I can say with the utmost sincerity that I have never been this excited to wear MAC Soft Brown.
And I love Soft Brown! It’s one of my all-time greatest hits, most loved staples, and I’ve been wearing it for years. I’m always happy to see Soft Brown staring back at me as I get ready in the morning.
Now, though? Next to so many other dope-@ss neutral eyeshadows in the $85 MAC Brooke Shields Gravitas palette? The impossible has happened: I like Soft Brown even more.
“But,” you might be thinking, “slow your roll, sweet thang.” We’re talking about an $85 palette. An $85 neutral palette. Another neutral palette.
I know, you’re right. More neutrals, and $85 is a lot, but it’s half what MAC usually charges for their 15-pan palettes (those are $160).
Here’s the thing, though: if Gravitas were a gymnast, it would have perfect poise and balance. It would easily win a gold medal.
And to attempt an even stranger metaphor, if there were such a thing as an eyeshadow palette soulmate, Brook Shields would be mine, because I love almost everything about Gravitas. I feel like, eyeshadow-wise, it has everything I need.
Well…almost everything, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
Definitely, Gravitas contains great everyday basic shades, like Soft Brown, Shroom, Carbon and Satin Taupe, but that’s far from everything it has to offer. It also has an interesting combination of warm- and cool-toned khaki, plum, gold and pink shades, which together with the basics, open up a world of elegant eye look possibilities that don’t necessarily involve me looking like I’m wearing a sh*t-ton of makeup at lunch on a Tuesday.
And the addition of the darker gray, black and purple eyeshadows gives Gravitas even more flexibility. When I want to dress up like a sparkly disco roller diva and ride my glittery unicorn Giselle, I can apply one these colors in the crease, the outer corner and on my lower lash line. Then just add a pair of falsies and go. 🙂
My biggest quibble — and this is me being persnickety — is with the lack of lighter, matte brow bone colors.
But that’s hella persnickety. I mean, a pan of Brule would’ve taken Gravitas to Mount Olympus-caliber for me, but no big deal.
Other than that, I think Gravitas is frickin’ perfect. The textures, wear time and formula all seem on par with MAC’s permanent shades, and with a primer, they last all day long on my combination dry and oily lids.
Now for the big bad: availability. At this point, finding Gravitas online is a little like finding a leprechaun or pirate treasure. In other words, it’s hard.
It still shows “SOLD OUT” on the MAC website and, according to a MAC rep I chatted with online a couple days ago, will probably remain that way online. If you want it, you’ll probably have better luck calling and/or visiting a MAC store or counter as soon as possible. This one’s in big demand, deservedly.
PRICE: $85
AVAILABILITY: Limited edition, and “allegedly” available now at MAC stores and counters with the rest of the MAC Brooke Shields collection
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+
Of course I chose the hot pink one…
Yay! My new CW-X running bra arrived. Gotta love that overnight shipping from Zappos.
Thanks for all the great sports bra recommendations for runners. 🙂 If this one doesn’t work out, and I hope it does ’cause — crap! — I just threw down $60 for an over-the-shoulder-bolder-holder, at least I know I have other options.
Hopefully the CW-X gets me on the path to that no-chafe life. I’ll know by Saturday, because I postponed my tomorrow run to give myself one more day to heal.
Honestly, I don’t know how marathoners and triathletes deal with all the aches and pains. A half marathon is enough drama for me.
I gotta say, my favorite part of the training is the carbo-loading, haha.
PASTA FOR EVERYONE! 😀
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Glad you got your hands on this. I absolutely love this collection!
Hi Kwmechelle,
ME TOO! Did you stop by the counter today? 🙂
No, unfortunately. I was in bed most of the day with a migraine. Booo! Thankfully I had an assortment of beauty blogs to get my makeup fix! Lovely review
Migraines are the worst! I get them around that time of the month. Have you ever heard of Migrelief (the brand I take is by Quantum)? It contains Riboflavin 200 mg, Magnesium 150 mg and Feverfew Whole Leaf 50 mg. I’ve been taking it for a while and it helps. Feel better soon!
This palette is gorgeous. Plummed is just stunning. It’s not available on its own, is it?
You look absolutely beautiful! Love the Gravitas eyeshadows on you.
What a great pallete, so versatile!
What an absolutely fantastic selection of colours, though I probably own half the shades already and/or have a tonne of dupes for them! But when/if it’s eventually released in Australia I’ll be sure to check it out… of not buy!
Yep, MAC will be selling this bad boy for $195 in Australia.
Talk about gutted.
Ugh! No mirror in an $85 palette.
I got it this morning as it arrived in San Jose MAC store.. I asked MAC ladies, they said come in early, so I did that. And the store was pretty busy. I didn’t have any MAC eyeshadows before so this was a perfect deal for me.
Thanks, Karen, for the tip to look for it in the stores!
I was waiting for this palette for ages because neutrals are totally my thing but then when it launched online I missed it 🙁 and they were all sold out before I knew it. At that very moment i left everything that I was doing, went to my nearest mac store, and they were also sold out, so I went to the next one and they had only ONE left. I was so happy I even shed a small tear of happiness because 1) I never manage to get my hands on all the limited edition items that I want and 2) This is probably the best thing that has happened to me this month. Literally. And I love how the palette has so many fall colors, perfect for this time of the year. Can’t wait to try it! I think I know how I’m going to be spending this friday afternoon uh uh…
Your eye makeup is so stunning that I’ll be Giselle is chomping at the bit to take you for a ride (get it?). 🙂
Good luck with the sports bra and let us know how it works out for you. And just to give you a laugh, I’m such a dodo that I actually thought it had sparkles when I first saw the pic. In my defense, it’s Friday. HAHA!
Oh, and sign me up for carb loading! Can we “cheese load”, too?
Sorry, I’ll “bet” Giselle…
Cheese loading is a legit thing (in my mind… haha!). You know what I’ve been loving lately? Those mini Babybel cheeses. OMG, SO GOOD!
I like how the palette has something for everyone. I don’t understand the carbon addition, they must have a better black.
So many lovely shades… Glad I own most of them (at least the permanent ones) in single eyeshadow form, as I wasn´t able to get my hands on one.
Hi Karen! It´s a little sad that this lovely palette is so difficult to get, but it´s great you got it – that look you did is sooooo beautiful!! While neutral, it’s got a lot of spice 😀 !
You look fantastic here Karen!
I got my hands on the palette and although I like most of the colors I would love to remove the shades of orange that I do not like; do you think its possible to remove the shadows that I do not like without ruining the pallette?
Omg I love the way the colors look against your skin!! Now I’m kinda upset that I missed this. It’s such a pretty palette and a great value for MAC.
I seriously need to get my hands on this palette! By far looks like on of the best neutral palette’s I have ever seen!
http://www.lineupthemakeup.blogspot.com
This palette was just too beautiful to pass up! I bought it just for Plummed but it offers so much more…good thing i purchased early! I had a feeling it would sell out fast.
Do you know when this collection releases it in Japan？
I need it!
This palette is a neutral lovers dream! I’ve never tried Soft Brown. Shameful, I know!!
I’m so bummed that I missed out on this palette, one minute it was in my cart the next it was gone 🙁
It’s so funny how the colors look so different on me than they look on you – they are stunning but they come out sooo much more beautiful on your skin since I am so light, I love how versatile they are and how good they look on everyone. <3
You look gorgeous, as always!
http://www.brighteyesandglossylips.com
Its available on nordstrom I just ordered mine I cant wait!
I’m not lovin’ it; I feel guilty about it but I am going to have to return it.