MAC x Rick Baker Spider Queen and Cyber Swatches, Review

Products in this post were purchased by me

Don't forget to enter the Pretty Wicked Halloween Giveaway I'm holding with a few other bloggers and 1 indie shop!

If you're scratching your head trying to recall who Rick Baker is, think of any amazing scifi or horror movie you've seen with fantastic makeup/characters and he's probably had a hand in it! Remember Harry & the Hendersons? Rick Baker! The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Lily Tomlin!)? Rick Baker! That's right! Everything from Thriller (the Michael Jackson mini-movie style music video) to Gremlins 2; all 3 Men in Black movies to upcoming Maleficent--literally some of my favorite movies--are all movies he's had a hand in! He is the ultimate special fx makeup artist.

As soon as I heard about this pro collection (which is available to everyone, not just pros) I impatiently began waiting for it to launch. I knew I had to have at least a couple things! Ultimately, I chose the Spider Queen palette because it contained 3 limited edition shades. Monster Bride is a fantastic looking palette as well, but I own a bunch of those colors already and they're all permanent pro shades. I actually already own the 3 permanent shades in Spider Queen as well, but they're good shades and the LE's had to be mine! Cyber lipstick is a permanent color, but not one I own (ironically) so I grabbed that as well.

Knowing that this collection was done in collaboration with such a truly phenomenal makeup artist, my expectations were high. In the last few years, other palettes have fallen flat for me, but I'm beyond happy to say I am so in love with Spider Queen it's ridiculous!

MAC x Rick Baker Spider Queen Palette Swatches & Review

L to R - Lime (matte), Deep Purple (frost), Dusty Purple (satin), Moss (frost), Indian Ink (matte), Carbon (matte)

Shades

As mentioned in the caption, Spider Queen contains:

• Lime (matte) - vibrant avocado-ish lime green
• Deep Purple (frost) - vibrant medium-light purple with blue-lavender sheen
• Dusty Purple (satin) - medium muted purple
• Moss (frost) - golden-olive frost
• Indian Ink (matte) - deep blackened eggplant
• Carbon (matte) - matte black

Permanent vs LE

The following shades are limited edition shades:

• Dusty Purple (satin)
• Moss (frost)
• Deep Purple (frost)

The following shades are permanent pro shades:

• Indian Ink (matte)
• Lime (matte)
• Carbon (matte)

Texture/Application

Lime - a favorite of mine even before this palette. It has the best pigmentation and texture in my opinion. Truly an amazing matte. 

Deep Purple - this isn't a hard shadow, but it's not quite as soft as Moss (which is insanely perfect). It does provide a nice wash of medium-light purple with a stunning flash of slightly blue-tinged lavender.

Dusty Purple - this is a great matte and one I found easy to build in depth. It is not super hard or super powdery. It is easy to achieve a light wash or fully opaque coverage with this shade.

Moss - this is a stunner! Seriously, MAC needs to make this permanent. I have a ton of MAC greens (old and new) and I'm not sure I have anything identical to this. I can't even get over this color--new favorite!

Indian Ink - this is another color that I loved prior to this palette. It is great to work with--not super hard and blends well. It is nicely pigmented and a must if you don't already own it.

Carbon - carbon is that obligatory black that just about every artist and makeup junkie out there owns or has tried. I know some people prefer other blacks because carbon has to be built up to be stark black, but I love it for smoking out a look and find it's ability to be built up or down in opacity an asset. 

Price

This retails for $44. The cost per gram of pro shadows ($10 for 1.3g pan) works out to about $7.69/gram. 

Given that there are 6 shades (1g each) in this palette, the palette's value is $46.13 ($2 more than the retail cost). This palette is actually a better value (based on the price per gram rate) than if you purchased separate pans! That's not something you always see in shadow palettes, so that's just one more plus!

Where to Buy

This can be purchased directly on MAC's site HERE. 

My Thoughts

If you haven't already guessed, I am completely head-over-heels for this palette! I'm honestly contemplating getting a second because I really like the 3 limited edition shades. I am hoping MAC adds Moss to its permanent lineup because it is beautiful. It is nothing like MAC Shimmermoss or Sumptuous Olive. When I have a chance I'll have to eventually go through all my MAC greens to see if there's anything similar. All in all this palette was a total palette cleanser in terms of MAC limited edition palettes! I didn't find any of these to be hard, super powdery, poorly pigmented, or just "blah" in nature. So excited! Get your bum to MAC and snatch this up if you like what you see. From what I understand this collection may be available until Oct 31st.

Cyber Lipstick Swatch & Review

3 thin coats of MAC Cyber

Shade

Cyber is a blackened-purple with a semi-glossy finish. It is a touch darker in person than it is in my swatch above.

Application/Opacity

Cyber has an absolutely lovely texture. It's very creamy, though a bit on the thinner side. Cyber must be built up to be fairly opaque. Wearing a complementary liner underneath it will provide a more even, long-lasting finish. This shade is semi-sheer and while it is a pigmented lipstick, it is not extremely opaque. I found applying multiple layers worked well in buildings its color. I also found that because it is a thinner formula, applying it from the tube, then smoothing it out with a lip brush worked best as it was a bit less pigmented when applied with a lip brush.

Wear

This is comfortable to wear and is not drying. As I mentioned above, I recommend wearing this with a complementary liner underneath to extend and even wear over time.

Price

This retail for $15.

Where to Buy

This can be purchased directly through MAC's site HERE and as it is permanent, I would assume many MAC stores and counters may carry it as well.

My Thoughts

I think this is a great color if you want something dark and bold. I also think it could be a great color to have in your collection to mix with other shades to deepen them. This isn't a color for the faint of heart, but not one you should pass over simply because it's so dark either. You don't have to wear it straight from the tube and doing something as simple as putting a different liner underneath it could drastically change its look. I'm happy to own it!

What do you think? Will you be purchasing anything from the MAC Rick Baker Collection?