Eyeshadow

By Ana Maria 3 years ago.

Greensmoke is a MAC eyeshadow that kind of disappointed me. There's barely any color pay off, and the formula is stiff and dry (or maybe I got a dud). At first application it's very sheer and I need several layers to build some opacity. But there's almost no fallout and the eyeshadow ends up being somewhat buildable. A wet brush might be better for application, but it's not something I do. Once applied, there's barely any shimmer. The color is more like a muddy golden olive, a little bit ashy and cool. I would describe it more like light-medium, it's not a dark color. It can easily be an one and done all over the lid color, but it also looks good with various shades in the crease. The staying power is quite good, doesn't crease or fade for 8-10 hours.

By Anouk 3 years ago.

Mine is not like the one on here at all. Mine swatches patchy and sheer, is very chalky/rough feeling and blends away to nothing. On top of that it also seals up very fast which makes it even more difficult to work with. :(

By Ana Maria 3 years ago.

MAC Antiqued is a great copper toned eyeshadow, very warm and redish-brown, medium-dark. The pearl finish formula is amazing, easy to pick with a brush, not too much fallout, easy to blend or to pack on the lid. It's a versatile eyeshadow that can work for one eyeshadow look. The pearl finish is very subtle. Unfortunately the redness simply doesn't look flattering on me; but it looks wonderful on so many other people.

By Ana Maria 3 years ago.

Shadowy Lady is one of those MAC more stiff/dry matte eye shadows. The formula is slightly harder to pick up with brushes, has almost no fallout and it's quite tricky to blend. It's easy to get a somewhat patchy result, but it's a workable formula with good brushes and blending skills in the end. It's a buildable formula, I can easily play from sheer to full opacity. In the pan the color is a cool toned dark plum, but once applied in a look it becomes a generic dark color, vaguely distinctly plum. It's a versatile color, works from blending in the crease to packing on the eyelid. I like it better as an eyeliner, applied closely to the lash line; it adds definition with that extra something of not being a full black. Once applied it stays put all day, no creasing or longevity issues, especially when using a primer.

By Dia 4 years ago.

I originally bought this thinking this may be a good contour shade; and it is, if placed nearest to the ears-under cheek bone and used with a a small fluffy brush. However, I can get carried away quickly (personal error), then it clings onto my textured skin bumps (especially on my nose), so I stopped using it for that contour purpose. On my lids, pigment is great even without primer, texture is fine and long-wearing, however, I am not a fan of how it clashes with my yellow undertone. I was about to declutter this. Remembering why I bought this as a contour color made me realize, and turns out to be, Coquette is my ideal brow shade to mimic the shadow of my brows. It makes them look full in the most natural way! At this point, it's a great value for brow powder that will last for ever. if you are darker than me, or neutral-cool toned, this could be a multi-purpose face color.

By Ana Maria 4 years ago.

MAC Knight Divine is an unique cool tone dark silver grey, that on me also shows some blue tones. I have dark brown eyes, a warm light-medium complexion, and the color looks very pretty on me. I personally like that the eyeshadow comes in the frost formula, it has a nice sheen without being too glittery or metallic. There's some fallout, but not something annoying. I just have to be careful with application, during the day it stays put with a good primer, no fading or fallout. The formula is surprisingly soft and buildable. At first, especially with a less dense brush, it might apply sheer, but the opacity builds up easily. I still prefer applying this more with a flat synthetic packing brush. It's a great eyeshadow for a smokey eye, paired with something like MAC Print and a black eyeliner. But I also love it all over the lid, blended in the crease a little, for a quick and easy rocker chic vibe.

By Ana Maria 4 years ago.

MAC Naked Lunch is a great eyeshdows in terms of formula, too bad that it's a super sheer color even on my light medium complexion. I'm usually not a fan of frost finishes, but the formula is soft, almost creamy, not powdery... the perfect frost / slight shimmer from my end. It's easy to pick with a brush and to apply with different techniques (packing, blending) and tools (different types of brushes, fingers). I don't see the color as a light peach, I see some hint of pink beige, but it's definitely towards a warm (pink) champagne. Applied as a highlighter under the brow or in the inner corner it's barely visible. Packed on the lid over a darker color it's visible, but otherwise this shade is very sheer. Weirdly, it has more staying power than many more opaque shades.

By Ana Maria 4 years ago.

MAC Star Violet is one of the few frost finish eyeshadows I actually liked in terms of look and performance. For a frost / shimmery shade Star Violet had minimal fallout, but it's still easy to apply both with a soft blending brush and a stiff packing brush. In the pan it's almost like a creamy almost buttery consistency. I wouldn't describe the color as plum, it's more like a `violet` with some browness. In the pan is quite a dark violet, but it looks lighter applied on the lids. The color can be sheared out or build up easily, so that it's an amazingly versatile eye shadow. Don't expect it to be a bold, vibrant color; it's more like a subtle violet that blends seamless into more natural looks. I usually don't like shimmery eyeshadow, but the pearlescent effect of Start Violet is subtle (but still visible), not chunky or heavy. I never had issues with creasing or fading with this shade, but I always use a good eye primer.

By Ana Maria 4 years ago.

Although MAC Haux proved to be totally different than I expected, it's to this date one of the best matte eyeshadows I have tried both in terms of quality and color. The shade is a unique and flattering mauve (on my it looks more plum than the pictures online, with a touch of rosey hint). The color is more intense on my light-medium complexion than in the pan, and it's an incredibly pigmented eye shadow. I purchased it thinking it would be a great medium-transition color; it would work better as a transition for medium or more tanned complexions. Performance wise, it's simply amazing: easy to work with any brush, very blendable and buildable. I can use it as a transition shade if I sheer it out and apply with a fluffy brush and light touch; but I like it better as an one-eyeshadow look. It's an outstanding base color for medium complexions, I love to pair it with shimmers like MAC Cranberry or Star Violet. It' not stiff matte, it's a little powdery when I pick it with a brush, but it doesn't have fallout.

By Ana Maria 4 years ago.

Ground Down is one of those MAC matte eyeshadows that are a little harder to work with, but perform amazingly once you get the proper technique. It's one of the stiff and dry MAC matte eyeshadows, that with the wrong brush and blending techniques can look very patchy. But with the right brush and blending, it's one of those versatile buildable colors that allow you to apply a sheer blended wash or pack a dark smoky color. I personally like to blend it with a fluffy but medium-stiff brush like #217, while building opacity with a more stiff and flat brush. The color would be better described as a warm-neutral dark taupe brown, which is quite unique considering most dark warm browns tend to have a redish undertone (don't be fooled by the fact is looks red in the pan, the color looks differently swatched or applied on the eye). On my light-medium complexion it's multipurpose, as I can apply a sheer wash in the crease to sculpt the eyes, smudge it on the lashline to create a lined look, deepen my outer V, packed it on the lid and blend it in the crease for a single-shadow eye look. Ground Down is also one of those shades that lasts all day without fading no matter the primer used. Since it's so stiff in the pan, I never get any fallout from it.

By Ana Maria 4 years ago.

MAC Blanc Type is a one of those staple shades (at least for people with fair to medium complexions) in a great quality formula. It's so bad it's discontinued (Blanc Type and many others Matte2 eyeshadows really need a comeback). The color is a very light beige that more flattering and versatile than a pure white. On my light-medium warm yellow undertone complexion (NC16-20) it can look a little bit chalky, on someone with lighter complexion it would made a great setting powder/eyeshadow. I use it to add a little bit of matte illumination under my eyebrow. The color can be sheered out with a fluffy brush, but it's a pigmented beige with some opacity. The formula is one of the best mattes I have ever tried, even better compared to other MAC Matte shadows. It applies and blends so smoothly that it's a pleasure to work with. If I have other eyeshadows that don't blend well and are patchy, I'll apply first Blanc Type all over the lid and it really helps. The caveat is that this eyeshadow had tone of kick-back even when I use the softest brush; for a darker color the fact that the shadow is so powdery would probably annoy me, but for this type of shade it's almost a good thing.

By Ana Maria 4 years ago.

MAC Scene is quite an unique grey shade, I was surprised how well this color compliments me (light-medium warn yellow undertone with dark brown eyes and hair, usually cool eyeshadows and brow products look better on me). In the pan or swatched Scene looks more grey, with subtle purple/mauvish tones; on my eyelids is somehow translates to a soft blue grey, more cool than neutral. I personally found MAC Scene to be a good quality eyeshadow. It's easy to pick both with soft and stiff brushes; I didn't find it too dry and stiff, it actually has a bit of kick-off (but no issues with fallout). Applied with a soft blending brush the payoff is quite sheer, but the formula is buildable (especially if using a stiffer brush to pack the color). It's quite easy to blend, but the softer the brush the better (a very dense or packed blending brush might apply a little patchy, but I don't have the best make-up skills). I personally prefer an eyeshadow formula that applies sheer at first, but it's easy to build up; I can use it very blended, almost like a light transition/crease color, or I can pack it on the lid as a grungy all over grey look. The eye shadows stays put all day, not creasing or fading, but I do use very good eye primers (I have oily lids and hooded eyes). Note: The review is for a pro palette refill pan eyeshadow purchased in 2018, batch code traces back manufacturing date to December 2016.

By Ana Maria 5 years ago.

Woodwinked is one of the old-school cult MAC eyeshadows and I can see why. It's a very beautiful golden warm bronze, with good pigmentation, that suits my dark brown eyes. While it looks medium-dark in the pan, the color is lighter once applied on the eyelid; but it can be layered over a deeper matte brown to get a darker bronze shade. There is a slight seen, almost subtle, not glittery; to me it looks slightly wet rather than frosted. The eyeshadow is quite buttery, with some fallout, but nothing that bothers me too much. It can be packed on the eyelid with a flat brush or diffused into the crease (for an one eyeshadow look) with a good blending brush. There is some fading after 6-8 hours, but at the end of the day it still looks good.

By Jonlyn 5 years ago.

Horrible, no pigment

By Ana Maria 5 years ago.

Indian Ink is a gorgeous eggplant purple, a pop of color that doesn't look too colorful, complimenting my brown eyes. Formula wise, Indian Ink is one of the best quality MAC matte eyeshadows I have tried. It's blendable, buildable (without patchiness of some other mattes), doesn't have fallout, stay put all day (with primer). Although it's quite blendable, a really good fluffy brush and time are needed to work this as a crease eyeshadow; but it's all worth it. But for defining and smudging Indian Ink works like a charm.

By Ana Maria 5 years ago.

Satin Taupe is simply that classic cult eyeshadows that (almost) everybody likes, and once I tried it, I understood why. The color is beautiful, but lighter once applied than in the pan (more of light-medium taupe than medium dark). The shifts in the color are unique. It's mostly a neutral smokey-taupe, a mix of grey and brown, with a hint of purple... it depends on the lightning, what other colors is paired with. I am light-medium warm yellow toned, with brown hair and eyes, and on me it mostly shows a neutral brown, I also love how versatile it is. I can play around with pigmentation (depending on the brush and techniques I use) to get a soft blend all over the eyes; I can pack to a deeper pigmentation. I can also create new shifts of color depending on the eyeshadow I use as a base (for more complex looks). I'm rarely a fan of shimmers (especially in the crease), but the shimmers in Satin Taupe are tiny and workable. The eyeshadow is a little powdery in the pan, and it can have some fallout during application. I usually tap the brush a little, to remove excess. I never noticed fallout during the day. Still, the eyeshadow has something creamy in the pan. It has a good color pay-off, but I would describe it as buildable rather than pigmented/opaque.

By Ana Maria 5 years ago.

While Pink Venus has a nice washed-out warm pink shade (if you like pinks, which I'm not the biggest fan), I was very disappointed by the formula. The eyeshadow is glittery and quite chunky in the pan, with silver sparkles. It's quite hard to pick-up with most brushes, a flat synthetic brush like MAC 228 or 242 works best. The amount of fall-out I get it's awful; and it's not just during application, it's also during the day (I need to keep cleaning the sparkles from my under eye area). It's definitely a formula requiring glitter glue/primer or a very sticky base. The eyeshadow on me basically disappears in 3-4 hours. The level of pigmentation is very low, it applies quite sheer.

By Ana Maria 5 years ago.

Rule is one of the best quality MAC Matte eyeshadow I have tried, but I almost hate the color; the warm vivid orange simply doesn't suit me and when I use rule I feel I look very tired / sick. Otherwise, it's very pigmented and easy to pick with any type of brush, with minimal kick-back / fallout. It blends wonderfully and it's easy to work it; it can also be build up with a stiffer brush. But the color payoff is amazing, it's nearly opaque from the first layer; building upon just intensifies the color to a bright bold orange. To make use of it, I sometimes use Rule in the crease, than build a look with darker browns that suit me; I feel that having Rule as a base makes every other eyeshadow blend/apply better and last long. Because color is subjective (some might look amazing with orange eyeshadow), it's still a 5-star for me. I wish other MAC Matte eyeshadows would perform this well.

By Ana Maria 5 years ago.

Omega is a muted but highly pigmented matte eyeshadow, but I don't agree with the color description the MAC website and Temptalia provide (or at least not on me). For me Omega is more like a grey-taupe, very cool toned, with nothing beige or brown in it. MAC Omega is not as stiff as other MAC eyeshadows; it has a little more kickback, but the fallout isn't bad at all. I agree that the formula in Omega is soft, smooth and blendable (very easy to work with). The color is quite pigmented, but buildable. Depending on the application technique and brushed used, I can either get a wash of color or a medium grey wash of color. I'm NC20-25 and Omega it's a great cool toned transition or deepening shade when applied with a fluffy brush. Packed on the lid, I can get a beautiful cool toned one-color grey look, quite grungy without being too strong.

By Reka 5 years ago.

This is a matte cobalt blue that is very stiff in the pan. Next to nothing comes off on fingers but it does scrape off with anything abrasive like fabric. It's part of the Pandamonium Quad.

By Reka 5 years ago.

This is a pale yellow/cream colored frost that is very nicely pigmented. It's part of the Pandamonium Quad.

By Ana Maria 5 years ago.

MAC Deep Damson is a pretty warm burgundy shade, with enough hints of brown to not make me look sick (usually eyeshadows with red in them make me look sick). It's a nice color that I can use all over the lid (and diffused in the crease) as a single-color look, but also to deepen the crease or the outer-v for looks with warm browns, warm mauves (like MAC Haux) or pinks. Most MAC Matte eyeshadows are stiff in the pan, but the Deep Damson I have is even stiffer. If you don't use it with the `right` brush, it applies patchy and hardly gives any pigmentation. If I use something like a eye shader brush (like MAC 242), I barely get product on the brush. I like it applied with fluffier brushes (like MAC 217, 224) even when I pack it on the lid; I like that this kind of eyeshadow formula gives me a lot of space to play with the pigmentation. Packed on the lid, the shadow looks like a beautiful deep wine/burgundy; diffused it looks more like a mauve with hints of wine. The eyeshadow is so stiff that it doesn't have any fallout. I always use eyeshadow primer set with powder, never had issue with this eyeshadow creasing.

By Ana Maria 6 years ago.

MAC Deep Truth is a nice jewel toned blue in the pan, but on my eyes it looks like a blue with shifts of indigo. It's definitely a cool blue and I find it works with my dark brown eyes. It has some shimmer/frost in the pan, but once applied it almost looks matte (but not flat). I wouldn't personally call it a `dark-blue`... maybe `medium-blue`. In the pan the eyeshadow is quite stiff, but the product can be picked-up nicely with a good brush; it works good with both flat brushes (for precise application) and fluffy brushes (for blending). The opacity is not great with first applications, but it can be built up easily (especially with a flat brush). There's some fall-out, but it's minimal. For a bold opaque application a darker shade underneath Deep Truth would really help. It's not the easiest eyeshadow to blend, but it doesn't look patchy.

By Ana Maria 6 years ago.

MAC Humid is an eyeshadow that looks like a jewel toned green in the pan, but translates like a mossy/military green on the eyes. The warmness of the green makes this color look wonderful with a warm toned dark brown in the crease, complimenting my brown eyes. It's a beautiful green eyeshadow (with some flaws) that look great on the lid and in the crease as well. It applies smoothly on the lid and blends well with other eyeshadows. As most frost finish MAC eyeshadows has is has a little bit of shimmer, but Humid is minimally shiny; sometimes it can almost appear matte on my eyes. Humid is quite buildable and versatile, allowing me to obtain a variety of looks. With a fluffy brush and/or light application, it applies very sheer. With a stiff brush I can build the color to a darker green, but never to full opacity. I only can get it as green as in the pan if I apply it over a darker base (green/black eye pencil smudged all over the lid or a dark matte brown). I didn't find Humid very pigmented or `intense` (as MAC states). My biggest issues with Humid is that it creases and it has some fallout even with stiffer brushes. I own other MAC Frost eyeshadows and this is the only color that has these issues. But it's the best green for me and due to it's versatility I would consider re-purchasing it (I have a minimalist approach to make-up purchases).

By Rachel 6 years ago.

totally looks better in the pan than translates to the skin. in the pan, the color looks beautiful and highly pigmented, but in reality, it is much more sheer. you can build the color on your lid, but it never gets to the pan color. i used to use this as a transition shade for a dramatic (and sometimes harsh) black smokey eye, with the purple as the smoke. because it was sheer, it blended out nicely, but again not much color pay off. over time, this color would get the dreaded 'bumps' and sometimes you will have to scrape that layer off. also, does not foil well.