I bought 3 of them (since I don't have them sitting in front of me, I'll just say that I got the lightest of the 6 shades available, and the displays are arranged from lightest to darkest).
I like them a lot! I can't compare to MAC's paints, as I've never tried them, but I've read on MUA that they're very similar to Lancome's d/c Color Doses (if I got that name right). I can only compare them to a d/c drugstore product, a cream shadow that Almay put out a few years ago that also came in a metal tube. They're very similar.
The HIP paints come with a brush, and they dry down nicely, but not so much that they don't give powder shadows something to cling on to (if you use them as a base, like I do). I like these better than my MAC Paint Pot, which is great on its own, but as a shadow base, leaves something to be desired (IME).
HTH a little!