The MAC Makeup Thread

[jaydotcee]

Hmm... Thanks Trista for your advice! I'm so impatient and I really don't want to have to wait to pick up brushes but I suppose that I should as I just booked a vacation and all. Plus, I've really been on a bit of a shopping spree as of late...

I will try to resist the temptation for now...

I was at a MAC counter today and saw woodwinked and beautymarked, 2 of the colours that I have been contemplating but beautymarked actually swatched a lot lighter than I had imagined. Maybe it was just a dirty palette or something?? I will have to go try again when I have more time.

 

[Trista]

If you have access to Nordstrom, the brush sets right now are not as bad as some of the recent ones. What brushes are you looking for, specifically? As for Beauty Marked, it's a really nice shade if you like purples, as you need something dark. I have it by way of the Gem Eyes palette and it makes an amazing liner. Woodwinked, on the other hand, I have never tried.

The M-A-C collection is danger no matter what, as there are so many things I would use. I've heard negative reviews on the Technakohls, though-but I still want them all.

 

[jaydotcee]

I'm looking to pick up the 231, 239, 219, 209 or 212, 217, and 227. Its A LOT of brushes so some discounts on those would realllly help. I obviously don't need to get them all at once as a couple of them are replacement brushes. I also what to try out the 168? as a contouring brush.

But thanks, I will check out Nordstrom! Are the SE brushes not as good quality? I am seeing a lot of those on ebay so I was just wondering.

Thanks for all your help!!

 

[Trista]

From my experience, the 228 is better than the 239, IMO. The 209, 219, and 231 are must-haves, and it helps that the 231 is a fairly inexpensive brush. The 227 you honestly don't need. The 217 is nice, although if you get the chance to get a 226 I like it better as I can get colour precisely in the crease, and then use the 217 to blend it. As far as contouring goes, the 168 isn't as good as the 109.

The SE brushes are of a lower quality because they probably use some of the lesser-quality fibers, as well as the fact that the brushes are machine-made in China instead of handmade in France or Japan (although my 181 was made in China).

 

[Guessgirl96]

Carysss, I'm also pale and am forever on the quest for the perfect matte brown. My favorite is dark edge but it's hard to find and on the cool side. I use handwritten if I want something warmer.

 

[fashionista-ta]

You know, I have brown eyes, but I don't really wear brown eyeshadow anymore. It just seems blah to me ...

If that's strange, we can just add it to the list

 

[Trista]

Plum shades are actually going to be "the it colour" for eyes this fall, and I am surprised that MAC isn't going for any plums. The M-A-C collection is a lot more of brights, and the rest of the fall stuff is all about blacks and smokey eyes. I would have loved to see MAC maybe do a plum mascara, as it's been a couple years since we've had an LE mascara colour. I know I would definitely go for it, but at the same time I can be happy with BadGal Plum.

I think though that it's a very heavy focus on lips and nails for the fall, as well as playing around with different textures. It's fine by me but the colours? Not as much my taste.

 

[The_Ida]

^The only makeup people experiment with in reality (as in the broader population) is nail polish. People often stick to what they know and don't venture out colourwise. I still don't get why so many companies try to make something an "it-colour"...and I think MAC is doing a very clever thing here.

 

[Trista]

I think the thing with plum though is that it's considered to be an amped-up neutral, in my book. I interviewed with a cosmetics brand yesterday that I will not name, and plum is a big thing for them for the fall. It's something that I've noticed in many other brands, people doing plums-because it's a colour that works on everybody in one way or another. The nail polish, I do understand. Colours are all over the place this year, from dark, vampy shades typical for fall to the indigo that Lancome is putting out (ps-Essie's Aruba Blue is a good, cheaper dupe), to neons, and of course, the mattes everywhere. I just wish that MAC had done a little more of the plums for the eyes, since I am obsessed with them.

And a note to MAC? Please reformulate Plum Dressing. Thanks in advance.

 

[thesiren]

now that i've seen the photorealism quad, i don't want it. i think it will work on someone with medium skin, but i'm too pale for it and will just look sick with those pale greens. i definitely want violet trance (does anyone know if this is a matte; it certainly looks it), and haunting (if it isn't too shimmery).

the jin soon polishes look AMAZING! definitely getting rich dark delicious, beyond jealousy and dry martini. i like cool reserve, but i think i'm too pale for it, and the other two are mediocre.

 

[Trista]

I'm going to save you some money here! Violet Trance is a repromote from the Pandemonium quad (Balloonacy) and it is a chalky, horrid matte. I love purples but will definitely pass on this. As for Haunting, it should be no shimmer or very low shimmer, as it is a satin. It originally came out with McQueen, and those shadows tend to make their way to the CCO often, so I'll skip Haunting with M-A-C.

Photorealism is a quad I need, as I sorely lack greens, but at the same time don't need it as I rarely ever do greens, and I've subsisted well on Aquavert, Gilded Green, Fresh Green Mix, and so forth.

 

[thesiren]

hm...all of my mattes are from matte2. do you think the regular mattes differ greatly? i love my matte2s!

my CCO gets some mcqueen, but i've never seen haunting. i'll have to try it on before i buy, but i do think i'm getting it. it will be nice with all-black for any icy FW look.

 

[Trista]

Haunting is the one I have seen the least of the three, but I have seen it. It's also the one I like the most-I have Pagan and rarely touch it.

As for the regular mattes, they're kinda iffy. Some are chalky and horrendous, others are lovely and pigmented. Violet Trance is in the first category. The Matte2's are more pigmented and creamier, and just nicer altogether.

 

[jaydotcee]

I couldn't wait for the next F&F sale so I picked up the 239 brush today. I'm excited to try it out and play around with it. I also picked up Tempting. I was deciding between Woodwinked and Tempting but I thought Tempting was better suited to my skintone.

 

[Trista]

The 239 is a very popular brush, but I'm all about precision which is why the 228 is a must-have for me. My mum has the 239 though and she loves it.

 

[jaydotcee]

I don't know if this is a stupid question, but the e/s that you buy, can you depot/depan them yourselves to put into a pro e/s pan?
Also, what is everyone's opinions on their pigments? I'd really like to try them out but at $23.50 CDN they're fairly pricey...

 

[thesiren]

yes, you can depot/depan them yourself. do a google search or look on youtube for directions. personally, i hate palettes. they seem wise if you're a makeup artist. i travel a lot, and it's easiest to bring whichever 3-6 shadows i choose, rather than several palettes (where the pans are stationary).

i don't use pigments. too heavy/messy for me, but i do love them on people.

 

[Miss Mod]

^ I agree on the pigments. I don't use them myself, but I have friends who look lovely in them.

I know at least on the MAC website, they sell shadow in just pans, and you don't have to be an artist to buy them anymore. I don't think you can get them at counters, but they might sell pans at stores. If not, there are tutorials on youtube for how to depot. Most involve heating it up a bit.

 

[Trista]

Depotting-I don't endorse it. I'm a stickler for items being in their original casing, so I don't. For permanent shadows, I buy them in the Pro Pan form, which you can get at any freestanding store. It was only a couple months ago that they put them up on the main site. I buy the Pro Pans as a matter of saving space, and I also like to put together my own quads. However if you are gung-ho about depotting, there are plenty of tutorials out there.

As for pigments, I love them, they just don't have a good selection regularly available. Silver Fog is one of my all-time favourite pigments, but it's PRO. Fuschia is probably the best of the regular ones.

Oh, and I got my invite for the M-A-C party! It's on the 11th, and it's a wallet-buster.

 

[goregeous]

I know this is more of a skincare question, but has anybody tried the Lightful line of products? I'm really tempted to get the Lightful deep ultramoisture creme but it's about $50 and I have no experience with MAC skincare. I've been having a hard time finding any reviews online, even on makeupalley there is only like 3 reviews.