Remember the eye gel trend of a few years ago, when silky powders were replaced by pots and tubes of slick and shiny eye paint? Not only was it hard to apply, it was a hard look to pull off. To top it off, I couldn’t escape the thought that I may as well have applied my lip gloss to my eyelids for the same gummy, gunky effect. Fortunately, this trend is over.

So over, in fact, that M.A.C has released a line of eyeshadows called Matte2. In a variety of shades ranging from fuschia (Post Haste) to aqua (Clarity) to a selection of more wearable chocolates and charcoals, they are unmistakably the rich velvety hues of fall and winter. As for the shadows themselves, the grain is unbelievably fine and lends itself to a smooth application.

However, patience is key; if you try to apply the shadow too quickly, you’ll end up with blotchy lids. On the other hand, if you’re willing to put in the effort, you can achieve the sheerest wash of color that makes the parrot green shade wearable for even the most demure makeup-wearer. From there, it is easy to layer for a thick and superbly matte lid that is virtually weightless.

I like to transition from day to night by applying a sheer wash of color during the day and build it up to a smokier eye for the evening (and may I say that this is the shadow to use for to achieve a smoky effect). Although it probably defies the concept behind matte2, I had even great success layering a sheer shadow with a hint of mica over a deep purple hue called Fig. 1 (though I made sure not to contaminate my pots of matte2 with mica!).

I probably wouldn’t recommend matte2 for the shadow newbie; the intense pigmentation makes it difficult to correct mistakes and can easily go from sophisticated to garish if applied incorrectly (the reflective pigments in a metallic shadow help to conceal mistakes while a matte shadow is not as forgiving).

As something of an eyeshadow junkie, even I had to experiment a few times before I figured out the best way to apply. Now that I’ve got the knack of it, I’ll be sporting matte lids (in my favorite hues of Copperplate and Fig. 1) as a compliment to the clean, minimalist look of fall fashion.