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The fact that I just realized I own 30 eyeshadows in my MAC eyeshadow collection shocks me. I remember the first time I bought MAC makeup EVER. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too long ago. I was probably 23 years old (I’m 30 now). Just being sick of my typical makeup routine, I went to the MAC store in Philadelphia on Walnut St. and told the artist that I was looking for a neutral look that I can take from day-to-night easily. I also wanted her to show me the best way to apply shadows to my eye shape. I forever owe her for what has since been a snowball effect of collecting MAC products (especially eyeshadow).
She lined up the following eye products for me: shadows in Orb, Tete-a-Tint (since discontinued …I don’t know WHY), Saddle, Embark and Black Tied; as well as, MAC Fluidline Gel Eyeliner in Blacktrack. I still have a couple of these (the originals… probably best to throw these out by now…), but let me show you the other 25 I felt needed a special home in my collection, as well as, which I would repurchase again and again!
When she did my neutral day time eye, she used Orb all over the lid, Tete-a-Tint through the crease, and Saddle in the outer corner with a basic straight gel liner on the top lashes. It was the first time I ever used all-matte shadows on my eyes and I loved it. It was so different for me because up until then, I don’t think I even owned matte shadow from any brand. For night, she amped it up with a little Embark on the lower lash line and Black Tied on the outer corner to intensify things. It’s still a favorite look of mine!
I keep a lot of shadows in Z Palettes because I like to depot them and make them a lot more travel friendly and space-efficient. The first two rows of my palette have my mattes, and the last two rows have my satin/shimmers. Two shadows don’t fit in this large palette, so they stay in a 9-pan palette I have with a few random other brands.
Gesso, Blanc Type, Tete-a-Tint, Soft Brown, Samoa Silk, Outre (LE), Cork
(purchase any of these by clicking here)
Saddle, Copperplate, Espresso, Print, Swiss Chocolate, Folie, Embark
(purchase any of these by clicking here)
Handwritten, Shroom, Ricepaper, Retrospeck, Naked Lunch, All That Glitters, Woodwinked
(purchase any of these by clicking here)
Patina, Expensive Pink, Amber Lights, Texture, Sable, Bronze, Sketch
(purchase any of these by clicking here)
randoms without a home:
Club, Black Tied
(purchase any of these by clicking here)
I was just asked this weekend what my favorite eyeshadow brand was and I had to say MAC. The reason is because although a lot of these swatches don’t necessarily ‘swatch’ super pigmented, I actually like that. MAC shadows are super finely milled and packed into their pans very tightly. There’s little-to-no fall out or dust when I use my MAC shadows, compared to the more ‘buttery/pigmented’ formulas. This makes them excellent formulas to use as a makeup artist, or even a beginner, because you can build up the color to your specific liking. If a formula is super pigmented in one swatch, you can’t really lessen it’s intensity the way you can with MAC. Plus, it takes me literally YEARS to finish a pan of MAC eyeshadow compared to those buttery brands. You need so little and rarely pick up ‘too much’ product. I truly think you get the best value for quality with MAC eyeshadows (although of course, I own a billion others and love them, too).
Blanc Type, Tete-a-Tint, Soft Brown (interchangeable with Tete-a-Tint), Saddle, Cork, Copperplate, Handwritten, Ricepaper, Naked Lunch, All That Glitters, Patina, Bronze, Black Tied
Gesso, Samoa Silk, Outre, Print, Folie, Retrospeck, Expensive Pink, Club
Orb, Blanc Type, Soft Brown, Saddle, Handwritten, Naked Lunch, All That Glitters, Patina, Bronze, Sketch
I hope that was fun checking out my MAC eyeshadow collection. Let me know what MAC eyeshadows are your favorites or ones you think I should try next in the comments!
Happy MACing,
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-Steffanie
