This is my first MAC polish. I found this on clearance, and it’s dark, broody shade immediately appealed. I didn’t know who Brooke Candy was, didn’t really care, but looked it up. I remain indifferent. Look her up if you want to, you may regret it. Anyway, Black Stallion is a sheer blackened purple jelly that required 3-4 coats for opacity. Below is a swatch with one coat.
MAC Black Stallion One Coat
And 3 coats.
MAC Black Stallion Swatch
I didn’t mind that it needed so many coats. What I do mind, is that this started chipping the minute it dried. It’s didn’t even make it to the end of the day. Horrible, awful, terrible performance. I used my usual base and top coat, which usually buys me at least a couple days. This discourages me from ever purchasing another MAC polish, unfortunately. I pay more for a premium product, and even on clearance, this isn’t it.
MAC Black Stallion
I do still love the color, for the whole few hours it remains intact!
It’s not too often I can think of a reason to wear emerald green eyeshadow and have it be completely right for the day so I grabbed this opportunity to test and review Maybelline New York’s eyeshadow quad in Emerald Smokes. I grabbed this a few months ago on clearance for $1.44! Maybelline has changed their packaging since, which I suspect is why it was on clearance as it hasn’t been discontinued. Not sure if they have also changed the formula as well. They have more squared off packaging now as compared to the ones with tapered ends as shown below.
Maybelline Emerald Smokes
The quad has 4 green shades, marked 1 through 4 as follows:
1) Base – a pale shimmery golden ivory that leans just ever so slightly to green. This blends into my NC 20/25 skin fairly well but I’d imagine it might not translate well on very dark skin tones.
2) Lid – a shimmery golden olive/khaki green shade, which is always a favourite for me. I think almost anyone could make a wash of this shade work with their skin.
3) Crease – a deep shimmery forest green. This shade leans cooler than the rest of the pan and might be harder to pull off for some skin tones.
4) Liner – a deep, dark green black with gold glitter flecks.
The pigment was best with the lid and crease shades, and the base and liner shades had some fallout but nothing I couldn’t make work for me.
There are directions on the back on how they want you to apply them. I usually ignore them, but for the sake of giving the product a more thorough review as it is presented I went along with it. The only change I made was to not apply the “base” all over the whole lid first as I thought it would wash out and muddy the other shades. I still applied this lightly as brow highlight and in the inner corner.
Emerald Smokes on Eye, Outdoor LightEmerald Smokes on Eye Outdoor LightEmerald Smokes on Eye Outdoor LightEmerald Smokes Indoor Light
The bottom picture is taken in indoor lighting for reference.
I applied these over a light base of Maybelline Fit Me foundation for both eyes and swatch, and used a couple coats of my beloved, impossible to find Maybelline Full n’ Soft mascara which I really hope isn’t discontinued. There is a small amount of MAC’s Powersurge Eye Kohl in the inner rim.
Overall these eyeshadows surprised me. I did not expect green shades to be as flattering as they were. The applied and blended out relatively well. I have had this on for a few hours while doing some things around the house, and no creasing on my oily lids yet! The swatches on my arm removed easily with a makeup remover wipe. For the price I paid, I am really impressed. If you are interested in having shades like these in your collection and find it on a deal (I would never pay the $8.99 CA they are usually) then give it a try!
Just a quick swatch and review of a favourite today, MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge! Its is $19 CA at MAC counters, if you’re lucky enough to find it in your area. Took forever to get my hands on this product. I don’t live near any MAC retailers and on the rare chance I get to visit one, they are sold out! I tried my best to find a drugstore dupe, but no luck. The closest I could find was Bonne Belle’s Toffee, and it lacked the warm golden shimmery goodness. I had some luck mixing together a deep olive green and a gold eyeliner I had, but it was a lot of trouble.
MAC Powersurge is a hard to describe beauty. It is a metallic golden shade that hints and bronze and olive. I could imagine this being flattering to all skin tones. Here it is swatched on NC 20/25 skin.
MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge swatch on NC 20/25 skin
It applies smoothly, is soft, and blends easily. I like to wear this on my lower lash and waterline with any bronzed, gold, or neutral eye look. In the swatch below it is applied around whole eye, in water lines, and blended out on the lid. I’m sure this would last all day on someone drier lids, but as mine are oily it does start to fade fairly quickly, and I would have to reapply in the waterline every few hours. On my lid, it does fade as well, but it fades in a nice way, if that makes sense. The shade sort of blends into your skin tone in a warm, glowy way that it still looks nice at any intensity.
I have included a picture of a very simple eye look with the MAC Powersurge eyeliner blended out over the lid, and full eye rimmed. There is also one coat of Benefit Bad Gal mascara.
MAC Powersurge
The effect is subtle but pretty. If you have nothing like this in your collection, I highly recommend giving it a look next time you’re at a MAC counter.
katezilla 