The Best & Worst of Make Up For Ever Artist Color Shadows -- Mattes

Round-ups
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Christine |

Make Up For Ever Artist Color Shadows | Matte Finish
Make Up For Ever Artist Color Shadows | Matte Finish

Last to recap are all of the Matte shades in the Make Up For Ever Artist Color Shadow ($17.00 for 0.08 oz.) range!

The new Matte formula has a smoother consistency that has more slip to the touch with less powderiness in the pan, but the pigmentation did seem slightly weaker on average compared to the original formula. The pigmentation of the new Matte formula was still semi-opaque to opaque and buildable but I felt like there were just more shades that were closer to semi-opaque than to opaque. However, shades like M402 Mimosa showed improvement, as it used to be a Satin (see here) and not as easy to work with due to the denser texture.

A lot of the shades were similar in color between the formulas, but there were a few that were not (M546 Dark Purple Taupe was a shade with more significant changes; the new version is warmer and lighter). Overall, I did not have any issues applying most of the matte shades to the lid, blending them out, or building up coverage. They lasted between nine and ten hours on me, which was actually a bit longer (on average) compared to the original formula, where the mattes tended to wear between seven and eight hours on me (without primer).

07.

07. M500 Ivory Make Up For Ever

Make Up For Ever

PPermanent. $17.00/0.08 oz.

A-
Make Up For Ever M500 Ivory Artist Color Shadow

M500 Ivory is a soft beige with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had opaque pigmentation with a soft, smooth consistency that wasn't too thin...

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M500 Ivory is a soft beige with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had opaque pigmentation with a soft, smooth consistency that wasn't too thin...

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23.

23. M608 Red Brown Make Up For Ever

Make Up For Ever

PPermanent. $17.00/0.08 oz.

B+
Make Up For Ever M608 Red Brown Artist Color Shadow

M608 Red Brown is a deep brown with subtle, warm red undertones and a matte finish. The pigmentation was nearly opaque, and it was definitely...

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M608 Red Brown is a deep brown with subtle, warm red undertones and a matte finish. The pigmentation was nearly opaque, and it was definitely...

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26.

26. M536 Milk Tea Make Up For Ever

Make Up For Ever

PPermanent. $17.00/0.08 oz.

B
Make Up For Ever M536 Milk Tea Artist Color Shadow

M536 Milk Tea is a soft brown with warm, yellow undertones and a matte finish. It had good pigmentation in a single layer, which was buildable to...

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M536 Milk Tea is a soft brown with warm, yellow undertones and a matte finish. It had good pigmentation in a single layer, which was buildable to...

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30.

30. M322 Khaki Make Up For Ever

Make Up For Ever

PPermanent. $17.00/0.08 oz.

B
Make Up For Ever M322 Khaki Artist Color Shadow

M322 Khaki is a muted, medium green with warm, olive undertones and a matte finish. The consistency was soft, slightly powdery, and as a result,...

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M322 Khaki is a muted, medium green with warm, olive undertones and a matte finish. The consistency was soft, slightly powdery, and as a result,...

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Side-by-Side Swatches
Glossover Breakdown
A
21
B
24
C
3
D
0
F
0
88%
Average
Glossover Averages
product
8.5
pigmentation
9.5
texture
9
longevity
8
application
5
Total
88%
product
8.5
pigmentation
9.5
texture
9
longevity
8
application
5
Total
88%
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5 Comments

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Comments on this post are closed.
AB Avatar
AB

Fortunately for me, the poorer performers are mostly colors I wouldn’t likely use so easy pass, and also that I picked up several of the old shade shadows when they went on sale.

This is such a great definitive resource — this and all the recaps. Thanks so much!

Nancy T Avatar
Nancy T
Medium, Olive, neutral undertones. Combination skin. View Nancy T Full Profile

This part of the range seems to have taken quite a punch to the gut. Some of the most sought after, different enough from everyone else’s shades now look sad. Pink Brown, Speculoos, and Dark Purple Taupe have changed too much.
The good news? There are a few shades here that I do love! Mimosa, Khaki, Dark Purple Pink and Auburn all look very useful for my stash. Khaki to blend out deeper green looks (Viseart Absinthe!), Dark Purple Pink would be a useful shade for some of my intense purple looks. Not all is lost!

kjh Avatar
kjh

Top forty and 3 C+s? Mufe should be ashamed. The rest are worse? This is the ultimate case of ‘if it ain’t broke…. And no way they’re going to pull a New Coke, admit the lack of success, and go back to the original.

Christine Avatar
Christine
Light Medium, Neutral, slight yellow undertones. Normal-to-Dry skin. View Christine Full Profile

I usually do the cut off at 30 for larger ranges like this (otherwise it seems like it’s not really a top list but an everything list). The round-up looks at all shades, but I’m only listing the top 30 – I’m not sure where you’re seeing 40 and 3 C+s, could you let me know? I’m seeing 30 shades listed, and the lowest rating is A-.

Ah, I see, I thought your comment was referring to the top 30 post (all shades). Disregard!

M Avatar
M
Very Light, Pink, slight pink undertones. Oily skin. View M Full Profile

Thanks for clarifying this – the title Best/Worst made me think it was a blend of high low, despite a fairly consistent rating decline. Wow, yeah, if these are the top 30 mattes, I’m glad I only ordered tomato instead of five more.

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!