Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus is the second shade I bought from MAC's Bloggers Obsession collection. This was created by Lianne Farbes, author of The Makeup Girl Blog. Lianne's mission was to create a dark sooty, grey shadow that would suit all and make for a killer smoky eye. I'd say she did a job well done! I am new to her blog - a fun and very informative blog.

You know I love a Smoky Eye so it should come to no surprise that I would own this shadow:

Here's a swatch on my NC42 arm:

It is described on the site as a dark, sooty grey with silver pearl. It actually looks more like a charcoal, brown with a golden sheen. This is a satin finish which worried me a bit - I don't have the best luck with the Satin finish but the color is so lovely that I figured it'd be worth a shot.

I tried it out just on top of my TFSI:

It looks a bit patchy, I know. I did pat this on with my MAC #239 shadow brush and I did add about three layers. I guess I need to blend it out better next time. This is usually what happens when I use MAC Satin finishes. I added MAC Soba to the crease and MAC Arena on my brow bone. I used MAC Fluidline liner in Blacktrack. I added Hocus Pocus to the bottom lash line and smudged it with my MAC #219 pencil brush.

Not too bad as a final look if I don't walk around with my lids half way open.


Then I decided to try it again but on top of Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow/Liner Shadow in Birthday Suit (brushed chrome):

Pretty clean and simple in comparison to the first look. It does look a bit lighter and the cream shadow base does seem to help for an even application. I still had to pat a few layers of Hocus Pocus with my dense shadow brush.

I figured that if it looked great layered on top of Benefit's Birthday Suit cream shadow, what else could I layer it with?

NARS Soft Touch Shadow Pencil, Aigle Noir - Black infused with gold shimmer, MAC Hocus Pocus and then the third swatch is a mix of both products. I like the result - a dark charcoal with gold shimmer perfect for dancing with the girls or making googely eyes at my husband on DATE NIGHT! The next swatch is Benefit's Birthday Suit  and then a swatch of Hocus Pocus layered on top of - giving me a warmer taupey charcoal.

I think I like Hocus Pocus best when layered on top of cream shadows/shadow sticks than by itself.
Final Assessment - I will need to experiment more with this shadow. I am determined to get this to work. The color is just too lovely to keep on the shelf untouched!

Bought by yours truly online.
$14.50/USD