MAC Makeup

MAC Unsung Heroes: Costa Riche Eye Kohl

December 29th, 2021 by Karen 3 Comments

mac costa riche — Wearing $16 MAC Costa Riche Eye Kohl on my lower lash lines

I’ll be paying a visit to the MAC Pro Store this week as part of a super-secret spy girl mission tomorrow (stay tuned!), which means that poor El Hub will be left to play outside on his phone while I clear out the store’s inventory of MAC Costa Riche.

How many times have I talked about this Eye Kohl…? Five? Six? Two dozen?

It is well past time for me to give it the Unsung Heroes treatment. 🙂

A warm golden brown Eye Kohl in the MAC permanent line, Costa Riche has been my brown eyeliner bae since late 2013.

Seeing as how I fall in love with new products every other week (sorry, it’s true), you might think that my obsession with it would have waned, but nooo. I still reach for Costa Riche at least three or four times a week because 1) it goes well with so many different eyeshadows, and 2) it feels good on my lash and water lines (when my eyes are irritated and/or watering due to allergies or something else, Costa Riche is one of the few things I can still wear that won’t make things worse).

And it does so much for different eye colors. Brown eyes look more chocolatey, and blue, green, hazel and gray eyes rock it, too. I think it brings out more beauty in all of them and makes your natural eye color stand out.

I’ve never met a person who hates how they look in Costa Riche. It’s the people’s liner!
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Checking In: Lemons, MOAR Chanel and a Standout Red Lipstick by MAC

December 17th, 2021 by Karen 9 Comments

Never in my life have I been this excited about citrus, ever! My Meyer lemon tree is poppin’ off!

She’s got so much ripe fruit on her right now. Later on today I’m going to pick some lemons so I can make lemon pasta tonight.

Maybe lemon bars are in the future, too, although truth be told I wouldn’t mind finding a new lemon desert to love. If you have a lemon dessert recipe that will change my life, please let me know.

OK, so do you see the color of this blue pot from my lemon tree? It totally reminds me of that blue Chanel nail polish I’ve been drooling over. I think that’s a sign telling me I need it in my life.

Yesterday, I put it in my cart and have been dancing around the check out button furiously, so to speak.

I also figured that while I was at it, I might as well put some other things in my cart!

Next thing you know, there’s a jar of New Moon in there (it’s on backorder, boo) and a tube of Dimensions de Chanel Mascara. I was also going to throw in couple Stylo Yeux eyeliners (you know, the twist ups), but I’ve been really happy with the dark brown Ilia liner I’ve been using lately, and I’m toying with the idea of actually finishing it. GASP, I KNOW!

chanel 50 nero metallo mascara — My favorite Chanel mascara

I was just about to add a stick of the $40 Boy de Chanel brow pencil (from the line marketed to men) that I love when I noticed there is also a “ladies” version available. After some quick sleuthing I realized, 1) they both have a similar ingredient list, 2) both pencils hold the same amount of product and 3) the women’s version costs less — it’s $33! So, yeah. I love ya, Boy de Chanel, but if this haul happens, I’m gonna go with the slightly more affordable version.

If (when?) I actually pull the trigger — and I might because my will power is really starting to break down — then I should add a lipstick or two into the mix, right? Maybe a new red? Chanel does some incredible reds.

Oh, speaking of red lipstick, I put a warm red on my baby for the first time ever! I used MAC Quite the Standout on Coywolf for her dance recital last weekend.

I did this lip freehand without any lip pencil or a lip brush, and I have to say, I think I did OK! The girls in her group danced to “Candy Cane Lane” by Sia, which is why they were all dressed up like sweet little candy canes.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! What’s going on for the weekend? Are you doing any last-minute shopping? I SURE AM!

For the Love of Ginger! MAC Sheertone Blush in Gingerly

November 23rd, 2021 by Karen 7 Comments

Gingerly is one of my all-time MAC favorite blushes. I just put a refill pan in my cart because MAC currently has an online sale of 30% off everything! The refill pan is $18, but with the 30% discount it’s $12.60.

Ginger!

I am surrounded by ginger…

I’ve been drinking a lot of ginger ale this week because my tummy’s been obnoxiously gurgly, and I’ve also been, at times, simultaneously wearing MAC Gingerly Blush ($25).

Maybe this is more than a coincidence…or maybe it isn’t, and I just have a need to find deep connections between totally unrelated things (story of my life).

My fridge has an entire shelf dedicated to ginger ale. THANKS TUMMY TROUBLES. — My fridge has an entire shelf dedicated to ginger ale…

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#FoundationFocus: Mostly Matte With a Subtle Pink Sheen Using MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 and Strobe Cream in Pinklite

September 29th, 2021 by Karen 5 Comments

mac studio fix nc 42 k final look 2 — Natural-looking skin with a classic MAC foundation

This MAC classic foundation is still one of my favorites!

I threw it waaaaaaay back to the old school today with MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation.

C’mon, MAC girls, I know y’all went through a phase when you wore this for a minute. I know I totally did! It was my jam back in the day. I’m talking late ’90s, early 2000s. It was the first MAC Foundation I ever tried.

Oh, the trouble I got into while wearing this… So great. 😉

macfixfam — MAC Studio Fix Fluid — old school and effective!

Full-coverage matte MAC Studio Fix Fluid is THE foundation I think of when I picture classic full-on glam MAC makeup, but here’s the deal: it’s surprisingly flexible. You can easily change the look of it if you’re feeling creative, which is how I was feeling this morning after I watched this video with MAC Artist Nemah Hasan.

She mixes Studio Fix Fluid Foundation with Pinklite Strobecream…

So genius, right? Why didn’t I ever think to try that?

Anyway, it inspired me, so today I put my own spin on it. I did a mostly matte, skin-focused makeup look with a subtle pink sheen. I think it’s quite sheer and natural looking, which I’ve been loving lately.

Here’s how I did the foundation…

1. Prep your skin first by spritzing a few sprays of moisturizing MAC Prep + Prime Fix+.

LOL! I look like I just emerged from an ocean swim in this pic! My face is drenched. For the record, it’s not easy to take a self-portrait when you’re spraying your face with Fix+.

I do this to moisturizing my skin and make the foundation look smoother.

2. Prime your skin with MAC Prep + Prime Skin.

Today was my first time trying this smoothing face primer. The colorless formula contains tiny, seductive sparkles that I can’t really see once they’re blended in, unless I look very closely. I like it. It smooths ‘ze pores while delicately blessing you with radiance. Ah…

mac prep primes skin k — Don’t forget to let it dry before applying foundation.

3. Mix equal parts MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation and MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite.

mac studio fix strobe cream pinklight brush — MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 in NC42, MAC Strobecream in Pinklite, and the 190 Foundation Brush

Adding Pinklite Strobe Cream sheers out the Studio Fix Fluid a bit.

I wanted to keep the sheen on my cheeks and chin, so, when I was done with the foundation, I set my forehead and the sides of my nose with a little MAC Mineralize Slinfinish Natural in Medium Golden using a MAC 140S Synthetic Fan Brush.

mac 190 foundation brush — I mixed equal parts on the back of my hand.

mac studio fix nc42 k — Fingers work too, but I was feeling fancy today.

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Checking In: Creative Mascara Placement, a Makeup Uniform and Jones Road Beauty

September 28th, 2021 by Karen 18 Comments

mac fashion legacy winged liner coycoy — With my co-pilots!

I tried to take this picture by myself, but my sidekick and her sidekick (his name is Teddy, by the way, and he goes on all the adventures these days!) wanted in on the action.

Creative mascara placement

I realized a couple of makeup related things yesterday. Beauty epiphanies, so to speak. First of all, let’s talk mascara. Specifically, mascara placement!

I read somewhere that applying mascara just to the outer half of your upper lashes — and leaving the inner half completely bare — makes your eyes appear more lifted, because the thicker lashes draw all the attention to the outer corner. I tried it yesterday, and lo and behold, it totally works!

It’s a small tweak, and probably more obvious to people who love makeup, but I definitely see a difference.

It’s such an automatic habit for me to coat every single lash with mascara, though, so I don’t know how long I’ll keep it up, but I do like the effect. Try it! And then let me know if you see a difference.

A makeup uniform

I’ve decided to also try something new this week — a makeup uniform. I’m wearing a similar eye and cheek every day — blackish-brown winged liner, mascara on the outer half of the upper lashes and a wash of warm blush — with a different bold lipstick each day of the week. Yesterday was a warm bright red, MAC Fashion Legacy.

I really need to simply my mornings, and I think wearing a different lip with the same eye and cheek will provide me with some flexibility, while still giving me structure. I might be bored by Wednesday, but eh, I’ll try it anyway. If it works, maybe next week I’ll wear the same lipstick, and swap out different shades of bright winged linger.

Jones Road Beauty?

One last thing. I’m contemplating a few things from Bobbi Brown’s new-ish minimalist makeup line, Jones Road Beauty. Have you tried anything yet? I’m interested in the eyeliner (it won an Allure Best of Beauty Award), the Miracle Balm (although I’m not quite sure what it is exactly… A foundation? A blush? A bronzer?) and the Lip and Cheek Stick. If you’ve found anything good, please be sure to drop a comment for me below.

Have a good Tuesday, and talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Unsung Heroes: Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

September 16th, 2021 by Karen 5 Comments

mac mineralize skinfinish natural — MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Tan and a Chanel travel0size face brush

I’ve been wearing the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Powders for years, and hands down, they’re one of my favorite things about the line.

MAC has a looot of face powders, and I think many of them are rock solid performers (see: MAC Blot and Careblends Pressed), but if you and I were at a counter at this very moment, and you asked me, “What’s your favorite, best-of-the-best, most natural-looking, comfortable MAC face powder available now?” I’d say one thing: the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Naturals.

Depending on which color you choose, you can use the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural line of baked pressed mineral powders for a number of different things, like cutting down on shine, evening out your skin tone, blurring pores, bronzing, and setting your foundation and/or concealer.

They have a semi-matte finish and a moderate amount of pigment, but they can be sheered down. They’re available in the permanent line in 15 shades for $32 each.

In MAC parlance, I’m an NC42, and I have combination skin that ventures between oily and dry. I wear the color Medium Tan as my face setting powder daily, and I also use Give Me Sun sometimes as a bronzer.

mac mineralize skinfinish medium tan — MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Tan on my NC42 skin

I love so many things about this powder! — but I’m going to try to keep this short (yeah right, Karen), because otherwise we’d be here ’til next Tuesday. 🙂

The gist of it is this: in powder-land, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural is my current favorite powder across the board — not just from MAC — for casual, dewy, natural-looking skin.

I’ve worn it for everyday makeup looks, big events, pictures, HD video, daytime work meetings, dinner dates and taking Rosie out for her walks, and I think it looks just as good on camera as it does in real life. Unlike many pressed powder formulas, the Mineralize Skinfinish Naturals look more like loose powders than pressed powders when they’re sitting on the skin.

After having taken a zillion pictures over the years, I think that loose powders generally look better than pressed powders in person and in pics — softer, I guess. Less like makeup and more like real skin. But MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural bucks that trend. When I wear it, my skin looks even toned, smooth, and it doesn’t look shiny (nor does it look severely matte). The powder also doesn’t look super obvious.

The effect reminds me of Chanel’s Loose Powder, which is absolutely beautiful, but Chanel’s powder is also 1) much more expensive ($52 vs. $32 for this), 2) available in fewer shades.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Havana

August 31st, 2021 by Karen 13 Comments

mac havana extra dimension eye shadow — Havana oh-nah-nah

Good morning, my friend! Here’s another look at one of my favorite MAC eyeshadows of all time, Extra Dimension Eyeshadow in Havana. It’s a deliciously gorgeous brown that I think you’ll love. I’ve worn it for years and still love it just as much as ever.

Girl… One day. One day I’ll sit down, put on my makeup for the day, and NOT do a brown smoky eye.

But today was not that day. 🙂

I had to run errands, and I wasn’t about to spend 45 minutes on my makeup just to buy some Charmin, so I went with something I’m (very) familiar with. I had to go to the pediatrician’s office to get a form for Connor’s pre-school enrollment, and then hit Target to get an industrial-sized case of toilet paper because last night I realized that we only had four rolls left in the house — total — which amplified my anxiety by like a million percent, so out came one of my favorite brown eyeshadows in the world, MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Havana.

I think it deserves more love than it gets.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

mac havana swatch — Oh, my gosh! It’s a floating arm!!

Side note: whenever I say “Havana,” I think of that Camila Cabello song.

Havana, oh-nah-nah… La-la-la-la-la-la Havana oh-nah-nah…

That’s about the only part I know, LOL!

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5 Fabulous MAC Lipsticks to Celebrate National Lipstick Day!

July 29th, 2021 by Karen 15 Comments

Happy National Lipstick Day, team! 💄🥰💖 I’m going need you to drop the color you’re wearing today in the comments, or, heck, even if you aren’t wearing lipstick today, what has graced your lips lately? Or, what lip color do you normally wear the most?

Here are five of my personal faves (these are all from MAC), and, uh…I wear these colors a lot! There are two bold brights — juicy red (All Fired Up) and neon pink (Candy Yum-Yum).

Of course, there are also a couple of neutrals, namely Velvet Teddy and Half ‘N Half, a.k.a. “The MAC Lipstick Loves of My Life.”

And then the “in between” color is Model Off-Duty, which is from the Powder Kiss Collection.

Let me put it this way: I LIKE THESE COLORS A LOT.

mac lipstick national lipstick day 2021 — Swatches, babe!

Since we’re on the topic of lipstick, when you think about it — I mean really think about it — is there a lipstick out there from any brand that makes you feel magnificent when you wear it? “Magnificent.” That’s such a powerful word, isn’t it? Magnificent! Inquiring lipstick-loving minds want to know. 😻

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen