When I uploaded a picture of my MAC eyeshadow collection on my Instagram and Facebook Page, I honestly did not expect such good feedback! I suppose it’s a good thing because it really pushed me to sit down and re-organize my entire collection. The purpose of this review is to give you a quick overview of each formula and to provide swatches of every color to help those who may be looking to customize their very own MAC eyeshadow palette. I have also created some Pinterest-worthy pictures in this post so that you can save or pin them to your board for future reference. :)
How I store my MAC eyeshadows

I buy MAC eyeshadows in refill pans and store them in a Pro Palette Large (“Single“; US$8) with a 15-well insert (US$2). The refill pan format is much cheaper than the full compact (US$10 versus US$16) and eliminates the need to “depot” the shadows. The Pro Palette is magnetized and has a clear window so you can identify the shades inside right away. MAC also makes a Pro Palette Large “Duo” which is a double-sided Pro Palette that fits 2 inserts; each side is separated by a clear window.
Brief formula review

MAC offers their eyeshadows in several finishes. Below are 8 in the permanent line that I have had experience with. I find that some colors can perform so differently even when they have the same type of finish, so please use this quick formula review as a general guide only.
Frost
Frost finish has ultra fine shimmer particles infused throughout. It can range from slightly shimmery to moderately shimmery to full-on frost. The texture is soft, smooth, and highly blendable. They are great for highlighting purposes and/or all-over-the-lid color.
In my collection: White Frost, Vex, Ricepaper, Naked Lunch, Goldmine, Amber Lights, Patina, Bronze, Satin Taupe, Electra, Deep Truth, Humid, Steamy, Swish, Creme de Violet, Lala, Nocturnelle, Moth Brown, 100 Strokes, Canter, Luscious, and Psyche
Lustre
Lustre finish has loose glitter particles infused throughout. I’m not very fond of this texture in general because they are dry, sheer, and produce lots of glitter fallout. It’s a little tricky to get them to stay on the lid so they are best applied over a cream base. Once they are on, they leave such an intense sparkly effect on the lids!
In my collection: Honey Lust and Swimming
Satin
Satin appears mostly matte with very subtle sheen. The texture is very soft and satiny and basically such a pleasure to apply. They usually have good color payoff, go on smoothly and blend beautifully on the lids.
In my collection: Shroom, Brule, Hocus Pocus, Shale, Pretty, Clove, and Lofty
Velvet
Velvet has a matte base with either shimmer or chunky glitter particles in the texture. They are usually quite pigmented but the texture is rather thin. The application isn’t the smoothest and without proper blending it can result in patchiness.
In my collection: Mulch, Contrast, Beauty Marked, Smut, Black Tied, Trax, Sketch, and Pepper
Matte
Matte has a 1-dimensional texture without any shimmer or glitter particles. The majority of them are soft, smooth, creamy, and blend really well. They are mostly base or crease color to add definition to the eyes. I really like most of the mattes that I have except Carbon.
In my collection: Yogurt, Malt, Wedge, Soft Brown, Espresso, Carbon, and Persuade
Matte2
Matte2 is basically an improved version of matte. They appear flat without any shimmer or glitter particles. They are buttery smooth, incredibly soft, and effortless to apply and blend. They don’t feel powdery or patchy in any way. The color payoff is also excellent.
In my collection: Copperplate and Typographic
Veluxe
I have only one color in this category so I’m going to base my review on this particular shade that I have which is Kid. It has a creamy, smooth matte finish that applies and blends beautifully. The texture is very soft and does not produce fallout or excess powder at all.
In my collection: Kid
Veluxe Pearl
This is my favorite finish! Veluxe Pearl has excellent texture and color payoff. The application is soft, smooth, and most shades leave a gorgeous, multi-dimensional semi-metallic finish. They pair well with other formulas but they also look just as beautiful on their own in a single-shadow makeup look.
In my collection: Crystal Avalanche, Dazzlelight, Gorgeous Gold, Expensive Pink, All That Glitters, Woodwinked, Antiqued, Mythical, Coppering, Carbonized, Sumptuous Olive,Knight Divine, Plum Dressing, and Plummed
My collection

My collection with corresponding swatches

*The last three rows are from the Gravitas palette (see in-depth review here).
Shade breakdown
Shades marked with * are limited-edition or discontinued shades that are no longer available. Everything else is permanent and you can buy them in refill pans.

- White Frost – shimmery white; frost
- Crystal Avalanche – pearly white; veluxe pearl
- Shroom – off-white beige; satin
- Brule – vanilla beige; satin
- Dazzlelight – shimmery champagne beige; veluxe pearl


- Vex – beige with pink-green pearl; frost
- Gorgeous Gold – muted yellow gold; veluxe pearl
- Ricepaper – shimmery peachy gold; frost
- Naked Lunch – pale shimmery peachy pink; frost
- Honey Lust – peachy bronze; lustre

- Yogurt – soft pale pink; matte
- Expensive Pink – coppery peachy pink; veluxe pearl
- All That Glitters – beige with gold pearl; veluxe pearl
- Goldmine – intense shimmery gold; frost
- Amber Lights– intense shimmery peachy brown; frost

- Bamboo – peachy beige; matte
- Malt – pinkish beige; matte
- Kid – peachy brown; veluxe pearl
- Wedge – muted beige brown; matte
- Soft Brown – golden peachy brown; matte

- Woodwinked – warm antique gold; veluxe pearl
- Patina – taupe brown with golden pearl; frost
- Bronze – shimmery gold bronze; frost
- Mulch – pearly brown bronze; velvet
- Antiqued – reddish brown bronze; veluxe pearl

- Mythical* – orange brown copper; veluxe pearl
- Coppering – bright orange copper; veluxe pearl
- Satin Taupe – silvery purple taupe; frost
- Espresso – muted golden brown; matte
- Carbonized* – shimmery bronze brown; veluxe pearl

- Electra – bluish silver; frost
- Parisian Skies* – darkened sky blue; satin
- Deep Truth – dark royal blue; frost
- Contrast – plum purple with blue pearl; velvet
- Beauty Marked – black with red sparkle; velvet

- Swimming – shimmery sea green; lustre
- Humid – forest green; frost
- Sumptuous Olive – pearly khaki; veluxe pearl
- Steamy – teal with gold pearl; frost
- Hocus Pocus* – shimmery silvery gray; satin

- Copperplate – muted mid-tone gray; matte2
- Smut – charcoal brown; velvet
- Knight Divine – blackened gray with silver pearl; veluxe pearl
- Black Tied – black with silver sparkle; velvet
- Typographic – asphalt black; matte2

- Swish – icy pink; frost
- Trax – burgundy plum with shimmer; velvet
- Creme de Violet – pink violet with gold pearl; frost
- Plum Dressing – reddish pink; veluxe pearl
- Lala* – bright pink with blue undertones; frost

- Nocturnelle – burgundy pink; frost
- Shale – mauve plum with subtle shimmer; satin
- Moth Brown* – shimmery purple gray; frost
- Sketch – burgundy with red shimmer; velvet
- 100 Strokes* – burgundy brown; frost

- Pretty* – pale peach beige; satin
- Soft Brown – golden peachy brown; matte
- Expensive Pink – coppery peachy pink; veluxe pearl
- Clove* – mid-tone golden brown; satin
- Satin Taupe – silvery purple taupe; frost

- Canter* – pale neutral gold; frost
- Luscious* – neutral bronze; frost
- Antiqued – reddish brown bronze; veluxe pearl
- Psyche* – medium golden olive; frost
- Carbon – intense black; matte

- Shroom – off-white beige; satin
- Persuade* – cool gray brown; matte
- Plummed* – pink berry plum; veluxe pearl
- Lofty* – cool blackened brown; satin
- Pepper* – dark charcoal; velvet
Even though I own a multitude of eyeshadow palettes, I still like the idea of customizing my own palettes filled with only the colors that I like and see myself wearing. MAC eyeshadow refill pans are affordable but not inexpensive so I would advise you start customizing with a few colors at a time. That’s what I did (and still do) anyway. It took me years to have come this far but to me, it is more fun to pick out a few colors here and there and slowly build my palette than buying all at once because it makes me appreciate each color more. :)
Well, I hope my review was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions at all! Please also feel free to suggest your favorite colors so that I can take a look and possibly add them to my palettes!
Whatta massive collection, jaa! I am so impressed!
Thanks, Laarni! <3
We share the same love for many shades. Gorgeous Gold, Expensive Pink, and Mulch are part of my favorites too. I am writing an article on my favorite M.A.C. shadows. I hope you don’t mind I use your picture. Of course, I will give you all the credit on it.
OMG such a huge collection u have
I have bookmarked this page
I dont even own one single mac shadow
so me gone start buildng obv this post comes very handy ;)
Haha. It’s fun, Krithi! Every eye makeup wearer should at least customize one MAC palette! :D
Whoa!! Now that’s what you call a collection! Thanks for sharing Jaa <3 <3
No problem! Enjoy! :D
Such a pretty collection!! I now own 17 shades (i think) and i’m not finished yet! Try MAC Jest and Pink Freeze, sooo pretty…
Looking up swatches as we speak! Thanks for your suggestion, Brenda! You are on your second palette now then? :D
I have a 2 double pro palettes, one for my blushes, and one for my eyeshadows! I also have a single palette, in which i store my depotted mineralize blushes, i put a small magnet under them. Looks really good! But after seeing your swatches, i ts time for some new eyeshadows..
I really want to invest in one of those duo palettes! Would be super convenient for travel! I didn’t realize the mineralize blushes fit in these new pans! I have a few of those and it would be really nice to keep them all together in one place! Thanks for the info! :D
Hey Jaa, this is a MEGA collection!!! As you know, mine is a FRACTION of yours :p The shades that caught my eye here were all limited edition shades, so I guess it’s just not meant to be! I heard my wallet sigh in relief :)
Yeah I remember your post about customizing your first MAC quad. I had sooo many colors I wanted to suggest to you but didn’t want to overwhelm you. Haha.
Holy smokes, you could open a MAC museum with that collection! Amazing! I looooove the way you did this whole post, Jaa, it’s so awesome to see, not to mention super helpful!
LOL. This is nothing compared to a real MAC shadow collector! ;D I’m pretty happy and content with what I have so far, though!
Can I first tell you how much I love this post? I love looking into other bloggers’ collections! Yours is gorgeous, so many pretty shades that I don’t own. You should add Sable to your palette, it’s one of my favorites!
Added to the list! Thanks for your suggestion, Agata! :D
Jaw dropping collection! I loved this post and is really very helpful honestly I had no idea about the finish etc.
Thanks, Fiona! Glad you found it helpful!
Phew! What an epic review/swatchathon! :-D I really love looking at all the colours, though – Expensive Pink remains one of the shades I am most attracted to! It looks like there are some nice taupes in there too, although I’m a bit disappointed by the perfotmance of some of the greens/blues (which is where I get really critical, LOL!). The overview of the different textures is really helpful!
Deep Truth is a gorgeous blue that performs well, though! I love it! :D Expensive Pink is one of my all-time favorites for sure! :)
Oh wow! I can only imagine how much time and effort this post took, really appreciate it! you’re amazing! a very helpful post and great swatches!
Yeah… it took a little longer than I thought. Glad to get it done, though! :D
Jaa, you are a rock star! incredible post! I can’t even imagine how long this took you!?!? If I had to jettison all but 2 of my MAC eyeshadows, the survivors would be Sable and Cranberry. They are both incredible colors, both can be worn as shadow or liner, both are metallics so they make for easy, one-step eye looks, and they’re both creamy and pigmented. I LIVE for buying MAC quads from All Cosmetics Wholesale and Glambot, especially when they are older, discontinued palettes! I also recently stumbled upon the Sharon Osbourne collection quad on the Bloomingdale’s site! I couldn’t believe they still had it for sale! You’ve inspired me to pull out Sable and Cranberry tomorrow! Thanks, peaches! <3
Cranberry has been on my list of MAC shadows to try! I agree it’s such a beautiful color! I like going to those shops that sell past-season makeup, too! I’ve scored some really good deals from the past including brands like MAC and Bobbi Brown. Have not heard of Glambot, though! Gotta check that one out!
About 12 hours it took me to do this post. ^_^”
Wowie, I’d love to just play around with your makeup collection! :)
I do like my Mac eyeshadows though I don’t use them as often as I’d like to. I should really try more! Expensive Pink is one of my staples. :)
Also, a big hug for swatching so many, it can get very repetitive and tiresome. Thank you for all the hard work!
You’re welcome! It’s easy to neglect them when you have about hundreds of other eyeshadow palettes to play with! I have moved them to my top drawer, though, so hopefully I’ll use them more often!
My heart skips a beat! Such an amazing collection and very informative.
Thanks, Jasmine! I’m glad you found it helpful! :D
Dude, this post is amaaaazing. //flings arms back in awe
Bookmarking this post for future reference right now! Your finish descriptions are going to be such a great resource :)
Haha thanks, Rae! ^_^ Glad it was bookmark-worthy for you!
woaaa…
I am not a MAC fan girl…but I definitely see you put so much effort for this post.
Well done , gurll
Thanks, Angie! ^_^
Love this post! what would you say are the top most used colors? I’ve been searching on the Internet for sources but there are not a lot who do reviews with Asian skin tone
For me: Brule, Naked Lunch, Bamboo, Malt, Soft Brown, Woodwinked, Mythical, Satin Taupe, Sumptuous Olive, Black Tied, Typographic, and Trax! Sorry too many! LOL
Wow, what a thorough review! Thank you.