MAC Cream Colour Base Shell: Review, Swatches

Review, Swatches, Price MAC Cream Colour Base SHELL

By Contributor: Aditi

It takes a special kind of person to forget that they have new MAC products, but that’s exactly what I managed to do. Even though I am all high on highlighters these days, having bought 3 of them at once, I somehow kept shell cream base from MAC on the side track. Well does that really happen to a MAC product of mine? NO. So why this time, read on to find out. Let’s start with the review and swatches.

MAC Claims: Versatile and multi-purpose, Cream Colour Base can be applied directly to bare skin, or layered over foundation, moisturizer, or powder. Apply with a brush, sponge, or fingers. Colour effects range from a light veil to highly dramatic, depending on method of application. Fragrance-free. (The following shades are not recommended for use in lip area: Fawntastic and Black. The following shades are not recommended for use in the eye area: Fabulush and Improper Copper.)

My Review:

SHADE: I haven’t used a MAC Cream Colour Base before (there are 16 shades, not sure if we have them all in India ), so I was quite happy to play around with it but boy.. when I applied it on my cheeks, wasn’t as happy as I thought I would be. The shade, Shell, is a beige/gold/pink highlighter hybrid, more towards pink.

PACKAGING: The cream base comes in a typical MAC blush-like round packaging – no mirror or applicator. However, the content is less than a regular blush. It’s simple, straightforward and convenient but not breaking any design barriers. Easy to use, easy to carry.

TEXTURE: The colour base itself is a hard cream but when you move your finger on the cream, it slips easily, so the product comes off on your finger/brush easily without forming any lumps. On applying, it sets a little bit, so I do not see it transferring or moving around.

PIGMENTATION: now this is the part that wasn’t the most impressive for me. Even in the hand swatch it looks really pigmented and illuminating, I don’t really see that when I apply it on the cheek bones. First of all, it looks or appears like shattered shimmer/glitter particles. It doesn’t look like on solid swatch on the cheeks, instead like shimmer loosely shattered every where. Also if I try to build it up, it starts to look like an OTT shimmery layer on the face.

STAYING POWER: the staying power of this cream colour base is something that disappointed me even more than the pigmentation. I applied it, went to a restaurant for lunch, came back to see that none of the shell highlighter is to be seen, even though when I use it as an eye shadow, it stays on pretty well. But as a face highlighter the staying power of mac cream base is really low.

PROS of MAC Cream Colour Base Shell:

• The shade Shell really suits warm Indian skin tones.
• Has a versatile usage. Can be used as an eye shadow, a highlighter, or even mixed into the foundation for an all over application (which I don’t prefer).
• Has a comfortable cream to powder formula, doesn’t feel greasy or heavy on the skin.
• Comes in a small mobile packaging which is easy to carry around.
• The cream colour bases from MAC come in different shades, so every skin tone has a perfect match to choose from.

CONS of MAC Cream Colour Base Shell:

• Very low staying power.
• Pigmentation upon blending really shows up bad.
• Cant be built up to increase intensity, starts to look fake and chunky.
• Doesn’t come with a mirror.
• Pricey for the pigmentation that it offers.

Price: Rs.1650

VNA Rating: 3/5

Conclusion: It is my 1^st MAC product that I don’t have praises about. But I have tried other shades from the cream colour base range and they turned out much better in the long run, so other shades than this like HUSH or IMPROPER COPPER, LUNA are worth a try. Still I try to work with Shell, and accordingly I find that it is the most gorgeous inner corner highlight ever for my eyes. Also fairs out decenty well as a brow bone highlighter, even though I prefer matte highlights for the brow bone. Overall I would say that other shades from the same line are surely worth a try.

 Have you used MAC Cream Colour Base Shell? Share your reviews with us.