If the new MAC Red Hot Eye Shadow X 9 Palette came with a bunch of Hot candy, girl, those candies would be ALL YOU. Ugh! I can’t handle it (leftover trauma from my braces days!).
Anyway, I am NOT a fan of Red Hots, but I am a fan of this smokin’ hot ? palette.
Sorry…you know me. I’m a frequent visitor to The Land of Bad Puns.
Red Hot Times Nine is one of six new X 9 Eye Shadow Palettes in the MAC Eyes on MAC collection coming to counters and websites March 1st through April 13th.
I tested the matte neutral Semi-Sweet palette yesterday, and oh, my goodness! — I can’t believe I’m saying this, because I didn’t used to be a fan of the 9s, but based on Semi Sweet and Red Hot? OMG, SO GOOD. Something’s changed. Word on the street is that MAC reformulated the X9 eyeshadows, and ya know, I believe it. These are SO much softer, easier to blend and more fun to play with than the O.G. X9s were before.
Don’t be intimidated
You may be thinking, “I’m not a red/orange/pink eyeshadow person, Karen. I don’t go there.” Trust me, I get it. Brights are scary, especially reds, but I think you’ll love this palette. I do, and I wear A LOT of neutrals and brown eyeshadow.
I did this look here mainly to test, and I didn’t expect to like it enough to take pics. Even though I could’ve blended it better, I still like how it came together. It’s vibrant, fun and still wearable.
The look isn’t too crazy, but it’s juuust crazy enough.
Logical transitions
What I LOVE about this palette is how the pink, reddish pink, reddish orange and orange all share the same DNA. They transition beautifully into one another because they aren’t dramatically different.
I think that things can go wrong sometimes when you’re using bold eyeshadow palettes — and I’ve totally done this — that don’t have the necessary “in-between” shades.
GIRL, I’ve done some terrible hot pink and purple eye looks where it just looks like BAM! — a whole mess of pink, and really nothing else around to ease the transitions. That’s what I was expecting from Red Hot, but surprise! It has the right “in-betweens,” so it’s easy to create gradients where each color flows into the next, and that’s the next-level sh*t that elevates this from a good palette to a great palette.
You’ll also appreciate the neutrals
There’s a taupe, beige and three plum shades, all of which are essential, because you’ll probably need to incorporate at least one or two of them into your looks; otherwise, you’ve just got hot pink or red floating all up in space on your face. You can use the taupe, beige and plums to define the boundaries of your eyes, anchor the bold colors, and make things look legit.
The verdict
If you can handle any sort of eye look where you blend three or more colors, I think you’ll love these smooth, easy-to-blend shadows. And did I mention that they don’t have a lot of fallout?
Girl, you can work Red Hot. It’s totally NOT scary, and it’s so, so fun!
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I like it more than the brown Semi-Sweet Palette.
Bring on the reds and oranges! Let’s do this!
Let the record show…
…that Connor’s first word was “mama,” and her second word was “meow,” a word she learned from her older brother Tabs. 🙂
I took her for a walk today, and when we saw the two kitties who live down the street, she straight up started meowing! No, seriously, the kid says “meow!” like she’s a cat. She thinks she’s part cat!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
The reds are just too much for me, I’m very fair, so I think it would be a little too much. But they are intriguing.
Be careful with Connor Claire’s cat love! Lol!!! My 14 year old is a crazy cat lady in training, we’ve got three cats and she tries to talk me into every cat that shows up. There may be a 4th in our future. Dang it.
I like red eyeshadows, so I’m not too wary of these.
BTW, I thought when a cat lady gives birth, her child is part cat? Is this proof? 😛
I love reds, I was all over them last fall. Pi ks not so much, but the colors look fun.
My sons first word was “Arm”, short for Pick me up. He really stands there and holds out his arms when saying that. The second one was No. Strong character, I guess.
He doesn’t say mama though, all I get is an mmmmm, which means mama, grandma and food.
GUUURL, you’re on fire!!! I love the look!
Can you believe I’ve never tried any MAC shadows? I feel like I’m risking being expelled from the beauty blogging club by telling you that, LOL!
MAC wasn’t big here in Italy while I was growing up and when I was introduced to it their lipsticks got all my attention.
Happy Hump Day! 🙂
That is so adorable! Usually Dada is the first word because it’s easier so major props for getting Mama first. The Meow just shows she’s a born cat lady – she comes by it naturally. HAHA!
I love that eye look. Pinks and reds are my favorites – I love how they pop. Of course, you know that I mean on other people. But if I ever wear shadow, it’s almost always pink. Very subtle pink. 🙂
Girl, that shadow combo looks amazing on you! Love it! ?
Okay, too funny that Connor is meowing. That reminds me of a story from Michael’s preschool years. Perhaps I shouldn’t share this but I will anyway.
Michael was always amazed at my ability to move around the house in the dark. So, I explained to him that it was because I was part cat. He believed me for like 3 years. It was so much fun. One day when he was maybe six or seven he turned to me and was like, ‘By the way, I know you’re not part cat. That isn’t possible.’
They can be so gullible when they’re little and so much fun!
Woah!! On FIRE!! What a beautiful look! I’m all about those warm tones-I’ll definitely be checking this out!!!
I really like these colors on you! I see you have passed on your cat lady genes!
Awwwww, Connor Claire is getting so grown up! Love her meowing.
Your eyes look like a sunset!
Cat lady in training! 🙂 Sometimes I wonder what she and Tabs are saying to each other.
This palette is so pretty! I love the bright pinks.
Both my boys’ first word was “mama.” Daddy always points out he was the first person to make both laugh, though.
This makeup look is so pretty and all of the products look great! I recently saw a review about eyeshadow palettes on The Beauty Insiders web page and so I shall have to up my eyeshadow game now 🙂