Top M.A.C Shadows

I must be some kind of crazy. I just love eyeshadows. I want every one of them in every single color I can get it in. The obsession started with M.A.C eyeshadows. I remember in high school, distinctly buying Trax, Phloof! and Beauty Marked. Those were my firsts and I've been collecting ever since. I was lucky enough to be start my makeup collection with M.A.C which is a great brand with a huge range of products. I have since grown to love so many other makeup brands for a lot of things, but I continuously go back to my M.A.C eyeshadows even after all these years. The quality is excellent. Highly pigmented, smooth and easily blendable. Everything you want in an eyeshadow, really. They also last well on my eyelids. I never have issues with the color fading or anything. If you're unfamiliar with M.A.C, here's a little summary. They have a large range of eyeshadow colors from neutrals to primary colors and electric greens. The brand was created for to specifically meet the needs of makeup artists. So, the color range is extensive, the packaging is basic and practical. And you get great quality for a reasonable price. Not cheap, but not too expensive either. You also have the option to buy the shadows in a single package (as shown above) or you can get them without the casing where it is just the eyeshadow in the pan with a magnet on the back. You can then take those eyeshadows and pop them into palettes (which M.A.C sells). They come in different sizes - four, twelve, etc. I used to buy the shadows in the individual cases, but now I just buy them in the pans and I pop them into palettes. It's just easier and takes up less space in my collection. I have somewhere between 60-75 shades. I know. It's ridiculously excessive. I definitely have my favorites though and I wanted to share those with you today. I gathered my top 20 here with swatches and all. I do have a few that are "I would cry if you ever got discontinued" shades within that 20 that I'll note as we go along. Let's jump in…


Top Row Left to Right

Brule (Matte): Brule is a matte, light ivory shade. It's close to my skin color which is why it's a bit difficult to see here, but it's a great color for any skin tone to have. I love this as a subtle brow highlight or even as an allover shade to give the rest of my colors a good base to blend into.

Shroom (Satin): I've gone through a few Shroom eyeshadows in my makeup lifetime. It's like Brule, but with a sheen to it. I love using this as an everyday inner corner highlight.

Phloof! (Frost): Phloof is like Shroom, but more pink and more shimmery.

Relaxing (Frost): I love this color and I never hear anyone talking about it. It's just the perfect neutral light super shimmery shadow. I love this for highlighting or for a lid color. I use it a ton. it's just the perfect pretty shimmery color.

Era (Satin): This is another gorgeous color that I don't hear enough people talking about. I love using this as a crease color when I'm going for a soft subtle eye look. It's just a light medium brown with a beautiful sheen to it. So underrated.

Second Row Left to Right

Patina (Frost): I have always had an iffy relationship with Patina. It looks like a bland nothing sort of color in the pan. Do not be fooled though. It's a light taupe brown color with a golden shimmer running through it which gives it a cool bronzy effect. Really gorgeous color and universally flattering.

Soba (Satin): I use Soba like I use Era, but when I want a much warmer brown. It's just a warm medium golden brown with a golden sheen to it. A great basic to have on hand.

Woodwinked (Veluxe Pearl): This has to be amongst my all time favorite colors ever. It's the best gold. It's a very warm gold color. It is super shimmery and it's one of those colors that looks a little different depending on what angle the light catches it. It's really versatile too in that you can apply it all over the lids and just blend it out in the crease area. Once you start blending a lot, the shimmer diminishes and it turns into a darker satiny gold color. It's so beautiful. I will say that if you are very fair with pink undertones, this might look a little orange on your skin, but it works for me and it's BEAUTIFUL!

Mulch (Velvet): Mulch was one of the shades that I got really early on as well. It's another long time favorite that I wouldn't want to live without. Just a warm reddish shimmery brown color. It pairs beautifully with woodwinked and so many others. A great bronzy brown color. Love this one.

Charcoal Brown (Matte): This is a medium toned cool matte brown. It's a great crease color as it's not shimmery. What I really use it for though is for filling in my eyebrows. It's a perfect cool brown for brunettes. If you're blonde, Omega is a great option too.

Third Row Left to Right

Sable (Frost): This is such a gorgeous warm reddish brown color that is super shimmery. Beautiful on the lids. I've used this one to death!

Satin Taupe (Frost): This is a massive favorite for a lot of people and rightfully so. It's a super shimmery purply taupe color. Looks flattering on many skin tones and is really pretty for brown eyes.

Cranberry (Frost): This color looks a bit scary, but I really love it during the Fall and holiday seasons. It's a cranberry (as it's called) shimmery color that is an easier way to wear a reddish color on the eyes without looking crazy. Love this one!

Twinks: This sort of reminds me of Mulch, but it's much more red toned. I love using this in the fall when I want a more reddish burgundy eye look without actually using reds and burgundy's.

Beauty Marked (Velvet): This has been in my collection since the beginning and I still adore it. It is a very dark burgundy blackish shade with a reddish glitter running through it. I use it mostly with a damp brush so that I can apply it as a liner when I'm doing a warmer look and don't want to use black. It's beautiful for brown eyes since it has that purplish reddish hue to it.

Fourth (last) Row Left to Right

Smut (Velvet): This is one that is a bit underrated as well. It's sort of a dark grayish purple color with a beautiful sheen to it. I love this in the outer corner for a smokey eye when you don't want to reach for black. It's beautiful paired with Satin Taupe or anything really. A great one to have.

Club (Satin): Club! This is another "Please don't ever leave me" kind of color. I am obsessed with this color. It's a super shimmery brownish, greenish, blue shade. Confused? Yeah. It's one of those that looks different depending on what angle you are seeing it from. Sometimes it looks brown, sometimes a little green and sometimes a little blue. I adore this color to pieces. Really unique, yet really wearable. My favorite for the Fall time and holiday season.

Humid: Green is a great color to have especially for brown eyes. It might look intimidating, but it's really beautiful and can be quite wearable all year round. This is one of my favorites. A beautiful shimmery forest green color.

Black Tied: I love this black. It's a very black black. That may sound odd, but have you ever bought a black and then it ends up looking like a dark grey? Yeah… this isn't that. It's actually black and it has a pretty soft glitter running through it. Not too much though where it looks like a disco. Just the right amount.

Carbon (Matte): This is just your classic black and it's a good one. Matte and black black with good pigmentation. Can't really go wrong.

Wow, that was a lot, but I love them ALL! Black Tied, Club, Woodwinked, Satin Taupe, Sable, Relaxing and Mulch are probably my most loved. If you're twisting my arm to cut the list down, you know. I've hit pan on all of those before and have repurchased them. They're really beautiful colors. What about you? Do you own any M.A.C eyeshadows? Do you have any favorites that I didn't mention?

Hope you all enjoyed. Talk soon. Kisses, J

On a side note if you made it this far down the blog post… here is little Miss Bella again. Brat followed me around EVERYWHERE this weekend as she was home alone with me. She's usually off following someone else, but I guess she was left with no other choice. I take pictures of swatches near my staircase where there is a large window that gets good light so there she sat at the top of the stairs. She's kind of cute, I'll admit.