MAC Pigments!!

MAC Pigments are great! Here's a little bit of information about them. First you should know they do come by weight in each container not volume. Containers can appear to be less than full due to settling of the product. Mine always last a long time!!

1. What is a MAC pigment? The MAC pigment is one of the most popular and most sought after products from their cosmetic line. It is basically a multi-purpose loose powder color that can be used as a lip color, eye color, nail color, eyeliner, blush, bronzer, highlighter and whatever else you can think to do with it. (see # 5 for details about product usage)
Pigment is a highly concentrated loose colour powder that contains ingredients to help it adhere to the skin. Create a subtle wash of colour or an intense effect. Does not streak or cake. Easy to blend and long-lasting. 

2. Where can I buy MAC pigments? Pigments are sold at MAC freestanding stores (which carry the permanent line), PRO stores (which carry the permanent line + PRO colors) and MAC counters (which carry only pigments from collections).
Full sized jars and samples are available for purchase on ebay, but it's not recommend buying pigments from there as it's notorious for the amount of fakes.

3. What do I use to apply a pigment? Vaseline, Mixing Medium, Visine, MAC Shadesticks, MAC ream color bases, water and even lip balm. Basically anything that will make the pigment adhere to your skin, though it is important to note that products that do not dry, such as lip balm or Vaseline will crease and will not have the staying power an eye shadow base will.

4. What are the best tools to use to apply my pigment? There is no one good answer but here is a list of what we’ve gathered from the threads on MAC pigments:
· MAC 224 
· MAC 213 
· MAC 217 (for hint of color, like brow highlighting)
· Small contour brush for highlighting or shaping
· Non-latex sponges (to help clean up the fallen particles)

5. **IMPORTANT** Like anything, there are certain guidelines, and pigments have them too. Not every color can be used everywhere. 

These colors can’t be used around the eyes and are for the lip area only:
Acid Orange
Bright Fuchsia
Electric Coral
Ruby Red

These can’t be used on the lips and are only recommended for the body and eyes :
Black, Chartreuse
Clear Sky Blue
Cornflower
Deep Brown
Emerald Green
French Violet
Golden Olive
Landscape Green
Marine Ultra\
Naval Blue
Polished Ivory
Primary Yellow
Pure White
Rich Purple
Steel Blue
Teal
True Chartreuse
Violet

Lastly these colors are for the body only and are not recommended on the eyes or the lips (but work fine as blushes ect..):
Basic Red
Burnt Burgundy
Cool Pink
Dusty Coral
Genuine Orange
Grape N
Nocturnal Plum
Pink Vivid

6. How can I use them? Wet or dry, you only need very little to get a big payoff.

You can mix pigments (while heeding the important warnings!) with many bases like:
· Nail polish
· Lip-gloss
· Mixing medium (to make your own eye-liner)
· Moisturizer to get some shimmer/color

7. Also, pigments cost around 19.50$ US/23$ CAD