MAC Cosmetics

MAC Unsung Hero: Nymphette Lipglass

August 28th, 2009 by Karen 55 Comments

mac cosmetics nymphettereview

MAC Nymphette Lipglass and I met at a MAC counter some 10 years ago when a friendly MAC makeup artist introduced us.

You know how it went — SPARKS! We had great chemistry from the start, and the shimmery golden pink lipgloss went on to become one of my all-time MAC favorites. To this day it’s a staple in many of my looks with smokey eyes.

mac cosmetics nymphette review swatch

mac cosmetics nymphette swatch review

Because Nymphette packs a lot of pigment, I can use it without layers of lipstick and/or lipliner beneath.

For me, the result’s an easy, breezy, neutral lip look that stands the test of time. 🙂

Have you met Nymphette?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Unsung MAC Makeup Hero: A Gorgeous Golden Girl

August 18th, 2009 by Karen 33 Comments

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MAC never rests for long on their laurels, and they don’t give fans a lot of time to digest the many fantastic shades in their permanent line because they’re always bringing out new limited edition ones.

Take Gorgeous Gold, for instance. Like Patina and Arena, two of my favorite MAC permanent collection ladies, I paid her no mind for years.

She’s not your average shimmery gold shadow. Gorgeous Gold’s complex and unusual and unlike any other color in my stash.

It goes on like a cool lemony gold, at certain angles flashing to a shimmery green — kinda like getting two colors in one. 🙂

mac-gorgeous-gold-swatch

One of my favorite daytime looks lately has been padding Gorgeous Gold on my lids and lining my upper lash line with MAC Humid. It’s easy, casual and makes my brown eyes *pop*.

What say you about Gorgeous Gold? What other ways would you wear it?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Speaking of MAC limited editions, the new Make-Up Art Cosmetics collection hit the website earlier today. I’ve been playing Fill the Shopping Cart for hours.

Unsung MAC Makeup Hero: MAC Patina, aka Quick-Change Artist

August 1st, 2009 by Karen 33 Comments

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Good morning, ladies. 🙂 I hope your weekend started well. Right now I’m on a mish to get to know another member of the MAC permanent eyeshadow line, and I’m holding a pan of Patina ($14.50) in my paw.

Like I did for years with MAC Arena, I overlooked Patina when I realize now that I probably shouldn’t have. It’s not the flashiest shade in MAC’s permanent collection, but once I tried it on I fell truly, madly, deeply in love.

Patina’s magic lies in her flexibility. In the pan, she’s a shimmery, brownish taupe with golden pearl, but on the face her color varies depending on the wearer’s skin tone.

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MAC Patina on NC 35 skin

On my tan NC 35 skin, I see a golden taupe (more purple than brown)…

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MAC Patina on NW 20 skin

…but she’s such a quick-change artist! On NW 20, she looks more like a lovely golden brown.

I’ve just started to experiment with Patina, so please share any ideas you might have for product combinations. I can’t help but wonder how she’ll look with eyeshadows in gold, brown, taupe, beige, peach or even purple.

Have you gotten to know MAC Patina before? Any ideas for colors to wear her with?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

News – Makeupandbeautyblog.com Attends Dinner Hosted by SF Fashion Week Key MAC Makeup Artists, Victor Cembellin and Louise Zizzo

August 23rd, 2007 by Karen 14 Comments

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The outside of Perbacco Restaurant in San Francisco, California

Last night Victor Cembellin and Louise Zizzo, MAC Senior Artists and key makeup artists for San Francisco Fashion Week 2007, hosted dinner at Perbacco restaurant in San Francisco, California. Writers, editors, beauty bloggers and key members of the MAC team met and mingled over drinks and dinner to discuss the upcoming fashion shows.

I had the pleasure of meeting many people involved in the San Francisco Bay Area fashion and beauty world, including Donna Kato, Style Editor at The San Jose Mercury News, Annie from the beauty Web site bellasugar.com and Christine M. from the blog Temptalia.com. And of course there were all the lovely folks at MAC, like Allison Greenberg and Heather Park, a Manager in MAC’s Global Communications and beauty blog connoisseur!

So what happens during a four-course meal when you get a bunch of beauty-obsessed writers, bloggers, and MAC Artists together? The conversation inevitably goes to the products. In between bites of heirloom tomato salad, filet mignon and truffle mashed potatoes, there were declarations of brush devotion (Victor loves the 266, Christine loves the 187), exclamations of life-changing MAC products (Heather swears by Mineralize Skinfinish and Liquidlast Liner), and the skinny on MAC makeup on the runway.

So what’s your favorite brush?
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To create the looks for the 2007 runway, Victor and Louise first met with the designers at the San Francisco MAC Pro Store to discuss collections and the designer’s makeup vision. Victor says that this year we’ll be seeing a lot more ’40s-inspired looks and lots of sophisticated smokey eyes.

I was also not surprised to discover there’s an element of improv backstage when it comes to achieving a look. Last year, for the designer Genevieve Primavera’s show, the MAC makeup team at first had trouble creating a deep, dark goth lip with traditional pencils. Victor decided to improv by using Fluidline Liner in Macroviolet and applying the liner on the lips with the 266 brush. The result? Deep, dark-colored lips that would make any vampire jealous.

Heather and I talked at length about how beauty bloggers are changing the face of the beauty industry. She mentioned many interesting facts and statistics she’s learned since becoming MAC’s blog expert. Would you believe that 63% of women who read a positive review of a product in a beauty blog go out and purchase that product? Beauty bloggers are beginning to hold serious sway in the beauty product court, yet many traditional retailers and fashion show organizers don’t recognize blogging as a legitimate form of journalism. MAC is doing cutting edge work by cultivating relationships with bloggers; in due time I think we’ll see more and more cosmetics companies and retailers actively courting the blogosphere.

Another shot of the MAC dinner held in the Barolo room in Perbacco restaurant
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After dessert, a chocolate molten cake that sent me to chocoholic ecstasy, the dinner attendees received a lovely goody bag with MAC products from the new Smoke Signals Limited Edition Collection. I’m looking forward to reviewing all of it for you soon!

Who knew there were others out there who could wax philosophic for hours about the merits of concealer? It was a great evening with lively and interesting people, and I had a fantastic time.

I’m so glad that I get to share this with you! Have a stunning, yes stunning, Thursday.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen