MAC Cosmetics

MAC Unsung Heroes: Fulfilled Plushglass

September 17th, 2012 by Karen 15 Comments

I’m a strong advocate for trying new makeup trends, but I totally get that sometimes, despite how much fun it can be to start piling on the lip and eye makeup this time of year (says the girl who buys bananas wearing silver and black winged eyeshadow), it can also be easy (at least for me) to go overboard.

I may leave the house feeling like I just stepped off the pages of Vogue, but then I catch my reflection in a mirrored surface by the bags of salad at Safeway and think, hawt damn! — that’s a lotta look for groceries.

That’s why, to protect myself from…myself, I try to keep my purses and bags fully stocked with my-lips-but-better products like the MAC Plushglass glosses.

Last month I was all about Big Baby. This month, I’m feeling much more Fulfilled, as in MAC Plushglass in Fulfilled ($19.50).

By swapping this creamy pinkish peach for the rich reds, berries and burgundy lip colors I regularly reach for in fall, I feel much more appropriately made up for everyday tasks.

Unlike Big Baby, Fulfilled doesn’t showcase any pearl or shimmer. Instead, it gets the job done with a creamy finish and a soft kiss of pinkish peach color. And while I love the way it quietly complements pretty much any bold look, it’s like Buzz Lightyear with brown, bronze and plum smokey eyes (taking them to infinity…and beyond!).

[Continue reading…]

MAC Unsung Heroes: Bamboom Paint

September 14th, 2012 by Karen 12 Comments

mac bamboom paint

No one ever tells you about this stuff. Not your teachers in school, not the makeup artists at the MAC counter, no one. But I’m telling you from experience — if you don’t stay alert, don’t pay attention and recognize the signs, it can happen to you.

Looking back on it now, I should have seen the signs, but I always just assumed that my favorite MAC brown eyeshadows were snug and secure and safe at the bottom of my makeup bag.

I thought they were happy… How was I supposed to know?

The first signs of trouble surfaced one morning when I set golden brown Soba and orangey Soft Brown on the counter to use in a smokey eye.

I could sense they were upset about something. They looked…lonely, so I asked, “What’s wrong, guys?”

“We need a buddy,” they whined, both on the verge of tears, “like, I don’t know, a color that combines the best of both of our shades.”

They told me how they felt that something was missing in their lives. “If it were a cream shadow instead of a powder,” they said, “you could even layer us on top of it.”

And then the sobbing started…

Have you ever heard your MAC brown eyeshadows cry? In a word: heartbreaking.

Right then I knew I had to find a way to lift their spirits, so I hopped in my car and drove to the nearest MAC counter.

Frantically, I swiped and swatched, looking for the right friend for my shadows. Sh*t was about to hit the fan when I picked up a tube of Bamboom.

mac bamboom paint

“Eureka!” I roared in the middle of Macy’s. I held the tube of MAC Paint in Bamboom ($18.50) aloft like a flaming sword! “Where have you been all my life?!”

There it was — a color that combined a creamy formula with the golden brown color and satiny finish of MAC Soba, and the warm, orangey tones of Soft Brown.

I rushed home.

mac bamboom swatch
[Continue reading…]

Smokey Eyes and Nude Lips: A MAC Carine Roitfeld Face of the Day

September 13th, 2012 by Karen 30 Comments

TABS: Woman. Woooo-man. WOMAN!

KAREN: Um, yes, Tabs?

TABS: I need you to stop whatever you’re doing because I have an urgent task for you.

KAREN: Well, I’m in the middle of alphabetizing your cans of gravy right now, which earlier today you called the “highest priority” in the office, and if I stop now to do something else, I’ll be here all night long.

TABS: And…?

KAREN: [Sigh] What is it?

TABS: Listen, I’m gonna need you to try on these two new pieces from the MAC Carine Roitfeld collection — the Full Face Kit in Jungle Camouflage and the Lipstick in Tropical Mist.

KAREN: Sure, but does it have to be now? Can’t it wait ’til tomorrow?

TABS: Oh, I’m sorry. Did the terms of your employment suddenly change? — because I don’t remember paying you to ask questions.

KAREN: It’s funny you should mention that, because I don’t remember you paying me at all.

TABS: Well excuuuuuse me, miss thing! If you don’t want the job, I can get someone else. I know at least 50 girls who would jump at the chance to assist me.

KAREN: Okay, okay. Don’t get your tail in a knot. Is there a particular look you want me to try?

TABS: That’s better. Yes, how about something smokey? You know I lurves me some smokey eyes.

Full Face Kit in Jungle Camouflage on the left and Lipstick in Tropical Mist on the right

mac carine roitfeld swatches — Full Face Kit in Jungle Camouflage swatches from the left: Cremeblend Blush in Bootcamp Bronze, and Eyeshadows in Dew, Camo, Bad Lieutenant and Carbon; Lipstick in Tropical Mist on the right

[Continue reading…]

The MAC Face and Body Collection Dives Into a New Dimension of Skin Sculpting and Defining

September 12th, 2012 by Karen 36 Comments

mac face and body collection

“Almost done! Be down in five minutes!”

I wonder if boys are born knowing that that phrase up their actually means that they’re gonna be waiting at least another 30 minutes, or if it’s knowledge they acquire over the years.

Poor El Hub… Sometimes I think I can actually hear his eyes rolling when I yell to him from upstairs, “Almost done! Be down in five minutes!”

It’s all the little bits, ya know? Those are the things that can really add up to take so much time — the things like shading, contouring, highlighting and texturizing we do to give our makeup extra bamf!

You know how it goes… Like J. Renner told Ellen, you start with the basics. “Brows, lashes, lips — frame the face!” (at about 3:34 in the video). But then somewhere along the way, the makeup train derails. Next thing you know, you’re holding five brushes in one hand and two palettes in the other, and the sink is covered in fallout.

Possessed! That’s how you look, but you feel like the queen of the world! 🙂

If those little beauty bits — the things like sculpting, defining and adding texture to your skin — light your fire like they light mine, don’t miss the new MAC Face and Body collection, a 27-piece release.

It includes 13 travel-sized bottles of MAC Face and Body Foundation (1.7 ounces for $27 each, versus $35 for the regular 4-ounce bottles), six Pro Scultping Creams ($20 each), six shimmery Pressed Pigments ($21 each) and two brushes ($25 for the MAC 215, and $35 for the MAC 163).

Here’s a quick look at four pieces from the collection and a few first impressions…

mac accentuate
Peachy beige Pro Sculpting Cream in Accentuate

mac coffee walnut
Deep, dirty cool brown Pro Sculpting Cream in Coffee Walnut
[Continue reading…]

Welcome to the Jungle

September 12th, 2012 by Karen 11 Comments

MAC Carine Roitfeld Full Face Kit in Jungle Camouflage and Lipstick in Tropical Mist

We’ve got fun and games — and a Full Face Kit ($44) and a Lipstick ($16.50) from the limited edition MAC Carine Roitfled collection.

That’s Jungle Camouflage on the left and Tropical Mist on the right. Both are available now at MAC counters, stores and maccosmetics.com.

MAC Carine Roitfeld Full Face Kit in Jungle Camouflage and Lipstick in Tropical Mist

Can’t wait to get my neutrals on with this one. 🙂 What do you think of the colors?

Tabby Hearts MAC

September 12th, 2012 by Karen 12 Comments

tabby hearts mac

Your nephew is such a ham!

tabby hearts mac

For Corporate Climbers and Business Beauties, the MAC Office Hours Collection Puts in the Overtime

September 11th, 2012 by Karen 23 Comments

mac office hours collection
Eyes: Pro Longwear Eyeshadows in Linger Softly and Bloom On; Cheeks: Pro Longwear Blushes in Eternal Sun and Baby Don’t Go; Lips: Pro Longwear Lipglass in Boundlessly Beige

Cubicle crusaders, overworked assistants and every other late-night office dweller logging in extra office hours every week, say it with me now!

We’re not gonna take it!

NO, we ain’t gonna take it!

We’re not gonna take it…ANYMORE!

We’re saying “No!” to wimpy wear time and makeup that malfunctions while we’re working overtime (which reminds me, anyone who says that working for a plus-size kitty supermodel is an easy gig obviously hasn’t done it before).

“No!” to the naysayers who say that it’s wrong to wear anything but bone or brown in the workplace.

“NO!” We demand delicious pops of pink, coral, plum and red to go with our office neutrals.

It’s time for our blushes, eyeshadows and glosses to work as hard as we do! Time for long-lasting makeup capable of keeping up with our busy schedules! Time for makeup able to log in just as much overtime as we do while still looking stylish!

Yes, the time has come for all of those tired, played-out pieces with weak wear time to step aside, and make room for the new 25-piece MAC Office Hours collection.

mac office hours collection

Starting with that first sip of coffee in the morning, all the way until your after-hours snack (don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about your secret chocolate stash), the MAC Office Hours Collection never goes home early. When it comes to wear time, this limited edition collection of MAC Pro Longwear products for lips, cheeks and eyes just plain shreds!

The MAC Pro Longwear products are still relatively new, but I feel like I’ve loved them forever. I mean, finding MAC Pro Longwear Concealer was almost a life-changing experience. Remember Styledriven from last fall? — with the Pro Longwear products for lips and eyes? Office Hours feels like an extension of that collection to me.

It’s office makeup, MAC-style. Okay, sure, the overall look has “super-wearable” stamped all over it, but MAC included just enough color to hint at the rebel that resides behind most button-down shirts, pinstriped suits and sensible shoes.

The color palette includes shades of nude, pink, peach, beige, red and rose for lips; ivory, rose, brown, camel, red, mauve, gray and blue for eyes; and coral, beige, pink, rose, brown and plum for cheeks.

Here’s a quick look at six of the pieces…

mac linger softly
Pro Longwear Eyeshadow in Linger Softly

mac linger softly
[Continue reading…]

MAC Unsung Heroes: Sublime Nature Paint

September 10th, 2012 by Karen 29 Comments

mac sublime nature paint

I have a big crush on beige…

…MAC beige eyeshadows like Brule, Shroom, Bare Study, Soft Ochre and Sweet Satisfaction.

It’s a crush that borders on an obsession, coupled with symptoms of hoarding, LOL!

And I don’t expect to be breaking up with beige anytime soon, not with products like MAC Paint in Sublime Nature out there to tempt me.

More workhorse than thoroughbred, this mid-toned beige cream eyeshadow ($18.50) might not have the flash or pizzaz of a bright teal or purple, but given have the chance, it can do great things for your lids. 🙂

Before there were MAC Paint Pots, there were MAC Paints. Yup, they’re old school. Picture a Paint Pot in a tube, and you’ve got something like a MAC Paint, except softer and fluffier, which I think makes them easier to spread on lids. Coming in a tube makes them ideal for travel, and I’ve always liked how lightweight they feel (lighter than a Paint Pot, I think). For fast, easy eye looks, I usually apply them with fingers.

Sublime Nature is like a perfect pair of boots that goes with almost everything. Sometimes I’ll layer it beneath brights to crank up their intensity (try it with MAC Club sometime!), or wear it with neutrals when I want to look professional.

Lately, I’ve been wearing it as a base with MAC Sable Eyeshadow layered on my lids and MAC Prunella eyeliner on my lash and water lines. Simple, refined and easy. Yes, yes, yes.

mac sublime nature paint
I know it looks small in its tube, but a little goes a long way!

mac sublime nature paint and bare canvas swatches
Sublime Nature Paint on the left and Bare Canvas Paint Pot on the right
[Continue reading…]