Tuesday 5 July 2016

A new Mac palette and a new beginning...

Hello my lovely readers,
Its been way to long since i have been talking to you. So much has been going on in my life. I will defend this Friday my PhD. It has been in total 4 years of blood, sweat and tears, more often than not literally.  And somewhere down the line i lost the view for anything else. I focused on that goal and there was no space for make up blogs and myself anymore. While it was an intense time, it was also a time i am proud of. Proud of fighting my inner self doubt and ultimately succeeding. However, now that i am finally done i find myself slowly returning to the things i love. I am much more then a scientist and i do not want to loose this part of myself. 
I wanted to restart earlier but then while on travel, a whole gigantic bag of my high end make up got stollen. Very little people in the world will understand what that ment to me. But i think you are some of these people. My make up was a collection of gifts from others and from myself to me. A collection accumulated during travel, during hard times in which i wanted to treat myself and during wonderful times when others wanted to give me treat. Loosing this make up was more than a financial loss but a loss of many happy memories. But well at the end of the day, there is only one way and that is forward. So i will dust myself off and get going again. 
One of the first orders i placed after the loss was a Mac order. I had purchased a small palette before but that was in that bag which is now gone. So i decided to go this time for a bigger one. My inspiration for this oder was the Sweet peach palette by Too faced. I loved the concept, i loved the colours, but i could just not justify to buy another palette for what was in the end just a small subset of true unique colours. So i chose to go instead for some peachy pink colours by Mac. And obviously i wouldn't be me, when not also a few other colours sneaked into the basket. The result you can see below. 
Yes i could not resist and i also replaced the Mac 217 (aka the best eyeshadow brush under the sun). I actually tried a few others before repurchasing that one to see if i could replace it for cheaper, but i will go into that in another post.  Also in the basket went the Mac paint pot in painterly (aka the best primer ever for oily lids). 
But lets focus on the star of the show. The palette. 


The first colour i went for is actually a less exiting one but none the less very needed. A very good matte base colour. It might not come out very well in the photo but that is actually a true matte in a slight off pink. The colour is called "Orb" and is for the perfect base for matte looks but as well shimmer looks. 
The second colour is the famous "Nylon". This is the most beautiful inner corner highlight. Its shine is unrivalled by anything i own (and i own way more eyeshadow palettes than i care to admit). 
On the second row you will find "All that glitters" another classic Mac shadow. I have to go there and admit that i have not played a lot with it but i wore it so far for a more understated and also a dramatic evening look and it worked for both. I use it either on top of my lid or as under brow highlight. 
The second colour in the second row is "Mulch". Another famous one. I love that brown shimmery look. I feel this colour has a certain depth and i love to combine it with Orb or with all that glitters.
The third colour is a little less know and is called expensive pink. This is a beautiful iridescent pink/ peachy/brownish shade (yes i am not that good in describing colours). I purchased this one with the view on a more peachy summery look and i love it for that. 
In the bottom row i placed some more intense colours. This is where you find "Cranberry" (another rather known one) and "Sushi flower". I love wearing them together for a more dramatic summery look. Sushi flower is not as pigmented but i actually love that since it is very build able and prevents pink eye (pun intended). I wear orb combined with Sushi flower for a nice summer day time look and then i amp it up with cranberry at the outer corner, slightly blended into the crease for a more evening or more intense look. I think what drew me in the most with cranberry is that it changes colour depending on how the light hits it. I love that in an eyeshadow.  I hope this become apparent by the swatch. 
All swatches here are one stroke only with the exception of sushi flower. Orb did not really show up on my arm but i actually really do not mind this since its main job is to hide any darkness on my eyes and present a good base for other eye shadows to shine. Rest assured, its pigmented enough. It just happens to be very close to my skin colour. I think Mac eyeshadows are in general not as pigmented as e.g. Too Faced, though pigmentation can vary. However, may be against common beliefs. I do not think that pigmentation is everything. I think a bit more moderate pigmentation but good staying power and blend ability  allows for the creation of beautiful eye looks.



While my old palette was a 9 pan palette, i chose to go for the 15 pan palette this time. This way i  have the chance to expand. I love the opportunity to create a palette completely by myself with a colour selection which suits me and my wishes. I on purpose left quite some pans free so i can purchase in the future whatever colour tickles my fancy. I do not think i have another palette where i can say that every single colour has gotten the same love as in this one. What are your favourite eye shadows?