Archived Post

MAC Eyeshadow Swatches - Browns (Part 1)


MAC Tete-a-Tint Eyeshadow

MAC Eyeshadow Swatches – Browns (Part 1)

As promised, here are even more brown MAC Eyeshadows ($14.50 for 0.05 oz.) — I have a few more palettes to work through, including more neutrals (which include more browns, too).

Tete-a-Tint is a soft, medium-dark peach-brown with a Matte2 finish. It is now discontinued. Inglot #337 is similar but less warm–more of a brown than tinted with burnt peach.
Amber Lights is a rich, warm-toned coppery bronze with a frost finish. Inglot #405 is similar, perhaps more bronze than golden.
Soft Brown is a muted, medium-dark tan brown with a matte finish. Inglot #337 is closer to Soft Brown than it is to Tete-a-Tint.
Bamboo is a soft, yellowed brown with a matte finish.
Motif is a pale yellow with a duochrome of pink iridescence. It has a frost finish.
Arena is a softened, medium beige-brown with a satin finish.  Illamasqua’s Furore is similar but a little more orange.
Espresso is a neutral, dark brown with a matte finish.
Mystery is a cool-toned, gray-brown with a satin finish.
Smut is a cool-toned, charcoal brown with burgundy shimmer and a velvet finish.
Satin Taupe is a dark taupe with a frost finish. Bare Escentuals Meteorite is similar.
Romp is a medium-dark, golden brown with a frost finish. Urban Decay Rush is similar to Romp, but it’s less golden.

Shades like Amber Lights, Romp, and Satin Taupe are some of MAC’s standout eyeshadows within their entire permanent range. Whether the colors are ones you’d wear or not, these are highly pigmented, smooth-textured, and so easy to blend. I have found that the neutral range of mattes is a cinch to work with; they really aren’t fussy–not powdery, chalky, or poorly pigmented. Soft Brown is one of MAC’s bestselling eyeshadow shades. Arena works so lovely as an all-over lid color because it has a subtle sheen but still remains rather sedate. Mystery and Smut are nice browns for those with cooler undertones. The only shade that falls a little short is Motif, which has a slightly gritty texture and less than perfect color payoff.

MAC Eyeshadow Swatches - Browns (Part 1)

A-
9
Product
9
Pigmentation
9
Texture
10
Longevity
4
Application
91%
Total


MAC Tete-a-Tint Eyeshadow


MAC Amber Lights Eyeshadow


MAC Soft Brown Eyeshadow


MAC Bamboo Eyeshadow


MAC Motif Eyeshadow


MAC Arena Eyeshadow


MAC Espresso Eyeshadow


MAC Mystery Eyeshadow


MAC Smut Eyeshadow


MAC Satin Taupe Eyeshadow


MAC Romp Eyeshadow

36 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Alis Avatar

Hey Christine, are you ever going to post Inglot swatches for the rest of their eyeshadows? The AMC shine ones? I was building up another 20 palette based on your swatches and left some blank spots to fill them up with the AMC but you haven’t posted any more so I’m just wondering if I should keep waiting or if you are not posting any more? Thanks

Aleeya Avatar

Hi Christine! I’m looking for a shadow to fill in my eyebrows because I don’t like using pencils anymore. I hear a lot great things about using Nars Coconut Grove to get that job done. I like what I see in Mac Expresso. How does those two colors compare?

Olive Avatar

Love the Amber Lights. Motif is the only one I’ve hit pan bottom with, it’s incredible as a highlighter. I use it almost every day, just not with blues and greys.

Rae // theNotice Avatar

Oh my gosh, I can’t believe Amber Lights isn’t a more hyped-up product – it looks absolutely amazing! Also really loving the look of Smut and Arena (and Satin Taupe, which I have but which looks *infinitely* more gorgeous against your skintone than it does my own!)

rashmi Avatar

Christine 😀 i must say .. you are doing AMAZING swatches and making them easy for us to just go and look at them and the small reviews which you are adding are AWESOME and this can ONLY be done by YOU honey …
once again YOU ARE THE BEST sweetie and cant thank you enough for this…
and now for my list according to your swatches –
Romp , Twinks , Nylon , Arena …. and so many more

Love you for these post dear and you are doing exceptional work once again 😀 😀

Charly Avatar

Hi, christine!I need your suggestion please? I’m a neophyte when it comes to make up and recently addicted to M.A.C.. If i were to build a palette of four for my every day kit of MAC brown eyeshadows to make a soft brown smokey eyes for day time/for the office, among these what should i put in my palette? I am of chinese descent, NC35 in the MAC powders? thank you

Rosie Avatar

I want them all! I have none of these colors!!!! Thanks for this I always grab the bright colors and I’ve been trying to branch into browns because they also go well with brights!!!! I def… have a Mac brown list now Thanks 🙂

Leticia Avatar

You´re so right, Christine – I agree MAC´s browns are amazing and worth being checked out. I looooove Arena, Satin Taupe and Soft Brown – I find myself reaching for them more often than any other MAC ES I own. Oh, and Shroom too 🙂 !

Amy Avatar

Great swatches, how would you compare Amber Lights to Urban Decays Half Baked from the naked palette, are they similar at all?
Also, what’s a great MAC eyeshadow for brows? i have light brown hair 🙂 x

Sarah Avatar

Hi Christine, my HG brown which I use pretty much everyday on my lids and to fill in my brows is MAC Studied Brown. It’s really old though so I was thinking of getting a new fresh eyeshadow but it must be discontinued. Can you recommend the closest MAC shade?

Lina/ FlorentziaArt Avatar

Great swatches.:D I just own 4 mac eyeshadow, Amberslight and Satin taupe from this list (which are my favorites), Sushiflower and Beautimarked.

Hey, I have a question about MAC’s brown eyeshadows, Do you know the differences between Mystery,Concrete and Brun are? I searched for swatches everwhere but still can’t figure it out. I am gonna buy some Mac Eyeshadows soon, and one of them will be either Mystery, Concrete and Brun… I am looking for a super super darkbrown from MAC in matte or satin finish. =P

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!