Monday, July 11, 2011

My MAC eyeshadows (swatches & review)

My MAC eyeshadows hold a special place in my heart. ;)  Mostly because they were the first eyeshadow I ever wore!  The first time I got my makeup done was at a MAC counter for my 13th birthday, and my mom bought me a few things the artist used- Naked Lunch & Trax eyeshadows, a lip glass that I forget the name of, and the 224 and 252 brushes.  Every time I use my MAC eyeshadows I remember this day and how enjoyable and exciting it was for me. :)
Anyway, I don't have many (six in total), but some I like much more than others.  I don't even use Green Smoke or Haunting on a regular basis.  I'll describe my thoughts on each color underneath the corresponding pictures.

Trax, Naked Lunch, and Club


Trax, Naked Lunch, and Club eyeshadow; swatched once without primer

I got all three of these eyeshadows last year for my 19th birthday.  I had to repurchase Naked Lunch & Trax, as they were my first favorites.  Club I really couldn't pass up because of the awesome duochrome finish. 
(All descriptions taken from the MAC website)
Trax- Velvet finish, 'Burgundy-plum with shimmer'
Naked Lunch- Frost finish, 'Minimal pink with shimmer'
Club- Satin finish, 'Red-brown with green pearl'

Trax goes great with Naked Lunch; it's a great purple if you're hesitant with color but don't want a basic neutral.  It's subdued enough so that it doesn't scream "PURPLE!".  The texture is a little hard so it takes a few swipes to get good pigmentation, but it's not bad.  
Naked Lunch is a gorgeous peachy neutral that brightens up my eyes instantly.  The texture is smooth and soft; color glides onto my brush in one swipe so it's easy to use.  
Club is an awesome shade.  It's neutral but with a twist!  The green duochrome gives it an edge, and I love using this for smokey eyes in the crease.  I pair this with ELF Studio eyeshadow in Pebble, which is a matte brownish grey, and the two finishes balance each other out nicely.  

Green Smoke, Haunting, Retrospeck



Green Smoke and Retrospeck I bought a few years ago for a high school dance, but Haunting I got in a giveaway last summer.  

Green Smoke- Lustre finish, 'Tarnished olive'
Haunting- Satin finish, bright aqua (LE Alexander McQueen collection)
Retrospeck- Lustre finish, 'Beached blonde'

Green smoke hardly gets any use from me these days!  You have to work at the pigmentation, and it applies kind of patchy.  I'd probably use it more if it weren't such a hassle to use.  It makes a good color for a smokey eye, though.
Haunting looks like a cool color in the pan, but it lacks so much pigmentation unfortunately.  I tried using it on my eyes a few times last summer and I just couldn't build up the color to look bright.  I need to try this again using a better base, because I don't want to give up just yet!
Retrospeck has to be another one of my favorites (I like it about as much as I like Club & Naked Lunch, maybe more!).  I find golds really hard to wear on my cooler skin tone, but this pale gold is lovely.  It's chock full of glitter, but fallout isn't bad and pigmentation is great.  You hardly have to dip your brush in it at all to get product out.  You can see from my usage how much I like this. :)

What are your favorite eyeshadows?  Any from MAC?  I'd love to know!
Thanks for reading!