Thursday, March 17, 2011

MAC Eye Shadow Finish Descriptions

The other day when I posted my descriptions of Inglot's eyeshadow shade range, it occurred to me that I've never addressed the overall issue of makeup finishes. While terms like "matte" and "dewy" tend to be pretty standard, brands are always coming up with new ways to make their product stand apart- including fancy finish names.

Since MAC is often used as a point of comparison, I thought I'd post a list describing their finishes (y'know, in case "Veluxe Pearl" isn't self-explanatory enough for you!) Some of MAC's finishes fall into the "unique" category, but I've noted those that are universally used across cosmetics brands.
  • Frost - iridescent frosty shine. (Universal term.)
  • Lustre - smoothly pearlized; intensely frosted.
  • Matte -high color payoff in a no-shine matte finish. (Universal term, also often used to describe foundation finish.)
  • Matte2 - intense, opaque silky matte finish.
  • Satin – satiny, demi-matte with a subtle sheen. (Universal term, also often used to describe foundation finish.)
  • Veluxe - superfine pigment rich, silky smooth matte finish.
  • Veluxe Pearl - velvety soft metallic, overlaid with high-shine pearl.
  • Velvet - soft velvety finish with high color payoff.
Though some of these terms are still a bit ambiguous (Really, MAC? Do you really need 3 terms for "matte"?) hopefully this will help you decipher what you're buying, especially if you do a lot of your shopping online. These definitions, by the way, come straight from MAC customer service (except my notations of universal terms) so please feel free to add your definitions in the comments! What's your favorite eyeshadow finish?

4 comments:

Phyrra said...

Matte2 and Veluxe Pearl are my favs.

Unknown said...

So do you know what exactly the differences between Matte, Matte2 and Velvet are?

I typically feel like the Matte2 is less chalky, more pigmented (shouldn't they all be that way though?) But I don't know that I have any Velvets to speak of...

Unknown said...

OK, I take that back, I have Beauty Marked, which is apparently a velvet. It pretty much blows- chalky, badly pigmented black base w/ chunky burgundy glitter. Certainly that can't be the standard for velvets though, I know Vapour and Vanilla are ultra popular!

Musing on Beauty said...

I know I'm the only one in the world but I love Lustres.

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