Eyes

Wearing MAC Beth Ditto Shade & Smoke Shadow/Liner in “Drag, Strip”

Dual-ended eye makeup brushes, cream shadows that double as primers, twist-up eyeliners that never, ever need sharpening — what’s the key word here?

That would be convenience. 🙂

If it makes my life easier, I’m generally a fan. Like, if it’s something I can apply in the back of a cab on the way to meet the cast of Magic Mike for drinks at the Tonga Room, I’ll probably say, “Yes, please!”

Speaking of that, “Siri, remind me to Fandango tickets to see Magic Mike…”

Oops! — back to convenience. If we also happen to be talking about convenient eye makeup, my resistance is futile. Anything that saves space in my makeup bag and shaves a few steps off my eye makeup routine, like the new dual-ended Beth Ditto Shade & Smoke Shadow/Liners ($22 each), can be characterized as one of my weak spots.

On one end, a slanted eyeliner; on the other, a creamy, intensely pigmented coordinating eyeshadow with a rounded tip. And both ends laugh in the face of sharpeners! With their twist-up tips, they just don’t need ’em.

When you get the urge to go bigger with your eye look or just feel like skipping your brushes, just twist up the eyeshadow tip, apply the product directly to your lids, and smooth out the edges with a finger. Then, follow up with the liner, but only if you feel like it (I usually do).

The four limited edition pencils include Little Miss Moffett, which pairs a true black shadow with a true white liner; “Drag, Strip,” which pairs a smokey navy shadow with a pale blue liner; Beth Mask, which pairs a reddish brown bronze shadow with a golden peachy pink liner; and Beth or Glory, which puts a deep brown shadow together with a bright blue liner.

Application tips from MAC Senior Artist Keri Blair

“The tapered end is the ‘liner,’ so it’s better for more detailing and defining (I don’t recommend it for the water line). The slanted tip makes it easy to apply to eyelids or the inner corners of the eyes. Use it to pop the lid, and with a flick of your wrist, you can use the rounded side to smoke out the outer and inner corners of the eyes.

The rounded side is great for smudging and ‘smoking’ out the eye. You can blend with your finger or a brush, but work quickly because the long-wearing, water-resistant formula dries fast! My best advice is to work one eye at a time to achieve a perfectly smokey, smudgy look.”

Shade & Smoke Shadow/Liner

From bottom to top: Little Miss Moffet, Beth or Glory, Beth Mask and Drag, Strip

Swatches from the left, Shade & Smoke Shadow/Liners in #1 Beth Mask, #2 Beth or Glory, #3 “Drag, Strip” and #4 Little Miss Moffett; Zoom Lash Mascara in #5 Plum Reserve, #6 Blue Charge and #7 New Hue; Pro Longwear Lipcremes in #8 BOOYAH!!, Dear Diary and Heart Hangover
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MAC Beth Ditto Zoom Lash Mascara from the left: New Hue, Plum Reserve and Blue Charge

During the week, I usually reach for reliable, basic (boring?) mascaras in brown or black, but even reliable standbys can seem a little uninspiring after a while.

Now, whenever I feel like I’ve “hit the wall” on basic black and brown and need a change, I can turn to one of the new MAC Beth Ditto Zoom Lash Mascaras ($15 each), three new limited edition tinted mascaras in Plum Reserve (a light violet-ish purple), New Hue (a blackened burgundy) and Blue Charge (a deep navy blue).

If Yves Saint Laurent Majorelle Blue Volume is your party shade, then the Beth Ditto Zoom Lash mascaras want to be what you wear to work.

For comparison, the formula feels a little thicker than MAC Extended Play, another mascara I’ve been wearing lately.

From about an arm’s length away, all three of these could pass for basic black. But get a little closer (don’t be shy!), and they reveal their true colors.

When I wear ’em, I like to start by swiping the brush against the mouth of the tube or a clean tissue to remove any excess, which seems to reduce their tendency to clump and deposit stray mascara on my lids.

Then, I apply one coat on freshly-curled lashes before using a lash comb to further separate my fringe, and after that first layer dries, I repeat the process with a second layer to intensify the color.

Two layers is probably my sweet spot for lashes that look noticeably longer, thicker and lightly tinted, with just a slight relaxing of the curl.

No mascara!

Two coats of Blue Charge
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In this week’s episode of The Mascara Chronicles: Go Drag or Go Home, blogger Karen takes a break from her seemingly never-ending quest for big, bold lashes so bad@ss that even RuPaul would pause mid-snap.

This week’s lower key lash look guest stars the new MAC Extended Play Lash Mascara ($15, available in one color called Endless Black), who some (really, just me) are calling “the next Blanche Devereaux.”

Like Blanche, the man- and lash-hungry coquette who batted wispy, come-hither lashes at suitors while seductively sipping sweet tea through a straw on the veranda, Extended Play has fun with lashes without going all the way (at least with lashes).

Simply coat lashes with one or two layers using the slim, sleek brush. Then, sit back and admire. 🙂

It makes my lashes look glossy black, dramatically longer and a bit thicker — not drag queen-caliber thick, but thick enough to notice a difference.

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MAC Hey, Sailor! Powerpoint Eye Pencils from the left: Emerald Sea, Handforged and Blue Stripe

This one’s for the off-the-charts MAC fanatics — the ones who collect obsessively and foam at the mouth over the prospects of getting a Barbie Loves MAC t-shirt.

The three new MAC Hey, Sailor! Powerpoint Eye Pencils ($16) are fully equipped for obsessions. Smudge-ably smooth and fully opaque, they last all day on my lids, even without primer, and pair perfectly with their MAC Hey, Sailor! Eyeshadow counterparts. Twinsies! 🙂

Handforged, a metallic yellow gold, belongs with Barefoot; Emerald Sea, a kelly green, gallops with Feeling Fresh; and Blue Stripe, a dark navy, sings songs of the sea with Nautical Navy.

“A kohl pencil that has all the intensity and colour-power of ultra-soft carbon. Provides deep, fully opaque coverage and an intense, smoked finish with duo-chrome pearl. Versatile in application: blend or smudge. Packaged in blue and white stripes, it’s a match to everything Hey, Sailor!”

— maccosmetics.com

If you already planned to sail away with any of the Hey, Sailor! shadows, you might be wondering, “Are the Powerpoint Eye Pencils still worth my time?” Well, if you’re a die-hard, dedicated MAC-aholic, then yes, I think they are. Having both the eyeshadows and their coordinating Powerpoints has its privileges.

Even though the eyeshadows pack a lot of pigment on their own, there’s always room for more. To crank up the intensity even further, I’ve been applying the shadows on top of their coordinating Powerpoints. Sometimes, though, I’ll also wear them on top of the shadows along my lash lines, to give my lashes a little extra kick.

I’m also impressed by how long these Powerpoints last on my combo dry/oil lids and along my lash line, even when worn without a primer. We’re talking 6-8 hours, and without a primer, that’s quite good.

MAC Hey, Sailor! Powerpoint Eye Pencil swatches from the left on my NC42 skin: Handforged, Emerald Sea and Blue Stripe

Emerald Sea

Handforged
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I can see why some makeup mavens, especially die-hard MAC fans, might find the five powder Eye Shadows ($16 each) in the Hey, Sailor! collection a bit on the boring side. After all, only two of the shades are brights (Feeling Fresh and Nautical Navy). The other three are neutrals (Barefoot, Jaunty and Crystal Avalanche).

Many MAC addicts crave the brand’s bold, crazy colors, but Hey, Sailor! targets a different type of fan, guys and gals who love their MAC neutrals served with a sprinkling of brights on the side.

When I see all five of these colors together — the gold, tan and white with the brighter green and blue — I don’t see a batch of boring eyeshadows at all.

Mind you, I wouldn’t call them flashy, but I think they do look beautiful together, and I like how they aren’t just the same teals and corals we usually see on cats and counters each summer…

Is Jaunty special at all? It looks pretty standard issue in the pan…

ZOMG! If you freak for neutrals (like I am wont to do), get ready to fly your freak flag because you will love, LOVE this color.

Picture a sandy golden version of MAC Ricepaper — like sunlight reflected off of white sand. Lately, it’s all I’ve been wanting to wear.

For a fresh, super easy summer eye, I’ll pat it all over my lids, blend out the edges, and apply Feeling Fresh or Nautical Navy on my upper lash lines.

I think of Jaunty as a nice departure (or jaunt, as it were) from the existing neutrals in MAC’s permanent line.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+

Do I need Feeling Fresh if I already have MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadow in Fresh Flare?

Good question. Well…I’d say they’re more like kissing cousins than dead on dupes.

Fresh Flare has pearly golden undertones that Feeling Fresh lacks, but Feeling Fresh isn’t feeling sorry for itself. No way. It’s ready to par-tay! — complete with sparkly flecks of tiny glitter.

Now, if Fresh Flare is already in your makeup bag, you’re already feeling pretty fresh, so good job. 🙂 You could probably skip Feeling Fresh without skipping a beat, but if you’ve got a thing for greens (I can’t resist ’em!), you might appreciate the subtle differences between these two shades, not to mention their differences in intensity and texture.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A-

Crystal Avalanche scares the [BLEEP] outta me! How can I wear a white frost without it looking harsh on my skin?

I was actually really surprised to like this shade as much as I do. High contrast? Absolutely, but I don’t think it looks as stark as I expected it to on my NC42 skin.

I like the way it brightens my lids…kinda like the effect I get from Vex.

I’ve been buffing it on top of primed lids with a fluffy MAC 217 (the domed shape helps to sheer it out) or using a pencil brush like the 219 to apply it in the inner corners around my tear ducts.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+

Barefoot versus Gorgeous Gold: what’s the difference?

I think they do look a lot alike in their pans, but Barefoot applies sheerer on me with a little less green and more yellow.

Barefoot borrows a page from Crystal Avalanche, though, by also brightening up my eyes, and for that I like to apply it on the inner half of my lids.

Oh, I also think Barefoot looks fab with Feeling Fresh. The two of them make a great couple.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+

Clockwise from the white pan on the lower left: Crystal Avalanche, Nautical Navy, Barefoot, Jaunty and Feeling Fresh
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