MAC Eyeshadow [Beauty Marked]

For someone like me who is a winter deep-toned, this is an all-purpose essential! Whether it's a high-intensity, floating eyeshadow, I can just apply this as a base, and then use the MAC Beauty Marked shade to blend it up towards the eyeliner, almost like a gradient. This helps ground the low-intensity look and makes it all come together seamlessly, no matter what other colors I use. It just terraforms (?) the eye area to make everything look cohesive. Just by blending this deep-toned shade well around the eye area, it can cover any puffiness or floating tones, making the eyes look more defined. Just like how this MAC Beauty Marked eyeshadow is an all-purpose essential for eyeshadows, for lips, MAC Diva, Bobbi Brown Burnt Cherry, Bourjois Rouge Velvet The Lipstick in Dusty Pink, and Amoore Dew Tint 08 Spring Night are my go-to products. They can help ground overly high-intensity or floating lip colors, making them look more seamlessly integrated. If there's a lip color I want to wear but it looks too floating, just adding a touch of these in the center helps it settle in better and look more harmonious with the face.

The fact that they continue to sell this hard-to-find, perfect winter deep-toned color in Korea is like a godsend to me. On top of that, I'm completely satisfied with the price, quality, packaging, and accessibility. If I had to nitpick one thing, it's not really a downside, but just a natural characteristic of the deep color - it requires the use of a brush. Lighter, more forgiving shades can be easily applied with just your fingers, but with this deep tone, even a slight difference in application can be noticeable, and it's easy to end up with an overly intense result if you're not careful with the amount. So using a brush is recommended for a more controlled, safe application.

Tip for using this winter deep-toned eyeshadow as an all-purpose essential that can save any mismatched eyeshadows or eye makeup: First, apply your desired base eyeshadow and accent colors all over. Then, take this product on a brush and start by applying it along the eyeliner area, gradually blending it upwards to the desired intensity. Sweep any remaining product on the brush into the inner corner/triangle area. This works amazingly well. My go-to brushes for this are the MAC 217 and the Picasso Collezioni 239 brush - they pair really nicely. With the MAC 217, after the initial application, you can use the remaining product on the brush to lightly sweep along the crease area, which helps open up the eyes and blend the shadow seamlessly. The flat, paddle-shaped Picasso 239 is great for sweeping the color across the lid horizontally. Since the color is so deep, it's best to pick up a moderate amount on the brush, dab it on the back of your hand or a tissue to distribute it evenly before applying. This helps prevent any uneven or clumpy application.