Modest MAC Haul - Seedy Pearl and Sumptuous Olive

[caption id="attachment_215" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Seedy Pearl and Sumptuous Olive eyeshadow pans"][/caption]

Blogging has taken a bit of a back seat this week, falling victim to a more urgent but far less enjoyable demand on my time - huge numbers of job applications. However, a trip to MAC yesterday has put me back in touch with what is truly important in my life: Eyeshadow.

With the last of my store credit (left over from Christmas 2008 - never let it be said that I'm not thrifty sometimes), I picked up two permanent-line eyeshadows that have been softly purring my name.

Limited Editions have come and gone, but I remain convinced that most of MAC's best work resides in its permanent collection. That's why it's permanent I guess (although it's the LE stuff that tends to grab headlines). Passing over the warm shadows from Naked Honey and the Mineralize quads from Colour Craft (is it just me, or are these really sheer?), I picked out Sumptuous Olive, and Seedy Pearl. Two shadows that appeal to my long-standing love of all things duochrome.

Click through for swatches and descriptions.



[caption id="attachment_216" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Seedy Pearl and Sumptuous Olive eyeshadows swatched on hand"][/caption]

Sumptuous Olive is a warm bronze base, overlaid with khaki green shimmer. The two interplay depending on the light and the angle at which they are viewed. It makes for a rich, deep neutral colour that goes well as a crease accent with many other shadows, whether warm or cool. It also works as a full-on lid colour, and looks especially powerful when applied over a black base (kohl, Paint Pot or Fluidline).

Seedy Pearl is a highlight, but one with unmistakable character. Like Sump. Ol., it's a two-phase colour. A base shade of lavender-white reflects with a warm shimmer pink. My camera obstinately refuses to capture the pink, which is a shell-like opal iridesence. But it's the pink that dominates when this is actually applied on the eye. To emphasise the purple aspect, i'm going to be wearing this with cool lavender shades like Parfait Amour and Urban Decay's Ransom.

You can buy these two shadows from any MAC counter or store as individual pots (costing around £11). Or like me, you can buy them as pans from one of MAC's Pro Stores (in the UK, the Pro Store is in Foubert's Place which is just off Carnaby St in Central London, minutes from Oxford Circus). They cost £8.50 each and will fit into MAC palettes, or alternatively you could store them in ELF's value-tastic £1.50 compacts.