Velvet finish - hard to use???

[ollieo]

I went to a pro store to get some e/s. Was sold a combination of 2 velvets. (left with my eye makeup looking like a clown) I like the colors ("slip pink" and "full flame") but found them hard to use. Hard product, hard to get color on the brush and hard to get much on my eyes. In a way good because I like things light but on the other hand it is very hard for me to even get a light application. It seemed a big pain so I just never use them. This weekend I was at the Macy's counter and was told by a woman there that the same thing happened to her. She said I needed a softer e/s for under a velvet. She recommended a frost or matte. I wanted to try "wait until dark" so ended up with that and "jest" and "shroom" to try. (this time left with eye makeup looking like my 4 yr old put it on, frustrating because the woman who put it on had some of the best done e/s I have seen in a while - but hey at least I could see the color on my eyes)

Is this true about velvets? Will I find myself grabbing my mac e/s now that I have a frost? (or 3) Will it help the velvets be easier to apply? My son had me up at 4 am and I lay in bed wondering if I should just drag them all back and be done with mac e/s. And speaking of returns - how long can I make the return and can I send it if needed? I live over an hour from the nearest counter.

Thanks!!!

[liquidsirenhoney]

I th ink Velvets are hard to use even when i use mixing medium and paints, they don't seem to have good color pay off and are chalky, i tend to use a bigger brush to apply them and get a lot of shadow on it and try to pack it on, but still they seem difficult to work with....i'm sure lots of girls on here will give you good tips to make them a little easier to work with.

[JJones]

hey

slip pink works best with a sticky base.

but it is a very light color and won't show up that much anyway.

[DaizyDeath]

i personally dont find velvets to be hard to work with i just think they have a bad color pay off compared to the color in the container.

I find good brushes really make all the difference with how it looks in the end

[Joke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaizyDeath

i personally dont find velvets to be hard to work with i just think they have a bad color pay off compared to the color in the container.

I find good brushes really make all the difference with how it looks in the end

I agree, i love the texture of the velvets.
But I do use Trish McEvoy brushes.

[KJam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaizyDeath

i
...I find good brushes really make all the difference with how it looks in the end

I agree - I use the 239 and start by packing it on. Once I have it on relatively thick (and I use a base - UDPP) I find it has better color payoff, and I can blend it with my 224 better.

They're tricky compared to VPs, but there are such great colors in the velvets that it's worth the extra effort. HTH!

[cinnamongurlee]

i found the velvets very difficult to blend because of the poor colour pay off. and once you get the desired shade/intensity on, it is really tough to blend it out to the shape you want. if i have to buy a whole new range of brushes to make these e/s work...then i don't want these shadows!

so...i have just sworn off the velvets. but each person has their own preferences as to which formulation they prefer

[YvetteJeannine]

It's funny...Velvets are among my favorite textures!!!

I find what really helps me, is to use a Paint (I use Stilife) or a Shadestick underneath.

Another thing that makes a huge difference is using a sponge-tipped applicator (instead of a fluffy brush like the MAC #213..that just spreads glitter all over)...Not the kind that come with drugstore eyeshadows...I mean the ones you can get with the long handle..MAC sells them, but they're like twelve dollars or something stupid like that...but the heads are replaceable, so that's a plus...But I just get mine for four dollars from Sephora...They work wonderfully when it comes to applying any kind of a "glittery" texture, like Velvets or Lustres. If you just "pat" the brush loaded with shadow onto the eye (instead of using a sweeping or blending motion) it will work much better. I LOVE the long handled sponge-tips! They also work well for Pigments. I wouldn't be caught without one (or two )in my makeup case!!! It's worth a try...

[d_flawless]

slip pink and full flame are two seriously hard-to-work-with velvets that come to mind. try a mixing medium and a heavy hand?

some velvets are just fine to work with, such as black tied...i guess some are more powdery

[giz2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJam

I agree - I use the 239 and start by packing it on. Once I have it on relatively thick (and I use a base - UDPP) I find it has better color payoff, and I can blend it with my 224 better.

They're tricky compared to VPs, but there are such great colors in the velvets that it's worth the extra effort. HTH!

The Velvets work really well over UDPP...

[kimmy]

i've never really had a tough time with Velvets, but i prefer to apply them with a spnge tip applicator rather than a brush. getting good colour payoff from a Velvet with a brush is just too time consuming, IMO. i always use a shadestick as a base, so you may want to try that out too

[lara]

Get a sponge-tip applicator from some el cheapo drugstore make-up and use that.

[ollieo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d_flawless

slip pink and full flame are two seriously hard-to-work-with velvets that come to mind. try a mixing medium and a heavy hand?

OK little rant here. Why oh why would you sell someone who was looking for some e/s, who mentions she rarely uses makeup and has limted experience with mac two of the hardest to use e/s's? Not to mention in the process make up her eyes to look like a clown. Because it really does seem to me that mac has to sell what they are told to sell and not what the customer needs/wants. The MA I met this weekend who had a similar experience to mine when she first got into mac even mentioned the first guy pushed the "latest colors" over what was important. You combine all this with my trying to get help in a mac store and how unhelpful and unfriendly most of my mac experiences have been and you wonder why I go back. OK I love the mascara X. But really. I went to the Shu store in Boston. I had a fabulous experience. The MA did my whole face. I looked great. Classy and understated. She asked what I did on a daily basis and changed what she was doing accordingly. She steered me to some things (easy to use) and steered me away from others (too much work) I call her now if I need stuff. I spend a lot more money at Shu and wear their m/u daily. I own a store. I have never once pushed someone to buy something not right for them just to make a sale. I find out what they need and help steer them accordingly. Makes them come back. Anyway I had to rant a little.

I have not tried the frosts yet in combination with the velvets. I do have some cheapo sponge applicators I can try. I always use UDPP, which has never seemed to help in application but does help limit creases. Worst case I swap away I guess.

[enka]

I had slip pink, because I love that colour, but i couldn't make it work for me. I found it super dry, hard to blend and it was almost impossible to get some visible colour on the lids (I'm NC20!).

I swapped it away and the girl, I swapped with is very happy with Slip Pink.
Same with Sugar Blue for Sweetie Cake. Dry, unblendable, lousy colur-playoff!
So maybe it depends on the lids ?

[BlahWah]

I was wondering why the MA would sell you velvets first off! They can be quite difficult to work with, but there are some colours with working it out for, namely the darker ones, because even if they fade a bit there's still some colour that lingers.

I've found velvets best used as a liner or bright/bold inner corner by spraying water/Fix+ after picking it up with a brush (266 or 219) and patting it on. I've found that spritzing after application just wears away the velvet, and I end up with patchy lids (sounds funny, looks horrible!).

Full Flame is awesome as a liner, making the line thicker towards the outer corner, and pairing it with a violet shade on the lid (lighter inner, darker outer). Slip Pink is a funny one... I keep wanting to love it more, but I can't love it much if it disappears by midday! There's a bit of colour residue, but no "velvet". *sigh* I've tried it with SUnday Best underneath, which is a frost, but it's not that much better.

Btw, I use UDPP, and I've tried Bare Canvas as well.

[k_im]

I'm new to eye shadow application as well, but I got Full Flame, B-Rich, and Pompous Blue and they all worked good for me. I never use anything without a base though, because I know light colors won't give me good color payoff if I don't. And I also make sure to get a lot on my brush (I use cheapo ones) as well as kind of push the powder onto my lid rather than using a sweeping motion.

[Sanne]

I found the technacolor e/s very low quality, I only got pompeus blue (which is a colorbomb, me likey!)
If theres no way you're going to use them you can return them, or swap them away. I guess if you still have the receipt it's not really hard to return it, I know @ my counter the MUA are very sweet, one MUA told me to return my foundation I bought 1/2 year ago, because I told her that the color was soo wrong, I never used it.

[GalleyGirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlahWah

I've found velvets best used as a liner or bright/bold inner corner by spraying water/Fix+ after picking it up with a brush (266 or 219) and patting it on. I've found that spritzing after application just wears away the velvet, and I end up with patchy lids (sounds funny, looks horrible!).

Big 2nd, this is how I wore blue edge today, and it practically went on like a fluidline .
But I find it strange that they chose to use velvet for technacolour collection when the main selling point of that collection was supposed to be vibrant color payoff. Instead I have to load up the brush like theres no tommorow in order to get any of it to show up.

[m4dswine]

I have a couple of velvet e/s and I find them so hard to work with. I don't really use them, I think the only one I do have is Bitter, and I only ever use that in the corner of my eye. They are easier with a bigger, fluffier brush. I have Vanilla, which is a velvet and I use that as a highlighter and apply with a sponge or large brush, and that works fine.

I tend to find myself buying Veluxe Pearl, Frost, Lustre and Satin e/s, cos they are the textures I like best.

[Eilinoir]

I only own one Velvet, and that's Trax. I have no problem using it - blending or as awash, doesn't matter. It's one of my fave e/s colours!
I would say that if you're having so much trouble with it, do return it.
I say it's not worth all this trouble that everyone (incl. yourself) is stating here.
Clearly, there is a problem. It can be solved by returning it or swapping it. I for one would opt for the former - sure swappin saves the product but I'd think, "Dammit, I paid for this and it's just not working for me. I want my money back b/c I'm not satisfied."

[rouquinne]

i practically live in Mulch and don't have any trouble applying it when i use a very small brush - 1/4 size. go to Michael's and get the Maxine's Mop brush from Loew-Cornell. they are natural bristle and inexpensive and when Michael's has a sale on them they can be had for less than $5 (even for the 1/2 inch).

i have 4 each of the 1/4 and 1/2 inch brushes and swear by them!

[honeebee]

I find that the velvets and mattes work very well with bases. I prefer to use the CCB's, Eye kohls, & shadesticks. Apply a very thin layer of base and pat the shadow on. Using very good quality brushes can also make a huge difference.

[DaizyDeath]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanne

I found the technacolor e/s very low quality, I only got pompeus blue (which is a colorbomb, me likey!)
If theres no way you're going to use them you can return them, or swap them away. I guess if you still have the receipt it's not really hard to return it, I know @ my counter the MUA are very sweet, one MUA told me to return my foundation I bought 1/2 year ago, because I told her that the color was soo wrong, I never used it.

I agree the techna color line sucked! i went into mac expecting to but something from the line swatched the colors saw how chalkey and dull the color was left with nothing from the line.

[thatcamgirl]

I like velvets because they have glitter

[labwom]

I just put mixing medium on my eyelids then apply velvets. Works great for me.