MAC Cosmetics have grown a cult following over the past two decades. I bought my first product at 17 years of age, 14 years ago and I have been addicted ever since!
I’ve yet to find a lady who doesn’t have at least one product from MAC, so with this in mind, we decided to do our MAC ‘must haves’ and mention a couple that just don’t make the mark.
There are quite a few products included. We’ve deliberately done this to give a helping hand to beginners, to people who are not confident in makeup purchasing, or for those ‘who just don’t know where to start’ with make up or the MAC brand.
Primers (before foundation application)
For oily skin, I 100% recommend MAC ‘Oil Control Lotion‘. I have really oily skin and this primer keeps my makeup matte without giving it that dry/flaky appearance. MAC do these really handy trial size samples for €10, so if you’re not sure, pick one up before splashing out in the full size product.
For normal skin, you can’t beat MAC ‘Prep and Prime‘ It moisturises the skin without making foundation greasy, it keeps makeup intact all day!
For dry skin go with MAC ‘Stobe Cream’. You’ll be glowing!
Foundations
Both myself and Louise use MAC ‘Studio Fix Fluid‘ foundation. Louise wears it in shade NW as she has a naturally fair complexion, I wear NC as I have a darker complexion.
It’s really important to get the NW and NC correct. NC is very yellow toned, which suits me, the NW makes me look orange! Studio Fix Fluid is a medium to full coverage foundation which suits normal to oily skin types, it lasts all day, it doesn’t set into pores or wrinkles (phew!), which I have found happens with a lot of other brands in the same price point.
One to avoid, in our opinion, is MAC ‘Water Weight Foundation‘. It has a light, sheer coverage, which goes patchy and oily after a few hours of wear. For this foundation to work I think you would need flawless skin. (which I don’t have!)
Concealer
MAC ‘Prolong Wear Concealer’ is the best concealer of all time! Spots? Blemishes? Dark circles? GONE GONE GONE!
Eye shadows
I have yet to find ANY other eye shadow brand I love more than MAC, and believe me I’ve tried many. Our favourites, which are pictured from left to right are: Sketch, Swiss Choc (ultimate fav), Coppering, Cranberry, Sable.
We’ve purposely picked these shades as they go with every eye colour, they make blue eyes pop beautifully, and they warm up brown and hazel eyes perfectly.
Combined, they can make a beautiful subtle daytime look, or a dramatic night time look, whichever you fancy! If your after an eye primer, you won’t go wrong with a MAC ‘Painterly Pot’ No fallout, no budge.
Pigment
MAC ‘Tan’ Pigment. Our all time favourite MAC pigment. It goes with any eye look. It also makes your eye shadow look instantly better, so if you’re not particularly confident with your eye shadow application, purchased this, you’ll be amazed!
Lipsticks
Long wearing, pigmented, excellent texture and a million shades! The shades we could not live without and ones you NEED in your makeup bag are:
Nudes: Faux, Blankety, Twig
Pinks: Creme Cup, Snob
Reds: Lady Danger, Ruby Woo, Rentlessly Red.
Plums/Dark: Heroine, Diva
Blush
We have MANY, but we’ve whittled it down to just three:
Day: Dainty (pink)
Day and night: Warm Soul (coral)
Night: Sunbasqued (bronzed)
A few products we’ve tried, which we haven’t got much use out of, and can’t imagine many have, are MAC ‘Gingerly’ blush – it gives the appearance of sunburn (my opinion), MAC ‘C Lightful Tinted Cream’. This is just awful, avoid it, it’s thick, gloopy, impossible to blend and so oily on the skin!
MAC brushes are good, we can’t fault them, however, they are so many other cheaper brands like Nima Brush or Blank Canvas that are cheaper and do the exact same job.
The MAC brush cleaner is also good but doesn’t go far, we’d recommend the Blank Canvas soap bar, really effective and lasts for ages! MAC mascaras are over rated and over priced, stick with the high street chemists brands.
Did you know?
Did you know if you bring back six MAC empty makeup containers, basically anything, you get a free lipstick? It’s called ‘BACK 2 MAC’ – a lot of people don’t know this, spread the word! Without this scheme, our lipstick collection would be significantly smaller!
MAC is available online, in Brown Thomas and Arnotts.
We hope you found this helpful and informative, we know the makeup world can be very confusing at times. If you pick up any of these products, do let us know!
Aoife and Louise x
