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The MAC Lunar New Year Collection for 2018: 5 Things You Need to Know

January 24th, 2018 by Karen 22 Comments

1. You’re gonna have to hunt for it

The collection just launched a few days ago, buuut it’s already sold out online (it’s only seven pieces total). If you see something you gotta have, well…I’m sorry, babe. Maybe call your friendly neighborhood MAC sales associate, and keep your fingers and toes crossed. They might still have something hidden behind the counter.

(Note: At last check, the five Lipsticks ($17.50 each), and the Luck and Fortune Eye Shadow Palette ($32) and Powder Blush Duo ($29) are all sold out online.)

2. Sadly (because they’re so hard to find), the lipsticks are a peach and/or pink lip lover’s dream come true

SO MUCH PEACH AND PINK! I spend 99% of my lipstick life wearing those colors (sorry, no corpse-y gray for this girl), so these are lipstick nirvana for me.

The two Satins — My favorite shades are muted peachy pink Good Health and soft peach Peachy New Year, which has golden pearl. Both of them are pigmented, apply smoothly, don’t dry out my lips and last a decently long amount of time (’bout four hours). I also ? them as cream blush.
The two Mattes — Dusty rose To Luck! is opaque and doesn’t catch my lip flakes, but it’s a little drying…and I think bright pinkish coral Prosperity is pretty, but it isn’t as intensely pigmented as To Luck! And it also latches onto every minuscule micro flake on my lips.
The Cremesheen — If you like pale blueish pinks, you might like creamy light pink Pure Happiness. It’s semi-sheer, which I’m fine with, but I’m not crazy about this one on me… I’m a MAC NC42, and I think it looks a little weird on me for some reason.

mac lunar new year 2018 swatches lipstick — Lipsticks ($17.50 each) in Good Health, Peachy New Year, To Luck!, Prosperity, Pure Happiness

3. Props to the Powder Blush Duo

I only need one light layer of warm pink Love Token for naturally flushed cheeks, and light pale peach Long Life & Happiness is also surprisingly pigmented. Both shades are a cinch to blend, too. They skate across skin and feather out almost as well as Melba, my favorite MAC matte blush of all time.

I really like this duo because most of the time I just want a little color on my cheeks, which is exactly what this duo delivers. That exact look.

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The Urban Decay X Kristen Leanne Collection Vice Lipsticks in Bun Bun, Cloud9 and Spellbound

January 19th, 2018 by Karen 11 Comments

urban decay kristen leanne vice lipstick — From the left: Bun Bun, Cloud9 and Spellbound

One of the three Vice Lipsticks in the UD X Kristen Leanne collection is called Bun Bun (it’s the neutral one), named after Kristen’s bunny. ?

Isn’t that cute? Anyone who names a lipstick after their beloved fur-baby is A-OK in my book.

Kristen loves color, cruelty-free makeup and tattoos — all fab fits for UD — and there are three $17 matte lippies in her new UD collaboration (available meow). Bun Bun is the neutral, Cloud9 is the beautiful bright purple, and Spellbound is the deep burgundy.

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NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer Update: Six New Shades Join the Full-Coverage Crew

December 28th, 2017 by Karen 17 Comments

nars radiant creamy conealers swatches new top — There are six new shades of NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer ($30 each).

Waaay back in 2013 when NARS introduced the Radiant Creamy Concealers, they were revolutionary, but there were only 10 of them. They had lots of pigment and a spectacular satin finish that covered everything — dark circles, blemishes, cat scratches on your cheeks (which, yes, I can attest to from personal experience). They covered EVERYTHING, and they shook up the makeup world.

Since then, so many other brands have come out with their own full-coverage, mousse-y concealer thangs (see: Urban Decay and Kevyn Aucoin).

Fast forward to 2016…

NARS added more shades; the makeup world rejoiced!

Time hop to today, and now there are six more shades, bringing the grand total up to 22. By comparison, MAC has 16 in their Pro Longwear Concealer range and 23 in their Studio Finish Concealer range, and Urban Decay has 14 in both their Naked Skin and All Nighter concealer fams.

nars radiant creamy conealers new — Fun fact: You can also use the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealers as highlighters or contour shades.

Most of the newbies have yellow or golden undertones (extra ideal if you have lots of yellow in your skin tone).

nars radiant creamy conealers swatches new — Truffle, Walnut, Sucre D’Orge, Tiramisu, Marron Glace and Cafe Con Leche

I know a lot of people who love using Radiant Creamy Concealer to hide dark circles, and I wish I loved it for that too, but it settles into my fine lines after a few hours, so I primarily use (and love using them!) as an alternative to foundation.

For all-day natural-looking medium coverage, I like to mix a teeny, tiny amount of Ginger and Caramel (two of the old-school shades) with either MAC Strobe Cream or BECCA Backlight to thin them out a little. Then I pat that on my cheeks and around my nose with my fingers.

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The Shu Uemura Super Mario Bros. Collection Is Not Playing Games

December 21st, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

super mario makeup collection shu uemura hair — When your middle school gaming dreams come true!

Look, ma, all those hours spent playing Super Mario Bros. on Nintendo — the O.G. version, the one before the 64! #datingmyself #nerdalert — were *not* a waste of time (“You should be reading the dictionary instead of playing games, Karen!”), because now I’m one of select few ’80s video game enthusiasts/beauty lovers who totally gets all the references in the Shu Uemura holiday collection.

super mario makeup collection shu uemura lipsticks — The Lipsticks (pink tubes) are sheer and the Tinted in Balm (black tube) is pigmented.

super mario makeup collection shu uemura packaging — Holla if you get the references…

See, that’s Mario swimming among the sea creatures in the underwater levels on the Cleansing Oil Shampoo ($57) and Cleansing Oil Conditioner ($58), and on the hair oil, Essence Absolue ($69).

Oh, and the pipe on the hair Master Wax ($39) jar and the brick walls on the lipstick tubes! And the Star Charm dangling from the Lash Curler!

super mario makeup collection shu uemura lash curler — Baby, you’re a star (the charm is removable).

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MAC Jade Jagger Collection: A First Look

December 8th, 2017 by Karen 22 Comments

If your name is Jade and you become a jewelry designer, it’s kind of like destiny telling you, “HA! I told you so!”

British jewelry designer Jade Jagger, daughter of Bianca and Mick Jagger, a.k.a. daughter of rock royalty, has a limited edition MAC collaboration launching December 14th, and you guys…IT’S GORGEOUS.

mac jade jagger collection — Everything in the collection is from the MAC Mineralize family.

MAC Mineralize eyeshadows, face powder, blushes and lipsticks

There are three Mineralize Rich Lipsticks ($25 each), two Mineralize Eye Shadow X 4 quads ($46 each), a Mineralize Skinfinish powder ($33) and two Mineralize Blushes ($28 each), all with something called “Multi-Mineral Complex,” which is MAC-speak for “something that adds color to the face without looking heavy or powdery.”

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10 Things You Need to Know About the MAC Patrick Starrr Collection

December 5th, 2017 by Karen 25 Comments

10 Things you need to know about the new MAC Patrick Starrr collection

It’s a 12-piece MAC makeup collab with makeup maestro and fab YouTube phenom Patrick Starrr.
Patrick Starrr used to work for MAC as a makeup artist and a sales associate in Orlando, Florida. Now he’s a social media ?.
He’s known for his ultra glam, more-is-more makeup looks and his “makeup is one size fits all” philosophy.
Lippies $17.50 each, Lipglasses $17 each, Lip Pencils $17.50 each, Eye Shadow X 4 $32, Set Powder $35
Limited edition and coming to all MAC locations and online starting December 14th, 2017
The Patrickstarrr Glam AF quad has one new shade (frosty soft peachy pink Omigaud) and three re-promotes from the permanent line (satin creamy beige Brule, matte golden orange-brown Saddle, and matte reddish brown Embark)
Same goes for the Patrickstarrr Goalgetter quad! Old-school faves/repromotes: frosty peachy brown Amber Lights, matte golden peachy brown Soft Brown, and matte reddish brown Swiss Chocolate. ~~New shade:~~ I’m Into It (a matte dark reddish brown) [UPDATE: Thanks to reader Tasha for letting me know that this is a repromote].
Patrick’s Powder (the loose powder) is like a 50/50 blend of MAC Set Powder in Invisible and MAC Set Powder in Peach, and the finish is matte and completely flat.
The Patrick Woo Lipstick is warmer and more yellow than O.G. MAC Ruby Woo Lipstick.
Every time I typed the word “Starrr” in this post, I had to stop and count the number of R’s. One, two, three! STARRR!

?Note to younger self… Dear Patrick, You are so special. Please stop crying and being hard on yourself. Don't worry about your weight and what others think. Keep your friends close and your family closer. Your family loves you very much, they're only trying to protect you from the bullies and hate in this world. You will make a mark one day and you will be so very happy. One day you will live in LA, travel the world and make your dreams come true… dream big and work hard, I promise. Remember, life opens up when you do. I love you.❤️ Xoxo, PatrickStarrr #MACPATRICKSTARRR ps. Why you dressed like a pastor tho…

A post shared by patrickstarrr (@patrickstarrr) on Nov 10, 2017 at 6:38pm PST

mac patrick starrr eye shadow packaging — So glam!

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Introducing the MAC Velvet Matte Lipstick Collection

October 31st, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

Sometimes velvet finishes can go really wrong, you know, like the red Pier 1 pillows that I ordered online for my couch. I returned them the same day they arrived because they looked a little too shiny — almost sleazy, like a threadbare velvet robe in a motel room with a heart-shaped waterbed.

Yep.

But when velvet goes right, it goes really right. It’s luxurious, rich and sophisticated, like the new $17.50 MAC Velvet Matte Lipsticks.

Dude! They totally get it right. They’re an example of when velvet goes really right.

New on counters now, the MAC Velvet Matte Lipstick Collection contains nine deep, dark reds, browns, purples and grays, all with blackened, moody tones that are perfect for fall.

A dark lipstick can be tricky, though, and not just on a technical level, in that you have to bust out a lip liner and a lip brush, but there are a couple things you can do to work them well. Like, the best ones get the formula and finish juuuust right, whereas the less-than-best ones can leave you with a patchy mess that looks like you got your lipstick at Party City in the Halloween section.

So, you can either end up looking super trendy, or super tacky, and I know this because I’ve danced on the tacky side… Not on purpose, though!

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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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