REVIEW: MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Painterly

I’ve never owned a Mac Paint Pot, even though they’ve been around for donkey’s years and are considered a bit of a cult classic. I was put off by their gel eyeliner (also housed in a glass pot). It dried out within a week, even though I followed the sales assistant’s instructions to the letter and replaced the lid as soon as I loaded my eyeliner brush. I didn’t bother again, not that I could ever master lining my eyes with a brush anyway.

I bought Pro Longwear Paint Pot in shade Painterly, because I was looking for a neutral lid shade, and I was intrigued by a flurry of Pinterest posts calling Painterly the best concealer that wasn’t really a concealer.

MAC PRO LONGWEAR PAINT POT

A highly pigmented, long-wearing eye shadow that goes on creamy and dries to an intense, vibrant finish.

Seamless, buildable coverage without looking heavy or cakey. Will not streak or crease.

• Non-acnegenic
• Water-resistant
• Stay true colour
• Dermatologist tested
• Flexible coverage

As a standalone eyeshadow, eyelid primer or base for other shades, it’s perfect and exactly what I was looking for.

But everything covered under the bullet points above also make it an ideal candidate as a ‘safe to use on your face’ concealer. I wouldn’t normally recommend putting eyeshadow on your face, but Paint Pot hasn’t caused my skin to break out, it doesn’t oxidize ie change colour (essential for a concealer), doesn’t cake up or settle in pores (the opposite in fact).

Although it has a faint sheen in the pot, once applied it’s very definitely matt. A flattering nude beige that’s polished looking, never bland.

Contrary to what you might believe, using Painterly as a concealer is actually not a new idea. After a bit of Googling, I discovered it was first used as a concealer way back in 2010. This happens a lot. Old make up techniques and accessories are reinvented, given fancy new names and updated as the latest big thing eg using powder to set your make up is now baking, and shaped foam sponges are now Beauty Blenders.

EYES

I tried it first on the dark inner corners of my eyes and yes, it was fine, but not as good as Bobbi Brown Corrector and Too Faced Concealer.

HELPS COVER BROKEN VEINS

I have a few broken veins on my cheeks from rosacea and a fair bit of redness there too, Painterly covers them up like magic. You need only the tiniest amount to conceal. Because it is so creamy (but not overly soft), I’ve found it’s best applied with clean fingertips rather than a brush. But I have seem some reviewers say a damp Beauty Blender type sponge works well too, so I’ll try that next.

BLURRY LIP LINE

I also pat it around my lips to prep them for lip liner and slightly fill in vertical lines. The skin tone shade allows you to use your liner to even up your lips and help lock in lipstick.

VARNISH ENLARGED PORES

Now, this is everything to me! It’s great at covering up enlarged pores around the nose, pat it on and they literally disappear in front of your eyes. Finally, a concealer (that isn’t a concealer), that doesn’t make pores look even bigger or praise be, settle into them!

SHADES

I know these used to come in a wide variety of shades, but Mac now offer just 9 on their official site. My skin is cool toned, so the pinky, nude beige Painterly is a perfect fit. Out of the remaining shades, it looks like Groundwork, Laying’ Low, Soft Ochre (for warm toned skin), and Dirty Chocolate Brown aren’t frosted, so you may find a decent match there.

HONOURABLE MENTION

As an eyeshadow, Bare Study – A soft beige with gold pearl, will be my next purchase.

PRICE

£16.50 for 5g – On the expensive side, but I can vouch that after 4 week of daily use, I’ve barely touched the surface and there’s absolutely no sign of it drying out.