Hello beauties!
MAC Lunar New Year 2020 Collection has such a colorful packaging that will make sales just because of it. I ordered only the limited dragon edition of MAC Double Gleam Extra Dimension Skinfinish but MAC UK messed up my order and I got MAC Now & Zen 9 x Eyeshadow Palette Lunar New Year 2020 edition instead. 🙂
Don’t forget to access my PATREON PAGE if you want to support me as an independent blogger and Chicprofile, but also to get the latest scoops on Upcoming Spring Summer 2020 makeup collections before anyone else. I post exclusive content only for my Patrons! 🙂
U.S. / UK Launch Date – Now at Nordstrom, MAC , Neiman Marcus, Sephora, Cult Beauty, Net-a-Porter, Harvey Nichols, Escentual, MAC UK, SelfridgesHarrods
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MAC Now & Zen 9 x Eyeshadow Palette Lunar New Year 2020 Review
I addressed the mixed up order on my IGTV video but MAC UK customer service handled everything so smoothly and I got sent my order while I was allowed to keep this palette as well.
MAC Now & Zen 9 x Eyeshadow Palette ($33.00 / £28.00 for 5.85 g / 0.20 oz) is 9 pan pastel eyeshadow palette with lustre, veluxe pearl and matte. The palette is considered limited edition because of the packaging and the combination of shades put together.
Basically there are no new shades in this palette, because they are all existing permanent shades and repromotes and this is disappointing but also a common thing among MAC launches.
That’s why I didn’t want to buy this palette because I owned some of the shades in the past as singles and still have them in other palettes. Overall there is a nice palette of pastels and light colors for spring, but quite easy dupable.
Not all the eyeshadows perform well but I was impressed by those who didn’t swatch so well on my hand but they applied and blended easily on the lid.
The dark olive green compact has a magnetic closure and this colorful pattern on top which definitely attracts attention. To me personally the overall packaging looks cheap, is the same old MAC Cosmetics 9 pan eyeshadow compact which desperately needs an upgrade.
MAC Now & Zen 9 x Eyeshadow Palette Lunar New Year 2020 Shade by Shade Review
Phloof! is a light but bright pink-white with very subtle warm undertones and a frosted sheen. It had a good pigmentation with a brighter and more metallic light kinda of finish. The texture felt dense and firm but adhered well and blended easily across the lid. I had around eight hours wear with it before starting to crease slightly.
Honey Lust is a soft, light bronze peach with more sparkling finish than luster. It is a permanent shade last featured in MAC El Seed Cicero Eyeshadow Palette but in Now & Zen palette the formula seems very thin and prone to fall out during the application.
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Even thought the texture is very soft and creamy, it kicks off a lot of powder in the pan and doesn’t evenly across the lid. The best way to pick up the product and apply it is by using a damp flat brush and just gently pat it onto the lid. It also tended to sheer out when blended and looked patchy and a bit uneven.
I tried applying it using my fingers but still got a semi-sheer pigmentation which can’t be built up to a more intense color actually. Keep in mind the Lustre formula doesn’t deliver intense pigmentation and full opacity thought. I got around six and a half hours wear before it started to fade.
Tilt is a light blue-green with cool undertones and a pearl frost finish. It’s a permanent shade and was fairly pigmented up to a medium coverage in a single pass. It had a smooth and soft texture which didn’t felt firmly press in the pan and applied and adhered well on the lid.
I had no fall out during the appplication and blended out easily but is more like a soft shade rather than a super pigmented one. I had around seven hours wear before it started to fade noticeably.
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Soft Brown is a soft, light peachy-brown with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had a good color payoff being easily blendable to full opacity in two layers. It applied well and evenly even on bare skin and was easily buildable and blendable. I like it as a transition shade and has a soft but velvety formula. I had no fall out during the application and wore well for eight a half hours before starting to fade.
Expensive Pink is a soft, copper-peach with gold duochrome and veluxe pearl finish. This shade is permanent but also my favorite from the pan as it had a great color payoff. I found this one slightly duppable after VR Venus Rose from Pat McGrath Divine Rose Eyeshadow Palette (review).
The consistency was slightly buttery and quite soft but applied and blended well on the lid without any fall out. I got more pigmentation out of it and more of that duochrome finish by using a damp flat brush and patting it on the lid. It took me around to eight and a half hours wear without any fall out or creasing throughout the wear. This shade was also featured in MAC Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette.
Omega is a light-medium, beige taupe with warm undertones and a matte finish. It swatched quite sheer and uneven on my hand but applied better on the lid as I could build up the color and blended quite easily. The texture was feeling just a bit dry but it still adhered well on skin and caused no fall out during the application.
It’s a great transition shade, very well put together in this palette as the second matte finish one and works well for an everyday nude makeup look as well. I got around eight hours wear before it started to crease a little.
Girlie is a medium-dark, very soft rosy pink with a pearl satin finish. This permanent shade swatched incredibly sheer on my hand as it looked very close to skin color. It took me 3 layers of eyeshadow to make it show up on my arm. It’s definitely not one of those pigmented shades and the most that you can ask for is a soft wash of color.
Not all the shades are meant to be intense and to have an opaque coverage but with this one was really hard to get some color on my lid. I guess for a fair and light skin tones or anyone who wants just a natural rosy wash of color will be fine and works well paired with the other 2 mattes in the palette.
The texture felt like it was between soft and dry, quite well pressed in the pan and kicking off some excess powder during the application. It did blended out easily but tends to sheer out. I got around seven hours wear before it started to fade noticeably on me.
Cranberry is a medium-dark red-plum with warm undertones, subtle pink shimmer and a frost finish. The pigmentation was opaque in a single pass while the texture felt creamy and smooth. It felt quite dense but smooth at the same time and applied evenly and easily across the lid. I had no fall out during the application and worked better when applied with damp brush.
I got around eight hours wear with this formula without any fall but with slightly signs of fading after seven hours.
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Black Teid is a medium black with matte base and silver sparkle. It swatched and applied very sheer and uneven, looking patchy while the silver sparkle was flying everywhere so be careful with the fall out.
To me this is the worst performing shade in the palette, MAC should either discontinue it or improve it. I tried applying it even with damp brush but still, the application was not even and it tended to sheer out when blended.
The formula was dense, quite firmly pressed in the pan but between soft and dry. I got around 5 hours wear before it started to fade on me and gave me fall out throughout the wear.
MAC Now & Zen 9 x Eyeshadow Palette Lunar New Year 2020 Swatches
These swatches were taken on bare skin without any eyeshadow primer or base applied prior. If you care to see I have LIVE SWATCHES on my Instagram video.
From left to right: Phloof! (1 layer), Honey Lust (2 layers), Tilt (2 layers).
From left to right: Soft Brown (2 layers), Expensive Pink (1 layer), Omega (1 layer)
From L to R: Girlie (3 layers). Cranberry (1 layer), Black Tied (2 layers)
MAC Now & Zen 9 x Eyeshadow Palette Lunar New Year 2020 Makeup Look
Here’s the first makeup look I did with MAC Now & Zen 9 xEyeshadow Palette where I used all the shades. The palette has a nice mixture of different textures and 2 matte shades which work really well as transition colors but also for an everyday casual makeup look if you want.
I was also trying out the new Rouge Bunny Rouge Milk Aquarelle Liquid Foundation and their Glorious Daylight Loose Powder. I have an unboxing video of these products on my IGTV videos. I’ve worn the products for the entire week so stay tuned for upcoming reviews.
Here’s a close up photo of this look where you can see the black shade doesn’t look too intense and I really tried to build it up but tended to sheer out when blended.
On my cheeks I’m wearing MAC Double Gleam Extra Dimension Skinfinish Lunar New Year 2020 edition (upcoming review). Yes, that gorgeous limited edition dragon embossed highlighter which is by the way a permanent shade. 🙂
On my lips I’m wearing Rouge Bunny Rouge Sweet Excesses Glassy Gloss in No.103 Coral Macaron (upcoming review). I’ve already posted live swatches on my Instagram with 5 shades of this super pigmented lip gloss.
