M.A.C. eyeshadows come in various finishes, which I've broken down for you below (finish descriptions per M.A.C. website):

Matte - Hi-colour pay-off in a no-shine matte finish Matte2 - Intense, opaque matte finish with exceptionally rich colour payoff (pronounced matte squared) Satin - Pure colour in a satin-style finish. Provides a soft subtle non-frost, light-refractive sheen Frost - An iridescent shine that adds a highlight to any colour

Velvet - Soft look finish with high-colour intensity. Has a plush velvety look and feel

Lustre - Smoothly pearlized; intensely frosted with deluxe ultra-fine "conditioned" finish

Veluxe - Superfine pigment rich and very luxe. Supple to apply. Provides silky smooth matte finish

Veluxe Pearl - Vibrantly-toned. Velvety soft. Shimmeringly metallic. Veluxe eye shadow, now overlaid with high-shine pearl

M.A.C. eyeshadows come in a black plastic container with a clear flip-top lid. Special edition eyeshadows sometimes come in different colored containers (i.e. the Lure Collection came in teal containers, and Moonbathe Collection eyeshadows came in a pearlized cream container). Each container measures about 1.5" in diameter, and contains 0.05 oz/1.5g of eyeshadow measuring about the size of a quarter.

::: The Ingredients :::
Talc, Zinc Stearate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Isostearyl Neopentanoate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol

Eye Shadows may contain: Silica, Mice, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Bismuth Oxychloride, Carmine, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Chromium Oxide Greens, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Manganese Violet, Ultramarines, Blue 1 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Yello 5 Lake

::: My Experience :::

I first heard about M.A.C. from my sister about 1-2 years before I actually learned about them. Doesn't make sense? Well, all my sister had was a compact powder, and didn't elaborate as she's not a makeup wearer. When I joined MakeupTalk in 2006, the "M.A.C. Craze" hit me hard! I'd missed out on TONS of collections (I mean, M.A.C. had only been around for about 10 years before I heard of them)! I immediately set to work on obtaining as many eyeshadows as I could!

I can tell you now, the favorites in M.A.C. eyeshadow shades are Shroom (soft muted golden beige with opalescent shimmer - satin), Carbon (intense black - matte), Black-Tied (midnight black with silver white sparkle - velvet), Electric Eel (vivid bright blue flecked with shimmer - satin) and Satin Taupe (taupe brown with silvery bronze shimmer - frost). There's plenty more, but it would take ages to name them all, and faves among users seem to depend on skin tone. I can say my personal favorites are almost all limited edition (LE) shades, so I try my best to not use them! A small word of caution, M.A.C. is good about repromoting colors under new names, or producing colors that are a fraction of a shade off from another color. I always try my hardest to make sure I'm not buying a duplicate color, even though sometimes you don't realize how close two colors are until you've swatched them.

Personally, I'm not too fond of the matte eyeshadows, but then again I'm not fond of matte by any brand really. I've always found them harder to blend than anything with shimmer to it. Alas, the new matte2 eyeshadows are much creamier and easier to blend. While I haven't purchased any yet, I do plan on buying some soon! Lustre eyeshadows seem to have more of a "chunky" shimmer to them, and can be a tad hard to apply evenly or even to blend. Not all lustres are like this, but it seems most are. Satin eyeshadows are close to mattes, but they do have a very slight shimmer to them. Frost... Well, that pretty much says it. They tend to have a frosty effect to them. Velvets seem hit or miss as some seem close to satin finished eyeshadows, and some seem close to lustre eyeshadows. My favorite finish is probably veluxe pearl since they feel like butter when applying, and blend WAY easy! It actually seems to be a favorite finish among many.

Overall, M.A.C. eyeshadows do live up to the claim they're given. They are easy to apply and blend, and a little goes a long way. You'd be amazed at how little product you need on a brush in order to get the job done. The best way to apply them is to pat them onto the lid/eye area. Normally you shouldn't use a "windshield-wiper motion," but there are times it is necessary or can be done without completely washing the color away. I whole-heartedly recommend using an eyeshadow base, such as Urban Decay Primer Potion aka UDPP. It helps the color to look even more vibrant, product lasts longer and doesn't crease either (in most cases, as it's been noticed oily lids and UDPP don't seem to get along well).

::: Purchasing & Pricing Information :::

M.A.C. cosmetics can be purchased online (maccosmetics.com), at counters in select department stores, Pro Stores, or in freestanding stores. Eyeshadows retail for $14.00, but you can also buy them as pans from Pro and Freestanding Stores (without the container) for $10.00! There are some websites (makeup.com) that sell M.A.C. at a slightly discounted rate, but you don't get the variety you would online or in a store. If you really want to take a chance, you can purchase M.A.C. on eBay, but there are TONS of fakes, so you should really "know your stuff" before attempting eBay.

::: Recommendation :::

I definitely recommend M.A.C. eyeshadows if your budget allows for them! The colors are all very versatile, and just because you don't like one finish, doesn't mean you won't like another one. The colors are easy to blend, and it doesn't take much product to get a desired look. Something else I should mention, M.A.C. has a program called Back 2 M.A.C. If you take back six (6) empty product containers (eyeshadows, blushes, brush cleanser bottles, foundation bottles, etc.), you can exchange the empties for a free lipstick - excluding Viva Glam. However, at freestanding and Pro stores, you can get a free lipglass or eyeshadow instead. How's that for incentive? Doesn't make it seem AS expensive in the long run.