MAC Paints

RRP: £12 for 6.5g
no. of shades available: 11

--What does the promo say?--
"A high tech, high performance eye shadow product which goes on creamy and dries to a powdery finish. It is ideal for colour-intensive, texture-rich looks that need to last. Made with concentrated pearl pigments in a cream colour formulation, the "transformative" abilities of M·A·C Paints allow for easy application, blendability, and flexibility of coverage. Its transfer-resistant finish creates a smooth, crease-free, slightly shiny, reflective look to the lid."

--Packaging--
Looks like it's come straight out of an artist's paint-box, exactly imitating the quirky tubes of oil paint, and therefore draws a nice metaphor of one's face being a canvas with which you can do anything. It's a small tube about 2.5 inches long, all black apart from the white MAC logo and the small coloured strip near the opening that matches the colour of the shadow you've chosen. The lid is a simple black T-shaped screw top lid. All very easy to open and close, with little risk of leakage, and all very nice to look at too. It's professional, minimalist and high-quality packaging.

--Application--
Very carefully squeeze a very tiny amount (think the size of a pinhead) onto a brush or onto the tip of your finger. This stuff really is best applied gradually, in layers, in order to achieve the desired effect. It's very easy to add more if you haven't done enough - but it isn't nearly so easy to take away when you've done too much. Be careful also not to apply the shadow too thickly or you may end up creasing it before it's had a chance to dry. However, it's easy to apply despite this and there's no problem achieving your desired look.

--Appearance--
On the eye, the shadow appears just as promised: a strong colour with a slightly reflective finish. The shadow dries fast, but not too fast, so it's easy to blend with other shadows, whether these shadows are also MAC Paints or other shadows. The range of colours offered in the MAC Paints category means that you could probably pick any 2 or 3 and blend them quite happily as the palette offered is quite harmonious. The only oddity is the shade Chartru, which is a sort of pale green, while all of the other MAC Paints are purples, pinks and taupes. You can therefore use the darker shades of purple to create an intense, dramatic look on their own, or blend darker and lighter shades for everyday wear. The colours on offer should also suit any complexion, hair colour, or eye colour - even redheads will be able to get away with the lighter shades.

--Texture/consistency--
A thick, stiff creamy formula that's not gooey, lumpy or runny. An absolute dream to apply.

--Longevity--
As long as you've let it dry properly beforehand there should be absolutely no problems, even without a primer. You can wear this all day (and all night!) with no creases at all. Simply superb.

--Value for money--
At first glance this seems expensive, but given that the colours will suit everyone and that you need to use so little each time, as well as the fact that this eyeshadow is generally faultless, there's nothing to make it not worth the money paid. Full marks.