I was able to get my hands on three more MAC paint pots so I thought it was time to make another Makeup Inventory post. Sarie shot an event for MAC so she could get me some makeup. You laugh, but ’tis true. She is the best. 😀 I got three paint pots and a lipstick. Today, I introduce you to Painterly, Groundwork, and Constructivist.

I’d actually argue that there is a bit of logic behind these choices. Though, of course, that is to be expected! In any case, I picked fairly neutral ones. I knew I wanted to get a light, matte base, a dark neutral one, and another neutral matte. I originally wanted Stormy Pink, but it was out of stock so I got Groundwork instead.

Some swatches of my new acquisitions:

L-R: Painterly, Groundwork, Constructivist

I usually use paint pots as a base, so I almost always top it off with eyeshadow. I will get into each shade more, with a closer look at the shades used as a base under shadow.

Groundwork is a “mid-tone neutral taupe.” Though it is classified as a “frost,” it is not as shimmery as my other foil paint pots (Bare Study, Rubenesque, Constructivist). It’s not as dark as it looks in the pan and actually looks really light and doesn’t alter the actual shadow color all that much, even if it’s a light shade.

I’ve used it here, under a cool, silvery taupe shadow, though I think I would use it by itself and smudge a darker color along the lash line next time.

Painterly is one of the paint pots that I really wanted to try since it’s matte (cream finish!) and very neutral. It’s described as a “nude beige,” though I find that it has cool purple undertones to it. It’s a bit drier in texture than other paint pots, but I really love that it’s matte and really gives you a bare canvas to work on.

Here it is under some Sigma eyeshadows (Grasp, Notre Dame, Versailles). I think this is best to use if you want the shadows to be “true to pan” and find the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk to be too creamy.

Constructivist is another one I’ve been eyeing for a while. It’s “a metallic brown with red pearl,” so it’s rather warm. I find it lighter than I thought it would be. I really love how it works with shadows, since it kind of tones the bright colors down.

Here, for example, I’ve used MAC’s Da Bling, which is a really pale & bright pink shadow.

Some swatches again:

And here, I have swatches of these three with the other two older ones I have:

L-R: Bare Study, Painterly, Groundwork, Constructivist, Rubenesque

I’m quite happy with all of my shades so far. I got Rubenesque first because I couldn’t resist its golden lure, lol. I love the other ones I’ve got, though. MAC Paint Pots are definitely in my top 3 favorite cream shadow formulas. It’s probably tied with Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadows as my favorite, since they honestly do not budge. While I am a fan of the Maybelline Color Tattoos, I do find most of the shades to be too shimmery. Benefit and MAC’s offerings are more refined, to my eye.

Also, I should note that I store these upside down, with the lid sealed tight and none of the shades I have have dried out. I’ve had Rubenesque for about a year and it’s doing really fine. 🙂

Thanks again to Sarie who took photos of a MAC event, even though she couldn’t care less about makeup, so I could get these in my hands. 🙂

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