Finish: Lustre / Beached blonde
Retrospeck is best described a light yellow-gold neutral shade, ideal for everyday looks. This color does have some subtle sparkle to it, which does tend to fall under the eye (argh). For that reason, I like to apply it wet first and then layer it dry; not only does this help to eliminate some of the fallout, but it also makes the color stronger on the eye. If you would like to apply it like that, but are wondering how, the way I do it is pack Retrospeck onto a brush like the MAC 239 and then spritz it with MAC’s Fix+ spray and apply, wait for it to dry and then layer it with Retrospeck, in dry form. I didn’t do it like that for all the looks below, but I’ll mark the ones where I applied it in this fashion so you can see the difference. Retrospeck reminds me a LOT of the limited edition MAC shade, Femme Fi, only less yellow in color, so if you’ve been looking for Femme Fi, try Retrospeck in its place. All in all, I absolutely love this shade as a lid color; it pairs beautifully with greens and blues, too! What do you think of this color?
Look #1
Eyeshadows used:
- MAC Soft Brown (crease)
- MAC Retrospeck (inner third of lid) – applied wet/dry!
- MUG Poolside (middle of lid) – could also use MAC Electric Eel here
- MUG Nautica (outer third of lid) – could also use MAC Contrast here
- MAC Blanc Type (blend harsher edges of Soft Brown out)
boops
Love look 7-too bad I don’t have Malt or Retrospeck LOL.
Zabrena
Aw! LOL! Poo! You could use Kid in place of Malt, and any light yellow like Ricepaper or Mylar or UD’s Foxy in place of Retrospeck! 😉
Thanna
I am loving #4! That pop of color looks like so much fun for Spring/Summer.
Question though – would Ricepaper work for these looks in place of Retrospeck?
Zabrena
Absolutely! Ricepaper is very close to this color too and would look just as good!
Christy Patterson
All of these looks are Gorgeous!! You have the perfect eye for eyeshadow!! My eyes are set in and whatever I put on my crease doesn’t show. Ugh!
When you say blend with Blanc, that’s the white color correct? Do you put that on the whole complete top of the eye over all the other colors?
Zabrena
Hi Christy!
Have you tried carrying your crease color higher than you normally would, more towards the brow bone? That could help it to be more visible when your eyes are open. If you have trouble doing it, make sure to keep your eyes open when applying your crease color so you can get a feel for how high you need to carry the color before you can see it. 🙂 Blanc Type is a light beige shade that matches my skintone exactly, which is why it’s hard to detect in photos 🙂 I use it on the edges of the crease color to blend out the crease shade for an easy transition to the brow bone. If you have access to the video gallery, I’d recommend the video I did on my blending process (Eyeshadow 102: Blending Like a Pro) so you can see in detail what I do for that. 🙂 Hope this helps!
Donna
Christy,
Because you have a deep set eye, you want to apply your crease color above your natural crease to give the illusion that your crease is visible. I have droopy eyes and I have to use this method because my crease isn’t visible either. I hope this helps.
Mariella
Z, have you considered getting MAC Fiction – which is back for a short time via one of those “By Request” promos. It is like a much happier version of Greensmoke. I have Retrospeck in a Tartan Tales quad. I need to remember to use it more often and this Spotlight is just the “reminder” I needed. Can you suggest some dupes for Malt? Is it close to anything in the first Naked palette or in the Stila palettes?
Mariella
DUH – not Tartan Tales – it’s in the ChamPale eyeshadow quad (can you tell I’ve just used it thanks to you!)
Zabrena
Haha!! Awesome!!
Zabrena
Hmm! I honestly haven’t been paying attention to any of the new MAC releases (shame on me!), so I just looked it up – WOW! What a shade! It does look like a tamer version of Greensmoke. Hmm! Malt is close to Stila’s Clay from the ‘In the Know’ palette. Other than that I’d say UD’s Laced is close, you could also use Kid in its place, too! Or Naked from the original Naked palette 😉
Mariella
It’s actually not tamer – it is more pigmented or intense simply because it applies better (I think it’s a Frost, rather than a Lustre, but I’d have to run upstairs to check). I’ve always loved Greensmoke in spite of how difficult it can be to get the colour to show up the way it looks in the pan but with Fiction – hold on, honey! It’s terrific!
Mariella
Woops, I’m forgetting and erring all over the place today. Thanks for the Malt dupe recs. I don’t have In the Know but I’ve got Naked1 so good to know they’re close. I’ve also got Stila Puppy and Malted Milkshake from Sephora (I should probably take the latter in to MAC to do a comparison on the sly).
Zabrena
LOL! Oh I meant tamer in terms of finish, not a glitter nightmare! Agghhh! So excited! I just ordered it and got free overnight shipping so it’ll be here tomorrow! Maybe I’ll do a look with it this week …? Thanks for recommending it!
Mariella
Oh yay, oh yay! First, because the tables are turned and I’m “enabling” YOU for a change and second because I’m keen to hear how you find it and also to see the drool-worthy looks you come up with! I do hope you love it, Z. Our colouring is so different that I worry sometimes when I recommend something…KWIM?
Zabrena
LOL! Yeah you are! Haha! Okay, enlighten me – what does KWIM mean?! 😀
It should be coming in tomorrow so I can get a look up with it this week! Whoo hoo!
Mariella
It means “know what I mean?” – I just worry, when I say something is wonderful and someone else tries it based on that (makeup, a recipe, perfume, a hotel) that they don’t like it and then I feel bad. But I’m thinking you will love Fiction.
Chere Oliver
I did retrospeck and saddle today. Great color!!
Zabrena
Ah! Great combo!! 😀
beautywithin
look 2 is super pretty. can’t wait to try it!!!
Shewi128
I used to own Retrospeck several years ago, but I didn’t repurchase it because I didn’t find it to be very pigmented or special. However, I have it in a MAC holiday palette, so this post inspired me to use it again. I tried look #2, and girl, it was beautiful. I didn’t know how it’d look with such a seemingly stark contrast between Retrospeck and Antiqued, but it was gorgeous. You have a gift! 🙂
Chantal Yu
Hi Zabrena, I’m a new member, but have been following you on You Tube for a long time. I love Retrospeck! I have brown eyes, and wear Retrospeck on the inner lid, Sumptuous Olive on the mid lid, and Plumage on the outer lid (and under eye… I sometimes also use it wet to line my upper lash line). I use Romp (or Tempting) on the crease, and Retrospeck as a highlight (or you can use Blanc Type to blend).