MAC Burgundy Times Nine palette, photos, swatches, review!

MAC's Burgundy Times Nine palette really should've been called The Palette That Was Made For Karen's Eyeballs. Lookit.

As part of a four strong collection of palettes, the others being Navy Times Nine, Purple Times Nine, and the one I'm eyeing next; Amber Times Nine. These are part of the permanent collection which is great news, so panic not!

Inside you get nine mini eyeshadows with varying textures from mattes, to satins to frosts. This pleases me because I've been embracing the matte crease with shimmer on the lids, so have been getting great use out of all shades so far. I sound like the ultimate cliche, but the shades really will take you from day to night and I've been able to play around with them all creating office appropriate neutral eyes and then really vamping it up come evening time. Or filming time. You know me, I go all drag queen when it comes to filming!

Now, these are mini palettes, with nine existing shades, so if you're contemplating trying some new MAC shadows, then something like this would be great. I know some people were disappointed to see these weren't full size shadows, but come on, you'd be paying well over the €40 mark for nine full sized MAC shadows. Let us get to the swatches and looks shall we?

MAC Burgundy Times Nine - L-R: Honeylust, Poppyseed, Qarry

Of all nine shades, Honeylust had the most fall out and had a tendency to go everywhere in the pan, so I'd advise not to swirl the brush and stick to patting it. On the eyes though, it's gorgeous and makes for a beautiful wash of colour on the lids. I'm obsessed with both Poppyseed and Quarry and have an absolute love for matte neutrals like these both in the crease as transition colours and also all over the lids for a softer, more sophisticated look. That's so me. Soft and sophisticated. Ahem...

MAC Burgundy Times Nine - L-R: Antiqued, Embark, Noir
I can't actually cope with the joy that Antiqued brings into my life. Anything copper or orange makes my eyes pop and it packs a serious punch in the pigmentation department too. I'd say this will be the first shade to be used up and under the lower lash line with a neutral eye is eyeball perfection. Embark is one of those staple shades and I've been using it to define the crease and Noir is by far the weakest of all nine shades. In the pan it looks like a gorgeous mix of blackened gold but when swatched, it's disappointing as the gold shimmer barely shows up. I use it to add some depth and definition to a look, but it's just alright.

MAC Burgundy Times Nine - L-R: Haux, Starviolet, Sketch
Finally, the bottom line is a green eyed girl's dream. I absolutely love wearing all three shades together and like to take Haux into the crease first to add definition to the socket and blended out, it makes everything look seamless. Starviolet is a wonderful metallic pink shade with gold undertones and on the lids, makes my eyes even greener if that's possible! Sketch is one of those shades I've been meaning to pick up for ages and is the perfect accompaniment to Starviolet.

So now onto the looks! These are just three I've created with the palette and I think I want to film a video showing it in action because I seriously can't get enough of it!

In the top row I have Antiqued on the lid and under the lower lash line, a mix of Poppyseed and Quarry in the crease and Noir on the outer corner and taken slightly into the crease. I always think smokey looks like this look better with liner, so I've lined the waterline with a black pencil. This combination of shades will be perfection for autumn!

In the bottom row we have Haux in the crease, Starviolet on the lid and Embark on the outer corner. I took both of those shades under the lower lash line too to bring it all together and love how pretty the whole thing looks.

The final look is one I've been wearing to work all the time. I've taken a mix of Haux, Quarry and Poppyseed into the crease and blended it well before applying Honeylust onto the inner half of the eyelid. I took Starviolet onto the outer half of the eyelid and used the smallest amount of Embark into the outer corner. The finished product makes me look alive and that is always a good thing.

As with all eyeshadows I wear, I have to apply a base and can confirm that with said base, these shadows do not crease at all throughout the work day. It's also worth noting that none of the shades were applied wet in the photos, nor did I use a coloured base to intensify the pigmentation.

Hands up, this is one of my favourite palettes of the year so far. And I like being able to pop it in my makeup bag for touch ups on the go or if I need an extra bit of slap if I'm heading out after work.

It's available from Brown Thomas now and I can't say enough about it. Yes, I am getting the Amber Times Nine palette this week and hope it lives up to this one! But if not, at least I have Burgundy Times Nine. It is true and actual lurve.