MAC Cosmetics

Mwah! Kisses From the MAC Snow Ball Collection Lipsticks

October 26th, 2017 by Karen 13 Comments

mac snow ball lipsticks — MAC Snow Ball Lipsticks from the left: Warm Ice, I’m Glistening, Holiday Crush, Shimmer & Spice, Rouge En Snow and Elle Belle ($17.50)

Oh, ’90s vibes. I’m sitting here feeling them wash over me — wave after crashing wave! — and I’m this close to grabbing the darkest plum lip liner I can find and outlining the edges of my lips, and then filling them in with one of the frosty lipsticks from the new MAC Snow Ball collection, because there is frost galore.

Of course I’d leave the lip liner unblended…

I know! I’M A MONSTER. But that’s what ya did back in the day. Makeup trends are crazy, dudes!

Four of the six MAC Snow Ball lipsticks, which are $17.50 each, are frosty, and they go all out. And no, you absolutely don’t have to do the dark liner/no blending thing, but if you wanna do legit late ’90s lips, that’s the way to go. Don’t shoot the messenger.

mac snow ball lip swatches — Warm Ice, I’m Glistening, Holiday Crush, Shimmer & Spice, Rouge En Snow, Elle Belle

Depending on the level of pigmentation of your lips, the four frosts will either look very distinctive, or very similar. My lips are pigmented, and I can’t see that much of a difference between the three light pink frosts (Warm Ice, I’m Glistening and Holiday Crush). I think the most distinctive of the frosts is Shimmer & Spice, which is a glittery bronzed rose and the deepest color of the bunch.

I wore Shimmer & Spice the other day and loved seeing the multicolored glitter bits sparkle in the light (don’t worry, the glitter’s dainty, so it looks expensive). I also liked how the frost finish didn’t seem to emphasize my lip lines, although my lips did feel pretty thirsty by the end of the day. They didn’t quite hit flake status, which was good, but I definitely felt the need to smear a thick layer of Urban Decay Lip Love all over them after I removed all of my makeup.

OK! There are also two non-frosty lipstick shades in Snow Ball, and they’re both reds. Rouge En Snow is a bright, festive matte apple red, which seems pretty neutral because it doesn’t skew overly warm or cool. It’s like right smack dab in the middle between warm orange-red MAC Dangerous and cool blue red Ruby Woo. It’s smooth and doesn’t catch on my flakes, and the pigment isn’t playing around.

Warm Ice, I’m Glistening, Holiday Crush, Shimmer & Spice, Rouge En Snow, Elle Belle

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BEHOLD! The MAC Snow Ball Collection Extra Dimension Eye Shadows and Face Powders

October 25th, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

mac snow ball holiday collection — I’ll meet you at the Snow Ball at midnight

Excuse me, miss, I’ve got an RSQ (Really Serious Question) for you: are you ready to party like it’s 1997? If you are, grab your glow sticks and look out! — because it’s MAC Snow Ball time. You have just been teleported straight into a Christmas rave circa 1997.

mac snow ball holiday collection all — Party time, excellent!

The forgotten era of mid-’90s frost

I’d be right there with you, hanging out in all my skinny-brow’d and Adidas-shell-toed glory, as would Gwen Stefani, because what’s a late-’90s festive fantasy rave without Gwen?

It would have to be Gwen from the early No Doubt days, of course, with space bun hair and jewels glued all over her face… We’d all be wearing frosty shadows from our lash lines to our brow bones, and shimmer and glitter for days.

See, I think that sometimes people forget that ’90s makeup wasn’t just about the mattes, because in the late ’90s, frost had a major moment. Lids and lips were fabulously frosty, and MAC Snow Ball grabs that vibe, but have no fear — MAC updated it, so it’s fun, festive and current — not dated at all.

mac snow ball holiday collection shadows lipstick powder — Fancy

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base

October 24th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

You guys know that for the past few years (it feels like the past FOREVER) I’ve been a hardcore devotee of NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I’ve gone through countless tubes since I started using it in 2011, and I haven’t found anything better…until now.

MAC Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base is just as good IMO, if not better in some ways. Yes, I still think Pro-Prime is exceptional when it comes to extending the longevity of your eyeshadow, enriching the colors and making everything on your lids look flat-out better, but MAC Prep + Primer 24-Hour does those same things, too, and it hangs onto glitters and creams even better than NARS Pro-Prime.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

If you’re looking for an all-around primer that you can use for everyday looks (say, using your favorite workweek palette) AND for evenings out (say, when you want to do it up friends and some loose pigments, glitters or creams), MAC Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base is the way to go.

The colorless formula doesn’t settle into creases or fine lines, and it immediately mattes down your lids when you apply a layer. Use the thinnest layer you can, BTW. The less I use, the better off I am. Thank goodness, because a 0.40-oz. bottle is $23, and it even looks small when you hold it in your hand.

But really, you only need a little dab for both lids.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Saddle Eyeshadow

October 17th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

I know that a few of you gals and dudes who visit MBB also ride horses, so I need to know — does MAC Saddle Eye Shadow in any way remind you of actual saddles? Is this what color saddles are? Because I’ve never ridden a horse, so I have no clue.

All I know is I love this color, man, and I’ve been wearing it for years! It’s a — now please don’t run away when I say this — matte orange brown.

Yep, I said orange…but it’s more brown than orange. It’s not obnoxiously orange. The little bit of orange just gives it some warmth.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

mac saddle swatch — Howdy, pardner. I reckon I’m about a MAC NC42 for refrence, if’n yer inclined to know…

Sometimes I use Saddle to deepen my crease and make my eyes look like they’re set back further in my sockets…

OK, that sounded weirder than it did in my head…but anyway, mattes are useful when you want to make something look more recessed.

You could start with a light brown matte like MAC Soft Brown, Soba or Wedge in the crease first, then add Saddle on top on the part of your crease that you want to look deepest and furthest back.

Feathering it up into the lighter brown you started with also creates a gradient and gives the look a little somethin’-something, a.k.a. complexity.

I’m wearing Saddle and Wedge on my lids and in the crease, Brun and Mulch in the outer corners, Ricepaper to highlight the inner corners and my brows, and Feline Kohl on my water lines.

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Swatches of the MAC Liptensity Lip Pencils, Available Now in the MAC Permanent Line

October 16th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

mac liptensity lip liner swatches — The new MAC Liptensity Lip Liners

You’d think that I, as a Greek mythology enthusiast, would already know the correct pronunciation of the word “Dionysus,” which is one of the shades in the new (and now available in the MAC permanent line) MAC Liptensity Lip Pencils.

Is it dee-oh-NIGH-sus or dee-AHHH-nah-sees?

I’ve heard it both ways.

One day I’ll figure it out! (Or, maybe one of you guys will tell me, ha! 🙂 That’s why I love the Internet.)

Fun fact: I actually thought about naming Connor Claire “Artemis,” after Artemis of the Wildland/Mistress of Animals/Goddess of the Hunt.

Ooh! Or “Nike,” after the Goddess of Victory (and not the massive international mega brand).

Like the MAC Liptensity Lipsticks, these lip pencils are new additions to the MAC permanent line, and they’re like soft, creamy, super skinny lipsticks.

mac liptensity lipstick swatches october 2017 — See the angled tip?

Incidentally, several of these have matching partners in the complementary Liptensity Lipstick line, like Stallion, Galaxy Grey, Marsala, Dionysus, Habanero, Double Fudge, and Toast and Butter.

Even though, technically, these are liners, I like using the brighter ones, like Cut Ruby (SO GORGEOUS), as lipsticks, because they’re so easy to maneuver around my natural lip line.

Generally, the darker shades work well as lipsticks, too, except for Hellebore, which is quite patchy.

Speaking of patchiness…I also have trouble with Art District, which is one of the nudes. It takes a lot of layering and patting to even it out when I use it to fill in my lips, but it gets the job done as a straight-up liner (as does Hellebore).

mac liptensity lip pencil swatches 4 — Habanero, All Dressed Up, Marsala, Royally Flushed

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Swatches of All 22 MAC Liptensity Lipsticks, and a Quick NorCal Fire Update

October 13th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

mac liptensity swatches — The 22 MAC Liptensity Lipsticks, swatched.

The fires are still raging in Sonoma and Napa. It’s still bad up there, and it’s pretty smoky here, but it isn’t terribly windy right now, which is one small blessing. Hopefully it stays that way for another day or two, and then maybe some of the fires can be contained. We just keep checking the county fire alerts, being ready, and trying to stay positive.

Speaking of staying positive…Liptensity! 🙂 After swatching all 22 of the MAC Liptensity Lipsticks, which, by the way, are now available in the MAC permanent line, my lips were stained a magnificent magenta color that lasted — no joke! — a day and a half.

The pigment is that serious.

More importantly (at least to me), I’m pretty sure that one of the colors, Clouds in My Coffee, is a shout-out to Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain.

“I had some dreams. They were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee, and…you’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you…”

I guess 2016’s limited edition Liptensity collection did pretty well, because the Liptensities are permanent now. Nine of the shades are new, and 13 are re-promotes.

The MAC Liptensity Lipsticks (now permanent)

The re-promotes: Driftwood, Smoked Almond, Toast and Butter, Dionysus, Habanero, Fireworks, Marsala, Mulling Spices, Cordovan, Galaxy Grey, Double Fudge, Ambrosial and Stallion

And the new shades: Clouds in My Coffee, Well Bred Brown, Ginger Rose, Brick Dust, Bite O’ Georgia, King Salmon, Fire Roasted, Beetroot and Noblesse

It’s been a minute since the last time I wore any of these, and this swatch sesh reignited my affection for them again. Not only are they preternaturally pigmented, but they don’t settle into my lip lines. At all.

The thing is, though, they’re so intense that you have basically zero room for error when you use them. Applying one of the dark or bright shades straight from the tube is kinda tough because they don’t have a pointed tip like regular MAC lipsticks do, and that makes it difficult to follow your lip contours, especially in the outer corners.

For what it’s worth, a few of the shades have matching Liptensity Lip Pencils (I’ll post swatches of the pencils on Monday).

I applied a single layer straight from the tube for each of these, which is how I usually apply lipstick, and one layer of Liptensity lasts me about three hours, or until I have something to nibble or drink.

mac liptensity lipstick-swatches-3-final — Clockwise from the upper left: Bite o’ Georgia, King Salmon, Habanero, Fireworks

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Both Brights and Neutrals Play Important Parts in the New MAC Rossy de Palma Collection

October 11th, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

mac rossy de palma packaging 1 — MAC Rossy de Palma

Described as a Picasso come to life, and Almodóvar’s muse, Spanish actress and model Rossy de Palma was something of an ‘it’ girl in the ’90s, but I seem to have missed that memo, lost to the same college vortex that sucked up the memo about Friends.

Yes, the TV show. I’ve never seen an episode of Friends.

How is that even possible, right? I don’t know, but it is.

I googled Rossy de Palma today, and oh em gee, the woman is gorgeous! I don’t even know where to start. She’s in her 50s, and I love that she actually looks like a 50-year-old woman. I can’t think of anyone else who looks quite like her. She seems sassy, artsy, strong, and I notice a recurring theme from her public pictures. She isn’t afraid to wear brights. She wears pinks on her lids, purples, teals…and I’m talking from the lash line all the way to the brow bone! She goes all out! I think I’m going to obsess over her now.

You can definitely see her love for brights in her new MAC collaboration, the MAC Rossy de Palma collection, especially through the Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadow Palette, Colours on the Verge ($32).

Brights play a big part in this collection, but the must-have take-home for me is a neutral. Go figure. More on that in a few…

Before we dive in, can we just take a second to appreciate the packaging? — because MAC went all out.

mac rossy de palma packaging 2 — MAC Rossy de Palma

Some pieces have a holographic effect, while others have an illustrated version of Rossy’s profile and her signature red lips.

Oh! — that’s another thing. Rossy loves matte red lipstick. She’ll do nudes on occasion, but mostly she wears red.

MAC Colours On the Verge/Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadow

I think the teal and navy blue in the Veluxe Pearlfusion Palette are pure fun, but the pink and purple are cute, too. And everything’s pigmented.

I’ll be wearing the brights like this again, as a single lid color and/or liner with a warm brown in the crease.

mac rossy de palma colours on the verge — MAC Colours On the Verge/Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadow ($32)

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Now Available in the MAC Permanent Line: The Liptensity Lipsticks and Liptensity Lip Pencils

October 9th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

mac liptensity lipsticks lip pencils — New in the permanent line!

You know when people say, “She’s so extra”? I still haven’t figured out if that’s a good or a bad thing. I think it’s a good thing…like saying “you’re the cat’s meow!”

I think?

These new MAC Liptensity Lipsticks and Lip Pencils are definitely extra, though. Extra pigmented! 🙂

mac liptensity lipsticks october 2017 — I love that the packaging is the same color as the bullet.

Remember the LE MAC Liptensity Lipsticks from last fall? The Liptensities have totally different packaging than the regular MAC Lipsticks. Their brightly colored caps match the lipsticks inside, and the formula is majorly intense and pigmented. They lay down lots of color per swipe, and there are now 12 shades in the permanent line for $21 each.

Here’s a look at some of them…

Pretty, yeah?

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