MAC • Eyeshadow - Era • Eye Shadow

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*TOP REVIEWER* bigsvig on 4/19/2013 4:30:00 PM more reviews by bigsvig

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I found this in a bin of lonely onlys at my local CCC. This is essentially a taupe eyeshadow. I can't wear most taupes because I can't wear most greys (insert multiple sad faces here). However, if there were a taupe eyeshadow that was very muted, and had enough golden undertones to push the boundaries of taupe to its limits, then I could probably wear it. That's what I found when I opened up ERA. A taupe made for ladies who can't wear grey. All the MAC quality, the cute little case, the complex undertones MAC shadows are known for, all wrapped up in this quiet, little color.

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*TOP REVIEWER* A9M8L on 3/19/2013 9:04:00 PM more reviews by A9M8L

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I've had this eyeshadow for maybe 1-2 years and when I first got it, thought it was very boring and just put it in my palette but never reached for it. Just recently I was doing my makeup and I really wanted a 'no-makeup' put together kind of look. Didn't want to look overdone but wanted my eyes defined and pretty looking. I put MAC grain all over the lid and Era in the crease and it looked so pretty! Now its become my go-to look because I don't really have to think about it, it never looks overdone or like I'm wearing too much eye makeup. I honestly may wear that combination with winged liner for my wedding - I love it that much! Its such a no-fuss eyeshadow because when you put it in the crease it looks very soft and pretty, and you don't have to worry about blending too much because its a gorgeous satiny light brown-taupe. For reference I'm an NC20 skintone, so I don't know if this would work for very dark skintones.

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Alisaaaish on 3/18/2013 2:40:00 PM more reviews by Alisaaaish

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Green    

I just received this from eBay, I've seen pictures online and how everyone raved about it being a 'golden-beige shimmer', just a bit different to Patina. I'm looking at it and thinking 'what the- how the hell is THIS beige?!' I even swatched it and it's an ORANGE shimmer. I can imagine this being a dark gold, but why is mine NOTHING close to what I've seen online???!!? It reminds me of copper from NYX, I'm so disappointed in seeing what Era truly is, a shimmery dark orange.
Maybe I'm just too fair to wear this color :(

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*TOP REVIEWER* playsindirt on 2/28/2013 6:16:00 PM more reviews by playsindirt

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Brown    

Era is a really great blender color or as a nice, natural lid color or all over wash. For a natural look, I wash with Orb, do lid with Era, and then go back and line with Mulch. Really good look for Spring and very natural.

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lnielsen22 on 2/22/2013 12:21:00 PM more reviews by lnielsen22

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

AT LAST!!! I have found THE color of colors.


I love make-up and I try a lot of it, and various looks with it. But down deep inside my heart I am a natural girl. I like the look of not having make-up on even if I do. I want to look like me, but prettier. So I've been on a kick buying mac eye shadows for a few months now. Reading reviews on MUA. Trying this and that, and though I do find a few colors I like (Quarry, Mulch, Sable), I don't stick with them because they are just not "transformative" colors for me.


Along comes Era. In the pan, it's nothing special. When I bought it yesterday and saw it in person I thought, THIS is what everyone is raving about? This looks like nothing more than a brow color. But it is so not!

It is a lovely, lovely, milky, taupey, gray but not gray, hint of soft, cool brown color that transforms with every layer you apply. You can really build it, or you can just use a light layer if you want. When I applied it just now I really built it up in the outer corners of my eyes and it opened them up big time. Basically I just have on Era and some black mascara right now and my eyes look so pretty. This is saying a lot, girls, because my eyes aren't anything special on their own. Which in the past has caused me to pack on more make-up than I want to wear, trying to make my eyes stand out and not look so blah. Again, I don't like wearing a lot of make-up (unless I'm going out at night). So to find that one color that does something to my eyes without it looking like I have loaded my eyes up with shadow and liner is a happy moment!


I have a cousin who looks beautiful wearing just a swipe of Malt on her eyes, shaping her brows, and wearing some black mascara. That's it. I have wanted to copy her look for years. To throw on a quick layer of a pretty eye shadow and then go on with my day of being a mom and working full time and cooking and cleaning, etc., etc. While still looking pulled together. I feel like I found my quick but pretty look with Era.


The reviewers of Era were not kidding. This color is awesome.


P.S. I read the lower rating reviews just now and people are saying when they apply this color they get nothing, can't really see it, it's not build-able. The way a color appears on the skin is very dependent on what brushes you use. If you use soft brushes, you won't really see the full extent of this color. If you use a denser bristled brush like I did on the outer corners of my eyes, then you'll see more intensity from Era.

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tousledelegance on 2/18/2013 2:47:00 PM more reviews by tousledelegance

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Black, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Green    

For me, Era is a surprise unsung hero.
I originally purchased it just to use as a light lid colour with faux cut crease looks, but I discovered Era is also pretty blended out a bit above the crease or as a subtle all over wash just to give you a little colour.

For reference, I am decidedly more fair than NC15/NW15 (i.e. Lily Lolo's Porcelain foundation is a perfect match on me) and Era looks like a very pale peachy-brown on me... think: much lighter than Samoa Silk + similar to Soft Brown + not as much sheen as Arena, but similar in tint. The sparkles are not gritty and the shimmer of them is very very understated; I can see it a bit in natural daylight, but not at all indoors.

I was afraid Era might pull "ashy" on me like Cork does, but it's just fine- better than fine, really. It makes me feel "glowy." Not something I ever thought I'd go for since I usually don't care for anything subtle, but I like it a lot on my uber fair skin for those times when I need an office appropriate or "no makeup" appearance.

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sarahmarie86 on 1/2/2013 8:06:00 PM more reviews by sarahmarie86

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

So this is exacty what I have been lookin for, for the last 5 years... and I've finally found you Era and I love you. This is the perfect transition color ever. I am a NC20 for reference. I like to use matte highlighters and when I used matte transition colors like kid and wedge it didn't blend as well as I'd like. Because it is a satin, it has a slight sheen, so it blends extremely well with matte shades. I have a "Guide to MAC Transition Colors" on my blog so feel free to check it out and compare the others:


http://eyeshadowaa.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-guide-to-mac-transition-colors.html

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cristalle65 on 10/21/2012 11:14:00 AM more reviews by cristalle65

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Green    

I'm a NC 15-20 with green eyes..never imagined this shade would look good on me but bought it after a rec from the MU board. It is beautiful! I use Naked lunch on lid, Era in crease and Ricepaper for the browbone. Nice pigmentation and very satiny. I have hooded eyes and this is the only crease color so far that doesn't make me look like I've got dark circles.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Menolikepolos on 10/17/2012 4:46:00 PM more reviews by Menolikepolos

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

I am a blue eyed NW10 (NW20 when tanning from a bottle).

This color is really unflattering on me for some reason. It's a neutral matte base color, so I kept trying to make it work, but it dulls my skin, makes my dark circles look darker, and just looks "off." I have a hard time with such a light color payoff too. I much prefer Wedge, which I bought to accompany it.

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Emma93 on 10/10/2012 7:18:00 AM more reviews by Emma93

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

I don't know why this doesn't get more love.
But what one has to be aware of is, that this is NOT a special color, it's not something undupable, it is not like MACs Club or Satin Taupe.
What it is is a very pretty, dark golden-y nud-ish color that has a little bit of shimmer, but not too much and is pretty versatile. I use it for example when I do a smokey eye to blend out the edges and for the inner 3rd as I have pretty small eyes and need a certain lighness on the inner parts of my lids. It's also perfect for a everyday look with a light brown like Cork in the crease or Mulch. This is not the kind of eyeshadow that is the star of the look, but it's still very very pretty.

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Saraah14 on 3/16/2012 7:57:00 AM more reviews by Saraah14

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Dry, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

This is one of my favourite eyeshadows! It's a light tan brown colour which is perfect for the crease or if you want something natural. I also wear this all over the lid blended up to the crease with a shimmery inner corner highlight and it looks so nice! Will always repurchase and highly recommend! :)

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lxGossipGirlxl on 2/21/2012 6:39:00 PM more reviews by lxGossipGirlxl

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Acne-prone, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I love this color, it is a light brown shade with the tiniest slight bit of taupe in it. You can use this all over ur lids, or use it like how I do: put it in my crease for a really natural eye look!

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*TOP REVIEWER* lollsazz on 1/3/2012 8:09:00 PM more reviews by lollsazz

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Other    

This is one of my favourite eyeshadows! It's subtle enough for everyday, but not boring at the same time. It's a satin finish, but it's multi-dimensional on me. Therefore, I often just use this all over my lid and in crease, and it accentuates the shape of my eye without any need for contouring :D The colour is kinda cool, but still goes very well with my warm-toned skin. This is one of the colours that to me is very simple to use - it goes with anything I would like to wear, because it gives me a pretty natural look.

BTW: the colour is pearly taupe-brown with a warm brown undertone.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* narkiz on 11/30/2011 1:00:00 PM more reviews by narkiz

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

I can't believe how people love this color. On my cool toned NW20 skin, this looks just boring and yellowish. Actually, I bought it several years ago, didn't use it and threw it away, years later, I bought it again accidentally (don't ask me how) and hated it again, this time swapped it. Happy end.

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*TOP REVIEWER* diggity on 9/19/2011 11:57:00 AM more reviews by diggity

Age: 25-29   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

This shade has become one of my most used eyeshadows, which is very surprising. I had asked the makeup board for recommendations for a MAC shade similar to Bobbi Brown Beige shimmerwash or Benefit Fawn Over Me. Someone suggested Era. I ordered it online in the pro pan ($11, not bad), and when it came, I was a little disappointed to find that it's a very subtle shade. It's more satin in finish than shimmer (like the BB and Benefit shades). And it's a little too light and subtle to show up on my lids too much as a wash by itself. So I didn't use it for the first couple weeks I had it. Then one day I did a darker color all over my lid and then used Era as a transition/blending color. Holy moly - it worked better than any other eyeshadow I've used for this purpose. It gave me this perfectly blended satin-y look like pro makeup artists get. I REALLY like the finish. Now I use this almost every day as my blending or transition color. I love the packaging because I buy the pro pans and can build my own quads or palettes. I will definitely re-purchase this eyeshadow once I use it up.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Hamstershell on 9/8/2011 9:29:00 AM more reviews by Hamstershell

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Relaxed, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

A very very natural, or neutral shade. Good for base, highlight or just single shade wash over lid.

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*TOP REVIEWER* dddoxie on 8/1/2011 3:11:00 PM more reviews by dddoxie

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

This is such an underrated color. I don't like to use very light/frosty colors all over the lid, so I turn to colors like Era instead. It's still a light shade but more neutral. My favorite combo is Era on the lid, Wedge to blend out, Cork in the crease. It's the perfect 'everyday' eye for me with black winged gel liner.

The reason for 4 lippies instead of 5 is that I find I need to pack on the color more than with other shades. One swipe doesn't cut it for me.

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*TOP REVIEWER* sallysellsseashells on 5/27/2011 9:17:00 AM more reviews by sallysellsseashells

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Era is one of my HG neutral shades! I'm so happy I got this and I'm disappointed that I waiting so long to try this out. I wanted Wedge to work on me for an everyday neutral but it just didn't show up on me. I agree w/ spacecow's review on Era being a great staple for someone who is tanned. Era is a mid-tone brownish taupe leaning cool with a very slight hint of shimmer. I love Era because you can still see my dark circles even with concealer on and Era doesn't make my eyes dark, hollow and washed out like some taupes do. Plus, Era is more of a brown with a hint of taupe so this is why it works better for me. Era is great for a simple lid color or deepening a crease and even just a light swipe over the whole lid for a "running errands" look. The pigmentaion is a hit and the texture is smooth. Application of Era is a breeze, blends evenly. If I could give 10 lippies to Era, I would!!!

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*TOP REVIEWER* spacecow17 on 4/24/2011 2:04:00 PM more reviews by spacecow17

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Tan, Warm   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

This eyeshadow is a MUST for every tan girl's neutral palette. If you have NC35-42 skintone, this eyeshadow is the best "natural lid color" for you. I am around an NC37 right now (usually an NC 35 in the winter & NC40+ in the summer) but this is like my "lazy go-to" eyeshadow. I just use this as a simple wash with Shroom as a highlight, with a white eyeliner, and some mascara - and Im good to go! This is definitely a very natural color on me, its like my lids, but better.

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DoraBora on 4/12/2011 4:10:00 PM more reviews by DoraBora

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Brown    

Really great eye shadow. I bought this because i wanted to get that natural shade my crease has when i got no make up on my eyes. And i got the effect i wanted. :D

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