I love teal. Something about this colour, a perfect mix between blue and green, just does me in every time and I cannot resist its call, so I knew the instant I saw ‘Blue Noon’ from MAC’s Surf, Baby! Collection, that it was coming home with me. As with the ‘Hibiscus’ lipstick (reviewed here), I was surprised to see such a vibrant colour made that much more wearable by its slightly sheer finish, but which also doesn’t take anything away from the exotic beauty of this shade. All swatches were done over MAC’s Studio Fix Powder in C4.
A cross between peacock blue and emerald green, ‘Blue noon’ is nonetheless a contradiction. An electric hue such as this can not only be hard to wear, but can definitely come off as garish; however, add a touch of sheerness to the formula and you get this amazingly wearable shade. MAC’s Powerpoint pencils have this wonderfully creamy formula which glide so easily across the skin without any pull at all. When worn (over a base) on either my upper or lower lid, ‘Blue Noon’ gave me easily 8 hours wear without creasing, smudging or significant flaking. On the waterline, the effect is much more subtle, although you can still see a hint of the colour, but the wear time is quite less and you would need to reapply more often to maintain the look.
When seen in full sun, I love how that delicate iridescence gives the colour depth and such visual interest, bringing out more of the green hue.
Shaded light certainly accentuates more of a blue tone, but also deepens the hue to give it a touch of sophistication.
I have found several similarities between this collection and MAC’s To The Beach Collection of last year, and so I was sure that ‘Blue Noon’ would turn out to be very similar to ‘Float On By’, but as I said…I can’t resist teal! Much to my delighted surprise, they were quite different….and rather close, with ‘Blue Noon’ being a Powerpoint pencil with that ultra smooth glide to it, and ‘Float On By’ being an Eye Khol with its much more pigmented and longer-lasting formula. The following photos are ‘Blue Noon’ on top and ‘Float on By’ on the bottom.
In direct sun, you can not only see how much more pigmented ‘Float On By’ is, but how its shimmer seems to be that much more pronounced as well.
While shaded light brings the two shades closer together, it also becomes apparent that ‘Blue Noon’ is slightly more green leaning compared to the cooler blue base of ‘Float On By’.
Final thoughts: Even knowing that the two shades might be very close, it didn’t stop me from purchasing ‘Blue Noon’, as this is a hue that is not only a welcome touch of brightness to any summer look, but absolutely stunning any time of the year and so complimentary against every single eye colour. The formula was easy to work with, applied smoothly and I love how easy it was to smudge it out with a brush for a softer, but still vivid finish. While definitely not as colour saturated or long-lasting like last year’s ‘Float On By’, it seems to me to be the better purchase as its finish makes it that much more wearable. In any case, its teal…what’s not to love?!
4 Responses to MAC Blue Noon Powerpoint Eye Pencil – Surf, Baby! Collection (review, swatch & comparison)