My friends, this haul was one of my most exciting cosmetic purchases of all time. It’s not just the kind of product, or the quality of the product, but the usability and the value that make me so thrilled this product line even exists.
Makeup Geek is the brainchild of You Tube sensation, Marlena, also known as Makeup Geek. She has created a makeup brand that not only boasts equality, or arguably even superiority, to MAC Cosmetics, but it is so affordable.
As a makeup artist, I spend a small fortune keeping my makeup kit stocked full of high end products of the highest quality. It’s really rare to find a brand that keeps the quality high and the prices low. Makeup Geek eyeshadows are priced at $US5.99 (today AUD$7.67.) The equivalent product from MAC Cosmetics in Australia will set you back AUD$33.00. Yikes!
The 27 beautiful eyeshadows I chose cost me $202.05. The MAC Cosmetics equivalent would have cost me $891.00!
‘Nuff said. But let’s say some more, anyway…
This is how my products arrived. They are packaged exactly the same as MAC Cosmetics eyeshadow pans, nice and safe. They were also bundled and bubble wrapped and topped with those fun little puffs to fill the box; nothing was damaging these suckers!
It was positively agonising to wait almost 3 weeks for my delivery! The delivery itself cost me AUD$23.39. It was quite sweet to also receive a hand-written note from the lovely lass, who packaged my products.
I must credit my Mum for first telling me about Makeup Geek after watching Marlena’s video. Then I went into research mode, searching online, watching countless You Tube videos, finally I concurred they were worth a try. Never to do things by halves, I ordered a Z Palette (which at US$20 is also much cheaper than any we can source in Australia), and as many Makeup Geek eyeshadow pans that could fit in a large Z Palette, which turned out to be 27.
From watching the You Tube videos from beauty vloggers I really trust, I knew I would be happy with the purchase and I just didn’t see the sense in waiting for weeks for my order only to want to order more immediately and wasting the postage. Even though that’s exactly what happened anyway! I want more already!
You may have done the calculations and figured out that AUD$7.67 x 27 actually equals $207.09. You see, I made another little saving by purchasing my first nine shades in the Makeup Geek Starter Kit, which cost US$49.99 (AUD$63.99.) The nine shades pictured above are:
Creme Brûlée, Cocoa Bear, Unexpected
Shimma Shimma, Mocha, Prom Night
Glamorous, Corrupt, Drama Queen
There are 64 eyeshadow shades available in the Makeup Geek range, so to choose just 27 I also looked to my fave makeup guru You Tubers for advice. The nine shades in the starter kit were in every single video I watched, and the ones below were in many of them, too, and they were also the shades I believed I would watch the most.
Beaches and Cream, Burlesque, Cinderella, Cosmopolitan, Cupcake, Frappe, Graphite, Homecoming, Ice Queen, White Lies, Latte, Mango Tango, Mercury, Moondust, Peach Smoothie, Pop Culture, Taupe Notch, Vanilla Bean.
A lot of these shades are neutrals, and I chose a lot of what I knew would be great transition colours. I also threw in a few fun colours. I took into account my existing kit and what I know my clients, being primarily brides, ask for. Sunshine Coast and Brisbane brides are not typically wanting an overly made up glamour look, but more of a subtle beautification of their already pretty fresh faces.
(By the way, these shadows are really really soft and creamy, so you have to be careful not to slip and dig your nail in, like I did with my Prom Night… boo hoo!)
Z Palettes are brilliant. They are strongly magnetised, so you can safely store any of your makeup pans conveniently, and they have a see-through lid, so you can always see your products. This is very time-saving for me as a makeup artist.
Let’s address something important.
We all know by now that prices of makeup, and cosmetics in general, in Australia are ridiculous. For whatever reason, we are being completely taken for a ride when it comes to this particular industry.
Why exactly? It cannot be simply postage… it really does not cost all that much to ship from the US and UK, where most of our fave brands hail from. It does, however, cost an exorbitant amount in import taxes – in many cases more than the original product price. There is also the consideration that in Australia our minimum wage is a lot higher than in the US, so it actually costs a lot more for our retailers to run their stores. That part is a good thing, in the grand scheme of things.
Bottom line is, buying makeup in Australia is not affordable. Products that cost $5 in the US are being charged at $30 in Australia. Unbelievable! It’s no wonder we all buy online or beg our travelling friends to make purchases for us!
So, I’m sure you’re wondering, do they in fact match up to MAC eyeshadows? I can unequivocally say yes, yes they do. I have a close friend who worked for MAC and has a huge collection. I compared them by swatching the colours on my hands, and almost every Makeup Geek out-performed in terms of colour pay off.
I have now played with my new shades a few times, and they wear beautifully. We are just at the end of Summer here in Australia, and if you have ever been to the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, you will know the turn of season means nothing. It is scorching hot and humid. Today I shopped all day and my Makeup Geek eye makeup is still perfect.
In conclusion: I love Makeup Geek! I think I might give the blushes a try next… Stay tuned!