MAC Cosmetics

MAC Men Love Mystery Matte Lipstick: Men May Love Mystery, But This Woman Loves Violet

May 26th, 2015 by Karen 39 Comments

Here’s my mysterious look!

I tried to look mysterious for this picture because I was wearing the new $16 MAC Matte Lipstick in Men Love Mystery, and I was shooting for sultry and elusive…but these are what I got instead.

Haha! I have no idea what’s going on in this picture…

I think I may have been halfway through a “Haaay” move when the camera shutter button clicked.

Yeah… Hard to tell now. 🙂

Men Love Mystery is one of the 22 matte MAC Lipsticks in the new The Matte Lip collection, which is en route for the permanent line and coming to the MAC website May 28, and then to MAC counters and stores a little later on June 11. They’re all $16 each.

This color though! It has shown me the way… Now I have come to realize that I’m all about violet matte lips.

I’ve worn similar colors before that were creamy or glossy but never a matte quite like this. I think that the finish, because it’s matte, sort of tones down the natural brightness and intensity that this violet would otherwise have, to make the whole effect more serious and, dare I say it, mysterious…

Of course I love the color because it’s ah-maze-ballz. And I also love almost everything about the formula — how smoothly it applies, the classic MAC vanilla flavor and scent, and the six-hour wear time (when I apply, then blot, then apply again, although it’s pigmented enough to get away with a single layer if you don’t mind sacrificing some wear time) — but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, or at least a stuck CD, the MAC Matte Lipstick formula is fairly drying. Maybe I notice it more because of my lips, which are naturally dry, but it still might be something to keep in mind if you’re thinking about this color or one of MAC’s other mattes.

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MAC Matte Lipstick in Whirl: Take ’90s Lips for a Whirl With This MAC Matte

May 20th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

mac whirl lipstick — Wearing MAC’s new Matte Lipstick in Whirl ($16)

5 Things you can do TODAY to transport yourself to the ’90s

Listen to your favorite Salt-N-Pepa CD (or, alternately, cassette tape) on repeat, and sing/rap the lyrics to Whatta Man aloud, because you know them back and forth, and inside out, and upside down. My man is smooth like Barry, and his voice got bass! A body like Arnold and a Denzel face!
Slip on a flannel shirt as a nod to the crispy Seattle weather (or to just stay warm in front of the refrigerator)…
On that note, quote the movie Clueless with ABANDON.
Dust off your little black backpack (it’s in the back of your closet next to your Doc Martens), and use it as your purse for the day.
Wear new matte rosy brown MAC Matte Lipstick in Whirl ($16), one of 22 matte shades in the upcoming The Matte Lip collection, coming to the MAC website May 28 and MAC stores and counters June 11.

GIRL, funny story. My friend Jen’s been more or less wearing the same color of brown matte lipstick since the ’90s, and I’ve been bugging her to break out of her comfort zone for years.

Corals, pinks, reds, nudes — seriously, any shade other than that same ’90s matte brown, but now that the ’90s lip, also known as (airquotes) “the Kylie Jenner lip,” is back in style, I don’t feel like I need to bug her anymore, LOL!!

The lip Jen’s loved all these years has made a comeback, and you can bet she’s ready for it. 🙂

Me, on the other hand, to be honest, I require some handholding. Back in the day I loved wearing matte brown lips, and it was all I wore, pretty much 24/7, but I’m having a hard time now re-seeing myself in the color.

I’ve gotten attached to fun brights and nudes!

But, in the spirit of breaking out of comfort zones, I’m trying to take my own advice by giving these circa-1995 colors a whirl.

Enter MAC’s new Matte Lipstick in Whirl ($16).

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Restocking Old MAC Faves: MAC Groundwork and Soft Ochre Paints Pots, and Select Cover-Up

May 19th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Oh! These cuties — oldies but goodies — came home with me last Sunday after a trip to the mall with El Hub.

It was part of Operation Get My Sh*t Together, otherwise known as The Great Office Purge of 2015. My mission: to stop by the MAC counter and make some long-overdue replacements.

The night before the mission, I found an old stash of MAC Paint Pots at home that desperately needed to be tossed and replaced. Two of my ride or dies, Soft Ochre and Groundwork, were effectively deceased, and since I can’t function without them, I had to restock. ASAP.

LOL! I made myself laugh. 🙂

Anyway, Soft Ochre and Groundwork are both cream shadows, but they have a matte finish. I like using them as eyeshadow bases, or sometimes just on their own.

MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot ($21)

I think matte warm beige Soft Ochre looks really pretty under warm neutrals like Soft Brown, Saddle, Ricepaper and Swiss Chocolate. I use it sometimes to sort of blank out the natural color of my lids (similar to how you might use concealer on your lips to blank them out).

Like, if I have a palette with shades that are slightly lighter than my skin tone — like pale taupes, tans or beiges, which wouldn’t normally show up well on my NC42 skin — I’ll start by buffing a thin layer of Soft Ochre on my lids with a MAC 217, then apply the shadows on top. Soft Ochre acts kind of like a buffer between my skin color and the shadows, and makes the shadows more closely resemble the way they look in their pans. It also intensifies whatever I layer on top.

LOVE this color. It’s a must-have MAC staple of mine.

MAC Groundwork Paint Pot ($21)

Oh, MAC Groundwork… How I heart thee.

Groundwork is a neutral mid-toned taupe-ish brown with a matte finish, and I love it for everyday looks. I use it as a base for neutral brown and taupe eyeshadows, and I also think it’s just really pretty on its own.

When I’m in a rush — you know, like every day of my life — I like to do a layer all over my lids, and then apply some quick cat eye liner.

MAC Select Cover-Up in NC42 ($19)

Select Cover-Up, the last thing I grabbed at the counter, is something I used a lot waaaaay back in the day when I first started wearing MAC face products.

Let’s see… When was that? 2001? 2002?

It might’ve been 2000.

Yowza.

Needless to say, it’s been around a while.
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Eye Shadow x 9: MAC Amber Times Nine Eye Shadow Palette

May 19th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Mac Amber Times Nine Palette — The $40 Eye Shadow x 9: MAC Amber Times Nine palette (center)

Gah!

Why?

Why, makeup gods, WHY?!

I don’t understand… The Eye Shadow x 9: MAC Amber Times Nine eyeshadow palette, one of four $40 MAC Times Nine palettes available now in the permanent collection and released with the Eyes on MAC collection, is soooooo my style. On paper, it has everything I usually want in a neutral eyeshadow palette. It has some matte brown transition shades; it has a sprinkling of sparkle and shimmer, thanks to the inclusion of a few shadows with Frost and Lustre finishes; and it has not one, but two of my favorite MAC eyeshadows of all time in Cork and Ricepaper.

Plus…IT HAS A SHADE CALLED KITTIES!

All this for $40, which I considered a steal based on all of the looks I saw myself doing with it.

Then I delved in…

Wearing the Mac Amber Times Nine Palette — Here I’m wearing Ricepaper, Don’t Tell, Cork, Aromatic and Pepper Please on my lids

When the four $40 MAC Eye Shadow x 9: Times Nine palettes launched a while back, it was with the more expensive $85 MAC Cool Neutral and Warm Neutral 15-pan palettes.

In addition to Amber Times Nine, there’s also a Purple Times Nine palette, Navy Times Nine and a Burgundy Times Nine, but yesterday I played with Amber.

The pans in these Times Nine palettes are smaller than regular full-size MAC eyeshadow pans (they’re about the size of my thumb, LOL!) and hold 0.02 ounces of powder, compared to 0.05 ounces in a standard $10 Pro Palette refill pan.

Eye Shadow x 9: MAC Amber Times Nine gave me trouble…

This was my first time using one of MAC’s Times Nines, and while I was hoping to achieve neutral shadow nirvana with Amber, I didn’t. Seriously, what a letdown… I had so much trouble working with this palette.

The hard-packed shadows feel like concrete in their pans, and I have a tough time picking them up with either a brush or my fingers. Even the darker shades, which I expected to be more pigmented, apply disappointingly sheer. I have to layer and layer and layer some more to see them on my lids.

And the colors I know so well and love, like Cork and Ricepaper, are unlike the Cork and Ricepaper I’ve grown to love. I swear they’re sheerer here, and harder, and require more passes with my 217 to blend.

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MAC The Matte Lip Collection: Many of These Lipsticks Are Stars, But They Don’t Shine Like Them

May 18th, 2015 by Karen 48 Comments

Many of the matte lipsticks in the new MAC The Matte Lip collection are new, but daaaaaang! — some of the shades sure do look like they jumped out of my hot tub time machine circa 1994.

Like dark brown Antique Velvet? I’m pretty sure I wore something just like it…to every Friday night house party I ever went to.

And just in case you’re wondering…yes, I was that person at the party who was standing uncomfortably in the corner and nursing the same bottle of Zima the entire evening. #datingmyself

All of the $16 lipsticks in the new 22-piece MAC The Matte Lip collection are matte (obvs), with about half of them having MAC’s Matte finish, and the other half their Retro Matte finish, but they aren’t all new. A handful of them are currently available in the permanent line and are being re-promoted here with the launch (like Ruby Woo, All Fired Up, Flat Out Fabulous, Velvet Teddy, Kinda Sexy, Please Me, Heroine and Pink Pigeon).

But most of the 22 shades are new, which is very exciting! Also, technically, this isn’t a MAC collection in the traditional limited edition sense, as all of the colors are either in the permanent line now, or being added to it.

You may still see some familiar names among the batch of new colors as well, though, like Whirl and Stone. Both are currently in MAC’s Lip Pencil line, so if you’re a fan of either one, voila! Now there are matching matte lipstick shades.

Matchy-matchy!

The MAC Mattes vs. the Retro Mattes

Both of the matte finishes represented in the collection are flat, meaning that they shine very little, or not at all, on the lips, but the finishes aren’t the same. The Retro Mattes are more intensely matte than their regular Matte counterparts — extremely flat — and they’re almost like wearing a matte lip pencil.

I think the Retro Mattes also feels drier and thinner than the regular Mattes do, which feel a little “wet” and dense/thick to me.

Oh! — and when I wear the Retro Mattes, I feel like my vertical lip lines are front and center, more so than when I wear the regular Mattes.

As for the colors themselves, what if you refuse to embrace your inner ’90s brown lipstick-loving babe? Does that mean you absolutely won’t like this collection?

No, not necessarily… You don’t have to look like you lived and loved in the era that gave birth to floral spaghetti-strap dresses and baby tees to find something to like in MAC The Matte Lip. 🙂 In addition to the old-school shades, the release also includes some very fashion-forward colors, like deep royal blue Matte Royal, as well as some sweet pinks like Please Me, and several bold, brash brights like purple Heroine and bluish red Ruby Woo.

Here are pics and swatches of 14 of the 22 shades…

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The MAC Nordstrom Naturals Eyeshadow Palette: I’ve Been Grabbing It All the Time Because It’s Just So Convenient!

May 13th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Even though the MAC Nordstrom Naturals Eyeshadow Palette has been on counters for a couple months now, I think it’s worth another mention because of the value. For $85 you get 15 full-size MAC bestsellers from the permanent line, which would otherwise cost $150, not including the cost of the package, based just on refill pans purchased separately.

If I were a MAC neophyte, I’d be all over this like gravy on biscuits.

Heck, even after a 20-year MAC obsession, I still think it’s a great value. This palette checks off almost all of the boxes on a good must-have MAC eyeshadow wish list, and it does it in one fell swoop (at a cost breakdown of about $6 per shadow).

It has so many of the classics! — the must-have MAC shades you hear about over and over again. It couples some of the all-time great workhorse shades like Carbon, Brun, Omega and Saddle with flashier, shimmery neutrals like Woodwinked, Honey Lust and Beauty Marked, although to be honest, I’m kind of surprised that Soft Brown and Shroom didn’t make the cut.

But maybe that’s ’cause I’m playing favorites. 😉

Depending on the shadows you already own, this palette, while pricey up front, is a really great deal.

The $85 MAC Nordstrom Naturals Eyeshadow Palette includes…

Vapour — a peachy pink with violet pearl and a Velvet finish
Honey Lust — a bronzed peach with a Lustre finish
All That Glitters — a beige with golden pearl and a Veluxe Pearl finish
Saddle — a golden orange brown with a Matte finish
Mulch — a reddish brown with bronze pearl and a Velvet finish
Ricepaper — a shimmery, peachy gold with a Frost finish
Amber Lights — a shimmery, peachy brown with a Frost finish
Woodwinked — a warm antiqued gold with a Veluxe Pearl finish
Wedge — a soft muted beige-taupe with a Matte finish
Brun — a muted blackish brown with a Satin finish
Omega — a muted beige-taupe with a Matte finish
Satin Taupe — a taupe with silver shimmer and a Frost finish
Embark — an intense reddish brown with a Matte finish
Beauty Marked — a blackish red with pearl and a Velvet finish
Carbon — an intense black with a Matte finish

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MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation: The Best Liquid Foundation I’ve Seen From MAC in Years

May 12th, 2015 by Karen 62 Comments

MAC has a new waterproof foundation, and I know that it’s waterproof because I had a meltdown in the middle of Target a couple weeks ago while wearing it, and this stuff did not move.

AT. ALL.

I mean, who hasn’t had a meltdown in the middle of Target at least once (well, other than three-year-old children)?

I’d been waiting in a long checkout line when some busy fancy-pants dude in Spandex bicycle shorts totally cut in front of me.

The fact that he didn’t bother to make eye contact with me or even acknowledge the existence of my cart — which was full of ladies’ accoutrements for a visit from “Aunt Flo,” mind you — sent me into Rage Mode. El Hub saw the look in my eye and knew something big was about to go down, so he did his best to calm/soothe me.

I guess it worked… Instead of doing what I really wanted to do, which was yell obscenities at the rude guy while foaming at the mouth, I just burst into tears, and that’s when the new MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation had its first boss moment.

Instead of being the girl who had the meltdown in the middle of Target, with her makeup streaming down the side of her face onto her pink pineapple sweatshirt, I was just the girl crying her eyes out like the protagonist in a Nicholas Sparks film.

Like, it was the most beautiful public display of sobbing I’ve ever had. The tears poured down my cheeks, but my foundation looked fine, so if you anticipate doing any public crying, seriously, grab yourself a tube of MAC Pro Longwear Nourshing Waterproof, and cry with class.

MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation: Briefly, what is it?

It’s MAC’s latest long-wearing (24 hours, holy crap!) foundation. It’s $32, comes in a 0.84-oz. tube, and has an oil-free liquid formula with medium-to-full coverage and a satin finish.

Oh! — and you can also use it as concealer.

It’s available now in 16 shades — NC15, NC20, NC25, NC30, NC35, NC42 (here’s mine), NC45, NC50, NW15, NW20, NW25, NW30, NW35, NW40, NW45 and NW50 — and designed for all skin types, including oily, dry and combination.

Don’t be discouraged by the smallish size of the tube/bottle. While a bottle of MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation costs the same $32 but nets you 1.3 ounces of product, this gets you a little more than half that much (0.84 ounces) for the same price.

But you only have to use a little. A small pea-sized drop of the shade I use, NC 42, which I blend out with a BeautyBlender, is enough for my entire face. I usually like coverage right on the border between medium and full, and with this, one drop is enough.

Does it work well?

Does Tabs like gravy?

That’s a HUGE yes. 🙂 I think this stuff is brilliant. It’s one of the best liquid foundations I’ve seen from MAC in years. It performs as well as the much more expensive Dior Nudeskin does and does many of the same things — it’s lightweight, blurs pores and evens out my skin without appearing heavy or fake. It also lasts longer when you wear it without powder (Nudeskin needs powder to last me a full day), and I think the satin finish looks a little more natural than Dior’s flat matte.

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MAC Lightful C Tinted Cream SPF 30 With Radiance Booster: Before and After

May 6th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

You’ve got to “C” MAC’s new de-Lightful tinted moisturizer.

Get it…? C? As in “see”?

OK, that pun was bad. 🙂 Sorry, but the product’s called Lightful C! Come on, you know I had to go there.

MAC Lightful C Tinted Cream SPF 30 With Radiance Booster: What’s it all about?

Yes, MAC has a new tinted cream/moisturizer. Officially, it’s called Lightful C Tinted Cream SPF 30 With Radiance Booster and, um…could that name be any longer and more awkward? Maybe? Probably not.

Essentially, it’s a sheer coverage tinted moisturizer with skin care benefits. It’s designed to even out your skin tone without completely covering your natural skin color, which I think is really cool, and it does so while also blurring pores, controlling oil, protecting you from sun damage, and cranking up your natural radiance factor with a barely-there, subtle sheen.

It’s also supposed to reduce the appearance of dark spots over time. So, basically, it’s everything and the kitchen sink squeezed into a 1.3-oz. tube. Available in nine shades, including Extra light (a pale alabaster), Light (a pale ivory), Light Plus (a light beige), Medium (a warm beige), Medium Plus (a tan beige), Medium Deep (a caramel beige), Dark (a deep caramel), Dark Plus (a neutral tan beige) and Dark Deep (a rich golden bronze).

Ascorbyl glucoside power!

Lightful C Tinted Cream is the latest addition to MAC’s Lightful C product line, their skin care category dedicated to subtle brightening with the antioxidant power of “C,” as in vitamin C. It contains ascorbyl glucoside, a modified version of vitamin C that combines C with glucose, which supposedly makes it more stable in skin care formulas and cosmetic products, and it’s listed up high among the ingredients.

It’s always a bummer to me when the star compound is listed down at the bottom of the ingredients, so at least in this case, there’s presumably a significant amount of it in Lightful C Tinted Cream.

About vitamin C’s skin care benefits in general…

“It has been shown to increase collagen production (including dermal collagen, which is significant for wrinkle reduction), reduce the appearance of skin discolorations, strengthen skin’s barrier response, enhance skin’s repair process, reduce inflammation, and help skin better withstand exposure to sunlight, whether protected by sunscreen or not.”

-paulaschoice.com

‘Tis the season for sheerer coverage

I’m still madly in love my full-coverage foundations (see: Dior), but as summer approaches, I unconsciously transition to wearing sheerer coverage more, and Lightful C Tinted Cream SPF hits that spot. I like how it evens out my skin tone without covering everything up, so my skin still looks like mine, and not like someone/something else.

Also much appreciated…

The slight pore-blurring effect
How it doesn’t break up or settle into my fine lines as the day wears on
How it’s so lightweight that I forget I’m wearing it sometimes
How it layers well on its own, and with other products. I can build it up to to medium coverage when I wear it by itself, and where I need even more coverage, I’ll just spot blend a full-coverage foundation on top, and then dust powder on top of that.
The faintly floral fragrance that, despite the formula containing SPF, doesn’t smell like sunscreen
How it blends easily and doesn’t streak
That it hasn’t triggered any breakouts (knocks on wood)

Before Lightful C Tinted Cream

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