MAC Archie’s Girls palettes and mascaras – review, photos & swatches

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Are you a Betty or a Veronica? Either way, MAC has you covered.

photos: we heart this

I have never been much of a comic book fan (much to my comic nerd hubby’s chagrin), but even I had a couple of Archie comics in my reading stash whilst growing up. I remember wishing I could be Betty, but with my dark hair, I was more of a Veronica. Truth be told, I’m more of a female Jughead, but I don’t see MAC creating a cosmetic line around him, so for the sake of argument, I’m a Veronica, m’kay?

In any case, the kid in me was really excited to see what MAC did with their latest Archie’s Girls collection and was beyond excited to try their limited edition eye shadow quads and mascaras.

The eye shadow palettes ($44 each) from this collection definitely are in keeping to the personalities of the characters that inspired them. The Betty palette is more natural, and the name Caramel Sundae alludes to the sweetness of Betty Cooper.

The palette contains four wearable shades, perfect for everyday and for channeling your inner girl next door:

Cheryl Chic – Pale, frosty pink
Dreammaker – “the lightest yellow gold I’ve ever seen” says Stef
Caramel Sundae – Warm caramel brown shimmer
Showstopper – Matte chocolate brown

Showstopper is really the only shade here that was truly pigmented. If you like your shadows more on the sheer side, this one is for you. Otherwise, leave this palette to Betty only.

Veronica’s palette is aptly named Spoiled Rich – it’s a richly pigmented collection of shadows and contains the following dramatically vampy, diva-like shades:

Pin-up Purple – Shimmering pale orchid
Spoiled Rich – Shimmering medium grape
Ron Ron Run – Blackened violet with fine metallic shimmer
Gravel – Matte charcoal black

I got to test out the Veronica Lodge-inspired Spoiled Rich palette and loved the deeply dramatic shades within – the purples were nothing short of striking against my pale skin/dark hair/hazel eyes. Ron Ron Run is the standout shade here – this is the deepest violet shade I’ve ever seen and it really brought out the green in my hazel eyes.

The pigmentation was intense and lovely and the texture was fairly silky. I did have some difficulty getting the Ron Ron Run to blend, but with some effort, I achieved some really gorgeous results. This one is a must-have if you love purple shadows or have green eyes.

The Archie’s Girls collection contains two Opulash mascaras ($17.50 each). Betty Opulash comes in Optimum Black, while Veronica Opulash is Bad, Bad Black – the blackest of blacks with extra volume. Both impart lashes with volume and length and gorgeous black color, but Veronica is a tad inkier, sootier, and the formulation seems a little thicker.

The packaging is beyond adorable – the white tubes are adorned with the faces of Betty and Veronica, respectively, and several red hearts, one of which contains the object of their affection: Archie. The brush is big and plush – it’s reminiscent of the one in Diorshow mascara, which is a favorite style of brush for me.

I required 3 coats of Betty and 2 coats of Veronica to achieve the amount of volume I prefer. The mascara swept my lashes out and up and held the curl my handy eyelash curler created until I was ready to remove my makeup.

These mascaras are purported to give 15 hours of wear, but on my oily lids, I only got a solid four hours before smudging begun, but I had some gorgeous lashes while it lasted! Overall, these mascaras create more drama than the love triangle Archie has with Betty and Veronica.

As with most of MAC’s collections, the adorable packaging of Archie’s Girls blew me away; it really captured the nostalgia of the Archie comics and the metal case for the palettes felt substantial. I was also really impressed with how much thought was put into capturing the personalities of Betty and Veronica into these products. With this collection, I’m very proud to declare that I am a Veronica.

we heartsters – Am I the only one that wishes she could be one of Archie’s girls? And are you a Betty or a Veronica? Or maybe a Jughead?

Krista resides in the middle of nowhere with her bff/hubby, an obscenely big-eared dog, and a puppy that makes feral capuchins seem mellow. She has an irrational fear of ax murder, owns more than one machete for home defense/the zombie apocalypse, and goes to sleep serenaded by the sounds of the Chupagobbler, a mythical turkey beast that roams the woods around her house. She also has an obsessive love of Tom Selleck’s moustache that is, quite frankly, alarming.

Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.

Eye Shadow x4
Betty:
Caramel Sundae
Caramel Sundae – Mid-tone warm tan (satin)
Cheryl Chic – Light coral pink (frost)
Dreammaker – Pale frosty yellow (frost)
Showstopper – Dark, cool-toned brown (matte)

Veronica:
Spoiled Rich
Spoiled Rich – Rich purple (frost)
Ron Ron Run – Deep navy (satin)
Pin-Up Purple – Mid-tone orchid (frost)
Gravel – Charcoal (matte)
$44 US/$52 CDN

Opulash
Betty:
Optimum Black – Saturated intense black

Veronica:
Bad, Bad, Black – Saturated intense black with extra volumization
$17.50 US/$21 CDN

Author

  • krista

    Lives in the middle of nowhere with her amazing hubby and two codependent dogs that love to hate each other. She enjoys dance parties of one and last minute road trips, prays for Angela Lansbury's immortality and can never own enough blush. She averages one "Silence of the Lambs" quote a week and feels no shame over this. Perhaps she should. skin tone: NW15 skin type: sensitive/oily favorite beauty product: Blush, lots and lots of blush

12 Comments

  1. Ohhhh, that Veronica palette… I’m a sucker for purple eyeshadows and these all look great! There’s usually one disappointing color in the bunch, but I’d wear the heck out of these. I even like the Betty palette, but I wish it were less sheer.
    This is why I adore these posts – I might have bought the Betty palette without hesitation and been disappointed with it, and I don’t know that I would have dared try the Veronica one. Thanks @krista!

  2. “or maybe a Jughead?” haha! Funny, @Krista :)

    I used to LOVE Veronica as a kid. I think it’s because we both have black hair. Now, I’m more into Betty. I like her sweet natural look, but Veronica does have some standout shades!

    These palettes are so so cute. I think the Betty palette is more “me” but I like that it’s not a totally nude palette.

  3. @Krista These are tooooo cute! :)
    I love Veronica as a kid, thought she was so smart! Betty was pretty cool too! The mascara is so cute! I’ll have to check this whole line out next MAC visit!

  4. @krista , you make me laugh!
    I’m insane about the packaging of this collection. I grew up reading Archie comics and I’m still tempted to buy them in the checkout lane at the grocery store. Yeah, I’m a dork.
    I never even thought of trying to track down one of the mascaras, but both Betty and Veronica sound fabulous. And both palettes are so pretty. Even though I don’t ever wear purple eyeshadow, the Veronica palette makes me a bit swoony.

  5. Well done, @krista! I’d say I have a bit of both of these fictitious women in me, so call me “Beronica.” When it comes to the shadows, however, I’m salivating over the “Spoiled Rich” palette. What pigmented, plush, decadent colors! “Ron Ron Run” is a “killer” hue; oh, what I could do with these while seated in my palace, billowing fabric floating about me, dancing ninjas handing me brushes as needed and throwing rose petals at me feet, as @tyna has wisely discovered . . .

  6. It is so hard to just to choose one. The great thing about makeup is that you can create the illusion of both characters. I have to admit – the Veronica palette really drew me in. Who would not want “spoiled rich”? The colors are so vibrant and just inspire me to try something new!
    Those MAC people really know how to tempt me!

  7. Purples don’t often do it for me, but Spoiled Rich made me swoon. I’d LOVE to see it on your green eyes @krista! I made a sad trombone noise when swatching Caramel Sundae though. I think for a palette of this price you want richer pigment.

    1. I totally agree, @stef – for the price, I’d say Spoiled Rich is a no-brainer, but Caramel Sundae is a little too basic for the price tag–I have numerous dupes of those shades in my stash. Spoiled Rich and its luxe purples really creates a visceral “WOW” when you swatch these in person.

  8. I love big huge mascara brushes, but smudging is a no-no. I’m disappointed to hear that :(

    Sheer neutral eye shadows don’t really appeal to me at all, so I’m going to have to pass on the Betty palette. But now that I’ve seen these swatches of the Veronica palette, I’m kind of obsessed. What fantastic shades of purple!

  9. That mascara brush! So soft and plush looking! I love it. I’ve never had a problem with mascara smudging, so I think I’ll probably be safe. And what adorable packaging! This whole collection is so cute, I love the white base with the hearts. Not to mention it’s easier to find in a dark bag!

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