Review: Mac Eyeshadow

Mac eye shadow in charcoal brown matte and Mac paint pot in painterly


So just after christmas me and my sister went to a Mac store to get makeovers for new years eve and I picked up two eyeshadows. The woman doing the makeovers said that their paint pots are supposedly meant to last 8 hours without creasing if you use them as a base to any eyeshadow - better then their eyeshadow primer. When told these things you always have to take it with a pinch of salt because make-up companies will always try and get you to buy their products by saying things that aren't necessarily true...but I liked the colour and the effect so much that I decided to get it, along with a powder eyeshadow (paint pots have a cream formulation) 

Okay so my first impressions were good, I loved the soft creamy formulation of the paint pot and the eyeshadow gave a really good pigmented colour when swatched on my hand (as you can see below). The name, however, confuses me...when I think of charcoal I think of a very dark grey/black colour and this being called 'charcoal brown matte' would make me think it would be a very dark almost grey brown but instead it is a relatively light soft brown, for me I prefer this but I don't really know why they chose to call it this..As for the paint pot in the container its a very mid tone nude with a hint of peach, when swatched it gives an almost champagne colour and it loses that peach and gains more of a brown but it is otherwise very pigmented! It has very nice soft feel and isn't too heavy, although this is a nude colour and I can imagine their more coloured ones to be a lot heavier in colour. Here are some swatches..

Left: Paint pot in painterly  Right: Eyeshadow in charcoal brown matte

Now for the lasting effect of these products, the paint pot lasts all day without creasing which makes me very happy and pleased with the product. For the eyeshadow, I've never tried the colour on it's own without the paint pot as a base so I cant tell it's lasting effect for when it's on it's own but with the paint pot as a base the colour will last all day! However it doesn't stay put, by the end of the evening it will have smudged and faded a little so keep the pot and some makeup remover handing for a touchup. The colour can be applied lightly for a slight tint of brown on heavily for a darker full on brown. Both products, due to being from mac, are on the pricey side at, £12 for the eyeshadow and £14.50 for the paint pot. I think the paint pot is definitely worth it! It's a great product that lasts all day and gives your lids that healthy glow! Whereas for the shadow, I wouldn't recommend buying it, it's not an amazing product that blew me away and there for with the price being £12 it would be a lot more cost effective to get a drugstore product rather then one from mac. 

Hope this helped,

Ditzy Doll xxxxx