Wednesday 28 May 2014

MAC Must Have's - Eyes


Going to a store like MAC can be really over whelming. Since its easily accessible in a place like India, and I've tried loads of their products over the last few years, I thought I would narrow down my favorite eye products for you. I did a similar post for base products, which you can find here.

Eyeshadow Quad
If I were starting out all over again, I probably wouldn't jump right in and start with the larger palettes, I'd say start small and work your way up. A quad should have everything you need for your eye makeup, in my opinion, so that would include an eyebrow/eyeliner shade, a crease/transition colour and 2 lid colours or 1 highlight and 1 lid colour (which is how most premade quads work). For Indian skin, I find Brown Down to be a really good eyebrow shade as it's pretty neutral toned. Its a veluxe matte finish, which makes it really easy to work with. If you're a fan of subtle eyeliners, this works really well for that purpose as well.
Texture (Peachy brown with shimmer) is a Velvet formula. Though the description says it has shimmer, which is noticeable in the pan, it doesn't translate on the eye, no matter what your skintone, this one makes an excellent crease colour which you can blend out your lid shade with.
When it comes to the other two its a personal choice really, I'd say everybody needs to own Woodwinked (Warm Antique Gold), veluxe pearl finish. It brightens your eye like no other, and compliments just about every skintone I've used it on. If you're more on the tan side of the spectrum, it also works great as an inner corner highlight.
For the last one, you could get yourself a brow bone highlight - which I'm personally not a huge fan off, but something like Ricepaper or Shroom is perfect for that. But I'd just choose a slightly darker lid shade, like Bronze (Gold-Brown with Golden Bronze Shimmer) which is a nice frosty shade. It works great on the outer half of the lid with Woodwinked, or even on its own with some smudgey liner and tons of mascara.

Pro Longwear Paintpot
If you're someone who needs a good stickey base, I'd say, BUY A PAINTPOT. I use Groundwork on myself, but Soft Ochre/Painterly works better if you have lighter skin. For tan skins, I find that Groundwork works best, even though its pretty cool toned. They make very good bases, but also work really well on their own. Another favorite of mine is Indianwood, which is just the most beautiful flattering shade of bronze/gold. I've been meaning to get Constructivist too, because y'all know how much I love my red-browns.

Brushes
I'll be the first to say that MAC Brushes are a bit on the scratchey side of the spectrum. But you just cannot beat the shapes. And as much as I love synthetic brushes for both price point and the insanely soft bristles, you have to give real hair brushes props for lasting ability. My older 217 is over 3-4 years old and still works and looks like it did when I bought it. As far as eyebrushes go, I'd say skin the 239, the Sigma version is just as good. But get the 217, because no matter what your eyeshape, it just works. Another brush which is newer to my MAC Brush Lineup is the 224, which is a fluffier bigger brush. I use this to mainly soften harsh lines. Now, I would normally have added the 219 too, but your fingers do a better job, if you ask me.

I know this list doesn't contain a lot of cult products like their Eye Kohls (Rimmel ScandalEyes are better/cheaper) or the very coveted Blacktrack Fluidline (Maybelline Gel Liner is better, cheaper and doesn't dry out as fast) but that's because the alternatives are waay better.

What do you guys think? Agree? What would you add?
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10 comments:

  1. Bang on list! I want to get 224 brush..its been on my wish list since quite sometime now..also Indianwood paint pot! Texture and Shroom are like must have's! Shroom is the most subtle highlighter ever!

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    1. Shroom is pretty cool :D
      I'm glad you agree :)

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  2. I've heard a lot about MAC Paintpots, but I'm waiting till I use up my color tattoos before I invest in one! As for brushes... well I was saving up to get some MAC ones but of late I've been thinking of going with Hakuhodo, and some Zoeva.

    The MAC shades I'm probably going to go for are Woodwinked, Expensive Pink, Satin Taupe and either Sable, Coppering or Vex! I have soooo many shadows though, I have no justification to get more, lol.

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    1. You have to try it, I mean, its for the sake of research! :D

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  3. The only mac shadows I have are two extra dimension ones from the allure aquatic line. I need a quad! I've got paint pots in rubenesque and painterly that I absolutely love too. I find nanshy have some great brushes, their seven piece eye kit literally holds all the eye brushes you could need for a look.

    Katydesu.blogspot.co.uk

    Katy xx

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    1. Ahh, I shall look into that. :D I'm eagerly waiting for that line to release here.

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  4. I haven't explored much of MAC eye products. I went and brought painterly paintpot for the shadow base. It looks so patchy on me but as its just the base I have gotten around pacifying myself that the ashiness won't be visible :). I need to try some MAC eyeshadows. Somehow MAC eyepencil and mascara are not worth the price.

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    1. Groundwork is so much nicer than Painterly on our skin! :)
      Shadows are definitely worth it.

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  5. My current Mac shadows include handwritten (which is amazing for smokey eyes and liner), swiss chocolate (transition), wood winked (thanks to you!) and two unsung heroes - shale and greensmoke, both subtle and smokey ways to wear colour! I am eyeing texture though!

    I wouldn't say all Mac shadows are must haves though. Inglot and mug make some excellent high quality dupes, don't they?

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    1. Certain eyeshadows are definite must have's, but never the entire range!
      MUG is probably my favorite overall, but in terms of quality, I'd say Bobbi Brown outdoes them all!

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