Beauty Product Reviews | Page 15
One of the best brush investments you will ever make.
This IS the ultimate crease brush. The size of the brush combined with its tapering make it effortless to blend both muted and bright crease and lid colors. My only caveat is that the bristles are white, so even if I clean it it doesn't look so as bright (haven't experimented with bleaching it but I'm kind of scared to...)
I love this brush so much that I have 2 on hand. One serves as the main crease applicator, while I use the other to blend and buff to perfection. I've searched and searched for cheaper alternatives to this brush, but I just keep coming back to the MAC 217. Do yourself a favor, buy 5 less Starbucks drinks, and spend the $22.50 on this brush. You will not regret it. And if, by some miracle, you do? Well, I'll buy you lattes for a month.
Costly, but a worthy investment
This brush looks like a skunk took a patch of its hair and stuck it on a MAC brush. Don't let that fool you. Because this brush is amazing.
The MAC 187 Duo Fibre Brush is nicknamed "the skunk brush" because of its obvious aesthetic look, but it was designed as a multi-purpose face brush. The white fibers on top are whispy and soft; they were designed to pick up less pigment from very pigmented products to give a natural look to the skin. This brush is ESSENTIAL to applying foundation, powder, bronzer, blush, and highlighter! Every person needs to have this in their arsenal.
This is priced at $42 on the mac website. Sephora makes a very good duplicate at $35 <a class='textlink' href='http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P148005&categoryId=S4600&shouldPaginate=true' rel='nofollow noopener' target='_blank'>http://sephora.com/browse/product.j...</a>
Personally, at $7 difference, I would splurge for the original MAC one :)
A lot of people can't comprehend spending $42 on one brush, but considering its high quality, multi-purpose use, and overall cool look....The MAC 187 Duo Fibre "Skunk" brush is one worth having.
Great overall blending brush
I am by no means strictly a MAC junkie, but there are some products that are definitely worth the splurge. This is no exception! The MAC 224 is a huge tapered fluffy blending brush. I don't use it for specific crease work (see my review of the MAC 217 brush) but I use it to apply large amounts of base shadow and to blend out my entire eye look. It's great quality, doesn't shed on me, and PERFORMS.
Tip: Use the 224 to blend your undereye concealer (tip I learned from Pixiwoo on Youtube) Put a few dabs of concealer on undereyes then blend with the MAC 224 brush. It looks way more natural than if you used a flat synthetic concealer. Yay for non raccoon eyes!
Great texture. Turns orange. Sad day.
I wanted to love Woodwinked. I really, truly, deeply wanted to love Woodwinked. In the pan it looks like a gorgeous and buttery soft bronzey brown, but on the lids it shows up ORANGE with a hint of bronze. Not the look I was going for. I recommend MAC Tempting for the color that Woodwinked should have been. If you want a very orangey color, then this shade is right for you! Regardless of color, the texture is divine.
***Please see my review on Sumptuous Olive for a quick and general overview of MAC eyeshadows
THE best Lustre MAC has to offer
When MAC's Lustre line came out, I was not a fan. Too glittery, too much fallout, no pigmentation. I tried MAC Idol Eyes (another lustre) first and didn't like it, so I was hesitant to try more from that line.
When I went back to the counter to exchange the eye shadow, I saw Tempting, a gorgeous honey-dipped bronze. The color was SO beautiful, but I was apprehensive after reading it was a lustre and seeing its coarser texture. On a whim, I decided to give them a second chance so I purchased it.
The next day, I wore it with a neutral base and some black liner and I was WOWed. Such a simple look made my eyes glow. My brown eyes became amber, and tempting brought out all the good gold bits. I also experienced no fallout! It was a miracle of cosmetics! It is the perfect bronze shadow for me, and has just the right balance of gold and orange (in comparison to MAC Woodwinked, which was WAY too orangey toned). I happen to like shimmer, frost, and glitter, so I was okay with the amount of shimmer in this shadow. If you like subtler colors, this may not be for you. I'd think that it would look beautiful on neutral-warm skintones, but since I am neutral-cool toned, I recommend that anyone try it out because you never know.
(I'm wearing it on the lid in the photo, pictures don't do it justice)
***Please see my review on Sumptuous Olive for a quick and general overview of MAC eyeshadows
Steamy is steamy!
When I'm wearing this eyeshadow, I feel like I should be bathing my mermaid scales in the middle of the Mediterranean. It's just that type of shadow that makes you feel like you should be somewhere serene and tropical.
Steamy is a mid toned muted aqua/seafoam shot through with gold iridescence. It's a very unique and complex shade. I think I stare at it more than I wear it! When I do wear it, I pair it with golds, beiges, deep teals, black, and bright navys.
Since this is a very colorful shadow, I don't like to spread it on the entire lid. I usually put some Steamy on the outer corner of the lid with a neutral base, or dab some in the inner lid for a pop of color. Finally, I smudge some on the lower lash line for a hint of color that doesn't overwhelm the eye.
***Please see my review on Sumptuous Olive for a quick and general overview of MAC eyeshadows
A unique duochrome lavender from MAC...
Seedy Pearl is a very sweet shade. It's a very pale gray/lavender base with duo chrome pink and lavender iridescence. It's a very cool toned shade so if you don't like cooler shades, OR have very warm coloring, this might not be right for you. The texture is like a typical MAC frost, though this particular shade isn't as buttery as some of the other frosts.
However, if you do love cooler shades, this is a very good color to work with. It pairs well with typical cool tones like gray, taupe, navy (MAC Deep Truth shadow especially), charcoal, and black. It also pairs nicely with deep greens (in attached photo, MAC Shade Fluidliner)
***Please see my review on Sumptuous Olive for a quick and general overview of MAC eyeshadows
One of the best taupes out there!
I've tried just about every taupe out there, some lean too gray, some are more metallic, some are matte, some have glitter, but this is the right balance of shimmer to wear to the office, or smoked out with some black eyeshadow for an evening out.
This is the shadow that you always come back to. When Shu ME 850 is off being a little too flashy...BAM. Satin taupe, a trusted favorite, comes to your side. If Bobbi Brown matte taupe is too tired to go out....BOOM. All Satin taupe needs is her little black eyeshadow dress and she's good to go!
This is definitely a MAC cult favorite. It's a shimmering taupe that leans a little more to the brown side versus gray. It's an effortless lid or crease shade and looks great on ALL skin tones. I pair it with just about any color!
***Please see my review on Sumptuous Olive for a quick and general overview of MAC eyeshadows
One of those staples that you just buy and re-buy
How can you go wrong with a buttery beige eye shadow that matches everything in your eye makeup wardrobe! Seriously matches all colors, makes a great base, and has a really good balance of shimmer so its not over the top frosty, yet it has a fair amount of shimmer to lift and enhance your eyes.
For a minimal and "bright-eyes" look, swipe Shroom with your fingers and blend onto brow bone, and dab some Shroom in the corner of the eyes. Add a thin liner on the upper lash line (I prefer a gel liner with MAC Fluid liner or Bobbi Brown) with a MAC 266 or 263 brush, then apply a generous coating of mascara.
***Please see my review on Sumptuous Olive for a quick and general overview of MAC eyeshadows
A hit/miss for some, but a hit for me :)
Patina is probably one of the oddest shadows I've come across. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular when I came across this shade at the counter, but I was intrigued. It's a taupe.....with a hint of bronze......with pink and green iridescence.
Have I lose you yet? Ok, good.
I have pale peachy undertoned skin, neutral-warm chocolate brown hair, and honey brown eyes. This shadow is a GREAT antiqued neutral that brings out the little flecks of green and honey orange in my eyes. It's very unassuming in the pan, but a great shade for all over the eyelid (with a pale cream shade to highlight). I feel like everyone should try it just to see if some magic happens :)
Not sure it will show up the same on darker skin tones so I recommend it more for the fair-light group.
***Please see my review on Sumptuous Olive for a quick and general overview of MAC eyeshadows