MAC - Colour 3 Quad

I love how all of these colours look in the pan and bought the palette thinking it would be excellent to accent the green in my hazel eyes. I ended up being quite disappointed with it. Mink Pink barely shows up at all and is only really useful as a blending colour. Bruised Plum I like, it is a nice shade to wear on days when I don't want to look like I'm wearing much makeup and brightens up my eyes, so this one I like. Black Tulip is very bright and though I've tried using it a few times, I usually pass it over for slightly less vibrant shades. I do like the colour, however, and think it would be a lot of fun for more dramatic looks. Jungle Moon is a bit too dry for my liking and I've had little success using it apart from lining the lashline. Overall out of this palette only Bruised Plum sees much use.

Eyeshadow colours included (top left to bottom right):

Mink Pink - Pale muted mauve (VX)
Bruised Plum - Mauved pink (VP)

Black Tulip - Bright irridescent purple (F)

Jungle Moon - Dark plum purple (M) 

As mentioned in my review of the Colour 4 Quad, I am not a huge fan of the new packaging from the standpoint of de-potting shadows. Though they look a lot nicer and are more sturdy than the old quads, they are also impossible to de-pot without melting the plastic casing and as such leave the palette completely destroyed. I liked popping the shadows out of the old quads but still storing them in their original configuration and only popping them out to carry with me for touch-ups. With the new packaging this isn't possible, which is quite disappointing. Please, please, MAC, start making easy lift-out shadow packaging!!!

Ratings:
Packaging: 4/5
Product quality: 3.5/5
Worth the price? If you think you'll use the colours more than I do, then yes. The quads are always a good deal as compared to buying individual shadows depending on how you like the colours included.
Would I purchase again? No.

Cruelty-Free? Yes - appears on PETA's Cruelty-Free list.

Where to find it: Limited Edition, so unfortunately you can't!

MAC - Colour 4 Quad

I love this quad. I got it at the beginning of the summer, mainly because the colours are so evocative of warmth, sand and sun-kissed skin. The colours are all bright, gold and/or orange-toned and look great on skin that has caught a bit of those gorgeous rays. Funny that I'm reviewing this quad on the coldest day of the year so far with snow on the ground! Perhaps it's wishful thinking!

Colours included (top left to bottom right):

Manila Paper - Pale yellowed highlighter (VP)

Flip - Gold orange (F)

Aztec Brick - Orange pink (VP)

Creole Beauty - Orange bronze (F)

 This quad was limited edition, so it's no longer available, but if it were I'd recommend it for summer makeup looks or for anyone who misses those warm nights on the beach! I love each and every shadow in this quad and found that they can create some stunning looks when used together or with other shadows. This and the Colour 3 quad were the first two I purchased with the new MAC quad packaging and as much as I like how they look in the quad - they're much sleeker and look great - it's near impossible to de-pot the shadows in these quads, which is a bit frustrating. If you don't de-pot your shadows, however, I'd say that the new packaging is a step up.

Ratings:
Packaging: 4/5 (for difficulty de-potting)
Product quality: 5/5
Worth the price? Definitely. Quads are a great way to try out new shadows cheaper than buying them individually.
Would I purchase again? If it weren't limited edition I'd definitely re-purchase once I've used this one up.

Cruelty-Free? Yes - appears on PETA's Cruelty-Free list.

Where to find it: Limited Edition, so unfortunately you can't.

MAC - Digi-Pops Green Quad

Eyeshadow colours include (top left to bottom right):

Shroom - Light goldy beige highlight colour (S) 

Sunny Spot - Bright greenish yellow (M)

Steamy - Turquoise (F)

Club - Brown with dark green shimmer (S)

This quad is fantastic. Shroom is one of the most popular MAC eyeshadows and is often used to highlight the browbone. Sunny Spot, though not a shade I'll use often, is great for a hint of colour, especially for spring or summertime looks. Steamy is a gorgeous shimmery turquoise colour while Club is one of my all-time favourite shades that can be worn for a more interesting daytime look or dressed up for drama. The colours complement one another nicely and the quad is very visually appealing.


Ratings:
Packaging: 4/5
Product quality: 5/5
Worth the price? Definitely.
Would I purchase again? Yep.

MAC - Shadowy Lady Quad

Colours included (top left to bottom right):

Lightfall - Neutral pink fleshtone (S)

Smudged Violet - Pale mauved purple (F)

Deep Truth - Vibrant mid-tone blue (F)

Shadowy Lady - Dark purple (M)

The colours in this quad are a nice mixture of neutral and dramatic. Shadowy Lady the quad's signature shade, is a deep, matte purple that is excellent for lashline and crease shading. It's a great shade to use instead of black, dark grey or dark brown in a smoky eye on those with hazel or green eyes as it will subtly enhance green tones. Lightfall is also included in the In the Gallery quad and is a great blending colour for light skintones. Smudged Violet (I love that name!) looks quite light and a bit taupey in the pan, but actually goes on with more purple shimmer than I would have expected to look at it. Deep Truth is an amazing bright blue that I think is absolutely beautiful, particularly to lend a dramatic accent to darker skintones. Overall it's a great quad and well worth picking up!

Ratings:
Packaging: 4/5
Product Quality: 5/5
Worth the price? MAC quads are always a great deal, and an excellent chance to try shades you might not buy individually, so definitely.
Would I purchase again? I think so, though it isn't available in stores anymore!

MAC - Take Wing Eyes: 4

Colours included (top left to bottom right):

• Restless - Browned grey (S)
• Take Wing - Deep reddish brown (M)
• Tickles - Light mauve purple (L)
• Bravado - Deep red/pink (VP)

I love this palette. Restless is the most beautiful warm grey with a hint of brown, and because it's satin, it's a dream to blend. Take Wing is a colour I've never seen before or since - it's a rich chocolate brown with red undertones that I love to use instead of liner on my upper lashline. I find it goes on dark but because of the red undertones it is a lovely warm brown that is great for softer daytime looks. Bravado reminds me of Cranberry - it's a beautify plum burgundy colour with a frost finish that compliments hazel and brown eyes nicely. 

The only downfall is Tickles, which is a lustre finish. I've never been a fan of the fallout associated with lustre because I have sensitive eyes and find that if glitter gets into them it is very irritating. Even for a lustre this shadow is particularly dry and chunky and is very difficult to apply even with a primer and Fix+ on the brush. Fortunately the other three colours are so beautiful that they more than make up for this one shortcoming in my opinion!

Swatched over a horizontal line of Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer

Ratings:
Packaging: 4/5
Product Quality: 4/5 (due to the Tickles fiasco)
Worth the price? Yep, even with Tickles.
Would I purchase again? I'd re-purchase for Take Wing alone, but Bravado and Restless are also new favourites!

MAC - In the Gallery Palette

Colours included (top left to bottom right):

• Lightfall - Neutral fleshtone pink (S)
• Look at the Eyes - Light mauve/purple (F)
• In the Gallery - Dusty plum (M)
• Private Viewing - Plum brown (M)

I have hazel eyes, so purples are always a favourite. I like the variation of warm and cool tones in this palette, and also the fact that the colours are subtle enough to wear in daytime looks.

Lightfall is a great blending colour, it's only a shade or two darker than skintone and has warm pink undertones, however other than that it doesn't show up very well. Look at the Eyes and In the Gallery are both nice and subtle but take some work to stand out. Private viewing is a lovely plum/red dark purple that works nicely to bring out the green in hazel eyes as a crease/lashline colour. Overall I think this is a great quad for those of us who don't to in for overly dramatic looks but enjoy a pop of colour.


Ratings:
Packaging: 4/5
Product Quality: 4.5/5
Worth the price? Yep, as long as you enjoy subtlety.
Would I purchase again? Probably not.

MAC Photo Realism Quad

Colours included in the quad (top left to bottom right):

• Photo Realism - Irridescent gold (F)
• Fresh Approach - Light muted green (VP)
• Image Maker - Greyed moss green (F)
  Grey Range - Dark forest green (VP)

The colours in this quad are beautiful. The gold is a lovely muted/nude irridescent shade that works well for highlighting the brow bone and inner corner of the eye. Grey Range works well as a crease/lashline shade colour. I like Fresh Approach for a brighter look or for the inner corner of the lid, whereas Image Maker is more subtle for daytime looks or for the lid colour.

My colouring means that I have to be careful with greens and blues as it's easy to end up looking like a toddler applied my makeup, but these colours are subtle enough that I can carry them off.

Ratings:
Packaging: 4/5 (I'm not a fan of MAC eyeshadow packaging for those of us who like to de-pot our shadows - I really wish they'd follow Makeup Forever's example and make lift-out pans!)
Product Quality: 5/5
Worth the price? Always.
Would I purchase again? Probably, though because I don't tend to wear greens and blues that often, I doubt I'll need to.