MAC Unsung Heroes: Saddle Eyeshadow

I’ve loved MAC Saddle eyeshadow for years. It’s one of my favorite MAC neutral shadows of all time!

I know that a few of you gals and dudes who visit MBB also ride horses, so I need to know — does MAC Saddle Eye Shadow in any way remind you of actual saddles? Is this what color saddles are? Because I’ve only ridden a horse once, so I really have no clue.

All I know is I love this color, man, and I’ve been wearing it for years! It’s a — now please don’t run away when I say this — matte orange brown.

Yep, I said orange…but it’s more brown than orange. It’s not obnoxiously orange. The little bit of orange just gives it some warmth.

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.

Sometimes I use Saddle to deepen my crease and make my eyes look like they’re set back further in my sockets…

OK, that sounded weirder than it did in my head…but anyway, mattes are useful when you want to make something look more recessed.

You could start with a light brown matte like MAC Soft Brown, Soba or Wedge in the crease first, then add Saddle on top on the part of your crease that you want to look deepest and furthest back.

Feathering it up into the lighter brown you started with also creates a gradient and gives the look a little somethin’-something, a.k.a. complexity.

There are so many matte dark browns out there, and you could use any number of them in this way, but Saddle really is something special. You’ll be blown away by how easy it is to blend, because you know how hard mattes usually are to feather out, right? Saddle blends easily into other matte shadows, which is my hallmark for “what makes a great matte shadow,” and it’s also super easy to blend into other finishes, too, like satins, frosts and sheens.

It’s one of my tried-and-true MAC must-have classic colors, and it delivers across the board — color, performance, all-day wear time, and it’s a good value $$$ because of its versatility.

I love using it with the MAC old-school neutrals, and one of my favorite looks is with Wedge in the crease, Saddle up in there to deepen it, and then Mulch on the lid, Brun in the outer corner, and a highlight of Brule or Ricepaper.

Another look I like is with Soft Brown in the crease and Sable on the lid. Then I add Costa Riche on the water and lash lines (or sometimes I’ll go with a classic black kohl like MAC Feline or Smolder on my water line).

Basically, if your skin tone is NC42 or NW40, or thereabouts in that general vicinity, Saddle is a fantastic all-purpose crease color.

I live for it, love it, and I wear it all the time. Heck, I wore it again today.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen