MAC Cosmetics

5 Lavish, Lovely Berry Lipsticks to Fall for This Fall

October 15th, 2015 by Karen 27 Comments

Fall.

They say it’s fall, and it did feel like fall here about a week ago. It was cloudy and chilly, and there were leaves falling everywhere outside, but then summer struck back and said, “CUT! Hold your horses! I’m not ready to go…” We had another string of 80- and 90-degree days.

Sooner or later, though, it’ll get cooler and stay that way. It’s a guarantee. 🙁 And when it happens, I’ll be ready for it with these five fall-friendly berry lipsticks.

1. NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Hyde Park ($26)

nars hyde park — NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Hyde Park

I really like Reddish berry Hyde Park with bronze, burgundy and brown looks. And even cranberry smoky eyes (Ooh! — give it try sometime with a warm and shimmery cranberry on your lids and a matte orangey brown in the crease). The pencil shape makes it easy to line and fill in my lips without needing a lip liner, so yay for skipping steps! Hyde Park is available now at NARS counters, stores and online.

2. Tom Ford Lip Color Matte in Plum Lush ($52)

tom ford plum lush — Tom Ford Lip Color Matte in Plum Lush

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MAC Holiday 2015 | Enchanted Eve Lip Compact in Coral Lipstick

October 15th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

mac enchanted eve lips coral — The MAC Holiday 2015 Enchanted Eve Lip Compact in Coral Lipstick ($25; coming Oct. 18 to the MAC website and Oct. 22 to MAC counters and stores), one of two Lip Compacts in the new holiday collection

When you and I finally get around to starting our secret society of makeup lovers who meet and train to become international super spies, I call dibs on codename “Lady Danger!”

The place will be like Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, except there won’t be an upper age limit…and you won’t need mutant powers.

The coursework will couple intensive training in makeup blending with more practical subterfuge skills like ninja acrobatics. I tell you right now, it’ll be amaze-balls. 🙂

I called dibs on Lady Danger because it’s one of my favorite MAC lipsticks of all time, and it just so happens to be one of the three lippies in the new MAC Enchanted Eve Lip Compact in Coral Lipstick ($25), one of two Lip Compacts in the new MAC holiday collection (the other one is Pink Lipstick).

mac enchanted eve coral lady danger — Matte Lipstick in Lady Danger

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MAC Holiday 2015 | Enchanted Eve Lip Compact in Pink Lipstick

October 14th, 2015 by Karen 7 Comments

mac enchanted eve pink lipstick — The MAC Holiday 2015 Enchanted Eve Lip Compact in Pink Lipstick ($25; coming Oct. 18 to the MAC website and Oct. 22 to MAC counters and stores), one of two Lip Compacts in the new holiday collection

Ooh! All three of the pinks in the MAC Enchanted Eve Lip Compact in Pink Lipstick look like good “going out” colors, but if you do go out and bring this compact along, don’t forget to also bring a lip brush — that is, unless you don’t mind applying lipstick with your fingers in the bathroom at the club, and can you ever remember seeing a “clean” bathroom at da club??

Yeah, I didn’t think so…

One of two lip palettes in the new MAC holiday collection (the other one has corals), Pink Lipstick arrives with the rest of the collection Oct. 18 to the MAC website and at counters and stores Oct. 22, and it comes packed with three party-ready pinks — a light pastel pink called Saint Germain, a dark fuchsia called Let’s Rendezvous and a deep pinkish purple called Wined + Dined.

mac enchanted eve pink lipstick st germain — MAC Amplified Cream Lipstick in Saint Germain

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The MAC Holiday 2015 Enchanted Eve Navy Eyeshadow X 6 Palette

October 12th, 2015 by Karen 40 Comments

mac enchanted eve eyes navy — The MAC Holiday 2015 Enchanted Eve Eyes/Navy Eyeshadow X 6 Palette ($39.50), one of three Enchanted Eve Eyeshadow X6 palettes in the holiday collection

Henceforth, 2015 will be forever etched into my memory as “The Year MAC Did Bladerunner Cell Phone Meets Atari 2600 Packaging for Their Eyeshadow Palettes.”

mac enchanted eve eyes navy 1 — Mercury Alpha Corporation (M.A.C.) Digital Transponder or MAC Holiday 2015 Enchanted Eve Eyes/Navy Palette? You be the judge…

Gotta love the retrofuturistic vibe!

Buuut, as far as the eyeshadows themselves? Well, I was wondering…is it just me, or does it seem like some of the MAC holiday palettes have fallen short over the past few years? Like they just haven’t risen to the same level of quality as the singles in the permanent line?

I wore the Enchanted Eve Navy Eyeshadow X 6 Palette today ($39.50; limited edition and coming to the MAC website Oct. 18 and to MAC stores and counters Oct. 22) and spent what felt like an unusually long time building up the colors. The powders feel harder and rougher than the eyeshadow singles in the permanent line, and it leads to choppier application and just generally more difficulty blending.

mac enchanted eve eyes navy k — Wearing MAC Enchanted Eye Eyes/Navy on my lids and lower lash line; lips are MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Double-Time with MAC Lipstick in Creme D’Nude

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MAC Magic of the Night: Jewel-Toned Smoky Eyes, Glowing Skin and Matte Pink Lips

October 8th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Here’s the makeup I wore to wizardry class today! Huh, I’m tellin’ ya… Sorcery is hard work. 🙂 This is my first look with the new MAC Holiday 2015 Magic of the Night collection, and seriously, I would wear this makeup pretty much every day if I thought I could pull it off.

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MAC Holiday 2015 | Magic of the Night Color Collection and Gift Sets

October 7th, 2015 by Karen 28 Comments

This year I really, really hope I get an invite to a Hogwarts-style enchanted garden/magical nighttime holiday event because then I’ll have the world’s most fitting excuse to get gussied up in makeup from the MAC Holiday 2015 Magic of the Night collection.

I just hope I can find the right black-tie pregnancy dress, hmm… 🙂

Oh, boy! This collection is a doozy. It’s a big one, and it’s split into two parts. First, there’s the color collection, spell caster’s codename “Magic of the Night.” And then there are several holiday gift sets in three different categories, appropriately named Enchanted Eve, Irresistibly Charming and Viva Glamorous.

Playing with these pieces today it was pretty much love at first swipe. The color theme and deep jewel-toned smoky eyes, gleaming skin and matte lips are totally my style, and I’m a sucker for the magical vibe.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Constructivist Paint Pot

October 6th, 2015 by Karen 11 Comments

mac constructivist paint pot — MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist ($22)

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

When you’re on your second pot of MAC Constructivist — wait, I think this might be my third? — it’s probably time to put flowers in its hair, stick it on a float, and throw a parade for it (don’t forget the brass band). Or, you could give it the Unsung Heroes treatment. 🙂

Dude, what a snazzy little Paint Pot! This pearlescent reddish brown cream eyeshadow is a $22 member of the MAC permanent line, and we’ve been hanging out even more than usual lately.

If you love brown eyeshadows as much as I do (and I know my girls are out there; I can’t be the only one!), Constructivist is absolutely must-have, especially if you’re also a MAC fan and a lover of neutral shadows.

Flexibility is Constructivist’s super power. You can wear it by itself (which I do all the time), or use it as a base under other powder eyeshadows, and hello! — it looks lovely with so many different shades, but I’ll talk about that more in a second.

mac constructivist paint pot 2 — MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist ($22)

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Neat and New to Me: MAC Cosmo Lipstick

September 25th, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

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.

Just when you thought you didn’t need ONE MOAR PINK LIPSTICK!

Who are we kidding…? There’s always room for one more pink lipstick, and this one by MAC is a real contender. I just wish I’d found it sooner because…isn’t it gorgeous!? 🙂 It’s called Cosmo, and it’s one of MAC’s Amplified Lipsticks — the ones with the creamy, long-lasting formula of which I’m a big fan.

It’s classified as a brownish pink, but I think it’s more pink than brown on my NC42 skin. I’ve heard through the makeup grapevine, which is code for, “I went to the MAC counter and talked to a few artists about it,” that Cosmo 1) registers as a pink on lighter skin tones as well and 2) looks amaze-balls on olive-toned skin.

So if your skin has yellow undertones, pour yourself a Cosmo, honey! (It should be noted that this one will not cause hangovers.)

Another thing I love about this color — other than the color, I mean — is how it fades. I put it on the other day around 3, then went about my business. Chatted with the neighbors, took some pictures for the blog, pet Tabs (FOR A WHILE), went to go get a regularly scheduled blood test and stopped by HomeGoods to look at autumnal dinner plates.

When I checked my makeup later at around 7:30, I could still see a hint of Cosmo on my lips. It had lost its creamy shine, of course, but it hadn’t lost its color. It turned into a pretty, pink stain.

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