Tuesday, September 18, 2012

MAC Cream Colour Base - Seaside Frost


Good Tuesday everybutty! It's been a while, and in this little while, I've actually ventured into a part of makeup that I've never really explored before. That is the dreaded eyeshadow. Along with eyeshadow comes the dreaded expenditure of money because there's just so many colours! Luckily for me, I have decided that I'm a neutral eye person. Even so, I feel like I can't seem to find the right neutral shade for my eyes, thus emptying my wallet in search of that colour. I'm doomed...

Anyway, this Mac Cream Colour Base in Seaside Frost I bought at the Estee Lauder sale eons back for my mom actually. The salesrep told me it was a primer of sorts that added a nice sheen to eyeshadow. I liked the shade so I bought it. My mom didn't want it so I took it (yay!). The packaging is larger than the normal potted eyeshadows and smaller than the blushes but essentially the same. Will not elaborate.

The above photo is taken without flash on the left and with flash on the right. I don't seem to have used it much... As can be seen, it's a kind of a deep(?) pinky coral shade that almost seems to verge on a bronze tint. I might be wrong. It also has microscopic (okay, wrong term as I can clearly see it but you get the idea - tiny) glitters in all colours that when seen together come off like a frosty (duh the name) silver sheen. 

It is sort of like a cream eyeshadow, but without the staying power. I'll elaborate more. The texture is nice and smooth, though not too creamy or soft that your finger sinks in. Decently hard and almost feels...oily. 


It is a gorgeous colour I have to say. Just look at the rightmost swatch. This was taken without flash and look at how great it is at catching the light! It's a really nice colour for darker girls like myself as the intensity can be built up or sheered out for fairer girls. I am slightly biased to this colour though, seeing as I have an almost identical shade in the powder eyeshadow - Naked Lunch. That's real nice too. 

So, according to the salesrep it's like a primer, right? Very true! The 2 left swatches are a random brown shadow (Visee?) I have. Middle is without the cream base, and leftmost with cream base. For obvious reasons, I would not suggest that you use this with pale shades like whites or creams, or blues or greens unless you want them to turn pink or turn a weird shade. But for colours that fall into a matching/same colour category are indeed much intensified (just look at that brown!) as well as infused with the same sheen the cream base has on its own. 

For people who are looking for a basic primer, I would have to say that this isn't for you. Not only does it have limited colours it can work with, it's not for people who want a matte eye either. For it's basic retail price and limited use, you're much better off spending the money on a NYX or even Urban Decay primer. 


THIS is why I would not suggest wearing the cream base on its own. As gorgeous a shade as it is on it's own, it creases within the first 10 minutes of wear. That's shitty right?! I'm so disappointed. I thought that it might just work like the paintpots minus the hassle of the screw top, but it just doesn't set unless there's some powder on top of it ):


Just a look I did with the base, Naked Lunch (same shade in powder) and the brown that was swatched above. Taken with iphone as my camera decided to play a joke on me today, but you can still see how nicely it reflects light without being glittery. Best of all, I don't look stupid wearing it given my inexperience with eyeshadows.

Eyeshadow on top of the base does last a good 6-8 hours without creasing though I find that the shadow does fade just a bit. 

Oh, just to add, I see the possibility of this being used as a really nice cream blush (a sheer sheer wash of course) but I haven't tried that out as cream blushes essentially wipe off all of my base, exposing my flaws.
People with darker skin tone might see this work as a highlighter.

All in all, this is a decent product and a really decent colour, but I'm not sure if it warrants a repurchase or is in fact worth it to purchase at full price. This is a product for 1) Mac fans, 2) collectors of make up. The normal person looking for a primer should just purchase a normal primer, not a cream base.


Summary:

pros: 
  • gorgeous colour that can be worn opaque or sheered out
  • sheen, not glitter, no fallout
  • intensifies colours well
  • gives eyeshadows new life by incorporating a sheen into them
  • could be multi-purpose
  • slides onto eye smoothly
cons:
  • creases almost immediately without powder
  • doesn't work with all eyeshadows
  • doesn't work for people who want matte looks
  • meh wearing time


No comments:

Post a Comment