MAC Eyes on MAC (2017): Semi-Sweet Times Nine Eyeshadow x 9 Palette

Two weeks ago, MAC released their anniversary collection for Eyes on MAC, which is their annual eyeshadow palette extension launch. This year's Eyes on MAC collection features a total of ten eye products: two 15-pan eyeshadow palettes, six nine-pan eyeshadow palettes, and two eye brushes. Of the ten products, there are two new and permanent nine-pan eyeshadow palettes. The Semi-Sweet Times Nine Palette is described as "a well-edited palette of smoky brown hues offering countless colour combinations, all in a rich matte texture. The saturated soft and smooth shades are packaged in one pocket-sized compact for easy portability." It is housed in a regular black rectangular clear-lidded compact with the MAC logo on the lid. Each Eyeshadow x 9 Palette contains a total of 7.2 grams of product, and retails for $42.
Drawing a Blanc, Bamboo, and Outre

Drawing a Blanc is a light warm beige in a Matte2 finish. This is a re-promoted shade from last year's C'est Chic Eyeshadow x 15 Palette (Nordstrom exclusive), and is now permanent in this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is slightly darker than Blanc Type, more matte than Vanilla, and more beige than Orb.

Bamboo is a light-medium warm muted peach brown in a Matte finish. This was a permanent shade that was discontinued, but will be permanent in this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more peach than Soft Brown, more brown and more matte than Arena, and darker and more matte than Grain.

Outre is a medium-dark muted mustard brown in a Matte finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2011's MAC Me Over collection, and is now permanent in this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. There is nothing similar to this in MAC's permanent range; it is darker and more yellow than Cork, and more yellow and more matte than Soba.

Pink Sienna, Mocha Minded, and Everyone's Darling

Pink Sienna is a medium cool mauve-brown in a Matte finish. This is a new and permanent shade in this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is cooler than Haux, darker and more brown than Malt, and more pink than Quarry.

Mocha Minded is a medium-deep warm chocolate brown in a Matte finish. This is a new and permanent shade in this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more warmer than Espresso, more yellow than Brown Down, and darker than Cork.

Everyone's Darling is a medium-deep warm burgundy plum in a Matte finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2015's MACnificent Me! collection, and is now permanent in this palette. It has a slightly drier texture, but goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more plum than I'm Into It, lighter and more red than Sketch, and lighter and more muted than Deep Damson.

Persuade, Dance in the Dark, and Carbon

Persuade is a medium-deep cool grey-taupe in a Matte finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2014's Brooke Shields collection, and is now permanent in this palette. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and cooler than Brun, more brown than Print, and lighter than Concrete.

Dance in the Dark is a deep-dark cool-toned brown in a Matte finish. This is a permanent and re-promoted shade in the Warm Neutral Eyeshadow x 15 Palette, and is now permanent in this palette. It has a slightly drier texture, but goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker than Persuade, slightly cooler than Brun, and warmer than Concrete.

Carbon is a deep-dark cool charcoal grey in a Matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a slightly drier texture, but goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and more matte than Dark Dare, darker and less sparkly than Black Tied, and darker than Typographic.

This is the only real neutral Eyeshadow x 9 palette that was released with Eyes on MAC, and is the only entirely matte palette from the launch, also making it the only all-matte palette in MAC's permanent line-up. It's a beautiful workhorse palette that will suit all skintones, and it seems that MAC has revamped their mattes so that they're softer, more pigmented, and blend out more easily. Even Carbon and Dance in the Dark, which are both notoriously dry, are smoother and more finely-milled than previous versions. And Outre from 2011's MAC Me Over collection, which was hoarded and beloved by many, is finally permanent in this palette. That having been said, most of the colours in Semi-Sweet have similar dupes within MAC's permanent range and it's really likely that people will already have shades like these, whether from MAC or other brands (for example, the colour scheme is actually pretty similar to Anastasia Beverly Hills' Modern Renaissance), so despite being a really flattering, really workable palette, I would check your own stash to see if it's worth adding this palette to your collection. As it is, though, Semi-Sweet has a great mix of light to dark and warm to cool shades, so it's a fantastic, well-curated palette to use on its own and to use in conjunction with other palettes (I love using it with the Red-Hot Times Nine palette).