Written Reviews

There are things in make-up that are wonderful classics... and MAC Teddy is one of them. Sure, it's a boring dark brown pencil, but it compliments so many looks, adds definition without being a strong blacks, it stays put but it's smudgeable for 10 seconds (can become an all over the lid color). I have sensitive teary eyes and the classic MAC Eye Kohl never cause me problems. It sharpens well, the color at the bottom at the pencil makes it easy to identify. The finish is matte, but it has the slightest shine that makes the color even more wearable.

MAC Risque is a soft creamy eyeliner, which I got to use on my waterline. The color is a cream-beige with white undertone, which ended up not being ideal to complement my NC20 complexion; it looks more natural than an white eyeliner, but it's still pale and not my ideal "nude". The finish is matte, but the color isn't opaque; it has some transparency, but the formula is too creamy to try to build it up. The formula it's not too waxy, but it's slightly emollient, so sometimes it just sat in my waterline. It starts fading easily, especially if you have wet teary eyes (like me). It's a light, yellowed beige with warm undertones and a mostly matte finish. It had semi-opaque color coverage in one stroke, which was buildable to mostly opaque color with two layers. Like Bare Asset, it was creamy without being too waxy or too emollient, and it also wore well for seven and a half hours. See comparison swatches/ view dupes. (I don't have single swatches available in the gallery, as the original swatches are quite old, but this seems quite similar to MAC NC15/NW20.)

Dubonnet is such a wonderful deep red color, but I simply can't get align with how creamy and slippery is the MAC Amplified formula. It's a 5 star for the color, 1 star for the formula. I would highly recommend it to people who enjoy this type of formula because Dubonnet is the kind of dark warm red that suits most skin tones and situations. The Amplified formula smudges very easily, transfers easily when I drink, eat or even talk too much; still, it has decent pigmentation from the first swipe. I guess I enjoy too much satins and mattes.

MAC It's Vintage is a beautiful neutral purple, with hints of eggplant and taupe. A great shade for a slightly different smoky eye look or a grunge one eyeshadow look. The formula is quite versatile, with a fluffy brush and little pressure I can get a very light washed out color, while building it up adds a wonderful pigmentation up to full opacity. For a matte eye shadow it was very easy to blend, without getting any patchiness. There's no fallout and with a good eye primer the color stays put all day without creasing.

MAC Shady Santa is a beautiful dark burgundy, with more notes of plum and brown than red (at least on my light-medium yellow complexion). It's not necessarily the best matte formula from MAC, it's a little bit dry and has the tendency to apply patchy; I have to be very careful with the application since once I touch the eyelid the color stays there (it's very hard to diffuse). Not the best blendability, but the color is worthwhile the extra care the application needs. With a good primer it stays put all day without creasing. It's a nice color for both an one-color look or a complex smoky eye. The firmer nature of the eyeshadow almost prevents any fallout. I get good pigmentation from the first swipe, full opacity is almost instantaneous.

At first glance MAC Ambering Rose seemed in the pan too dark for my light-medium complexion, but this warm copper shade sheers out a lot on first application. Off course, you can build it up to more pigmentation, but with a light sweep I get a muted slightly natural look; I am very light handed in general with blush application. On some face powders I noticed it tends to apply a little bit patchy, for a satin blush it's not the most blendable and easy to work formula. I really like to use Ambering Rose when I want the `sun-burned` look, the shimmer is barely noticeable, it just adds a non-flat glow from within. It doesn't emphasize my pores more than usual. It's one of the blushes that I can notice on my face even after 8-10 hours (full work day + commute).

MAC My Tweedy is a nude take on coral; usually corals / medium-peaches look unflattering on me, but My Tweedy softness make it work with my complexion. Somehow the orange-ness doesn't come through that much. On my light-medium skin My Tweedy is that versatile color that can be both all over lid and transition shade. The Powder Kiss formula is matte but not flat, very easy to work with, but My Tweedy in particular was a little bit harder to blend and had the tendency to skip / apply patchy (although still it was workable). The formula isn't buildable (as in I don't get more pigmentation), but the opacity is great from the first swipe. The fallout was almost inexistent and the eyeshadow stays put all day with a good primer.

Velvet Teddy is one of my favorite MAC lipstick, my almost perfect natural my lips but better beige. Teddy 2.0 looks slightly darker and more pinky-brown, still natural looking (and low maintenance). The warmer undertones make it slightly less flattering than Velvet Teddy on me. The Powder Kiss formula is a little too creamy for my taste, I much prefer the Matte formula from MAC. Teddy 2.0 has good pigmentation, while still easy to sheer out to look more like a balm. It applies smoothly since it's so creamy, but also moves a lot during the day (especially when I talk a lot).

MAC Coppertone is the type of blush that can easily be used to sculpt your face, if you can do warmer shades. On me (light-medium yellow undertones, MAC NC20) it's a little bit dark, but I can make it work most times. The finish is matte but not flat, but requires a little bit of care as sometimes it can apply patchy or be not so easy to blend (especially on a drier skin or with the wrong brush). The copper undertone is not that obvious once applied on the skin.

I totally agree with this websites description, "MAC Amber Lights is a very warm-toned, medium-dark copper with a frost finish". The color is wonderful in the pan, the issue is that the warm copper undertones look very unflattering on me, it makes my eyes look tired, almost red. Otherwise, for a frost eyeshadow it's very pigmented, easy to apply and blend, very smooth formula. It has some fallow, big chunks of shimmer, but it's not unusual for this type of finish. Lasts all day with a good primer without creasing or fading.

I am actually truly devoted to Chili (the MAC lipstick, off course) and this shade is a more muted variation of it. Devoted to Chili it's a warm brick red. It's an easy going day-to-day dark shade because it doesn't really apply that opaque (I sometimes use it more like a lip tint). The Powder Kiss formula has a powdery-satin finish and applies in thin very `moveable` layer that I can feel on my lips. It transfers and fades easily, while leaving the lips slightly hydrated.

MAC Greystone is a dark cool toned matte gray, perfect for one shadow grunge looks. On me (light-medium, warm yellow undertones) I noticed more petrol undertones, not really bluish. For a dark matte the formula is incredibly easy to build and blend, with the proper technique I don't get any patchiness. The pigmentation is incredible, I get full opacity from the first swipes. I never noticed any fallout during application.

MAC Peachtwist is a warm toned medium copper, with a pearl finish that's almost imperceptible once blended but which adds that something-something that makes a blush not apply flat. It blends easily and lasts all day. I'm light-medium with warm yellow undertones (NC20) and Peachtwist is slightly too dark for me, I think it would work better for medium complexion. I can apply it very lightly to get a natural look, but since it's so pigmented I can easily apply too much.

MAC Glitch in the Matrix is a beautiful cool toned metallic grey; on my warm yellow complexion it shows some flattering blueish undertones. The color has medium opacity, but it's easy to build to full opacity. For a metallic it's surprisingly easy to blend and lasts all day long without fading or creasing. It's one of the MAC formulas that it's prone to fallout both when picking up with a bush and during the day, but not significant. It just requires more prep and care.

MAC That's Showbiz Baby is a beautiful emerald green with subtle gold sparkle. It's quite sheer from the start, it requires quite some building to get full opacity, but that makes it a versatile color (I can go from a sheer wash to a glam medium-dark). The big issues is this eyeshadow has tons of fallout. And it's not just during application, it continues to flake all day long messing up my under eye concealer.

MAC Cobalt light-medium bright blue with hints of purple, very suitable for people that are into pastels. It's not really my kind of color, but the eyeshadow in itself is pretty good. It's slightly powdery, but it doesn't cause fallout. It's quite sheer on first application. but it's easy to blend and build. With a basic eyeshadow primer it stay put all day without creasing.

MAC Dare You is a medium-dark red, with slight warm brown undertones. It's quite similar with multiple other MAC red shades, easily dupable in other formulas. I'm light medium with warm yellow undertones, the shade is flattering on me, it's a dark red that's quite wearable during the day. The Creemsheen formula from MAC is as always comfortable and moisturizing, but it's not my favorite since it's slippery and moves a lot during the day (bad when you talk a lot or sip water often); might be better paired with a lip liner. The pearl finish is almost unnoticeable, but gives a satin look that makes the lips appear more plumped. It has a decent color payoff from the first application, but not full opacity; it can be build up, but not too much.

Werk Werk Werk is a cool pink red, medium-bright (can't detect any darkness) with a comfortable wear and a buildable opacity. The color is nice, but not the most flattering on me (yellow warm undertones, light-medium complexion); it's the kind that also makes my teeth look more yellow. At first the lipstick applies very sheer, more like a stain or balm, giving a soft blurred look. It can be build to medium opacity easily. The Powder Kiss formula is comfortable, moisturizing, but doesn't behave like a Matte; it has a lot of slip and moves more like a Creamsheen. It's creamy, not weightless, I can definitely feel it on my lips.

Power to the Purple is a bright medium matte purple with cool undertones, a color that I see more suitable for a make-up artist kit than a regular user since it's so... colorful. The eyeshadow is very pigmented, buildable to an intense color, but it's a color hard to work with, requires a lot of blending skills to not apply patchy. Also, it's one of the most powdery MAC formulas. I can't simply apply this eyeshadow without having lots of pick-up and it's definitely mandatory to do the eyes first because it gives tons of fallout (and purple eyeshadow is hard to clean).

MAC Patina is unique beautiful taupe-brown gold in the pan, but lacks pigmentation; no matter which brush I tried I could only get a light wash of color. I guess layering on top of something more opaque would help, but I personally don't bother with that. I would actually say it has more cool undertones, maybe even some greyness. The formula is very prone to fallout, when I pick it up with a brush I get almost chunky bits.