Hey!
We have another Beauty Bomb from Danielle, the Style and Beauty Doctor!
She gives you MAC devotees the 411 on how to choose the best MAC eyeshadows for your skin tone. Read on for tips!
*********************************************************************************************************************
MAC Eyeshadows have had a cult following ever since the brand emerged in the 1980s. A visit to the MAC counter or store (or if you live close to one, the PRO store *gasp*) leaves even the most conservative wild with awe at all the drool-worthy shades of eye shadows in 132 colors. What I love most about MAC is that I can walk in there with a posse of multi-cultural hotties and all of us can walk out with makeup to suit our varying skin tones. I also love the pigments and color payoff I get from their eye shadows and the fact that when compared to other department store brands, I don’t have to sell off my firstborn child to be able to afford it.
Now let’s get into some eyeshadow fun…
The Style and Beauty Doctor’s Quick Eyeshadow Tips:
1. Use an eyeshadow base (I love MAC Paints and Urban Decay Primer Potion) to make sure your eyeshadow shows up as vivid as it looks in its case and so that it lasts all day. Use a base (like MAC Paints or Paint Pot) in a shade closest to your skin tone for everyday eye looks. Use one close to your eyeshadow color for some serious color-payoff.
2. Don’t be scared of matte eyeshadows—although they may not catch your eye as quickly as their shimmery cousins, they help to define and shape the eyes. Plus they look great in the crease and they’re perfect for a maturing eye.
3. Speaking of shimmer, go easy on it if you’re having your photo taken. While pretty in person, shimmer can sometimes read as “greasy” in a photo.
4. Don’t forget you need a highlight shade. A highlight shade is either a very light gold or silver eyeshadow applied under the brow bone. You can also use an eyeshadow 2-3 shades lighter than your skintone as a highlighter. The point of the highlight is to help frame the eye and finish your eye look. Avoid using a single wash of a non-neutral color that extends all the way to the brow bone or risk looking like a makeup amateur.
Find the celeb pictured below whose skin tone is closest to yours. I’ve listed a few shade suggestions under each picture. Keep in mind that you can wear any hue, but it must be in agreement with your undertone and intensity (bright or muted). To make sense of undertones, check out Foundation 101.
Use this guide to take away some of the anxiety you can feel from looking at the over 132 colors in MAC’s collection.
Rihanna
Daytime: Soft Brown, Charcoal Brown, Grain, Bamboo, Bronze
Evening/for fun: Expensive Pink, Da Bling, Twinks, Parfait Amour, Shimmermoss, Amber Lights
Tyra Banks
Daytime: Charcoal Brown, Wedge, Woodwinked, Cork, Tempting, Bamboo
Evening/for fun: Hepcat, Parfait Amour, Amber Lights, Steamy, Humid
Nia Long
Daytime: Sable, Espresso, Twinks, Satin Taupe, Handwritten, Mulch
Evening/for fun: Beauty Marked, Contrast, Purple Haze, Nocturnelle, Humid
Kelly Rowland
Daytime: Twinks, Soft Brown, Corduroy, Swiss Chocolate, Mulch
Evening/for fun: Knight Devine, Purple Haze, Star Violet, Humid, Nocturnelle, Contrast, Beauty Marked
Alek Wek
Jennifer Lopez
Rosario Dawson
Daytime: Omega, Soba, Wedge, Charcoal Brown, Arena, Cork, Romp
Evening/for fun: Sable, Beauty Marked, Nocturnelle, Bronze, Sumptuous Olive, Humid, Hepcat, Nocturnelle, Plum Dressing, Cranberry
Zhang Ziyi
Daytime: Orb, Malt, Vanilla, Grain, Omega
Evening/for fun: Crystal Avalance, Knight Devine, Black Tied, Beauty Marked, Silver Ring, Electra, Idol Eyes
Lucy Liu
Daytime: Orb, Malt, Vanilla, Grain, Omega, Soft Brown
Evening/for fun: Mystery, Parfait Amour, Shadowy Lady, Print, Purple Haze, Contrast
Freida Pinto
Daytime: Soft Brown, Bamboo, Charcoal Brown, Era, Cork, Soba
Evening/for fun: Nocturnelle, Hepcat, Cranberry, Stars N’ Rockets, Sushi Flower, Beauty Marked, Naval, Purple Haze
Lakshmi Menon
Daytime: Charcoal Brown, Soft Brown, Mystery, Grain, Soba, Bamboo, Bronze
Evening/for fun: Hepcat, Cranberry, Parfait Amour, Nehru, Plumage, Sketch, Blackberry
******************************************************************************************
Wow, here I am thinking all you need is Amber Lights and Honeylust!
What are some of your fave MAC Eyeshadows?
Oooh, Eve’s makeup is fab! Just found my bday look lol. I love MAC eye makeup. The variety is fantastic and the color lasts for quite a while.
Claire, Amber Lights is the best! Also Romp is a very pretty shade. It’s similar to Amber Lights but it’s a more chocolate-y color.
What an excellent post! Thank you for taking the time to provide such detailed information for us readers and catering to people of all colours.
Please NO MORE amber lights eyeshadow and Chesnut lipliner and Oh Baby lipgloss. Use color, on the lid and not to the browbone and some Black liner, and you will be fine. Try dollymix blush and pink lipglosses! There are no rules in makeup, except don’t look like a clown.
i like amber lights too, but my mac girl turned me on to the woodwinked and now i’m not so sure i will be going back! lol. i love bold colors. so humid, chrome yellow, and bitter are colors i love to play with.
LMAO at tj, I hear you girl but I am a sucker for Amber Lights (sorry)
great post, Danielle!
Thank You TJ, you took the words right out of my mouth. No offense to Claire and the guest blogger but why do people always assume that a natural/daytime look have to consist of neutrals i.e. browns, golds, and beiges? I’m a Makeup artist and I think a daytime look can be achieved with a pop of color. like TJ stated there are no rules to makeup if u like it wear it!
Hey Shika–I agree with you. This is just a quick guide to taking some of the anxiety some may get from shopping eyeshadows at MAC and I did list some for fun shades that aren’t neutrals. I did mention above that anyone can wear any hue ;)
Anyway, this is just a fraction of some of my work, so check out my site and stay tuned for more from me on FB :)
Thanks so much! This is a great post!
Loves it!!! Post…Fab!!!
Thank you for the wonderful eyeshadow tips. I have always wondered if I could be doing something better with my eyeshadow than the way that I usually apply it and this post gave me some ideas. As for MAC cosmetics, I like the pink and purple eye shadows like Pink Venus and Plum Dressing.
Awesome article. The Style and Beauty Doctor I love your site! Keep up the good work!