MAC Makeup

MAC Coral Lipsticks: 5 Essential Summer Staples

June 23rd, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

I’m low-key crazy for coral all year long, but now that it’s summer, I let my freak flag fly and my full-on coral craziness is unleashed!

If it were socially acceptable…I might even wear all five of my favorite MAC coral lipsticks on my face AT THE SAME TIME.

Flamingo, Costa Chic, Coral Bliss, Vegas Volt and Pretty Boy are all found in the MAC permanent line, so they’re always there whenever you need them, which is comforting to me…like a makeup security blanket.

I rotate among them during summer.

If you see a couple you like, jump on them now, because MAC is having a special lipstick promotion where you get a free lipstick if you buy any two lip products. The free lipstick has to be one of six specific shades (Breathing Fire, Lust, Lured In, Pressed & Ready, Barbeque and Invite Intrigue), though, so you can’t go picking any old free lipsticks willy-nilly. But the selections are lovely.

The promo lasts through June 25th, both at MAC stores and the website.

1. Flamingo

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MAC Relentlessly Red Retro Matte Lipstick Is a Shout-Out to the Jungle

June 20th, 2017 by Karen 22 Comments

SRLSY, shout-out to the jungle for having The. Best. Plants. Ever.

I spotted this pretty plant at a place called Haiku Gardens on Oahu last week, and it’s been haunting my dreams ever since!

I think it might be a flower…? Wow, how striking is that red? It’s so intense, and the finish! I don’t even know where to start… Matte, and I love the way it contrasts with the green leaves behind it. I mean, Mother Nature? *Mwah!* Best painter ever.

Anyway, I was wanting to wear the exact same color on my lips, and someone on Instagram mentioned that the red in this pic looked like MAC Relentlessly Red ($17 and available in the permanent line), so when I was getting ready today (by the way, this is probably the most makeup I’ve worn in two weeks), I dug through my MAC drawer…

And I found it! Yay! It’s a perfect match.

mac relentlessly red lipstick 2 — I’m wearing a mish-mash of things today, not gonna lie (I just kept piling stuff on and hoped for the best!). I’m wearing Chanel Mirage Illusion D’Ombre Cream Shadow, MAC Hushed Tone Blush and Urban Decay Diamond Dog Eyeshadow on my lids; MAC Relentlessly Red Lipstick on my cheeks; Milk Makeup Lit Highlighter on my upper cheekbones; and MAC Matchmaster Concealer

One of the Retro Matte Lipsticks in the MAC permanent line, Relentlessly Red is a bright coral-red with a fuchsia spirit that sets it apart from many other MAC reds, like Lady Danger, which is more orange, and MAC Ruby Woo, which is cooler- and bluer-toned.

The MAC Retro Matte Lipsticks vary in terms of how dry the formula feels. Some are smoother, slightly more “moisturizing” (air quotes, because none of them are exactly moisturizing) and consequently easier to wear than others.

Relentlessly Red is one of the drier ones (but that’s not to say that it’s super dry) and benefits from a little babying and prep work if you have any flake action on your lips. In that case, exfoliate first; then prep your pout with a layer of lip balm, and I used Urban Decay Lip Love today. Then blot and apply Relentlessly Red.

Because I’ve been *mucho lazy* lately, I had been applying lipstick straight from the bullet, but I recently started using a lip brush to apply lipstick, usually a layer or two, and then I pat everything down with my finger.

It’s more work than going straight from the tube, but I like the look. It looks like my lipstick is merging with my lips, as opposed to sitting on top of them.

It’s all part of that ongoing phase I’m in where I want my makeup to look like I’m not trying too hard (even when I am), and that’s the effect I get with a lip brush.

mac relentlessly red lipstick 1 — Take me back to the jungle

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Current Crushes From MAC: Matchmaster Concealer, Melba Blush, In Extra Dimension Mascara and More

June 9th, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

current mac crushes — Um, please excuse my hair. I just couldn’t be bothered today, apparently.

Just a few MAC faves I’ve been lovin’ extra lots lately!

MAC Matchmaster Concealer ($22). Guuuurrrrrl. BOMB. DOT. COM. They’re creamy stick concealers with auto-magical self-adjusting pigments that personalize themselves to your own awesome skin tone…

Yes, that was a bunch of nonsensical fancy talk. 🙂

I’m an NC42, and I wear Shade 5 (there are 11 in all).

Somehow, once this concealer settles in after blending it out, it matches my skin perfectly, and it’s freaking me out! I would love to learn about the cosmetic chemistry behind it because I’m sure it’s cutting edge. The coverage is medium, and the finish is satiny. I think it reflects just enough light and looks natural.

Of course, you can still change the finish by buffing a matte face powder on top, but I like to keep it dewy, so I set mine with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural.

mac matchmaster concealer 5 — I went a little ham on the concealer, but that’s what blending is for…

Matchmaster lasts all day long for me without scooting, budging or fading. MAC says its also sweat-resistant and ideal for humid climes, so I’m bringing it with me to Hawaii, for sure.

Another thing I’ve been into this week: $23 MAC Melba Blush.

Look at that pan! Mine is well-loved, LOL! It’s a coral-peach with a matte finish.

I may or may not have just googled “Melba Toast”

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A “Gilt and Gloss” Makeup Look With Nudestix and Urban Decay

June 9th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

Ya know, this whole “makeup in 30 minutes or less thing” I’ve been doing all week long has been VERY liberating. To think, there was a time when I didn’t want to try anything beyond basic makeup because I thought that any looks worth doing would take at least 45 minutes to an hour (or sometimes two).

This look took 20 minutes and — get this! — only one brush. I used an angled eye brush to take out the edges of the cat eye.

Oh, and a BeautyBlender, if we’re being really picky.

To blend the makeup on my eyes, cheeks and lips, I just used my fingers! I’ve been inspired by a makeup artist a friend of mine named Fieran (hey, Fieran!) introduced me to, violetta_fr on YouTube. She’s this impossibly chic French woman who lives in New York, and she does most of her application with her fingers and a handful of products (only what she can fit in her cross-body Chanel purse).

It’s refreshing to see makeup out there beyond the hyper-glam beat that dominates social media, ya know?

Anywho, I call this look “Gilt and Gloss” because I used a mix of sparkly glitter, golden shimmer, and matte taupe and beige eye gloss on my lids.

I wanted to play with finishes and textures, and I wanted to do it in a messy, grungy way that still looks somewhat “lady like.”

For my eyes, I drew thick cat eye liner with a taupe matte shadow stick (Nudestix Magnetic Matte Eye Color in Slate). Then I used my fingers to smudge the edges on my lids.

Next, I took a shimmery neutral gold shadow stick called Gilt (also by Nudestix) and layered that on top of the taupe (quick! — say “top of the taupe” five times fast) on my lids, blending it with my fingers. I wanted to keep the flicks and my lower lash line dark, so I didn’t layer the gold on those parts.

Then I grabbed a pan of Urban Decay Diamond Dog Eyeshadow, a delicious glittery golden brown, and dabbed it on my lids with a finger, and then loaded my lashes with HELLA mascara (MAC In Extra Dimension Waterproof).

Lastly, I applied highlighter in my inner corners using a shiny beige eye gloss called Milk Makeup Eye Vinyl in Bridge.

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More MAC Metallic Lips Coming June 22nd

May 30th, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

mac metallic lipstick summer 2017 — The MAC Metallic Lipsticks are back in another LE release coming June 22nd for $17 each.

Dry lips, be gone! I will not have ye! — ’cause, honestly, I don’t want any flakes up in my mix when I’m wearing these new MAC Metallic Lipsticks, because flakes + metallic finishes equal nooo!

Metallic lips are back. In the event that you’ve been taking the longest cat nap ever (in which case, I’m so jelly because: naps!), they’re back in style and 100% Rosie-the-Robot chic.

If these are tickling your memory chips, you might be recalling the Metallic Lipstick launch from earlier this spring (remember the cray-cray green?). That was an LE collection, and so is this one, which will be available at all MAC locations and online from June 22nd to August 3rd.

mac forbidden romance lipstick — Forbidden Romance…

Of the 17 shades, 10 are re-promotes from that earlier launch — deep royal purple Royal Hour, bright bluish pink Foiled Rose, cool reddish burgundy Hades Fire, cool neutral pink Pale Rose, silvery Silver Spoon, warm neutral In Lust, bronzy Jupiter, white frosty Pearly One, deep burgundy red wine Disobedient and blackened blue Anything Once. For swatches of those cuties, click here.

mac ionized iris lipstick — Ionized Iris

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The MAC x Steve J. & Yoni P. Collection: Sporty Fun That Doesn’t Take Itself Too Seriously

May 24th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

mac steve j yoni p packaging — The new MAC x Steve J. & Yoni P. collection, coming June 1st

Doesn’t Steve J. & Yoni P. sound like the name of a singer-songwriter duo? Like, you’d turn on the radio to Alice@93.7 and hear a guitar ? and a mournful tambourine in a song about finding long lost millennial love on Tinder?

LOL! No, they aren’t a musical group. They’re actually Korean fashion designers, and even though my idea of cutting edge fashion is a new pair of black leggings, I think the packaging for the new limited edition MAC x Steve J. & Yoni P. collection says a lot about their sense of style.

mac steve j yoni p boxes — So cute and fun!

It tells me that they probably like yellow and pale pink! And it also makes me wonder who the cartoony lady with red lips and Cleopatra-style eye makeup is.

I like the style. It’s sporty and fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

The collection, which comes out June 1st and will be available wherever MAC is sold, includes four lipsticks, two powder blushes, a potted eye gloss, a black mascara, two powder eyeshadow duos, a six-pan lip and cheek cream palette, a makeup bag and two brushes.

mac steve j yoni p boxes lip cheek palette — MAC Lip & Cheek Palette X 6/ Yoni Attraction, $40

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Lips and Lashes, and Two New Things From MAC Coming in June

May 22nd, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

mac lee hi lipstick — Wearing the new MAC Lee Hi Lipstick, MAC Bold & Bad Lash Mascara, and not much else

It was a hot one here in Novato today!

I mean, it wasn’t triple-digit hot, but it was hot and sticky enough, and there was some perspiration involved, to make me want to wear “minimal” (airquotes) makeup and put the focus on a couple new things from MAC.

One of them was a red lipstick from the Future Forward collection, and the other was a new MAC mascara called Bold & Bad Lash.

Isn’t this a pretty red? It’s matte deep garnet Lee Hi, and it’s from the MAC Future Forward collection. It’s a $17 LE online exclusive, and you can only find it on the MAC website starting June 29th.

Future Forward is that MAC collab with three up-and-coming singers. It started in April, and they release a new product every month. April’s was a purple face powder by Justine Skye, May’s is a sparkly Cremesheen by Dua Lipa (that one’s coming out this week, actually), and lovely matte red Lee Hi is a collab with K-pop star Lee Hi.

“Breathe,” by Lee Hi

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 476

May 22nd, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Well, it isn’t exactly a poll. It’s more of a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past 10 (!) years. (It’s like a kickstart for your brain.) I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.?

1. Have you ever practiced your smile in the mirror?

I totally have! I vividly remember doing it before picture day in middle school.

I practiced one smile where I’d press my lips together so that I could see the dimples that only show up when my lips are pursed (I look like a mean Filipino auntie when I do this, though!), and there was another smile that was a big toothy grin that looked like I was laughing, “Hahaha!” I looked CRAY.

2. What was the last song you heard?

Chris Cornell’s Can’t Change the World from his first solo album, Euphoria Morning.

It’s very Beatles-esque.

3. Shorts, a skirt or long pants?

Shorts, homie! I’m not into skirts… I’m short-waisted, so they end up riding up under my boobs, and you know how I feel about pants, a.k.a. leg prisons.

4. How well do you deal with change?

Not as well as I did 10 years ago, and I think I’m better at handling planned changes than unexpected changes, but I think that’s because life has been so routine for so long, which is both a good and a bad thing.

5. When was the last time you cleaned your lash curler?

If we were talking about the Shu Uemura curler I retired a few weeks ago…girl, you don’t even want to know the real answer to that. Must have been years.

But I cleaned my new Surratt curler last Friday though! 🙂

I hope somebody cooks a meal for you this week (isn’t that the best?). If that doesn’t happen, then I hope your highlighter kisses the tops of your cheekbones with the same gentleness that Ryan Gosling uses when he kisses puppies and babies.

OK, someone’s in a crazy mood day. Must be the heat. My office is already baking…

Have a good one, sweets. Talk soon!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen