I love my neutrals!

I think its time for some make up! 

I am an absolute make up addict and nothing excites me more than finding new products that I love or repurchasing my all time favourites when i run out. You will often find me browsing the make up counters or online looking at new products and I love reading other blogs and YouTube reviews from fellow make up addicts to get advice on whats worth trying and what just does not live up to the hype.

One brand which I am never disappointed in is MAC Cosmetics, especially when it comes to eye colours. I  do not believe in buying eyeshadows from only one brand as I think you can find some great colours and pigment in lower priced brands. However the texture and pay off with MAC eyeshadows always impresses me and my quad palette of neutrals is one of my all time favourites :)

I went into the MAC pro store just off Carnaby Street and explained to the sales assistant that I wanted a set of four neutrals that I could use alone or together to create a natural or smokey eye effect and after testing out lots of colours this is the palette we created:

Top Left: Shroom

Top Right: Satin Taupe

Bottom Left: Cork

Bottom Right: Embark

Here are some swatches (sorry for the bad quality i am saving up for a good camera)

L-R: Shroom, Satin Taupe, Cork, Embark

I wanted to buy this palette for taking out in the day, taking on holiday and basically to have four neutral tones which could be used for any occasion. I love natural colours in the day with a brown eyeliner or simply a sweep of shadow over the lid, or combined with black eyeliner in the evening for a smokey look which isn't too dark and overwhelming as smokey black or grey can sometimes be.

Here is a brief description of the colours and why I chose them:

Shroom ( Soft beige with shimmer) - Can be used for highlighting under brow bone, as a base over the lid or on its own as an easy soft shade with a slick of mascara to finish.

Satin Taupe ( Taupe with silver shimmer) - Can be used as an all over lid colour for a soft brown neutral effect or used as a crease colour in conjunction with the lighter shadow. Can give definition to the crease creating a soft smokey look.

Cork ( Muted golden brown) - Can be used all over the lid for a golden brown eye colour, in the crease for a matte look, or used in eyebrows to give colour and definition to dark blonde/light brown brows.

Embark ( Intense reddish brown) - Can be used all over the lid for a strong brown eye, can be used in the outer corner of the eye lid to create a smokey eye look, because of its red tone it is very different to my other dark browns and looks great with a strong black eyeliner along the lash line.

All the colours can be used together to create one amazing natural smokey eye look!

MAC Cosmetics is one of the most established and famous make up brands in the world and therefore you will expect to pay more. Each pro palette refill pan costs £9.50 plus the cost of the pan itself which is  £6.50 for 4 eyeshadow palette making the total price for this quad £44.50 which is a little shocking when you first get to the till to pay! However the amount of times I have used this palette, its handy travel size, the pigment within the colours and the quality of the end result makes me happier with the high price tag. I would obviously love to create a larger palette with many colours however for what I wanted at the time (a handy, everyday palette) I believe that this has delivered what I needed. I would suggest trying lots of eyeshadow brands as many lower priced brands do incredibly pigmented shadows however I do think that everyone should own at least a few MAC eyeshadows just to experience the fantastic quality of this well known brand. 

Let me know your favourite MAC colours and help me decide which ones to invest in next!