Beauty Obsessed

(Please consider this as my June favorite – I’m delinquent, sorry!!)

I don’t know why I haven’t reviewed this product yet!  You saw how I’ve hit major pan in this shadow, which is proof enough that I love it and use it all the time (I only bought it just over a year ago).  Yet for some reason it’s slipped under my radar of shades to show you – but no more!!  MAC’s Arena eyeshadow ($18CAD) is well deserving of it’s own post, so here we go! (Excuse the serious use/PAN shots of this shadow – you can see how much I wear it!)

I think initially I picked up Arena because it was one of Karen’s ‘MAC Unsung Heros‘ from her Makeup and Beauty Blog.  She and I have very similar coloring, so I tend trust her swatches and judgement on a lot of shades.  I think mainly I was in the mood to buy a MAC eyeshadow, and this seemed to fit the bill as it sounded like it was a nice, natural-looking shade that opened up the eye.  And sure, the soft golden peach shade has a lovely satin finish that allows it to brighten the eye area subtly without looking too shimmery or flat.  But the main way that I wear Arena is under my brow bone and sometimes in my inner eye corners, to give a great glowing highlight to my eyes without being obvious at all.  Particularly in the Summer months, this is my go-to highlight almost every single day, as it shows especially well on my tanned skin, and compliments any brighter shades I wear really well.

Natural light

Sunlight

With flash

The texture of Arena is quite soft and smooth, and not too powdery.  It glides on the eye easily without requiring much effort – it’s of medium pigmentation, not too sheer that it requires multiple applications, but not so dense that it has to be applied with a light hand.  For the ultimate quick polish of the eye area, this baby pretty much does all the work for you!  You can see in the shot below that my brow area is highlighted, but it almost looks as if the light just happened to be hitting my eyes just right, rather than looking like any makeup at all.

I think for the first time ever (that I can recall), I would actually repurchase this shadow when it runs out (because it will, which is also a first – I’ve never finished a whole shadow before to NEED to repurchase!).  Its just too perfect and too easy to use.  This and a bunch of mascara and I’m ready to face the world (OK, and maybe a lil blush and lipgloss…but you know what I mean!).  Even for skintones unlike my own, I think Arena is a wonderful addition to anyone’s stash because you can wear it as an all-over shade and reap the eye-opening benefits – if you’re quite fair, the flattering peachy golden tones will look wonderful, especially for gals with blue eyes.  Gotta say, it’s just a little pot of awesome!

Anyone else dig Arena?  What’s your go-to brow highlight?