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MAC Morning Mister Magpie Brow Duo Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Morning Mister Magpie Brow Duo
MAC Morning Mister Magpie Brow Duo

MAC Morning Mister Magpie Brow Duo ($22.00 for 0.10 oz.) includes two shades of eyeshadow in a lavender-hued compact. Both shades are part of the permanent range, and they’re marketed here for brows, but they’re really just regular, powder eyeshadow. You could just as easily use these as eyeshadows as you could for filling in brows. Each shade is available in pan form for $10 each, so you could purchase them separately if desired. The advantage would be the ability to move them to different palettes/compacts as you please, as these two shades are glued in. I regularly use Brun as a brow shade, though for the past few days, I have used Soba and Brun mixed together just to try. Soba has shimmer, so it’s not my personal go-to finish for brows–I think it’s a great shade, just more as an eyeshadow, though.

Soba is described as a “soft taupe [with a Satin finish].” It’s a medium-dark, golden brown with warm, yellow undertones and a soft shimmer. The texture is very soft and finely-milled, but it is on the powdery side, so I noticed a fair amount of powder fall out when I used it as a brow shade, though it has good color payoff. Sleek MakeUP Entwined (P, $9.99) is cooler-toned. MAC Butterfudge (P, $15.00) is more shimmery. MAC Brownluxe #2 (P) is similar. MAC Double Feature #4 #2 (LE, $15.00) is darker, yellower. Burberry Pale Nude #1 (P) is darker. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Brun is described as a “dark brown [with a Satin finish].” It’s a dark brown with almost cool undertones and a semi-matte finish. It’s a more buildable shade, but it doesn’t have rich, intense pigmentation right out of the gate. The texture is a little stiff and mostly blendable, but it takes a little more work to blend it than ideal, particularly for such a dark shade. Kat Von D Shadow Box (P) is similar. Tarte Dream in Chocolate (LE) is darker. Too Faced Jingle All the Way Eyeshadow #8 (LE, $16.00) is darker. Laura Mercier Espresso (LE, $23.00) is similar. Tom Ford Beauty She Wolf #1 (LE) is cooler-toned. bareMinerals Boardroom (LE) is darker, cooler-toned. NARS Coconut Grove (P, $24.00) is darker. MAC Dance in the Dark (P, $15.00) is darker. bareMinerals Foreshadow (P) is slightly darker. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Morning Mister Magpie Brow Duo
MAC Morning Mister Magpie Brow Duo

MAC Morning Mister Magpie Brow Duo
MAC Morning Mister Magpie Brow Duo

MAC Morning Mister Magpie Brow Duo
MAC Morning Mister Magpie Brow Duo

MAC Soba Eyeshadow
MAC Soba Eyeshadow

MAC Soba Eyeshadow
MAC Soba Eyeshadow

MAC Brun Eyeshadow
MAC Brun Eyeshadow

MAC Brun Eyeshadow
MAC Brun Eyeshadow

30 Comments

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Mariella Avatar

Does it strike anyone else as “odd” that these 2 eyeshadows are being marketed as a brow duo? I’m not saying they aren’t great for brows (I often use Omega, Charcoal Brown and even Brun for my brows) but Mac has so many other great brow products already and these are 2 really good shadows that are real basics and on a lot of people’s “must have” lists and it seems a bit strange to me to see them paired as a brow duo which seems to completely overlook their usefulness as eye SHADOWS. I haven’t seen the promotional material for this duo but to me, it seems to make much more sense to market them as a multi-use duo – a great eyeshadow duo for purse or travel that is also a great BROW duo for purse or travel!

Mariella Avatar

I’m wondering if they’re going to have a 2nd duo (perhaps with Omega and some other eyeshadow) that will suit other hair/brow shades. Seems only logical/sensible. But not playing up that these are both shadows and also work as brow powders would be helpful for people new to makeup who aren’t as familiar as we Temptalia members are with MAC products.

Danielle Avatar

The packaging is cute, but obviously not everyone can use these two shades through their brows. I sort of wish they sold the duo empty so I could put my own brow powders of choice in there.

Brenda Avatar

I do use Soba as a brow sometimes and the shimmer doesn’t really show up. But I do find it a touch too warm for brows, even though I have a lot of red in my hair. I find a cooler shade for brows looks most natural on most people.

Brenda Avatar

Funny enough, Soba!! But I still find it a bit off sometimes. My favourite powder brow is Yaby’s Bark eyeshadow – the closest in Mac would be Cork. It works really well for me, so much so that I think I may have two or three. I sometimes mix it with a bit of Soba if I want something a little lighter, as it can be a bit dark for summer.

My other go to brow is Dior’s universal brow pencil. It can get a bit dark but I use a spooly and a light hand and it’s great! I think I look funny when my brows are too dark or too filled in, but I like a bit of polish to them 🙂

Quinctia Avatar

I think that, if you were filling in an obvious bare patch, you may not want a completely matte shade. Hair does reflect some light, and that might be too stark. …there are finishes between matte and shimmer, though! I guess, if one were to use both shades together, having a lighter shimmer and a dark matte could work well. However, I can’t imagine spending that much time on my brows!

And the price…actually isn’t that bad. Even though the shadows are available in pan form, the singles with their own small compact would be more than $10 apiece. If you want packaging on your eyeshadow, it’s still a bit of a deal compared to purchasing separately.

A lot of us have ways to store products that can be purchased just in the pan, though, and it’s not a money saver then!

Adhishree Avatar

Soba seems to have micro shimmer. WHY IS IT A BROW SHADE? Brun looks great though, though it’s an old shade. You can never go wrong with those 🙂

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