REVIEW | M.A.C Pro Longwear Paint Pots

It's time to rewind and revisit an old favorite of mine, the highly-raved-about cream eye shadows from MAC Cosmetics. Ah... the memories.
 

MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pots

$22 USD at MAC Cosmetics, Nordstrom

26 shades

I first heard about this product about three years ago, when one of the shades, Painterly, became a staple in every girl's makeup bag. Back then, I couldn't watch a single beauty video without seeing Painterly being featured. So naturally, I ran out, bought it, fell in love, and bought two more shades, Groundwork and Quite Natural. I ended up wearing these paint pots every single day for months. Then life happened, new products came out, and these ended up in the back of my makeup drawer... until last week. Now I can't remember why I ever stopped using them!

Quite Natural | Groundwork | Painterly

These paint pots come in a sturdy glass pot with a screw-on lid, which makes it perfect for travel. MAC describes the paint pot as "A highly pigmented, long-wearing eye shadow that goes on creamy and dries to an intense, vibrant finish. The innovative second skin-like formula blends smoothly over lids and creates seamless, buildable coverage without looking heavy or cakey. Its superior colour purity stays true and will not streak or crease."

Those may sound like big claims, but I'm here to tell you that they are all true. These are not only super creamy and pigmented, there is no creasing or fading on my lids whatsoever. MAC claims that these last for 15 hours, and while I've never had the pleasure of wearing these for that long, they look just the same after I get home from a long day. I find application easiest with just my fingers. Here's a closer look at the three shades I own.

Swatches in natural light

Quite Natural | dirty chocolate brown
This one is my absolute favorite. It's completely matte, which I love, and the color is just as MAC described - a beautiful, dirty chocolate brown. It's much more versatile that it looks - pat it lightly all over the lid for a natural, soft brown neutral eye (like the shade name suggests), or pack it on for an intense dark brown smokey eye. This one's a must-have! But be warned - this dries the quickest out of the three shades, so work fast.

Groundwork | mid-tone neutral taupe

This is the perfect shade for an everyday look, and if you want some color and definition on the lids without all the work. There's a subtle sheen to the finish, and it makes you look so pretty and put together. This is the perfect choice for a "no makeup" makeup look. Also a must-have! Sorry!

Painterly | nude beige
Ah... Painterly. This was the most raved about shade in the entire range. It's a beautiful matte nude, pink beige color and helps cover the veins and discoloration on the lids. It was my perfect eyeshadow base for any eye look - emphasis on the was. At first I refused to believe Painterly could do any wrong, but finally realized it was pulling a bit too pink on my warm, light skin and made me look a bit sickly. If you have a similar skin tone as mine, you might want to consider picking up Soft Ochre, a neutral matte, yellow-beige shade which works exactly the same way as Painterly. Choose the right one for you out of the two and you'll be a happy camper.

MAC's Pro Longwear Paint Pots were, and still are, one of my favorite cream eye shadow products, and I highly suggest you run out to the closest MAC store and take a look for yourself. I guarantee you'll find a shade (or two, or six) out of the 26 that catches your fancy. But watch out - these paint pots set and dry fast, so you need to work quickly. It might be a little tricky for the makeup beginners out there, but practice makes perfect! Here's a tip - make sure the lids are screwed on tight and store these babies upside down in your makeup drawer; the moisture from the bottom of the pot moves upwards to keep everything creamy. Yipee!

Let me know which MAC paint pots are your favorite and why!