MAC & Beth Ditto Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder ($38.00 for 0.35 oz.) is an odd product. At first, it seemed like a cheek product. It’s listed under Face > Powder on the brand’s website, but the description is, “Play with polka dots to create highlighting effects on your eyes by blending the colours of this ultra-fine, lightweight pressed powder with a velvet-smooth finish.” With all that said, it appears to be an eyeshadow “palette” so-to-speak, but I’m baffled as to why they put it under the powder category instead of under eyes/shadow, if that’s what this intended to be used for. Nevertheless, I tried it as an eyeshadow and swirled together as a cheek color.

I’m only rating this on the performance of the product as an eyeshadow because of how it is described by MAC specifically–I just wanted to cover all the bases and show you how it works and looks as a cheek color, too, because I know a lot of us thought that was what it was initially!

I’m not keen on the texture of the powder. It’s dry, powdery, and half of the shades look chalky applied. When applied as an eyeshadow, it was so-so, but it absolutely needed a primer underneath in order for the colors to show up (which is what I have shown below). The darker brown is the most pigmented shade out of the compact. As a blush, it left a powdery finish on my cheeks that wasn’t particularly flattering.  When I tested it on the eyes for application/color and wear, it lasted about six hours over a primer before fading around the edges (I couldn’t really get it to show up without a primer).  When I tested out the longevity of the product as a blush, it wore for seven hours and only looked a smidgen faded after eight.

The first shade I swatched was a medium-dark terracotta brown with orange undertones. It was the most pigmented of all the shades. It’s more orange and lighter than MAC Soft Brown. It has more brown in it compared to MAC Rule. The second shade is a pale peach-orange with a matte finish that’s sheer and powdery. NARS Ramatuelle was the closest dupe.

The next shade was a medium-dark blue that applied very sheer and chalky. It was darker than Dior Swimming Pool and NYX Cool Blue. MAC Winkle is darker and cooler-toned. The fourth shade was a sallow yellow with a sheer, chalky color payoff. MAC Three Ring Yellow is similar.

The last shade was a soft, light-medium yellow-toned pink that was fairly sheer and powdery. Inglot #359 is a smidgen darker. MAC Paradise Island isn’t as yellow-toned. MAC Launch Away is more pigmented. MAC Crew is a smidgen warmer. When swirled together, the effect is a dirty brown-tan with a mostly matte finish and ends up rather powdery. MAC Sun Dipped is so much better. Chanel Sable Beige is yellower and has a golden sheen.

As an eyeshadow palette, the packaging is a bit frustrating–dust and excess powder from the colors will mix, which means when you’re trying to get pure yellow, you might find brown-hued dust on top, which will give it a dirty look. You get a lot of product, but the price tag is rather steep, too. I imagine it would be more practical and useful to have put together a quad of four colors and priced it at $38 instead. I used MAC’s 239, and it felt almost too big for the polka dots.  At the end of the day, it feels and looks like a collector powder, and it exemplifies a common problem with multi-tasking products: they’re never as good in one as they are separate.

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder

MAC Powder to the People Powder (Diffused Flash)

MAC Powder to the People Powder (Studio Lighting)

MAC Powder to the People Powder over primer (this was just to see how the colors applied, NOT a look, not blended, etc.)