MAC Paint Pot Painterly and Soft Ochre - Review and Swatches

I started using these a few years ago.I didn't understand the point of them at first. I mean wouldn't a cream base under eyeshadow be overkill? I bought them thinking that they would solve my creasing problems with eye shadow. They didn\t. I subsequently learned by contacting MAC that they are only supposed to stop creasing for 4 hours. That's it. What they are really for is to give your eye shadow a base to stick to and make the eye shadow come alive and/or look more opaque. I love these now that I get it. They make bad eyeshadow look decent and good eyeshadow look awesome. They keep eye shadow from looking sheer after a few hours. The colour also locks onto them so your eye shadow stays where you put it.

I couldn't live without these. I can't believe I ever wore eye shadow without a base years ago. Once you have used one of these, it all makes sense and you will never be able to go back to your old routine. Painterly is my go to. It has a pink base but it matches my skin tone the best on my eyelids. If you are fair or have pink undertones or cool based skin you need painterly. If you have yellow undertones to your skin or have a warm complexion, Soft Ochre is what you need. That being said, I use both from time to time. If you are doing a warm look which is gold or yellow based, you can use Soft Ochre regardless of your skin colour. Same with Painterly. It is good for cool or pink looks.

These are the neutral paint pots that I own. I also have a small collection of other paint pot colours which I will share in another blog post. If you wish to wear one of these on their own as eye shadow, you can, but you have to put a powder over it even if it is just face powder or they will crease instantly. If you are like me, you need to put an eye shadow primer underneath them like Urban Decay Primer Potion or Too Faced Shadow Insurance etc. Tarte has also come out with a really good one which I will review soon. Stila and Benefit also have good eye shadow primers I have heard.

You can apply paint pots with your fingers (works the best I find) or you can use a brush. A lot of people recommend using a MAC 217 (does work) or a MAC 213 (works too). Paint Pots are $21 Canadian. One pot, and it is in glass thank you very much MAC, lasts me between 8 months to a year with regular, almost daily usage. Well worth the money.

Rating: 9/10 (would be 10/10 but they crease)