Product Review: MAC Cream Color Base and Paint Pot

The Boy wanted to take a jaunt down to Buffalo a couple weekends ago to pick up some kicks (how balla), and of course you know I can't turn down a US shopping spree. Especially if it involves a trip to the Cosmetics Company Outlet store!

For those of you who don't know, CCO is the outlet store for all of Estee Lauder's brands. This means they'll stock products from Clinique, Bobbi Brown, MAC, and various other brands, including Estee Lauder, of course. While the colours aren't the most current (you won't find the Hello Kitty release there for a few months yet!), the prices are good, the choices are plentiful, and everything has a tester. So basically, I'm like a kid in a candy store there.

This last trip, I picked up a trio of MAC products: 2 cream color bases and a paint pot. The cream colour bases is a soft creamy product meant to be used all over the face. Hush is a neutral-warm pinky-beige shade, and it's great for a subtle shimmer on the eyes, or as a highlighter. Improper Copper is a bit more bold, and leaves a soft golden-bronze tint wherever you apply it. I love it on my lips topped with gloss, it's such a happy, peachy, summery colour! Almost a nude lip shade for me, but a bit sexier. There's a very fine but apparent shimmer in it, so it leaves a gleaming finish, but not it's not so frosty that one looks like a drag queen from the 90's. Can't wait for summer to arrive so I can use it as a subtle, shimmery bronzer!

While the formula is nice and smooth on these cream color bases, the staying power on my lids isn't terrific. It's really not that bad, but after 4 hours or so of wear, I'll start to see some creasing. If you're looking for a die-hard kind of eye colour, you must check out MAC's Paint Pots. The shade I got, Greenstroke, is a murky silvery blue-tinged green that can be worn either smokey or bright. It's got a bit of a futuristic feel to it. I used it on St. Patrick's day under some shimmery teal shadow for a bright-eyed look. Fun for a day out shopping, but probably not the best for work (fortunately I work at a place where your boss never notices -- never mind cares -- what you look like). I can't wait to try it as a smokey eye, smudged up with some black liner and maybe a touch of grey shadow. Paint Pots are a bit tricky to apply, because you have to blend fast before it sets, and you'll want to use a light hand to start, as they are pretty pigmented. But once it's on, this stuff will last and last and last, so no worries about touch-ups while you're traipsing all over town looking like your fierce bad-ass self.

Okay lovelies, I have lots more to talk about, but it will have to wait until after I'm back from a conference in sunny California. If you're jealous, maybe it will help to know that it's probably the most boring part of California. But hey, I'm never one to turn down sunshine & warmth!