MAC Cosmetics

MAC Fluidity: Introducing the New MAC Fluidline Pens!

November 9th, 2015 by Karen 19 Comments

There should be a video right here, but if not, you can also watch it on YouTube.

mac fluidline pen — The new MAC Fluidline Pens ($22 each)

First, there were the original MAC Fluidline Gel Liners, then the MAC Fluidline Eye Pencils, and now the pen is even mightier than the sword, pencil and the gel, thanks to the new $22 MAC Fluidline Pens.

Wait — say what?!

Yup, that’s right, fellow Fluidline fans. Now you can get your Fluidline fix from a pen.

I know! I’m blowing your mind right now!

These four pens are essentially liquid versions of MAC Fluidline gel liner, so they’re smudge-resistant and dry quickly to a bold matte finish.

They arrive with the new 10-piece MAC Fluidity collection, which is mostly made up of re-promotes from the MAC permanent line.

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The MAC Dark Desires Collection: Well, Well, Well! These Shadows Are Rocking My Winged Liner World

November 9th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

There should be a YouTube video above this blurb. If you can’t see it, you can click here to watch it on YouTube.

mac well eye shadow — MAC Dark Desires The Well Eye Shadows clockwise from the brown pan in the upper left: Midnight Tryst, Beg For It, Think Kink, Switch Me On, Dark Desires and What’s Your Fantasy ($20 each)

Oh, heavens! Look at those naughty names… Spank Me, Beg For It and Think Kink? And those are just the tip of the S&M iceberg, haha. I think it’s safe to say that the new MAC Dark Desires collection was inspired by some sort of 50 Shades of Grey type situation.

But I’m thinking that this collection is going to make a different kind of fantasy come true — one of my makeup fantasies — which is to be able to draw winged liner and not have it take half a day!

OK…so maybe half a day is exaggerating (barely), but you know what though?! It feels that way sometimes, especially when I’m deep in it, and I’ve been sitting there futzing with the angles for 20 minutes.

I know you feel my pain!

There’s a reason for that saying about winged liner being the reason why everyone’s always late (why can’t I remember that saying??).

MAC Dark Desires promises to upgrade your winged liner life with a new product line called The Well Eye Shadows ($20).

mac well eyeshadow beg for it — MAC Dark Desires The Well Eye Shadow in Beg For It ($20)

mac well eye shadow switch me on — MAC Dark Desires The Well Eye Shadow in Switch Me On ($20)

mac well eye shadow midnight tryst — MAC Dark Desires The Well Eye Shadow in Midnight Tryst ($20)

They aren’t ringing any bells for me, so I think these are brand-spankin’ new.

Designed from the start to be applied wet or dry, these super soft, pigmented powder products are dual-purpose. You can use them as eyeshadows and/or eyeliners.

The little packages are slimmer than MAC’s regular eyeshadows, and check this out: each one has a divot, or “a well,” right in the middle of the pan.

The idea is that you’re supposed to wet your brush, then swirl it around in the divot, then apply the wet powder to your lids.

mac well eye shadow whats your fantasy — MAC Dark Desires The Well Eye Shadow in What’s Your Fantasy ($20)

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5 Great Gothy Glam Lipsticks for Fall

November 2nd, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

5 gothy glam lipsticks — You can’t go wrong with one of these gorgeously gothy glam lipsticks this fall

“Luke, I am your father!”

Wha!? Who you talkin’ to? Ain’t no Luke here, buddy. My name is Karen, and this is my cat Tabs.

“JOIN THE DARK SIDE, LUKE!”

Man, you are cray, but OK. Sure, I’ll join the dark side…of lipstick! BOOM! What!? Surprise attack! Get him, Tabs! Attack his ankles!!

–END–

Yes, fellow fierce force users, dark, vampy plums and wines are giving me So. Much. Life. There are so many great gothy glam lip colors out there, and here are five fabulous ones for fall.

1. NARS Audacious Lipstick in Liv ($22)

Oh! I love Liv’s deep, satiny aubergine finish and rich, creamy formula. It livs (get it?) online and at NARS counters, where you can find it now for $22.

2. Dolce & Gabbana Matte Lipstick in Dolce Inferno ($37)

dolce gabbana dolce inferno — Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Inferno

I am burning up with love for $37 Dolce Inferno. It’s hands down one of my favorite deep, dark lippies around. A moody matte plum, it has the faintest essence of pearl that gives it a little kick.

For a dark lipstick, it’s also easy to apply. The smooth, opaque formula feels fairly thick, and it doesn’t slip and slide all over my lips when I apply it, which I do with a lip brush. You’ll find this hot ticket heating up Dolce & Gabbana counters now.

3. MAC Satin Lipstick in Cyber ($17)

My dry lips love MAC Cyber’s comfy, creamy formula. This dark, satiny plum is so creamy that it tends to scoot beyond my natural lip line, so I like to wear it with MAC Cyber World Lip Liner, because 1) the two products are like peas in a pod (the colors match very closely), and 2) the liner totally keeps Cyber under control.

Skynet approved! Look for it passing Turing tests now at MAC counters and online.
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An Affable Autumn Moody Monday Makeup Look for a Folksy Fall

November 2nd, 2015 by Karen 44 Comments

I wasn’t sure what to call this look… Moody Monday? Or Folksy Fall? How about Affable Autumn?

So I’m leaning toward a combination of all three — an Affable Autumn Moody Monday Makeup Look for a Folksy Fall — because it’s overcast and drizzling right now (it rained hard last night), and part of me definitely wants to be sitting by a warm fire under a flannel blanket while sipping a mug of hot cocoa, while another part of me wants to be walking around outside in the rain dressed in black from head to toe with my headphones on while listening to Joy Division.

Basically, I’m feelin’ it. 🙂

There are three main concepts at work in this cozy/moody Monday makeup look. First, it features a warm matte reddish brown smoky eye. Second, the edges of the winged liner have been blurred. And third, the dark matte plum lip.

It’s a lot of look, for sure, but I think it all goes well together, especially if the weather where you are is anything like the weather is here now. It’s like it just turned full-on fall last night!

Skipping the winged liner or leaving out the falsies would tone it down. Or, you could not line your lower water line with the black liner, and just leave your lower water line bare.

Of course, to go the other way completely and boost the drama, you could go more intense with the brows, or add a gloss on top of the plum lip, or use a gel or liquid liner, which would add even more oomph (I just used a black eyeshadow applied with a wet brush). Any of those tweaks would look super cool.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Layin’ Low Paint Pot

October 29th, 2015 by Karen 23 Comments

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of my all-time favorite permanent collection products.

When was the last time you heard somebody flip their lid and rave about MAC Layin’ Low?

Ever…? Have you ever heard it? Because I can’t remember ever hearing somebody rave about MAC Layin’ Low. It really does lay low and keep a low profile. Among the MAC Paint Pots, it just doesn’t get the same kind of love that Soft Ochre and Painterly get and, yes, while they’re also cream eyeshadows, I think Layin’ Low deserves some love of its own, because it’s one of THE BEST base colors for warm browns.

There, I said it! WARM BROWNS. I know I go on and on about how much I like to wear cool browns on my lids (the gray tones create fabulous faux shadows that give the illusion of a deeper crease, which is something I’m always striving for since my crease is pretty shallow), but there’s something about warm orangey browns and reddish browns in the fall and winter. They just feel right, and they go oh, so well with plum, wine, brown and red lips.

Warm and creamy matte beige Layin’ Low is like Soft Brown’s creamy shadow cousin, and if you like warm browns like MAC Saddle, Texture, Swiss Chocolate (and others), it’s an absolute must.

If you’re warm toned like I am with a skin tone around NC20 or up, it’s like friggin’ David Copperfield (i.e. magic). If you’re lighter than NC20, just in case, give it a swatch first before committing, because it can look a little more orange than warm beige on some gals.

mac-layin-low-on-lids — A quick daytime look with Layin’ Low on my lids and MAC Costa Riche Eye Kohl on my lash lines; the lipstick is bareMinerals Lead the Way

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Neat and New to Me: MAC Crème D’Nude Cremesheen Lipstick

October 28th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

mac creme d nude — MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Crème D’ Nude ($17)

Neat and New to Me

Unlike my Unsung Heroes series, which features permanent collection products I’ve known and loved a long time, the Neat and New to Me series showcases permanent collection products that slipped under my radar for a while, but then I discovered them! — and now I think they’re neat and new to me.

Makeup rules are meant to be broken, but I still got mad love for the makeup law-abiding classics, like looks with bold smoky eyes and nude lips, which I blame, in part, on $17 MAC Crème D’Nude Cremsheen Lipstick.

Some makeup looks are like zombies, ya know? (Because it always comes back to zombies…) But I mean that figuratively this time. 🙂 Basically, they never stay out of style for long.

So while I’ll always love my fellow makeup rule-breakers, especially when you do that smoky eye-bold lip thing (keep workin’ that emerald green smoky eye with those glossy, opaque hot pink lips, hunty!), I still gotta have my classics.

Pale muted peachy beige Crème D’Nude totally understands that. It’ll make you want to strip down to your skivvies and run around the office screaming in ecstasy.

OK, maybe not…but it does flat-out rock. It’s full coverage, smooth, moisturizing, and its warm peachy tones keep me looking like I’m actually running a healthy 98.6°F temperature. By comparison, I can’t stand it when pale beige lippies make me look like I just crawled out of the ground like an extra in MJ’s Thriller video.

Hell no! That’s sooo not happening with Crème D’Nude.

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A Fall-Tastic Face of the Day With Gold, Olive, Burgundy and “JSS”

October 20th, 2015 by Karen 36 Comments

Random zombie-related transition…

I don’t know if you watch The Walking Dead, but oh, boy! — I hope you do, because it’s one of the best shows on television.

I think so. I mean…yeah, there’s zombies. But depending on how you feel about that. 🙂

It’s not just about the zombies, though. It’s also about people trying to survive after an apocalypse…but yeah, it’s definitely not a bright and polite British cooking show.

But it is great sci-fi/horror, and I like that. As well as British cooking shows. And Instagram cat videos.

The characters in The Walking Dead are faced with much more than zombies (like desperate, and very bad people). The zombies are just the backdrop to the struggle to survive after we’ve lost our modern conveniences. We watch them struggle with questions of morality and humanity, and I think it’s fascinating and frightening at the same time.

Anywho! The new season just started, along with a new season of The Talking Dead, which is the after show. They bring on actors who star in the show, people who work behind the scenes and celebrity super-fans who all just chat and wax philosophic about the last episode.

It’s a lot of fun! The last The Talking Dead episode starred TWD newcomer Katelyn Nacon, who plays Enid, a young teenage survivor, and Katelyn’s makeup on the after show was on friggin’ point!

She looked absolutely beautiful and very fall. I couldn’t stop staring at her eyes and lips the whole time! She was wearing a gorgeous warm brown matte color in her crease with golds and khakis on her lids and a glossy burgundy lip.

I couldn’t find a good picture of it online, but I still felt inspired to wear something similar today.

I turned to a few old-school faves like MAC Soft Brown and MAC Texture, which I used in the crease, then used MAC Shroom to highlight my brow bone and the inner corners, along with the ever-reliable MAC Powersurge along my lower lash line.

I also incorporated a couple of newer products, like the naughty-sounding BECCA Afterglow holiday palette ($39.50), which has three powder highlighters and Wild Honey and Flowerchild, two of my favorite BECCA blushes.

So I’m wearing Afterglow products on my cheeks and to highlight my skin.

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5 Awesome Face Makeup Brushes I Use Every Day

October 15th, 2015 by Karen 7 Comments

Survey says that I WILL use most, if not all, of these five face brushes every. Single. Day. They’re my brushes with destiny! — my makeup main squeezes, and my main workhorse tools.

1. NARS Mie Kabuki Brush ($55)

LBD, baby! Little black dress. The NARS Mie Kabuki is the little black dress of my face brush collection because of all the many things it can do. Sometimes I’ll use it to apply face powder, other times I’ll use it as a bronzing brush, and sometimes I’ll use it to highlight or apply blush.

Unfortunately, the price. It’s $55… Buuuut, it can do so much, and above all, it blends like a mofo! I can really see a difference between when I use Mie to blend bronzer or blush, and when I use something else, and I think it’s because of that point in the tip (see the pic below) and how the tip slopes. It makes it easy to buff out edges and get smooth gradients. If you like the sound of that, Mie is available now at NARS counters, boutiques and online.

2. MAC 138 Tapered Face Brush ($53)

Another pointy tip! I mostly use the MAC 138 to apply face powder to specific spots, like the center of my forehead, on and around my nose and mouth, just below my cheeks and on my chin, and while big, fluffy face brushes are fun to use with face powder (and feel great on my skin), I still prefer this smaller brush.

Why?

Well, because when I apply too much powder, my face makeup looks heavy and très obvious, and with the 138, I can really target where I’m placing my powder, which means that I can generally get away with using less. It’s available now at MAC counters, stores and online.

3. MAC 109 Small Contour Brush ($35)

The MAC 109 face brush has a small, rounded head that fits just perfectly in the hollows of my cheeks; that makes it a bronzing/contouring champ.

I’m a big bronzer gal, so I rarely use this one for contouring, but I think it’s an absolutely awesome bronzing brush.

I always have to resist the urge to go heavy with bronzer, and I’m tempted put it everywhere (NO, SERIOUSLY), but this brush basically saves me from myself, LOL! It’s available now at MAC counters, stores and online.
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