Look: Pop of Color for Spring

This was a recent look I used to test out the wear of several products–the newer MAC eyeshadow quad (because it had a very stubborn shade in it), MAC’s Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner (because it was worth re-testing), and Becca Damselfly (had not tested the wear before).  I haven’t worn either the lipstick or gloss on its own, so I haven’t finished testing either of those, but I thought they might work well with this look so at least I could get a lip swatch out of it!

You will need the following…

• Eyes: NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base (eyeshadow primer), MAC Colour Eyeshadow Quad (yellow, dark blue, gray, beige), MAC Undercurrent Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner (teal), Hourglass Film Noir Mascara (black)
• Face: Chanel Vitalumiere (B30), Guerlain Les Voilettes Mineral Powder (03), Becca Damselfly Mineral Blush (orange-coral)
• Lips: Make Up For Ever Folk Rouge Artist Natural (coral), Le Metier de Beaute Orange Juiced Sheer Brilliance Lipgloss (sheer tangerine)

For eyes, I applied a light layer of NARS Smudgeproof on the lid as an eyeshadow primer from lash line to brow bone with a firm, flat brush.  First, I applied Self-Serve to the crease with a pencil brush and used a blending brush to attempt to diffuse the color. Next, I applied Colour Added all over the lid with a fluffy eyeshadow brush.   I used another pencil brush to apply Pre-packaged to the outer corner and into the deep crease.   To highlight the brow bone, I used Laudry Daze applied and blended with a fluffy blending brush.  On the lower lash line, I applied MAC Undercurrent and then patted Colour Added on the inner half of the lash line and Pre-packaged on the outer half of the lash line.  Finally, I applied a coat of Hourglass Film Noir to lengthen and thicken lashes.

For face, I applied Chanel Vitalumiere with a circular foundation brush.  I blended Becca Damselfly onto cheeks with a dense blush brush and set with Guerlain Les Voilettes.  For lips, I applied Make Up For Ever Folk and layered Le Metier de Beaute Orange Juiced on top.

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MAC Shop MAC, Cook MAC: Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad ($38.00 for 0.19. oz.) includes these shades: Laundry Daze (light yellow), Colour Added (bright yellow), Pre-packaged (muted turquoise), and Self-Serve (deep grey).

• Laundry Daze is a pale white-yellow with this faint hint of green. There’s just something slightly green in it, but it doesn’t cast or really look green. Whatever it is, it actually works really well with the rest of the shades because it coordinates and blends into them. This shade has a satin finish and has good color payoff. It’s, perhaps, a much, much lighter version of Dior Garden Pastels. I couldn’t think of any other potential dupes.
• Colour Added is a brightened yellow with a kiss of chartreuse. It had excellent color payoff and felt very smooth. It has a veluxe pearl finish. NARS Rated R is greener. MAC Double Feature 2 is noticeably greener but not as green as Rated R. MAC Bitter is closer but a touch greener. MAC Three Ring Yellow is pretty close.
• Pre-packaged is a darkened navy blue with a hint of teal. It has a veluxe pearl finish. The color payoff is good, and the texture is soft and smooth. Bare Escentuals Water is a bit like it, but tealer and more matte in finish. Guerlain Les Gris has a similar blue but a little muted.
• Self-Serve is a medium-dark gray-brown with a subtle pearled sheen. It has a satin finish. The color payoff is horrendous–it’s like a trick eyeshadow! The swatch I managed to capture is a layered swatch; that’s the color built up as much as I could muster. The texture is dry, stiff, and loathes to be blended. Guerlain Les Gris has a similar grayish-brown kind of shade with better color payoff, though it has more of a matte finish. MAC Scene is a bit similar but less brown. MAC Moody is darker and browner but seems to be kind of what they were going for.

Everything was looking SO promising until I swatched Self-Serve, and then the eyeshadow loving part of me died a little inside. I was like, “What? How could you be such a tease?” Of course, a mere swatch on the arm only tells a partial story, so I went to test it in a look. It doesn’t apply much better over bare skin with a brush, but it is slightly better. It definitely needs a primer to yield truer color payoff, but here’s the rub: it’s just as dry, stiff, and difficult to blend applied as it was swatched. This lack of blendability made it a really frustrating shade to work with.

I was loving the quad until I tried Self-Serve.  It has potential, and depending on your level of patience and whether or not you have similar shades to the other three eyeshadows, it may or may not be worth it.   The quality of the other three is much, much higher; the two veluxe pearls feel soft, smooth, and deliver so much color. If we ignore Self-Serve, the quad would have received an overall rating of an A. Unfortunately, Self-Serve is not just a little bad but really bad, which resulted in scores of 1, 4, 1, 9, and 1.5. (Packaging is a single score that isn’t averaged across the four shades since it’s not impacted by the individual shade’s performance.)

The Glossover

	Colour Added C+
	It has potential, and depending on your level of patience and whether or not you have similar shades to the other three eyeshadows, it may or may not be worth it.   The quality of the other three is much, much higher; the two veluxe pearls feel soft, smooth, and deliver so much color.
	Product 7.5/10 Pigmentation 8/10 Texture 7.5/10 Longevity 9/10 Application 3.5/5
	Where to Buy
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MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Laundry Daze Eyeshadow

MAC Laundry Daze Eyeshadow

MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow

MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow

MAC Pre-packaged Eyeshadow

MAC Pre-packaged Eyeshadow

MAC Self-Serve Eyeshadow

MAC Self-Serve Eyeshadow

MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad