Category Archives: MAC

MAC Moth Brown Eyeshadow Swatches, Comparisons, Dupes

Possible dupe ideas: NARS Lhasa, MAC Moth Brown, Urban Decay Mushroom

I try not to get pulled in by the MAC limited edition product hype, but I do love my purple/taupes, so when the recent MAC by Request collection was released, I ordered one product – the eyeshadow Moth Brown. It’s already sold out (though available overpriced on Ebay) so instead of a review, I have comparison swatches for you today. The two most similar shades in my stash are – luckily – both permanent: NARS Lhasa, and Urban Decay Mushroom.

Swatches are done without primer, with a sponge – tipped applicator. Click to enlarge.

NARS Lhasa, MAC Moth Brown, Urban Decay Mushroom – sunlight

As you can see, the color family is the same, and the shade is very similar in all three eyeshadows. The biggest difference is the level of pigmentation – Lhasa is fairly sheer, Moth Brown has medium pigmentation, and Mushroom is very pigmented. If you apply Lhasa or Moth Brown over primer they will – of course – appear more opaque and pigmented.

Everyone has different ideas of what is close enough to constitute a dupe, but I personally would consider Lhasa and Moth Brown almost-dupes; different in swatches, but identical on the eye. Because Mushroom is more pigmented (and has more metallic shine), I don’t think it’s a dupe, though they might be close enough that you don’t want to own both.

Would you consider any of these three eyeshadows dupes?

My Favorite Eye Makeup Brushes

I love eye brushes, and I’m always searching for the next, best great eye brush. Here are my current favorites!

For eyeshadow laydown, I use the MAC 219 and the Hakuhodo K005; the 219 is great for the lid, and the K005 is great for getting in to the inner corners of my eyes.

Hakuhodo K005, Mac 219

My favorite detail brushes are the Shu Uemura 5r and the Hakuhodo G5529 BkSL; since I don’t have much lid space, both are great for crease work. I also can use either to highlight the inner corner of the eye. For a comparison of these two brushes, please see this post.

Shu 5r, Hakuhodo G5529 BkSL

My favorite eyeliner brushes are the Hakuhodo K007 – which has the finest tip I’ve seen – and the Benefit Get Bent eyeliner brush, which I love because it’s, well, bent – which makes it super easy to use. It’s discontinued, but Sonia Kashuk has a similar bent eyeliner brush.

Benefit Get Bent, Hakuhodo K007

Surprisingly, I really love the little eyeliner brush that comes with the L’Oreal Infallible gel liners. I don’t use it to apply eyeliner, but it’s the perfect size and shape for apply eyeshadow on top of eyeliner to either set the liner or smudge it out.

L’oreal liner brush

I had to put the last two brushes in a separate photo because the writing went in the other direction, which was driving me crazy!

I received the Smashbox brush in a swap a long time ago. I never use the white flat-tipped side, but the rounded size is absolutely fantastic for a base shade all over the lid/browbone, or to use a highlight shade on the browbone; I use it almost every time I do my makeup. I have no idea where it came from, and it’s not on Smashbox’s website, so I assume it’s discontinued.

Unknown but awesome Smashbox brush

The final brush is Laura Mercier’s finishing eye brush, a duo-fiber brush. It is a really great blending brush – it works beautiful, but never overblends. It’s also smaller than brushes like MAC’s 217, which works well on my smaller lids. Sorry that it’s dirty – didn’t realize how bad it was until I saw the close up photo!

Laura Mercier Finishing Eye Brush

Some other brushes I occasionally use – but that didn’t quite make the cut as absolute favorites – are the MAC 217, MAC 219 ELF studio eye contour brush, and ELF studio eyeshadow C brush. I use the 217 and contour brush for cream eyeshadow, and the C brush as an all purpose brush, especially when my favorite brushes are dirty! I used to use the 219 pencil brush for crease work and as a detail brush, but it’s been replaced by the brushes above.

I do realize these are not cheap brushes – though the Hakuhodo brushes may be less expensive than you expect; the three in this post are $15 – 24. I personally find that it’s worth it to splurge for the brushes I love, as it makes applying my makeup, which is something I really enjoy, even more fun for me. But, for those on a budget, I have a some posts coming up with some inexpensive brushes!

Do you use any of my favorite brushes? What are go-to brushes?

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MAC Casual Color in Keep It Casual Review, Swatches, Photos

MAC Keep It Casual lip & cheek color

When I first saw swatches of MAC’s new Casual Color collection, I was intrigued but wary. I’m generally skeptical of combination lip and cheek products, and some of the swatches make the product look too dewy for my taste. So, I decided to wait until I could test these in-store to decide whether to buy. I finally made my way over to MAC store, and after some playing around with Keep It Casual, I am absolutely thrilled with this purchase!

First off – the only negative is that I don’t like things packaged in pots, because I feel like it’s less sanitary to just put my fingers in things – especially if it’s something that goes on my lips and not just my cheeks. So, I’m not thrilled with this packaging, though given the consistency I’m really not sure what packaging choice would have worked better. I actually decided to scoop out some product – actually, it’s not soft enough to scoop, so more like scrape off – with a mini cosmetic spatula, and store it in a little clear jar. I have enough for probably 5-10 applications in the little jar, and I can apply that with my fingers without concern about the whole pot. Note that this is VERY pigmented, so you only need a about a grain of rice sized amount for your lips or both cheeks; it’s hard to imagine anyone actually using up the whole Casual Color pot! In fact, I would have preferred a smaller product for a slightly cheaper price – but that’s just me.

MAC Keep It Casual

As you can see, Keep It Casual is a really lovely reddish berry color. I have a few powder blushes that are similar, but my two other cream blushes are both coral. I found that as a blush, it’s very important to apply this to well-moisturized skin; it’s pigmented enough that even though it blends nicely, it really needs the extra slip to be easier to use. This is not a foolproof cheek product, so I don’t see myself using it often on my cheeks, though it’s nice to have the option.

What I really love about this product is using it on my lips. I love the color – it’s very flattering on me, and I think it’s the type of color that will look good on most. And, the texture is fantastic as a lip product. It has a very natural looking finish (not glossy or matte) and and a completely weightless feel. It lasts well, and fades evenly.

I had been planning to just buy this one color – it was the only one that really drew me in when I swatched them – but I like this texture so much that I am considering purchasing a couple more. I think I will go for either Have a Lovely Day or Keep it Loose; both look like possibilities for a soft nude lip. I also love the look of Out for Fun, but my makeup collection is a bit oversaturated with corals and oranges at the moment, so I’m not sure about it.

Overall, I am totally smitten with the texture of this as a lip product, and if anyone know of anything else with a similar texture, I would love to hear about it!

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MAC Rebel Lipstick Review, Swatches, Photos

Since MAC is about to release the Lips & Tips / Fashion Sets Collection – it’s already available online – I thought this would be a great time to review one of my favorite MAC lipsticks, Rebel, which is included in the collection (though it’s a permanent part of the MAC line). Although I just bought my own Rebel lipstick, I’ve worn it a few times before because one of my best friends owns it.

Rebel is a Satin, which means that it has full coverage, some sheen, and no shimmer or sparkle. I don’t own enough MAC lipsticks to have a favorite finish overall, but I love the finish of Rebel – it’s moisturizing but not slippery. My favorite thing about Rebel, however, is it’s longevity – it lasts, and lasts, and lasts. Both my friend and I have worn it for 8 hours or so. I noticed when I swatched it that it stains the skin significantly, and this is probably why it lasts so well; it’s acting as a lip stain once the product starts to wear off.

Rebel is described as a mid-toned plum on the MAC website, and I have trouble describing it – it definitely has some purple tones, but it’s not so purple that it’s difficult to wear. It’s a cool, deep berry/purple, perhaps. I find it very flattering on me, and it’s also very flattering on my friend, who is a pale redhead with pink undertones!

The color is similar to NARS Damned, though they aren’t exact dupes, and of course the finish and packaging are quite different – though both are quite long lasting. This picture is less color accurate than the swatch photo.

NARS Damned, MAC Rebel

Another close dupe for MAC Rebel – and a drugstore dupe at that! – is Wet n Wild Sugar Plum Fairy 908C MegaLast Lip Color, which I have reviewed in full here. Note that Sugar Plum Fairy is matte, while Rebel is a satin finish.

WnW Sugar Plum Fairy; MAC Rebel

Overall, I really love Rebel and I’m so glad I finally picked up my own! It’s been on my wishlist for quite a long time, and I’m sure I’ll get a lot of use out of it.

MAC Superb Extra Dimension Skinfinish Review, Photos, Swatches

Today, I have an In Extra Dimension Skinfinish highlighter from MAC’s newly-released In Extra Dimension collection. The In Extra Dimension collection consists of three Skinfinishes and several eyeshadows – it’s already available online, and will be released in-store on April 5th.

I bought just one piece from the collection – the In Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb, which is a rose-gold highlighter that is (so I hear) an exact dupe for the Estee Lauder Illuminating Powder Gelee.

Superb is packaged in MAC’s signature compact, just like the Mineralize Skinfinishes – however, as you can see, it has a design embossed on it rather than being dome shaped like the MSFs. I like MAC’s packaging – it’s functional and sturdy, and I like the clear lids, because it’s easy for me to see what everything is in my drawers.

I really like the texture of Superb – it’s sort of dry yet smooth and soft. Again, it’s supposedly like the Estee Lauder Illuminating Powder Gelees, but I haven’t swatched them, so it was a new texture for me! The texture is nice, because it’s really easy to apply lightly for a glow, but also easy to apply heavily, which you can see in the swatches. It blends very easily.

It’s a little hard to describe the color of Superb – it’s sort of a rose gold that leans bronze, I think. The swatch below is color accurate, I think – what would you call this shade?

Will you be picking up anything from MAC’s In Extra Dimension collection?

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MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish Review, Swatches, Photos

Since the popular highlighter Lightscapade is being re-released with MAC’s Reel Sexy collection (out in stores on April 5th; already online), I thought I’d review my Lightscapade, which I bought last year when it was released as part of the MAC Fall Color Collection.

The Lightscapades which were released originally, as part of the Danse collection, have the most beautiful marbling, while the Lightscapades released later – as part of the latter two collections mentioned above – are more beige. However, from researching online, my understanding is that this doesn’t really affect the color of the product once it’s applied. And, I still think my Lightscapade – though beige from far away – is beautiful up close – it has subtle blue, pink, and yellow veining.

To put it simply: Lightscapade is my favorite highlighter that I own. I really love the effect it gives on my skin. It’s very glowy, without being obviously shimmery or glittery. The color is very neutral on me – it’s sort of an off-white shimmer/glow. Here are comparison swatches with my other highlighters. As you can see, it’s most similar to Guerlain Parure de Nuit, but more pigmented – the Guerlain is more subtle, which sometimes I want, and sometimes I don’t.

Overall, I really love MAC Lightscapade and it’s a must-have in my stash! I’m even considering buying a backup – but the pan is so large that I can’t see myself finishing it anytime soon, even though I use it all the time.

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