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5 Must-Have MAC Makeup Products
MAC was the first brand I really fell in love with. MAC Pigments were what made me fall in love with makeup, period, and began a long-time love affair with the brand. Quite honestly, MAC will always hold a special place in my heart for helping me discover the world makeup, but MAC is the first brand that recognized this blog as, well, something. It was that recognition that fueled my drive and determination to build Temptalia into something bigger and better from then on.
- MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pots — creamy, long-wearing color that can be used alone or as a base; favorites include Camel Coat, Eclair, Soft Ochre
- MAC Lipstick — there are so many shades to choose from, as well as finishes; it’s hard not to find a few to love! A few picks: Viva Glam I, Rebel, Craving, Plumful, Velvet Teddy, Candy Yum Yum, Violetta
- MAC Pearlglide Intense Eyeliners — rich and sparkly, long-wearing eyeliners; Undercurrent is one of my favorites
- MAC Eyeshadow — particularly their Veluxe Pearl and Matte2 eyeshadows (and permanent range); some of my long-time favorites include Satin Taupe, Soft Brown, Bronze, Coppering, Antiqued, Amber Lights, Freshwater, Lucky Green, Bright Sunshine, Atlantic Blue, Stars ‘n’ Rockets, Patina, Goldmine, Romp
- MAC Pigment — nicely pigmented loose eye color; the product that made me fall in love with MAC and makeup! Here are some recommendations: Chartreuse, Golden Olive, Teal, Museum Bronze
Pearlglides! I adore them to no end, they are possibly *the* best liners I’ve ever used at any price point. They just stick on and on.
What shade do you use the most?
My 5 must-haves from MAC are:
1) Blot Powder (pressed)
2) Eyeshadow in Sumptuous Olive
3) Lipstick in Rebel
4) Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner in Lord It Up
5) Powder Blush in Springsheen
Rebel is classic!
I so agree with you on MAC eyeshadow, it’s one of the best out there! I also like the Pro products a lot.
Their PRO range is nice!
MAC Pigments are what made me fall in love with the brand years ago too! I’d have to add their Blot Powder and Sheertone Shimmer and Mineralize Blushes to this list as well 🙂
Thanks for sharing your recs, Jen!
I love all your picks. My favs are…everything! No seriously, probably the lipsticks…and the pigments. Def a wallet emptier!
Haha! 🙂
Christine, what are the lipstick colors in the picture? I love the 2 in the middle.
They’re from MAC’s Temperature Rising collection, I believe! They were LE, but I don’t have too many group photos of their lipsticks!
Paint Pots here too, especially Painterly (a classic) and Constructivist
Prep+Prime Setting Powder (or, in hot weather, Blot Powder)
Amplified Cream Lipstick – Craving and Brick-o-la as well as Plumful, Capricious, Dubonnet and New York Apple (not Amp. Creams but still outstanding). And on the subject of lips, Dervish lip pencil is my only “must have”
Pigment: I also love Golden Olive as well as Naked (there is something about that shade that makes my eyes look really awake)
And I have to say MAC Pro Longwear Concealer….I cannot be without it even though it’s not my “every day/absolutely holy grail” concealer.
Eye shadows: I agree about the Matte 2 and Veluxe Pearl finishes; I wish they would expand the Matte 2 range. My go-tos are Blanc Type, Phloof, Satin Taupe, Coquette (as well as Concrete and Copperplate but I think I like Coquette best), Typographic, Patina, Charcoal Brown and I also love the Pro Longwear shadows in Sweet Satisfaction and Keep Your Cool. I won’t even start on the LE ones….
Blush (powder) – Dollymix and Frankly Scarlet.
I feel like they really just want to discontinue the Matte2 range but couldn’t quite get rid of the lingering few 🙁
I thought the same, Christine, but I really think it’s a shame. They’ve had a few real winners in terms of finishes/textures that they’ve not kept around – Starflash, Mega-Metal come to my mind – and rather than coming out with all this new “substandard” stuff (IMO and it seems like yours too), why not bring back those real winners?
Don’t get me started on Mega-metals!!!! Why they put out a FANTASTIC FORMULA ONCE AND NEVER BRING IT BACK EVER AGAIN……. It makes my head spin!!!! Never ever again??????
i know!!! i went on ebay and bought back ups of some!!!! those are amazing and i would buy a ton if they come back le or perm!!!
Christine, do you have all of the shadows? (I’m thinking you do because you reviewed them). I only have 3 (Centre Stage, Dalliance and Ego) but if they were to come back, I would most certainly buy Unflappable and a few from Peek at You, Prance, Odalisque (which just looks so beautiful in the pan), Noir Plum and maybe even Sexpecations or Spectacle of Yourself, just to move out of my “comfort zone”. I wonder why they wouldn’t repromote these since they were so amazing.
I do believe so! I have whatever I reviewed, which I believe was all since I think I purchased that collection myself.
But I remember feedback being “These are awesome” with few complaints – whereas other formulas are brought back here and there, and there is more of a love/hate convo on them.
I’m all for the fun colored lipsticks and eyeshadows they have,but when it comes down to it, my two most used Mac products are Mac Paint Pot in Painterly and Mac Paint Pot in Soft Ochre. They are great staples! I also love their Naked Pigment, Amber Lights eyeshadow, Expensive Pink eyeshadow, Designer Purple eyeliner, Ruby Woo lipstick… I think there’s a reason these are popular picks!
I used Soft Ochre as an eyeshadow base forever!
Hello! Please what is the name of the beautiful bronzey red lipstick? Xx
Caliente – LE shade from Temperature Rising
Thank you. Gutted its limited but maybe I can find a similar one. X 🙂
Great picks! My number one MAC product is Woodwinked eye shadow. I also really love their blushes.
Woodwinked is nice!
I agree that the paint pots and pearlglides are must haves. Maybe even the lipsticks. But I have been able to find equally good eyeshadow and pigments else where for a lot less.
I think the same can be true about any high-end brand!
Whats the reddish sparkly lipstick that appears in thr photo? (Second from the left) thank you 🙂
Caliente! http://www.temptalia.com/mac-temperature-rising-lipsticks-reviews-photos-swatches
Growing up in the 90’s it was all about brown lipstick and neutral shades. Dominated by Bobbi Brown and Clinique. It wasn’t until 98 when I discovered my first Mac eyeshadow after a girl in my college English class showed to me. It was Tilt. I’d always liked makeup but it was after that when the world of makeup and color really opened up To me! So here are my top 5’s 🙂
1.) Pigments pigments pigments! Haha all time fave being Lily White. Also love Subtle, Silver Fog, and the metal pigments.
2.)Eyeshadow in Nylon and Phloof have been my go to bases for years. Also obsessed with Moth Brown. So sad I didn’t get it when it was voted back in 🙁 any dupes? Satin Taupe is also perfect for a light nuetral smoky look. And so many more. I pretty much love them all.
3.)MSF’s! My favorite for blush, bronzer and highlighter. Such a dream. I still have my original launch of So Ceylon and will cry when it’s gone. Never got to try Stereo Rose sadly. You think it’s worth the hype?
4.)Lipstick in Peachstock, Hang up, and recently Dark Deed.
5.) Blush. So many good colors. Lately I’ve been stuck on Dainty and Melba.
Tilt! What a lovely shade that was 🙂
1. Paint Pots – Tailor Grey, Constructivist, Stormy Pink, Utterly Becoming, Camel Coat
2. MAC Pigment – Vanilla, Heritage Rouge, Blue Brown
3. MAC Eyeshadow: Handwritten, Palace Pedigreed, Haux, Patina, Sorcery, Blackberry
4. MAC Brushes: #242 small shader (better for concealer than concealer brush IMO), #217 blending brush, #130 short duo fibre
5. MAC blush: Taupe (I use this on eyes)
I never use concealer brushes – always end up using another eye brush for it! Concealer brushes seem to long and flat!
i use mac 239 for concealer it works amazing
Ah, MAC.
Count me among the many who credit MAC with introducing me to “real” makeup.
I first “discovered” MAC back in 2001, when I wanted a red blush, and MAC seemed to be the only line that currently offered such a shade, in the form of “Frankly Scarlet.”
Then there was “Powerhouse” lipstick, the ONLY red lipstick I’d ever before worn that looked truly red, not dark pink, on me. Speaking of lipstick, Violetta, which first looked appalling to me, still holds the distinction of being my “go-to” purple lipstick. I love SOO many MAC lipsticks, including the aforementioned Powerhouse and Violetta, along with Girl About Town, Rebel, Rapturous Mattene, Wild ‘Bout You, Queen’s Sin, Port Red, Rocking Chick, Hollywood Nights, Show Orchid, Lovemate, and Rocker. When I’m in a certain mood, I even love Lavender Whip, though it’s not the easier color in the world to wear.
Then it was “Coco” pigment, which began the Era of Taupe Eyeshadow for me, an era that shows every indication of lasting for the rest of my natural life.
And then there came Optimum Black mascara, which introduced me to the wonders of tubing mascara.
I still love MAC, but I quit buying it last year because it’s no longer cruelty-free.
I miss them, but I’ve found plenty of great alternatives.
I meant, of course, that Lavender Whip is “not the EASIEST color in the world to wear.”
Also, I forgot some eyeshadows, like Seedling, Copperplate, Style Snob, FRENCH GREY, and Hypnotizing.
Unbasic White is great, too.
Wild ‘Bout You and Queen’s Sin – two lipsticks I LOVED hardcore. Wish those would get repromoted!
What’s the name of that sparkly red lipstick in your picture? It looks so pretty.
Caliente! http://www.temptalia.com/mac-temperature-rising-lipsticks-reviews-photos-swatches
MAC was the first makeup brand I really fell in love with as well! I can’t imagine how incredible and reaffirming it was to get MAC’s support – but Temptalia is truly worthy of it as your blog continues to be my number one source for all makeup things! <3
Thank you, Kailey! <3
Love the pearlglides! I’ve almost used up Lord It Up, Designer Purple, Undercurrent, and Industrial. Love them all.
They’re really nice!
I love their eyeshadows- particularly Veluxe Pearl (woodwinked) and Matte 2, as well as their pro mattes (Indian Ink was my first.)
Typographic is probably more a dark, dark grey than black but way more lush than Carbon (which they insist on putting in palettes all the time.) The cutback to the Matte 2 line is a great mystery to me. It’s likely to do with the cost of making them than anything else.
Paint pots and investing in their brushes (which can last a long, long, long time) are also good bets.
All I could think re: Matte2s was cost, as well, and that made me sad.
Pigment is what got me into mac. My fav are
All time 1sr-your ladyship pigment, pink opal, burnt burgundy, violet, pink apricot
Lipstick-hue, snob, rebel, myth, style it up, real doll
Eyeshadow-patina, blanc type (#1!), sketch, digit, contrast, vex
Paint pot- not really I adore the old paints they don’t dry out and were better IMO bare canvas, stil life, shimma, canton candy
I too adore their blushes all time fav and super vhtf is pleasure flush. Luckily I have a back up
Other blushes that are my fav: angel, deep plum, mountain high, gingerly, prism
They used to come out with SO many new pigments! I miss that!
1) MAC Prolongwear Foundation
2) MAC Matte Lipsticks(luuurveee Ruby Woo)
3) MAC Shimmertone Blushes
4) Mac Pigments( love tan and rose gold)
5) MAC Eyeshades
What are your favorite shades of Shimmertone Blushes?
I have an ancient matte eyeshadow that came in a big pan the size of the blush pans. It is called Taupe and for years it was my go-to, my only, eyeshadow. I still use it. I currently love Satin Taupe and my two new blushes: Gingerly and Mocha. I have a few old MAC lipsticks that are hanging on as well. Newer formulas are much less drying, but these are still good and go into rotation from time to time.
I think Taupe is a blush now… or it may have been and now it’s discontinued. I can’t remember if it was discontinued or not.
yikes MAC is my fave line so this will have to be made short lol!! Lipsticks= candy yum yum, velvet teddy, violetta, snob, st Germaine, blankety, angel, myth, both gaga vg, silly, tangerine dream, honeylove, cherish, midi mauve, nearly nude, of royalty, flat out fabulous, all fired up, steady going. OMG thats my shortest list. Eyeshadows= amber lights, honey lust, romp, smoke & diamonds, coppering, goldmine, gleam, pink papillion, guacamole, silly, grand entrance, hocus pocus, jealousy wakes, steamy, blue absinthe, gorgeous gold, da bling, parrot, nylon, satin taupe, antiqued, mulch and beluga!!!! Blush= warm soul, dainty, her blooming cheek, plum foolery, dame, peachykeen. dolly mix, her own devices!!! Foundation= NC44 prolongwear, Concealer= prolongwear NW35. Powder= studio fix, which ever color i am at the time. Eyeliner= pearlglides, khol feline, and fluidlines, al of them!!! And brushes all of them!!! wow that was off the top of my head so if i sat down and really wrote a list it would be a mini novel i guess!! MAC was my first fave i been wearing it for almost 11 yrs. And yes i love other higher end brands, but mac has my heart and B2M is freakin genius, makes me want to use almost all mac!!!
Whew!! Thanks for sharing your must-haves’ list, Kristin!
I’m in love with paint pot (painterly), lipsticks diva, sweet succulence and cyber and mascaras mascara in extreme lash and haute & naughty.
Plushlash mascara is still a fave for me!
Mac is one of my favorite brands because the majority of their products actually deliver. Especially eyeshadows, paint pots, and the lipsticks. The eyeshadows are pillowy, soft, and highly pigmented. Te lipsticks are in every possibly every shade in the universe and the paint pots are nice and creamy too
Happy to hear you’ve been so satisfied with your MAC products!
Christine, what is that copper lipstick in the picture? It is gorgeous!
Caliente! http://www.temptalia.com/mac-temperature-rising-lipsticks-reviews-photos-swatches
Definitely agree with you! But since I can’t limit myself to 5, I’d have to add MAC’s MSF, Mineralize Blushes, regular Blushes, Fluidlines, Superslick Liquid Eyeliner, Powerpoint Eye Pencils, Pro Longwear Eyeshadows, Paint Sticks, Paints, Lip Gelees (how could they discontinue them?!), Beauty Powders and their brushes are great as well. Although MAC has added several misses to their permanent range over the last couple of years, I’m glad I can still find many outstanding products and all-time favorites of mine.
It can be tough to limit to five sometimes! Can you imagine if it had to be SHADES?
I might be a minority, but I love mac paints as a primer. The veluxe pearls and frost eyeshadows are also quite nice, sumptuous olive and satin taupe are my favorite. The regular veluxe is horrible though.
The lipglass in viva glam V is probably ma favorite shade of all time!
Paints used to be a staple for most!
MAC can be hit or miss for me, however some of my HG favorite products are MAC so the hits make up for it. I live in Blacktrack, it’s my favorite black gel liner. Woodwinked is possibly my all time favorite eyeshadow, the texture and color is amazing. Also MAC Mocha lipstick is my perfect neutral, I’m already almost halfway through my tube and I bought it last Christmas.
Oh, definitely – they have had some misses!!
My top 5 favorite MAC and most used:
1. Pro Longwear concealer:I can use on either under eyes or to cover my blemishes. Good coverage and does not crease on me, stay put all day, awesome!
2. Lipsticks: especially Plumful, Ravishing, and Ruby woo. Who doesn’t love MAC lipsticks? Good selection of color with reasonable price.
3. Eyeshadows: I love Patina, Sumptuous olive, Sable. such a unique!
4. Paint pots: Soft ochre paint pot is my staple!
5. Blush in Franky scarlet, looks scary in the pan, but so nice on my face.
Christine, does Goldmine eyeshadow have good color pay-off?
I don’t know what’s wrong, when I swatched it at MAC counter, I found it’s not as good.
Goldmine has great color payoff for me!
MAC is my favorite brsnd of all time! The lipticks, pigments, eyeshadows, cremesheen glasses and dazzleglases is what made me fell in love with yhe brand 5 years ago.
Yayy!
Too many to mention! But you hit some. Woodwinked shadow, Springsheen blush, buerre, hover & BBQ lip liner, and too many lipsticks & glosses to mention, like Nyphette.
Nymphette — classic!
Romp is discontinued 🙁
My cat jumped on my bed and scratched his nails trough it last year or so… I went to buy a replacement & found that it was discontinued. 🙁
It is?! 🙁
I have yet to own any MAC products… I know, what kind of makeup lover am I? I think the first products I’ll buy are lipsticks: Rebel, Candy Yum Yum, and Cream in Your Coffee. 🙂 We’ll see…. Thanks for sharing your favorites!!
My pleasure, Jessica! 🙂
I’m a MACaholic, my biggest MAC addiction is Lip Glass by far! At any given time, I rotate 30-40 shades. They’re mostly the original Lip Glass, but I have a few Dazzle Glass thrown in there too 🙂
I used to love Lipglass, but now it’s so thick to me 🙁
MAC lipstick! One of the most recognized lip products out there and every girl can afford it
What are your must-have shades?
I love the way eclair looks, the post is sweet, it has a thanksgiving tone to it.
Ooh, I can see that! Very cool!
Oooh. MAC and I have had a 15 year relationship and while it has not always been smooth sailing, it was my first love. Ruby Woo, Myth, Cyber, Ladybug, Siss, Mystery, Parfait Amour, Sprout, Sketch, and Clone(DC’d) were all early loves of mine. My favorite polishes in the late 90’s were Black and Blue and Jet. Now I’m feeling nostalgic.
LOL! I hear that. First love, but it’s not always a happy relationship 😉
Great picks Christine! My list is:
1. Lipstick – I own a ton of MAC lippies but my current faves are Daddy’s Little Girl, Deeply Adored and Flat Out Fabulous.
2. Brow pencils – I swear by Spiked and Stud!
3. Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Sun Power
4. Eyeliners (technakohl, pearl glide, pro longwear, kohl power)
5. Lip pencils – I like the regular line but I love the pro long wear pencils now. My current faves are Magenta, Currant, Cork, Fashion Boost, Vino and Nightmoth
The highlighters get an honorable mention as well. I can’t get enough of the MSFs and lustre drops!
I used to swear by Stud! I think it was Stud… it might have been Spiked, lol!
Face+Body foundation is one of my favorites.
Lipsticks: Morange, Rebel, Pink Noveau, Diva, Girl About Town and Ruby Woo
Blush: Gingerly, Modern Mandarin and Devil
Oh and great brushes and lip pencils!
They have some really great brushes, for sure!
I’ve actually been more excited about MAC’s permanent line than the LE collections that they’ve been shooting out. I’ve rediscovered some old faves and discovered some new one’s as well.
They have a really nice permanent range – glad you’ve had some time to discover it!
I would like to add their Pro Longwear concealer because it is truly the best around that I have tried! It really does stay, and gets rid of any imperfections. Actually, it was funny because when I first started using it over my foundation I got compliments on my complexion. You know it must be a good product when people notice things like that.
Yayy! Must be really nice to have found your perfect concealer!
Sometimes with the duds that come out in the endless LE collections it is difficult to remember how good MAC’s permanent line can be and this list has reminded me and made me remember to look beyond the packaging sometimes! Although the cool eyes Christmas palette is tempting for the first time in years and the Christmas collection seems to be much better this year generally compared to the last three years or so.
Totally agree, Jo! It’s very easy to overlook their permanent line!
Where to start…
1. Pigments! Violet, chartreuse, old gold, blue brown, kelly green, golders green, and copper are amazing! I’m so sad that the holiday pigments were mostly repromotes.
2. Paint pots, especially fresco rose and delft.
3. Shadow: lucky green, parfait amour, stars and rockets, haux, and the new veluxe pearlfusion in pink luxe. And anything green. Really.
4. Lipsticks: O, fluid, icon, fresh moroccan, strength, plastique, vg2, hug me.
5. Lipglass: i am devastated they cancelled enchantess! It was the BEST color ever.
(I kind of love duochromes,) 🙂
Great picks, JR! 😀
Undercurrent is my all time favorite pearlglide….. There is something so gorgeously magnificent about the gold gleam and amazing pigment, plus it LASTS and stays put. On it’s own it’s so fabulous.
It’s so pretty!
Ladies, what about the blushes??? We simply CANNOT forget about the blushes! Before MAC I seldom wore blushes. I reluctantly bought Harmony 3 years ago…… and now I have 20+ blushes. I had dabbled in Estee Lauder and Clinique colors but could simply never get the color payoff and shades I felt comfortable with.
Here are the blushes that have been getting all my loving lately:
Prom Princess
Darkly My Dear
BareFaced
The Perfect Cheek
Modern Mandarin
Have you tried Estee Lauder’s Pure Color blushes? Those are pretty pigmented!
MAC Pearlglide and Tarte’s water proof eyeliners and may favorite pwncils formulas. I want more Pearlglide shades. lol
Me too! I would love to see more shades!
Oh, MAC! I was intimidated by MAC because it seemed to me it was a brand for pros only. But one day I found Pursebuzz and Enkore Makeup in YouTube and then Temptalia.com and I realized it was a brand for everyone, quite more expensive compared to what I used to buy, but that I could afford once in a while. Well, “once in a while” became a sort of addiction and since 2008 I’m absolutely a MAC fan, especially of items of their permanent range, to which I keep going back to! I can perfectly understand why MAC pigments made you fall in love with makeup – never before MAC had I seen such lovely, vibrant loose powders inviting me to play and experiment. Now I’m grateful to MAC for having recognized Temptalia.com in the first place – and look at you now!!
All time MAC favorites include:
Eyeshadows: Shale, Shroom, Arena, Charcoal Brown, Sumptuous Olive, Satin Taupe, Expensive Pink, Brule, Vex, Satellite Dreams and LE Glamour Check! and Centre Stage.
Paint Pots: Painterly and LE Half Wild and Hyperviolet.
Lipglasses: Viva Glam VI and LE Pret-a-Papier, Light that Fire and Strange Potion.
Lipsticks: Viva Glam VI, Viva Glam V, Capricious, See Sheer, Ultradarling and LE Warm me Up, Ever Hip, Mehr, Offshoot, Funbathing and Apres Chic. Oh, and I looooved Slimshines…..miss them!
Dazzleglasses: Get Rich Quick, Smile and Baby Sparks.
Blushes: Peachykeen, Warm Soul and Peaches
Eyeliners: Pearlglides absolutely rock – I especially love Rave, Black Line and Undercurrent. And I wear Blacktrack fluidline almost every day!
Brushes: 239, 217, 224, 213, 226, 219, 129, 190, 194, 187
I also love Spiked Eyebrow Pencil, MSF Natural, Studio Finish Concealer, Paint in Bare Canvas (the first product I ever used as eyeshadow primer), Fix +, the Brush Cleanser…..I am sure I am missing something, but these products are what come to mind right now!
my mac favorites include
1. paint pot in bare study
2. lipstick in rebel
3. liquid foundation
4. hd powder
5. totally agree with your matte eyeshadow choices 🙂