MAC Paint Pots and Paints

~ stashy

Today I’ll swatch my collection of MAC Paint Pots and Paints.  They’re an essential part of my daily eye makeup.  My lids are quite oily and after years of trial and error, I’ve finally settled on the fact that I need both a primer and a cream eye shadow base to create a canvas for my powder eye shadows.  MAC Paints Pots are hands down, one of the best cream eye shadows on the market.  They help to prevent creasing, can be worn a lone for a wash of colour, and they do not dry out as fast in the pots compared to others on the market (Maybelline Color Tattoos, I’m looking at you!)
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MAC Paint Pots ($26) contain 5g of product and are contained in glass jars, whereas the Paints (also $26) are in the squeeze tubes and contain 6.5g of product.

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I own 8 Paint Pots and 4 Paints.  I should mention that MAC used to only have Paints in the metal tubes (like real paint tubes) before they launched the pot version of them. I also love Paints but the metal tubes are a bit of a pain in the behind because they would squirt out a bunch of product as soon as the cap was opened (no joke, I went back to the MAC store once to exchange a tube and I demonstrated how the tube was just gushing product out, wasting it.  The SA decided to open up a few tubes to see if they did the same thing and they ALL did this – in the end she didn’t feel right exchanging for another defective tube so she refunded my money).  I suspect that MAC will eventually phase out Paints – there are only a few shades offered anymore. Packaging issues aside, Paints are more blendable compared to Paint Pots – and they don’t dry out in the tubes.
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Paint Pots – the majority of mine were the original Paint Pots before they were renamed to Pro Longwear Paint Pots.  Some of my collection are Limited Edition (sorry!) – all descriptions from MAC.
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Soft Ochre – yellow beige (mine is 7 years old – I bought this when it first launched in 2008 and the consistency is too dry to use anymore – it’s going Back to MAC, watch for that post coming up this week!)
Painterly – nude beige
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Nubile – light peachy nude (LE from Posh Paradise collection 2011 – I actually prefer this to Painterly as it has a slight sheen and the consistency is more blendable.)
Utterly Becoming – creamy beige (LE from Stroke of Midnight Nude Eye Bag 2013 – this is in the Pro Longwear formula)
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Tailor Grey – muted grey (Pro Longwear formula)
Groundwork – mid-tone neutral taupe
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Quite Natural – dirty chocolate brown
Eclair – light chocolate with gold pearl (Pro Longwear formula – LE from Baking Beauties collection 2013 – this is somewhat similar to the permanent shade Constructist which is slightly darker and more plummy)
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Paints – unfortunately, none of the colours I own are available anymore.  I keep meaning to pick up Bamboom and Sublime Nature before these get discontinued!
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Magrittes – dirty mustard
Snapshot – grey taupe
Naturalism – warm brown
Artjam – metallic maroon

To keep the Paint Pots fresh, I’ve read that they’re suppose to stored upside down but I really don’t think that makes much of a difference.  I do store mine upside down so that it’s easier to see the names and colours through the glass.  And of course, it’s imperative that the lids are screwed on tightly after each use.
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To apply cream shadow products, I use my ring finger and sometimes blend the edges slightly with a synthetic brush. My favourite MAC Paint Pots / Paints from my collection are Groundwork, Eclair, Nubile and Artjam. Are you a MAC Paint Pots / Paints fan?  What shades are your favourite?

62 thoughts on “MAC Paint Pots and Paints”

  4. I’m very intrigued by Paint Pots!
    I have a few of the Maybelline ones, but because I just recently bought them, they haven’t dried out yet. But I do have the feeling that if I don’t use them all soon enough, they will dry out :/
    I am looking forward to your Back to Mac post 🙂 I’ll keep my eyes peeled ❤

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    1. I went nuts and bought 15 (yes FIFTEEN) Maybelline Color Tattoos because they were so inexpensive and came in some fun colours (and all those limited edition shades) and right now I’m left with only 7 in my collection because the rest dried out. I had them less than 2 years. So much for saving money…!
      The Back to MAC will be posted on Thursday! 😛

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  6. Paint pots and paints were my bases when I started using eye shadow more. I still have Painterly and Soft Ochre for the paint pots, and Sublime Nature, Bare Canvas, and maybe Untitled (?) for the paints. I store the paint pots upside down so they don’t dry out.

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    1. Oooh another fan of the Paints! It’s so rare to find others who like them too… lots of people don’t even know about them, they only know about Paint Pots. I hope MAC doesn’t discontinue them.

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  7. I recently discovered the Paints (where had they been all my life?). I worry about buying vream shadows like the Paint Pots or Maybelline Color Tattoos because I fear they will dry out before I can use enough of them. How do you keep all your Paint Pots from drying up?

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    1. I just close the jars really tightly. I find they last the longest out of any cream eye shadows that I’ve owned. I close the Maybelline ones tightly too and those dry out within the year, but the MAC ones last me years.

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  8. I just got painterly a few weeks ago and it’s honestly my favorite base now! I use a primer and then painterly before my shadows and I absolutely love it 🙂 I am becoming a MAC convert ;p

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      1. I’ll save myself the trouble of other higher end ones then! I tried the color tattoos and really did my like it either!

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      1. I want to get the MAC one in Soft Ochre (sp?) and Painterly perhaps. Lately I have been skipping eye primer all together. I feel like it doesn’t really do much. I just use some concealer on my eyelids lol. I don’t have really oily eyelids though.

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          1. Well I still try to use it sometimes lol. It just seems to make my eyeshadow look chunky on my lids sometimes so I’d rather just not use it. Weird I know!

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    1. Haha yes, these are definitely cream products whereas the Extra Dimension is gel that has been baked into powder form, so it’s not wet to the touch and they won’t dry out. Do you use any cream eye shadows?

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      1. Honestly, nope. I’m a single shade girl when it comes to eye shadow. I was and still under that thought of in order to get rid of crow’s feet, don’t touch the eyes. It was just me. But maybe someday, I’ll brave that thought. I’m really much amused of the information about eye shadows, the kinds, textures. Hats off to you my dear!

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  11. I always mean to pick up Soft Ochre or Painterly, but I never do. I have dry eyelids so generally I don’t need a primer, but I have thought a cream base would look nicer. Just picked up a Maybelline Color Tattoo, so I’ll give that a whirl before spending on the MAC! It really bugs me when makeup dries up so fast, though!

    All your swatches are so purty! Especially the Paints….oooooo.

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    1. Yes, if you’re unsure, test out something like Maybelline first. I will warn you though, that I’ve found the formula quality of Maybelline ones to vary from shade to shade. I can’t advise you universally to stick with only cream finishes or metallic finishes because there’s no consistency! I guess at $10 or so, it’s a risk you can take!
      I’ve neglected my MAC Paints far too long – after I did these swatches I put them in a more prominent spot in my makeup area so I remember to use them!

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    1. Yes, the Paints are the same purpose but I find they’re easier to blend and have a longer “open” time before they dry on your lids. There’s a very limited number of shades of the Paints now though. You have to pick up more Paint Pots! I can’t live without mine. 🙂

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        1. For your colouring, I think either Groundwork or Indianwood would be lovely!
          I don’t own Indianwood so here’s swatches of Indianwood that I found online:

          Groundwork looks scary dark but it’s actually a nice taupe.

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  15. Great post, I have a small selection in my pro kit definitely need to get some more. I have to say I do love the Maybelline Tattoos I have a huge amount, funnily enough I am going to do a post on them soon x

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    1. I have (or rather HAD) a whole bunch of Maybelline Tattoos (I think at one point something like 15 pots. But I got rid of most of them. They just don’t cut it for me… very dry. I do really like the wide colour selection and all the limited edition shades they release!

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