Review: MAC Greasepaint Stick

If you read my post on MAC Art Supplies last week, you might remember that I decided that this MAC collection, unlike many of their collections, contained some items which were a bit different from the norm.  And so, being the makeup addict that I am, I had to go out and buy some, for scientific review purposes.  I picked up the Greasepaint Stick in Charred Mauve, and also a lip stain, which I'll be reviewing next week.

Firstly; unlike the colour images on the website, the product is undoubtably black with the slightest undertones of colour.  I swatched a couple of these on my hands at MAC before I purchased, and the differences were very subtle.  I had thought that the colour was slightly stronger from the descriptions given.

The premise of this product is that it's a smooth, creamy, blendable shadow stick which is easily smoked out.  And indeed, that's exactly what you get - I can't really see how you'd get any other effect with it other than a smoky eye, as it goes on thick and needs to be blended down, and also as the shape of the bullet makes it difficult to get anything other than a thick line.  The texture is very smooth, and so long as you work fast, the creaminess makes this easy to blend.  Leave it too long, though, and the product will have dried down - further blending attempts result in flakes.  Ick.

I had high hopes for the longevity of this, particularly as it dried down much more than say a Paint Pot (all of which crease terribly on me), and as a bit of vigorous rubbing on the swatch on my hand failed to budge my smudgy line.  Unfortunately, my oily eyelids meant that it was not meant to be - about four hours in, I had creasing.  Not terrible creasing, as you can see, and four hours is a long time for a cream product to last on me, but still, that's enough to put me off.  Which is a shame, as I really did like the other aspects of the product.

If your eyelids aren't quite as oil-slick-y as mine, you might find that this holds on better for you; of all the MAC cream eye products, this is definitely the most long lasting I've tried.  The colour is pretty, and the texture is easy to blend.  If you're looking for a single product to get a smoky look, this is worth a try.  Get it from MAC Online for £13.50 for 1g - and bear in mind that it is a limited edition product.