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(* affiliate link) Hey Guys! I went back and got more of the 2021 new MAC Paint Pots *! This time I got 3 new colors (Let’s Skate!, Art Thera-Peachy, Belle Epic) and one original, which is Bare Study. I don’t use cream shadows often but the original MAC Paint Pots are so good that I can’t help wanting to try more of them!
Same as last time, I ordered them from Macy’s *, which always have a full selection of the shades in stock. Just to let you guys know I have made my 3rd order of the new MAC Paint Pots! Stay tuned for my upload!
Table of Contents
About the new MAC Paint Pots
These new MAC Paint Pots retails for $23 USD each, containing 5 g or 0.17 US oz of product. They are the same price, size and amount as the original ones.
From MAC’s official website *, there are quite a number of claims about these MAC Paint Pots. They are ‘highly pigmented, long-wearing, blendable eye primer and/or cream shadow’. They ‘goes on creamy and dries to an intense, vibrant finish that lasts for 24 hours’, ‘without looking heavy or cakey’ and ‘its superior colour purity stays true and will not streak or crease’.
I can say that for most of the original paint pots that I used (prior to this current release), these statements are very true. But as you’ll see for some of these new ones, they are not always true. If you have also seen my first review on these MAC Paint Pots (here), you may know I’m talking about. The original ones are much smoother and creamier, without a slightest sense of patchiness.
Ingredients and formulation of the MAC Paint Pots (vol. 2)
The list of ingredients listed on MAC’s website * is up-to-date and the same as the paint pots that I got. No parabens or talc was listed. Besides, there is also no detectable fragrance in the product. As also noted in my previous review of these new MAC Paint Pots (here), dimethicones and silica are present in the ingredients, so pay attention if you’re sensitive to them.
In this batch, I have 2 shimmer shades, Let’s Skate! and Bare Study, and 2 mattes, Art Thera-Peachy and Belle Epic. First about the shimmers, if you already have Bare Study, you probably know that it is very smooth, soft and almost feel a little bit oily to the touch (but it is not oily on the lid at all). It gives a subtle glow and glossiness on the lid, which is really pretty. The shade is described as soft beige with gold pearl, which is an accurate description.
On the other hand, for Let’s Skate!, which is described as soft sheer pink with subtle sparkle, is actual very sheer in my opinion. I have a hard time making this shade to show up on my lid. I do see sparkle on the lid, but I do not see any pink at all. If you have porcelain skin, some pink and gold sparkle may show up, but there is no strong color base to it. For the texture, it is rather hard and dry, especially compare to Bare Study.
While for the mattes Art Thera-Peachy (described as soft peach) and Belle Epic (described as iodine ochre), although they are not as creamy as the older formula like Groundwork, they are totally workable and still easy to apply. I like the coverage they give on the lid. They are very blendable and buildable too. I used them with both eye brush and fingers and they perform beautifully. Zero patchiness when blended.
Swatches for the New & Original MAC Paint Pots (vol. 2)
These are the swatches for these 4 MAC Paint Pots. Other than Let’s Skate!, which is a bit too sheer and more like pure sparkle on the lid, the other 3 shades I review here are of great qualities and live up to the claims by MAC.
I would say Belle Epic appears more orange online than it actually is in person. It leans much more to warm brown than orange. It looks amazing on the lid. I like to use it as a base for powder shadows at the outer corner. It also makes the shadow look last longer.
Another of my favorite way of using Bare Study is to use it also as a base, but for lid center shimmer or sparkly shades. It allows the powder formula to adhere much better and enhance their shine than without the paint pot as base or even primer.
Comparing Let’s Skate!, Art Thera-Peachy, Belle Epic & Bare Study with my other MAC Paint Pots
These are the current MAC Paint Pots in my collection. The top row from left to right: Let’s Skate!, Art Thera-Peachy, Belle Epic, Bare Study, Soft Ochre. The second row from left to right: Groundwork, Ultraviolet, Currant Affair and Vintage Selection. Most of the shades are quite different from each other, but some shades, like Bare Study, Vintage Selection and Groundwork, can look very similar in person. Can see the difference better when they are swatched together:
I swatched the shades that are more similar next to each other. From top to bottom on arm: Soft Ochre (it’s a little cut off from the top), Vintage Selection, Let’s Skate!, Art Thera-Peachy, Belle Epic, Bare Study, Groundwork, Ultraviolet, Currant Affair.
As I have mentioned above, older shades are generally perform much better than the current new MAC Paint Pots. If I am to rank the quality of all these 9 shades from best to worst, it would be: Soft Ochre, Bare Study, Vintage Selection, Groundwork, Art Thera-Peachy, Currant Affair, Belle Epic, Ultraviolet and Let’s Skate!.
Here is a video showing the live swatches:
2 eye looks created with MAC Paint Pots Let’s Skate!, Art Thera-Peachy, Belle Epic and Bare Study
These looks are very quick and easy to create as I just used 2 MAC Paint Pots and applied each with my finger. Put some eyeliner on and it’s done.
In this first look, I applied Art Thera-Peachy to my crease, focusing on the outer corner. Then Let’s Skate! applied all over the lid. I layered around 2-3 layers of Let’s Skate! in order to let it shows up and appears smoother. I finished the look by adding some brown eyeliner. I think this look is a very subtle, almost like ‘no makeup’ makeup look. The sparkles in Let’s Skate! was pretty when it is under direct sunlight.
I used Bare Study and Belle Epic for this second look. Again, it is very simple and took less than 5 minutes. I love the outcome of this look! Bare study layered on top of Belle Epic created a bronzy color. It looks more sophisticated than just the use of 2 shades. You can definitely deepen up the look by building up Belle Epic only at the outer corner of the eye to give more dimension.
Final Thoughts
Other than Let’s Skate!, I highly recommend the 3 MAC Paint Pots in this review: Art Thera-Peachy, Belle Epic and Bare Study. I do think they are very pricy for only a single shade, I probably won’t be able to finish any of these pots except Soft Ochre. However, they are multi-functional and can also be used as a primer which significantly enhance the powder shadow applied on top. They help to prolong the life on the powder shadow and to pump up the pigmentation, especially for shimmers.
Overall, I’ll rate these MAC Paint Pots as:
- Texture: 7/10
- Color payoff: 7.5/10
- Longevity on eye lid: 9/10
- Quality consistency among shades: 3/10
- Shade range: 8.5/10
- Affordability: 4/10
