Thread: MAC makeup?

There's a MAC counter an hour and a half from me and I'm going to get to go there this evening. Any tips on the best products to check out? What are your favorites, for regular day makeup and for performances? What do they have (colors, quality, etc.) that no one else does? I don't want to buy something and then find out that I could've got something just as good or even better from the drugstore!

I love their lipstic in "fresh morrocan", I think it's called. I also love their eye shadows. I have one called Black Tie that is black with sparkles in it which is fabulous for eye liner. You can use it wet or dry. I also love their shadow called "tempting", I think. It's good for an evening look or performance. I also like their eye makeup brushes.

Eye shadow for during the day: Wedge
Eye shadow for performing: Print, Coquette, any of their dark purples and deep blues. Lipstick for performing: Russian Red, Brave Red. Lipstick for during the day: any of their sheer colors.

MAC products go on like satin and they don't lose that texture over a period of time. I would recommend ALL of their makeup products. And their prices are so reasonable.

Oh, wow. This is a huge question. I am a true MAC-head, so I could go on and on, but here are some basics.

For everyday:
Studio Fix Powder
any of the neutral eyeshadows - I love Woodwinked, Bamboo, Rice Paper, Bisque and about a billion others
Plushlash mascara
Sheertone or Sheertone Shimmer blushes
Mineralize Skinfinish Natural - great face powder
Mineralize Skinfinish for highlighting and shimmer ... awesome!
Lustreglass - beautiful, not at all sticky lipglosses
Lipglass - comes in a jillion colors, a bit of stickyness though

For onstage:
Mineralize Satinfinish Foundation
Prep + Prime Finishing Powder
any of the Prep + Prime products
try their false lashes
They have a wide range of lipsticks. Great reds for stage are: Russian Red, Dubonnet, Ruby Woo, Red She Said, Ladybug
Try the Pigments - great loose powders that you can use wet to make brilliant eyeshadow colors or can mix with clear gloss to make your own colored gloss.
And, if you're interested, they have Glitters, too!
Also, they have a duo that includes highlight and contour powders.

The best thing about MAC is they have staying power. And when you put them on they show up, as well as actually looking like the colors they advertise.

MakedaMaysa, I am keeping your list!

I LOVE MAC! Its all I use but I have so many colors and what I wear changes so much! :-)
I would recomment purchasing "Fix +" is a fine mist spray that finished your makeup. I put it on after finishing my makeup and I can sweat a bit without it runing etc. Even during the day it will say put!

Red lipstick by MAC called "Eager" is great for performances
Any of their studiofix products are great as long lasting concealers and foundations, MAC has incredible pigments

-Strada blush, great for contour too
-Trixie blush (has sparlkes, great for evening/stage)
-paints (little tubes of color which do not budge once applied)
-crease brush
-New York Apple, O, Plastique, Rage, Spiced Up lipsticks
-Lovechild Lipglass (layer over plastique for a truly pouty effect
-Mylar, Shroom, Cranberry and Jungle e/s
-StudioFix Powder Foundation

It all depends on your skin color, tone, and complexion, love!

If you have an idea of some looks you're going for, bring photos (of potential everyday and stage apps) so the makeup artist has an idea of your goals. Then he/she can recommend appropriate products based on your needs and skin. With photos there is little room for ambiguity as your idea of "stage makeup" and "everyday makeup" may be completely different from the makeup artists who work there. I mean, take a look at their makeup; to them that is everyday makeup!

Thanks for the recs! But are they really any better than drugstore makeup? I have a 'Viva Glam V' Lipglass, eyeshadows in 'Satin Taupe' and 'Patina', and years ago I had a couple more lipsticks from them that are long gone now. But with this limited experience I really haven't been able to tell that they are any better than drugstore makeup.

Maybe I need to get them to do a makeover on one of us. There's 3 of us from my troupe going, and I know they won't be able to do all of us but maybe they can do one.

Originally Posted by Darbla

Thanks for the recs! But are they really any better than drugstore makeup? I have a 'Viva Glam V' Lipglass, eyeshadows in 'Satin Taupe' and 'Patina', and years ago I had a couple more lipsticks from them that are long gone now. But with this limited experience I really haven't been able to tell that they are any better than drugstore makeup.

Maybe I need to get them to do a makeover on one of us. There's 3 of us from my troupe going, and I know they won't be able to do all of us but maybe they can do one.

What do you consider "better"?

Better price?
Better pigmentation?
Better staying power?
Better quantity?

Some drugstore brands do not cut it for my needs because I need highly pigmented, durable makeup.

If it is price, for me the higher price of higher quality makeup is worth it because of the things I need it to do for me and I don't need to use as much to accomplish my goals.

Try the Paint Pots - those are great for layering powder shadows over so they'll stick!

Actually, Darbla, Makeda just gave me an idea for a suggestion...

What MAC has that the drugstores do not have are the Paint Pots and Paints in general. Often in many colors.

With these you can build intensity for the drugstore eye shadows (there is that thread about the Buy One Get One Free for H.I.P. cosmetics at Walgreens) and get better mileage and intensity out of the drugstore brands.

The Paint Pots and Paints also prevent creasing in the lid. So I would go with some variety of the pots and paints from MAC to use with your drugstore eye shadow.

Thanks MM!

I wear MAC for everyday and its big advantage is staying power. If your eyelids are purple in the morning, they are still purple when you go home.

Their Studio Sculpt foundation is great. Covers without looking too "made up"

imo mac is better than drug store brands for:
stage & photo shoot quality foundation , concealers, high pigment shadows & blushes.
better coverage, better staying power, higher pigmentation concentration, better/larger range of "skin colored" products

the lip colors are very pretty and i like their range of neutrals, but generally stick with drugstore lip products & mascara

if you find products you like, consider contacting mac directly and joining their ppid program. all professional performers are eligible, you save 30% & can order from the mac pro site - delivered to you which likely will cost you less than driving so far

good luck and have a great time

Originally Posted by Azhia

Actually, Darbla, Makeda just gave me an idea for a suggestion...


Thanks MM!

No prob!

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

imo mac is better than drug store brands for:
stage & photo shoot quality foundation , concealers, high pigment shadows & blushes.
better coverage, better staying power, higher pigmentation concentration, better/larger range of "skin colored" products

the lip colors are very pretty and i like their range of neutrals, but generally stick with drugstore lip products & mascara

if you find products you like, consider contacting mac directly and joining their ppid program. all professional performers are eligible, you save 30% & can order from the mac pro site - delivered to you which likely will cost you less than driving so far

good luck and have a great time

I agree with Sabrina. If you join the MAC PRO program, MAC products cost the same amount as drugstore products. Why buy drugstore products if you can afford the more high-end stuff?

Ladies I love this thread - but it would be great if names like "wedge, Woodwinked, Bamboo, Rice Paper, Bisque" could be explained very briefly, what colour tone it is.. I can hardly print this page out and ask every single colour at the store :))))
Like, i can imagine most of these are beiges or other lights - but what s specific in it, like if it s a yellowish beige or a white with silvery pigments or such stuff would be great.

Also the paint pots - I've heard of these so many times.
Which colours do you guys prefer? vanilla? what look does it give on its own? and how does it affect the eye shadow applied on top? thank you!!!
a mac novice

ok wedge is a light brown I saw that on the other thread ,r:;

Another vote for the paint pot. I love using it alone and also as an eyeshadow base when I use powder eyeshadow. The artist selected the best colour for my skin tone. In fact, I told her the look that I wanted and she selected all of the colours that go well with my skin colouring.

Originally Posted by dinavienna

Also the paint pots - I've heard of these so many times.
Which colours do you guys prefer? vanilla? what look does it give on its own? and how does it affect the eye shadow applied on top? thank you!!!
a mac novice

It depends what you want to do...

Do you want to neutralize your lid color so that other subtle colors stand out more intensely? [go with something close to your lid color/tone]

Do you want to intensify a bright color? [green underneath greens, blue underneath blues, etc.]

Do you want to intensify a dark color? [black underneath black, charcoal underneath gray, dark brown underneath bronzes, browns, etc.].

Do you want to use it as a color on its own [sky's the limit here!]. It can come across as whatever color you select and whatever finish you select.

The paint pots are wonderful and I love their eyeshadows. I just started using some of the MAC products because I live about an hour from the nearest store that sells MAC. They had a glittery lip product and, of course, I just had to have it! I will buy their foundation the next time I am in the store that sells it.

Well, all I got was a Paint Pot in 'Painterly' (looks like a grayish beige) because I told him I wanted something to make my regular eyeshadow stay on better. In two weeks I'm going back for a full makeover and will make my major purchases then since they require a minimum purchase for the makeover.

The makeup artist was a guy who's a drag queen on weekends. On July 3 I'm going backstage with him at some big shindig at his favorite club where he performs to see how they do their makeup. Who would know more about stage makeup than a drag queen, right? ..l;,

Originally Posted by Darbla

Well, all I got was a Paint Pot in 'Painterly' (looks like a grayish beige) because I told him I wanted something to make my regular eyeshadow stay on better. In two weeks I'm going back for a full makeover and will make my major purchases then since they require a minimum purchase for the makeover.

The makeup artist was a guy who's a drag queen on weekends. On July 3 I'm going backstage with him at some big shindig at his favorite club where he performs to see how they do their makeup. Who would know more about stage makeup than a drag queen, right? ..l;,

Originally Posted by dinavienna

Ladies I love this thread - but it would be great if names like "wedge, Woodwinked, Bamboo, Rice Paper, Bisque" could be explained very briefly, what colour tone it is.. I can hardly print this page out and ask every single colour at the store :))))
Like, i can imagine most of these are beiges or other lights - but what s specific in it, like if it s a yellowish beige or a white with silvery pigments or such stuff would be great.

Also the paint pots - I've heard of these so many times.
Which colours do you guys prefer? vanilla? what look does it give on its own? and how does it affect the eye shadow applied on top? thank you!!!
a mac novice

Dina, if you copy down the names and go to the MAC website, you can see swatches of each color and read a short description of it.

Dina, to give a little bit of help, I have owned Bisque, Wedge and Bamboo eye shadows, and they are in the neutral range.

But if I were you and I wanted to know, I would use it as an excuse to go to a MAC counter and hang out!! <LOL>

thanks for the advice Makeda!
Fotia - hmm sounds excellent, only that I have a tendency to compulsive buying and am VERY receptive to good sales techniques. And since I should not be spending excessively these days, budget-wise, that will not be that wise :)

Originally Posted by dinavienna

thanks for the advice Makeda!
Fotia - hmm sounds excellent, only that I have a tendency to compulsive buying and am VERY receptive to good sales techniques. And since I should not be spending excessively these days, budget-wise, that will not be that wise :)

Then it's definitely good to have a list for ultra-focused shopping. I never go in to buy supplies without a list. I'd have filed Chapter 7 by now if I hadn't.

ITA with Azhia. I would go wild if I let myself. Definitely do some looking at the website ahead of time and walk in with a list and stick to it! The MAC artists/salespeople are great at up-selling (i.e., tacking on all kinds of pretties that you don't necessarily need).

thanks :) that s what I thought!