MAC Grain is a lovely light warm beige with a unique sheen.
It brings a subtle light to my NC35 eyelids which looks quietly polished. It is like my eyelids but a touch lighter and better. I usually use Cork for my crease and they make a great pair.
Grain has a satin finish and applies well and blends with ease. My perfect everyday neutral lid shade!

LOVE this eyeshadow!! I was in search for something natural for work that I could just rub all over my lid and add some Mystery or Charcoal Brown on top or as a liner, and this is a perfect neutral for me. I am NC20, really yellow. So yellow in fact that this color actually shows up a little peachy on me, which I love, because it neutralizes and highlights what would otherwise be blue/purplish dark areas on the inner corners of my eyes. And I like that the texture isn't extremely glittery or crazy shiny, but has just enough zip to look professional and polished. I got a shadow from Sally's called Champagne by a company called Palladio... it's one of those "baked" shadows. When I put it on, I looked like a sparkly drag queen and had to mix some cheap maybelline matte eyeshadow on top of it. Great for going out which I don't do that much anymore because I'm getting older, but no bueno for work. Grain is really the best of both worlds if you want a natural, pretty and polished look. I don't know what everyone else's deal is about not getting this to show up - the color payoff is just as good as any of Mac's other eyeshadows.

I got this as a Back to MAC which is unfortunate because I can't return it.
The texture is terrible. I cannot get the colour to show up on me (NC15-20). With primer, without primer, wet, or dry. Nothing. It is a complete waste.
I'm starting to expect this hit-or-miss experience from MAC eyeshadows, in terms of texture/pigmentation issues. Its great that they have so many colours but whats the point if they wont show up on the lid? MAC will not be a go-to for eyeshadow for me in the future.

Neutral to warm skin tone, NC25/NW25ish.
Grain is a light beige color. When I wear it on my lids it's quite soft, doesn't show up too much unless I pack it on.. I use Grain on my eyelids when I want a very natural look with Cork in the crease. I tend to use this color more as a brow highlight or inner eye highlighter. It gives more of a soft highlight look.
Grain has a satin finish and it not shimmery.
I would repurchase

I really like the colour - it's a 50-50 orange and pink, so it doesn't really lean to any side. I really wanted such a colour for a no-makeup-look My problem is: I can't get it to show up, because of it's texture :( It's one of those shadows I end up rubbing for a long time before I get any colour pay-off, which also ruins my brush. If it was easy to work with, I would love this, but it gets that sheen on top that bad cheap shadows usually get, although I know this one is a real MAC one. I may try it as a highlighter in the summer, but for now, I don't like this at all.

This is my favorite highlighter. The color is extremely natural and adds a beautiful shimmer and couldn't be easier to apply the perfect amount. It's also extremely versatile because it will match any eye shadow! If you're looking for a natural look, you could only use this color just to add some sparkle!

Very pretty satin medium-beige. This is a perfect neutral for my eyes, slightly darker than my skintone (NW 15). Very good quality, very easy to work with. I'm pleased with this eyeshadow.

I was looking for ages for the perfect my lids but better colour for me and so far didn't really have any luck. Finally I found this colour and I love it. It was just what I was looking for. It is a lovely natural peachy, shimmery colour which gives a nice sheen to your lids. It also works great in the inner corner too. I couldn't use it as a highlight as im very pale but this would work great as a highlight for darker skintones as well.
It has a lovely texture, is nicely pigmented and goes on very smooth.
I would definitely repurchase whenever I run out.

Grain is the perfect, my-lids-but-better color. It's a soft, peachy pink skin-tone color that doesn't lean too pink or too peach or too yellow. The pictures here don't do it justice. It has a soft, flattering sheen - no frost. I like to use this as an all-over lid color, an inner corner highlight, browbone highlight, or even a cheekbone highlight. It's such a pretty, staple shadow. I can't sing enough praises. If you are slightly cool-toned and have problems finding that perfect versatile lid shade, do yourself a favor and pick this up.

I don't use this as a shadow. Grain is the exact color of my skin so I was on the hunt for a "mini foundation" for touch ups during the day rather than hauling around a big compact and this does it. It's sheer has a tiny luminosity to it so it's not flat and it just works perfectly! I also use Omega for face contouring rather than eyeshadow too. I love that they are small and take up no room. Talk about multi-tasking products! Love them both! Perfect!

I love this eyeshadow!!! I am new at using MAC so this was my second e/s i have bought from there. I use it with all my natural looks as an all over lid color i think this is a must have for everyone...

What a great eyeshadow, smooth, creamy, a little shimmery - great at night to accent blue eyes.

What a great surprise this was. Not a typical highlighter but a marvelous colour that blends into my lid perfectly and has a remarkable sheen that I haven't experienced with any other shadow. A cool light beige with a tender bit of blue undertone; it makes my lids look so naturally beautiful and it reflects light in a natural way. The perfect base for a myriad of crease colours and liners. It has brought a new angle to my makeup. This will really liven up your makeup wardrobe and you would never think so by looking at it.

I had been wanting this shadow for quite some time, I got it in the mail last week from a MUA-er and altho I was quite surprised how "blah" it looks in the pan I decided I'd find a way to use it. I wore it the following days all over the lid overtop bare study with only satin taupe in the crease with brown liner and mascara. It was ok nothing special, later in the night I realized how simple this look was and really began to love it. I did the same combo for 4 days straight. The crazy part is, I have never used satin taupe for anything besides a lid color so it was a nice change and very quick and easy. I would def purchase this color again
Update: I also layer this over groundwork paint pot and it looks great as well!

I didn't really like this shadow. I bought it online, so I guess that's my own fault since I find shades are often very different in person than what they appear to be online. I thought it might be a good highlight color but really, it hardly shows up at all on my light-mediumish skin. I feel like I have to pack it on just to get it to show through. I was surprised to see how many people loved this on MUA. Oh well, to each their own. I'll stick to my beloved Dazzlelight and stop trying to find a replacement for a highlight I already love!

Love this as a highlight/browbone color.

I love this. This is my absolute favorite lid color for every day. It looks extremely natural on my pale skin - my lid but better. It's a nude, flesh-toned satiny color with the teeniest bit of sheen to it, which is one of the things that make it so great: Being a neutral, it would look dull and flat were it completely matte; invisible, even. But this seems like the perfect mix of flesh and sheen (95% flesh, 5% sheen) that will just make your eyes more awake without looking made up. Highly, highly recommended for fair complexions. Also looks great on mature skin as it's not shimmery (and therefore doesn't accentuate lines and wrinkles), as well as on darker skin tones as a discrete browbone and cheekbone highlighter. This is precisely what was missing from my dream quad - Grain, Wedge, Concrete and Mylar are now officially my go-to colors. The only tiny drawbacks to it are a) it turns slightly orangey when blended towards the crease so I always run the risk of looking a little tired if I don't place a cool crease color where this fades out, and b) it takes a while to see its true color, as you have to apply about 3-4 times before you get decent payoff. Despite all this though, I will repurchase.

For years Naked Lunch was my go to old faithful eye opening lid colour. The kind of shadow that you can wear on the lid alone or with a variety of different colours in the crease and outer V. Recently I purchased Grain and I'm in absolute love with this shadow! It has replaced my old faithful Naked Lunch and is probably one of the most used shadows in my collection. On my fair skin it shows up as a soft golden beige with slight peach undertones and the most beautiful shimmery sheen. The sheen is not at all over the top, nor glittery. Grain's texture is so creamy, smooth and very blendable. A great shadow that I can and have used either on the lid, brow bone, and as a blending colour for the upper crease. Highly recommend this shadow!!

i bought this as a wanted a neutral color and i liked this one as it made my eyelashes stand out... but have to say i never wear it as on me it has almost a blue undertone that looks too cool on my slightly olive skin (this would be the icy shimmer that MAC describes it as having). would think it works better on people that suit silvery colors whereas i suit warm gold tones.
EDIT: used a tip off another review for this and have started using it in the inner corner of my eyes or on my brow bone & like it for that - so much happier to own this now & gave it an extra lippie :) continued >>

I really love grain! It's the perfect all over color - I can apply it all over my lid, under the brow bone, and in the inner corner. This color seems to go great with whatever I pair it with. I especially applying grain all over the lid and up to the brow bone and then blending some soft brown into the crease. Those shadows together add a great warmth to my eyes (I'm cool-neutral toned) that I just love! I think this color would look great on any skin tone and it has a beautiful sheen to it. I will definitely repurchase.