MAC Nudes & Metallics Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1)

Christine — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:45:51 +0000

MAC Bare Minimum Eyeshadow

MAC Nudes & Metallics Eyeshadows ($15.00 for 0.05 oz.) include eight shades in total, and these are four of them. I grouped these four together as they were all in the Nudes family. This post features: Bare Minimum (sheer soft pinky nude with pearl), Body Conscious (*sheer warm mid-tone nude), Exposed (sheer neutral mid-tone nude), and Glimpse of Flesh (sheer warm pink nude).

Bare Minimum is described as a “sheer soft pinky nude with pearl [with a satin finish].” It’s a light-medium peach with a hint of pink and a satin shimmer. It has semi-sheer to semi-opaque color payoff that’s buildable to mostly opaque coverage. bareMInerals Peace is more beige. Tarte Giant Peach is lighter. theBalm Third Eye Blinded is very similar. Dolce & Gabbana Jewels is more frosted.

Body Conscious is described as a “sheer warm mid-tone nude.” It’s a medium orange-brown with a barely-there satin sheen. It had rich color payoff (as opposed to the sheer in the description), and the texture was soft and silky. MAC Indie Spirit is browner. MAC Soft Brown is darker, browner. MAC One to Watch is more golden. MAC Tete-a-tint is browner, less orange. MAC Star Myth has a much more frosted finish, but it had a similar orange/brown coloring.

Exposed is described as a “sheer neutral mid-tone nude.” It’s a medium-dark brown with warm, terracotta orange undertones and a satiny finish. It had incredibly rich, full color payoff (again, not sheer as described) with a soft, silky-smooth texture (that was a smidgen powdery but didn’t look that way applied). It was very easy to blend on the lid. Guerlain Turandot #2 is more plum/less brown. Guerlain Les Fauves #2 is warmer, redder. MAC Rusty is lighter (and a cream product). MAC Soft Brown is very similar, just softer. Inglot #357 is yellower and matte.

Glimpse of Flesh is described as a “sheer warm pink nude.” It is a light-medium beige-shimmered, rosy brown with a pearly sheen. It had good pigmentation (not sheer at all), and it was soft and smooth. Burberry Pale Nude is more beige, not quite as warm-toned. Too Faced Marzipan is lighter, more beige. MAC Soft Brown is darker, redder, and matte. L’Oreal Blinged & Brilliant is much, much frostier and more beige.

Go figure — MAC puts out eyeshadows that aren’t described as sheer that are sheer, and then they launch these four shades, which are described all as sheer, and they’re really not. They’re some of the best nude eyeshadows MAC has released in at least a year, maybe longer. Swatching and using these was a refreshing experience; I was impressed, and my hope was renewed. Of course, unlike a sheer eyeshadow that isn’t supposed to be sheer (so it never builds up in its intensity), a pigmented eyeshadow can be more readily sheered out or used sheerly simply by using less. The texture of these four are all soft enough that they can be blended out for a softer application, but if you genuinely want barely-there eyeshadows, you might look elsewhere. (Can I just vent my frustration on this? These are amazing eyeshadows except they’re more pigmented than described!)

The texture of all four were consistently impressive; soft, smooth, and silky. They blended and applied evenly and easily, and when worn together, they worked in harmony. When I tested them for wear, all four lasted eight hours with very, very minimal fading that didn’t become noticeable until the ninth hour.

P.S. — The Nudes & Metallics Collection may be frustrating to find. When it launched in PRO stores on the 18th, every store I called was sold out of over half the collection already. The online launch date has been pushed to mid-June (no specific date was given). It is supposed to be for PRO only, which may mean that it is restricted to PROs only even online, but you should be able to call MAC PRO at 1-800-387-6707 and order (for anyone, PRO and non-PRO alike) per a LiveChat I did this morning.