This workhorse MAC brown is a must. Also, I miss this hair, LOL! Hope you guys are having a great week so far. Enjoy this throwback post.
Whenever I take MAC Cork out for a spin, I hear champagne bottles popping. “POP!”
If it were possible to place 1,000 butterfly kisses on a pan of brown eyeshadow, I totally would.
Wait — that actually is possible. Never mind! 🙂
It’s a medium neutral golden brown with MAC’s Satin finish, and it’s part of the permanent line.
It’s also not the only Cork at MAC. There’s Cork Brow Sculpt Pencil and a Cork Lip Pencil, too.
What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.
Cork isn’t flashy, but it’s a damned good workhorse shade. It’s one of those shadows that’s easy to miss when you’re perusing those tiered MAC shadow displays.
The Satin finish is totally key. It makes Cork a great transition shade. It can double as a matte eyeshadow and deepen the crease, and because it has a hint of shimmer, it has a little more character than a basic matte. And it’s much easier to blend.
Cork may fool you at first because it can really look like a straight up matte, but if look closely, you’ll see the tiniest twinkle (it’s barely there!).
I like using Cork in my crease when my lid color is a cool or neutral shade, and I think it’s GORGEOUS with blues, greens, purples and grays.
Oh, my gosh! Try it with MAC Club on your lids one of these days. That’s what I’m wearing in these pics. The two are like Shakespearean sonnets together. MAC Greensmoke too.
Cork is also my secret weapon when I look in the mirror in the morning, and my lids look more hooded than usual. The neutral-ness (?) of the brown sculpts a deeper shadow in my crease than warmer shades like MAC Soft Brown or Saddle.
By the way, it’s also darker than MAC Soba, which is another neutral brown MAC Satin eyeshadow I use a lot as a crease color. I’ll alternate between the two, but I choose Cork more often when I’m wearing a super saturated lid color because it’s easier for me to transition a bold lid shade to a more medium-toned brown like Cork (the gradient isn’t as dramatic as going to something lighter).
Just a warning! — on some people, Cork can turn orange. If golden browns go orange on you, swatch it at a counter first. But if you don’t live or work near a counter, also FYI, Cork is available on the MAC website as a single pan refill for $6 (you don’t get the black case, though). Stick it in an eyeshadow palette, and you’re on your merry way. 🙂
Last thing, if you’re a redhead, Cork works GREAT as a brow filler.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
For some weird reason I got rid of all my MAC shadows because they were starting to look worn and tired. And now that they’ve discontinued colors I’m not happy. Club and Cork are such a good combo. Just tried to find Soba on the MAC website, but it’s gone. Sigh.
You are sooo right. Cork is a keeper. IMO no one does eyeshadow like MAC. I wear Grain and Naked Lunch everyday. I have 4 backups of the lovely but discontinued Knight Divine. I love these shades. Purrfection! BTW Cork is good to dampen and enhance freckles 🤍
I admit, I’ve never bought single eyeshadows. Too much of a hassle. I’d rather have a all-in-one eyeshadow palette. I love my Natasha Denona Glam palette so much! I love that blue color on your eyes! Happy Friday, Karen! 💋
Wow Karen!! You and your hair look absolutely gorgeous in that picture. I’m detecting a little bit of a red sheen in your hair. Love it, but I’m biased, because I’m a natural redhead. LOL!!