?  I hate makeup counters and I avoid them like the plague.  I just want to pick up what I want and not have anyone bother me – which is why I buy most of my cosmetics at Sephora and the drugstore.

ABOUT

Mac describes this as a well-edited palette that features a colour wave of amber hues that offer countless shade combinations and a variety of textures (matte, satin, frost) and the ability to create looks for both day and night.

PRICE

$42 CAD; 9 x 0.02 oz shadows

Here’s how it compares to other palettes of a similar size/weight:

• Tartelette Tease – $30 CAD; 6 x 0.03 oz shadows
• Urban Decay Naked Basics – $36 CAD; 6 x 0.05 oz shadows
• Smashbox Full Exposure Travel Palette – $29 CAD; 8 x 0.026 oz shadows
• Viseart Petit PRO Eyeshadow Palette – $40 CAD;  8 x 0.026 oz shadows

PACKAGING

This palette is made of a black plastic and has a clear lid with a magnetized closure.  For some reason I enjoy a clear lid on a palette – I like seeing the shadows contained in it I guess.  I find the packaging quite sturdy and compact, which I love because that makes it ideal for travel.

SCENT

None of these shadows had any noticeable scent.

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS INFO

• Made in Canada
• Dermatologist tested
• Ophthalmologist tested
• Non-acnegenic
• Safe for contact-wearers
• Can be used wet or dry

SWATCHES, FORMULAS & SHADE DESCRIPTIONS

Note: I’ve used the descriptions of the shades from Mac’s websites and added any of my comments in brackets

Cozy Grey: Matte cool grey (with the slightest hint of lilac)

Kitties: Frosted pale bronze

Georgia Peach: Matte dirty rose pink

Ricepaper: Frosted peachy gold with glitter (this actually leans more of a shimmery white on my skintone)

Creative Copper: Lustre light beige

Cork: Satin muted golden brown

Don’t Tell: Luster sparkly brown (hint of rose gold)

Aromatic: Matte brown (dark brown)

Pepper, Please: Velvet sparkly bronze copper brown (I don’t know what velvet means but this is basically a matte with glitter)

PERFORMANCE

Since trying my first Lorac palette last year, I can’t help but compare every eyeshadow to them; they encompass everything I want in an eyeshadow: soft, blendable, buttery, pigmented, and long-lasting.  So how do these compare?  They don’t honestly but the majority of the shadows are good and there are a couple of duds.  I found that the matte shadows (Cozy Grey, Georgia Peach, Aromatic) and Cork (described as a satin) perform the best – they were soft, with minimum fallout, pigmented and easy to blend.  Kitties, Creative Copper, and Don’t Tell also performed well, although Don’t Tell definitely feels drier and a little chunky in the pan (it does blend out well though).   Ricepaper is soft but lacks some pigmentation, while Pepper, Please is pretty dry and quite patchy.  On the bright side all of the shadows are pretty buildable but they do require some work for decent colour payoff.  Keep in mind that this is a neutral palette however, so it’s not intended to create bold eye looks.

I have zero complaints with the lasting power on these; as usual I paired them with my favourite eye primer (Too Faced’s Shadow Insurance) and they lasted all day and well into the night (8+ hours) with no creasing and minimal fading.

I have traveled with this palette over an extended long weekend and I found it worked really well for that purpose.  It was lightweight, compact and offered me enough the versatility I was looking for in terms of easy every day looks, with the option of doing a brown smoky eye if I felt like it.

VERDICT

While I don’t find this to be a bad palette by any means, I’m glad I only spent a little over half of what it retails for because I definitely don’t think it’s worth the regular price tag.  For a dollar less, you could pick up the Viseart Petit Pro palette!  That’s not to say I don’t enjoy this palette because I do – I think it’s a great little neutral palette that I will likely continue to travel with and use occasionally.  If you can get it for the discounted price like I did, I’d recommend it.

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Tell me what other Mac eyeshadows I should try below!