First Impressions
Comments 18

My MAC Haul Swatch-fest: Part I

Hello everyone!

Today, I come bearing most of the swatches from my MAC haul, which caused quite a stir. I hope you all know that I am posting these items as a means to be informative and as a way to connect with other makeup-lovers. I don’t do it to brag or anything gross like that. Just saying!

Here are some swatches. I’ve used most of what I got a few times, and I’m quite happy with what I’ve had a chance to use. If I’ve used a particular shade, I’ll note it down below, but if you were thinking of getting these shades, I hope my quick, little reviews can help you out.

MAC Haul Eyeshadows - Alt

I’ll start with eyeshadows.

MAC Haul - Eyeshadow - Swatches 01

These are the lighter neutrals in my palette. In the first row, we have Cork (muted golden brown, Satin), Quarry (soft muted plum-brown, Matte), and Malt (soft pinkish beige, Matte). These are fairly light, so I use them as a lid color, and sometimes I use Malt as a highlight. It’s also good for evening out the lid color, up to the browbone. For a soft everyday look, I’ve used Malt as a lid color, with Quarry in the crease. All of them are fairly pigmented and blend easily.

In the second row, we have Soba (gold brown with gold shimmer, Satin), All That Glitters (beige with gold pearl, Veluxe Pearl), and Naked Lunch (minimal pink with shimmer, Frost). Soba is very similar to Cork, but it has more noticeable shimmer. I like adding a bit of All That Glitters in the center of the lid for that extra pop. Naked Lunch is a very pretty, quite basic lid color that goes with a lot of different shadows.

MAC Haul - Eyeshadow - Swatches 02

These are my more “colorful” selections, even though they are not that bold at all. In the first row, we have Fig 1 (eggplant purple, Matte2), Mythology (copper, Lustre), and Da Bling (pink with gold pearl, Veluxe Pearl). Of all these colors, I’ve only used Da Bling, so far, in the inner third of my eye. I would use Mythology (which has a lot of glitter fall-out, being a Lustre) all over the lid, and Fig 1 in the crease maybe, though not those colors together, probably.

In the second row, we have Mystery (muted plum-brown, Satin), Sable (gold-plum with bronze pearl, Velvet), and Satin Taupe (taupe with silver shimmer, Frost). I’ve used all three. Mystery is a mainstay on my crease and outer ‘v’. It’s also great for a subtle smokey eye. Sable and Satin Taupe are awesome lid colors or for the outer ‘v’, to add depth to the eyeshadow.

MAC Haul - Eyeshadow - Swatches 03

The last row houses my darker colors. I have Smut (muted black with red shimmer, Velvet), Handwritten (rich chocolate brown, Matte2), and Sketch (burgundy with red shimmer, Velvet). I like Handwritten for a more intense crease color, or if the color I used all over my lid is darker than usual (e.g. Satin Taupe or Sable). Sketch is good for the outer ‘v’, to switch things up, and Smut is great as an eyeliner, an outer ‘v’ color or a not-so-black smokey eye.

That’s it for eyeshadows, though I have two more in my collection that are in another palette: Amber Lights (peachy-brown with shimmer, Frost), and Trax (burgundy-plum with shimmer, Velvet). I think you may have noticed a very plummy thread here, but I can’t help it!

Two eye looks I very quickly cobbled together. I do mean ‘very quickly.’

MAC Samples

On the left, I just used Malt all over the lid with Quarry on the crease. On the right, I used Sable on the inner 2/3 of the eye, with Sketch on the outer ‘v’, Handwritten in the crease and lower lashline, with a little bit of All That Glitters in the inner corner.

UM. LOL at my face and amateurish eye primer application.

In terms of quality, they are very good, though they are not the best I’ve used. Some do crease (e.g. Da Bling), and I think it is dependent on the kind of base and primer you use. They do blend remarkably well with little to no fallout, so that’s a plus in my book. I still think that they are worth a look, especially because they have such a good range of both neutrals and colors.

I rarely buy eyeshadow singles in crazy colors because I know I can’t use them up. At least, not at this point. What do you think of my picks? What are your favorite MAC eyeshadows? Do you think I missed out on any good ones (pls say no cos i a poor)?

MAC Cosmetics does not test on animals, unless required by law. I purchased these shadows prior to my personal cruelty-free pledge, with the help of a friend, Laura. Read more about the pledge here.

18 Comments

  1. I really love to see different skin tone/undertone at work! I have Satin Taupe and All That Glitters, and they look pretty different on me! I do really love how they look on you though! Other MAC shadows I would recommend include Woodwinked, Sumptuous Olive, Humid, and Satellite Dreams. They aren’t ALL good, but these are rather impressive!

    • I know what you mean! I never really paid attention to how colors look on different skin tones, but reading blogs (and purchasing items based on how they swatch on OTHER people’s skin) made me more aware of these things.

      Thanks! I actually had those, except for Satellite Dreams, in mind. I’ll take a look at them. 🙂 The first two I purchased (Amber Lights and Trax), I wasn’t such a fan of, which is why I waited so long before buying MAC shadows again.

  2. I have mythology and cork and I can not wait to use them. hmmm. so many pretty colors so little time

  3. Hi Carina! Not really into make up but I like visiting your blog 🙂

    I noticed that when you post photos of your face, you have this nice even glow. I’ve been meaning to ask you about what kind of products to use since I have these uneven tone and dark spots on my face. Ugh.

    • Hallo! Sa post ba na to? Pawis lang yan HAHA. D: I usually just use foundation (Using up my L’Oreal Lucent Magique liquid foundation, Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow liquid foundation, and bareMinerals Original Foundation), or a BB Cream (Snoe Beauty Let it B with WasaB), or a Tinted Moisturizer (NARS TM) then set with powder since the heat makes me sweat and makes my face greasy. D: Depende sa picture pero I usually put the products I use 🙂 Dito kasi, wala talaga ako sa face, except yung Gatsby na oil control paper na may powder hahaha

  4. You SHOULD brag!! It’s a lovely palette you’ve assembled, a lot of thought and research went into it and it’s not like they gave it to you for free. It is something to show off, most definitely!

    • Aw, thank you so much! I looked at so many swatches and Top 10 MAC eyeshadow videos, I started getting cross-eyed!

  5. Pingback: My MAC Haul Swatch-fest: Part II | Softly Sometimes

  6. Raved MAC eyeshadows don’t really stick to my memory as well as the lipsticks but I was really hoping you got the Sharkskin shade stick! It’s the only one that really made an impression me and I was hoping to get other peoples’ opinions on it 😛

    • I didn’t even know they had shade sticks! LOL this is what I mean… I get so overwhelmed when I enter a MAC store!

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.