MAC Makeup

Like Slipping on a Pair of Stretchy Pants, the New MAC Mineralize Rich Lipsticks From the Tropical Taboo Collection Feel Good

June 26th, 2013 by Karen 15 Comments

MAC Lady at Play Mineralize Rich Lipstick from the Tropical Taboo collection — A picture of a Lady at Play… MAC’s Lady at Play Mineralize Rich Lipstick from the Tropical Taboo collection.

As a card-carrying member of MAC’s Mineralize Rich Lipstick Club, I suspected the five shades in the new Tropical Taboo collection would be the business, and MAC did not let me down.

Smoother than Ryan Gosling on roller stakes, more satisfying than unbuttoning my skinny jeans after a big meal (or taking off my bra after a long day) and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! — these moisturizing, lightweight lippies are super fab.

MAC Divine Choice Mineralize Rich Lipstick — Divine Choice Mineralize Rich Lipstick, $22

MAC Glamour Era Mineralize Rich Lipstick — Glamour Era Mineralize Rich Lipstick, $22

Lightweight and loaded with moisture, they feel like a balm on my lips, but they’re also packed with full-coverage, easy-to-control color. I can wear ’em without a lip liner and don’t need a lip brush to apply, even with the more intense colors like Midnight Mambo and Lady at Play.

MAC Lady At Play Mineralize Rich Lipstick — Lady At Play Mineralize Rich Lipstick, $22

I get so fired up just talking about some of these, like Lady at Play (so bright), Glamour Era (looks a little like Twig) and Divine Choice, that I have to fan myself! Those are the three that raise my temperature the most. All three easily transition from day to night (yay for flexibility!).

MAC Midnight Mambo Mineralize Rich Lipstick — Midnight Mambo Mineralize Rich Lipstick, $22

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You’ll Look Like You’ve Been Dancing All Night Long Wearing One of the Three Bright New MAC Tropical Taboo Mineralize Blushes in Exotic Ember, Simmer and Sweet Samba

June 26th, 2013 by Karen 11 Comments

MAC Simmer Mineralize Blush from the Tropical Taboo Collection — Simmer Mineralize Blush from the MAC Tropical Taboo collection

Guess who just got cast in a new reality TV show!?

I know! It’s called So You Think You Can’t Dance, and it’s still pretty new, so it only has a small following of just one husky tabby cat.

For now. But I’m sure it’s going to catch on soon. It has a winning formula.

The season premiere was last night…in my living room. Yeah, it aired while El Hub and I were watching So You Think You Can Dance, when after every one of the show’s dance routines, we danced around our living room, hootin’, hollerin’ and twirling around like reject ninjas.

“Okay,” one of us would say in complete seriousness, “now it’s time for our contemporary routine!” Then, no matter what type of dance we were supposed to be doing, El Hub would end up doing the robot, and I’d do the cha-cha.

Being the only contestants on the show, the odds of us winning this season are good. 🙂

It’s fun, but I really just want to practice my Latin dance moves so that I could keep up with the three new $25 MAC Tropical Taboo Mineralize Blushes…

MAC Exotic Ember Mineralize Blush — Exotic Ember Mineralize Blush, an orange with bronze pearl

Exotic Ember, Simmer and Sweet Samba shimmy onto MAC shelves and into hearts and stores tomorrow (but they’re available online now!), and they’re ready to lead MAC girls (and guys) through a glamorous and tropic-themed routine on the dance floor.

Just don’t be surprised if they try to hog the spotlight, because they’re hella pigmented.

MAC Simmer Mineralize Blush — Simmer Mineralize Blush, a burnt rose with peach and gold pearl

Hips grind, skirts twirl, heels spin and skin glistens as you work yourself into a frenzy on the dance floor. These blushes are a flurry of intense pigment and luminous, opalescent shimmer, and with any of them on your cheeks, you’ll look like you’ve been shaking what your mama gave you all night long.

MAC Sweet Samba Mineralize Blush — Sweet Samba Mineralize Blush, a dark pink with tan pearl

With MAC’s Mineralize Blush formula, there’s always the chance you’ll run into a shade with chunky glitter that flies all over the place or an uber-frosty finish that acts like a foghorn for your pores (WE’RE KAREN’S PORES! CHECK US OUT, Y’ALL!!), but that hasn’t been the case for me with any of these shades.

All three have a shiny finish, which is typical of the Mineralize Blushes, but their shine comes from fine pearl particles that create flushed, bright cheeks that catch the light without appearing metallic or frosty.

MAC Tropical Taboo Swatches Mineralize Blush — Mineralize Blush from the left: Exotic Ember, Simmer and Sweet Samba

These blushes are also pigmented, so if you want very dramatic, flushed cheeks for, say, a stage performance (which I think these would be awesome for!), then a regular ol’ blush brush should suffice, but for everyday looks, I’d opt for a fan brush.

MAC Sweet Samba Mineralize Blush from the Tropical Taboo Collection — Sweet Samba

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Vibrant Mineralize Skinfinishes, Blushes, Eye Shadows and Lipsticks Simmer, Shimmer and Shine in the New MAC Tropical Taboo Collection

June 25th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

Dear MAC Tropical Taboo,

Let’s dance!

Mambo? Samba? Cha-Cha-Cha? I can hang, even in three-inch heels, as long as I have a strong partner, and I get the feeling that partner is you. 🙂

Twirl me, dip me, toss me in the air! Just don’t ask me to do the Lambada (“The Forbidden Dance”). It would be — I dunno — too taboo, and this show is PG-13.

The only thing I ask before we set fire to the dance floor is that you indulge me with shimmer, sparkle and shine from your chorus of new Mineralize Skinfinishes, Blushes, Eye Shadows and Lipsticks…because I want my eyes, lips and cheeks to sizzle as we samba!

Of course, we mustn’t forget to twirl the Cremesheen Glasses, Lip Pencils, and Kohl Power Eye Pencils that come with this launch (there’s also a mascara and three brushes). They deserve their time in the spotlight, too.

Why no, I don’t mind sharing you at all. If you’d like to ask my friends to dance, feel free to show off your sauciest, most seductive moves…

Shhh! What follows are pictures and swatches of 28 of the 33 forbidden (not really) pieces in the MAC Tropical Taboo collection…

MAC Adored Mineralize Skinfinish — Adored Mineralize Skinfinish, $30

MAC Gold Deposit Mineralize Skinfinish — Gold Deposit Mineralize Skinfinish, $30

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A MAC Smokeluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion Palette Face of the Day

June 19th, 2013 by Karen 17 Comments

Every weekday at 5 p.m. on the dot, the children in my neighborhood leave their homes and start yelling like banshees in the street.

I’ve tried to figure out why they do it, and what they’re yelling about, but as far as I can tell, there’s no rhyme or reason.

This really has nothing to do with my makeup today (I’m wearing the new MAC Smokeluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion). It’s just that I can hear the kids outside as I type this, and I want to open my office window and yell back at them, “JUST WAIT UNTIL YOUR 30s!! THEN YOU’LL ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT!!! GAHHHHH!” 🙂

Oh, but the 5 p.m. outburst is nothing compared to the ice cream truck ruckus. That’s when all hell breaks loose, and I’m usually one of the kids screaming. “ICE CREAM! YAY, IT’S THE ICE CREAM TRUCK!!!”

Haha! Okay, I’m putting away the all-caps and exclamation marks (for a minute).

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Pearl Particles Collide (BAM!) to Create a Whole Mess o’ Glitter in the MAC Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadows, Coming June 20 to the Permanent Line

June 17th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

What do you get when you put pearls in a particle accelerator?

I’ll tell you what you get — undersea oysters solving nuclear fusion equations, Ford Fusions with strands of pearls dripping from their rear-view mirrors, fusion cuisine that combines Asian flavors, and knitting (and purling!).

In other words, awesomeness. You get a whole lot of awesomeness. 🙂

You may also get MAC, as in the six new MAC Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadow palettes ($40 each) in MAC’s newest eye shadow formulation to join the permanent line. Powder shadows that feel like creams, they can be worn dry for a soft, sparkling finish, or wet for something shiny and metallic.

All six of the MAC Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadows

Lawd, I think I may have accidentally inhaled a little too much stray glitter playing with these palettes… The stuff was flying all over the place!

It was kind of weird, truth be told.

I expected these, with their soft, creamy texture, to glide effortlessly across my skin and blend together with a few swift swipes, and most of them did just that. With the palettes comprised primarily of satins and metallics, like Smokeluxe, Brownluxe and Greenluxe, I didn’t have any trubs at all. They were coo’.

When I applied Brownluxe, my heart skipped as I watched the shadow skate across my skin. My 217 barely had to do any work to smooth away every last line.

I actually had to stop myself from over-blending, as the colors melted together like good fondue.

Mmm, cheese…

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MAC and Second Acts, Where Opposites Attract: The RiRi Hearts MAC Summer Collection Makes a Reservation Online, Party of Five

June 17th, 2013 by Karen 43 Comments

MAC Heux Lipstick — MAC Heaux Lipstick, a matte berry from the new RiRi Hearts MAC Summer collection

What it do, RiRi Woo? The lipstick MAC remixed for Rihanna is back for a second act, and she brought along a few friends.

If you wanted (but missed) RiRi Woo the first time around, you’ll get a second chance to scoop it up, along with the rest of the five-piece limited edition RiRi Hearts MAC Summer collection, online starting tomorrow, June 18.

I had a play date with the collection this morning and had magnetic field day…

By magnetic, I mean opposites that attract, because for me, opposites permeate these products. Intense lip colors contrast with the sheer blush on cheeks, and the matte lipsticks and blush sit in stark contrast to the shimmery, sparkly highlighter.

I like it. The whole dang idea.

Sure, the collection is short and sweet, but you get a lot of juxtaposition here. The look doesn’t seem flat at all, which can be an issue with some collections that feature this much matte.

Maybe it’s just a flashback to my English Major days, but I also like to think that MAC and Rihanna intended for the opposing elements to be symbolic of RiRi, whose stage persona seems both raw and vulnerable at the same time.

That, or perhaps I’ve listened to Stay one too many times…

Lipsticks in RiRi Woo, RiRi Boy and Heaux ($15 each)

MAC Riri Hearts MAC Lipsticks Drops — From the left: Heaux, RiRi Boy, RiRi Woo and Lustre Drops in Barbados Girl

Far and away, I think the most popular pieces from this collection are going to be the lipsticks ($15 each). The core girls/guys on Team MAC love intense color, and red RiRi Woo, lavender RiRi Boy and berry Heaux deliver it in droves.

But gosh, these sure feel dry… They tug at my skin and feel like I’m wearing a thick layer of cornstarch on my lips.

That said, the mega matte way these look is still pretty bangin’. They’re chic and oh! — photograph very well.

I like these for their looks, because they’re definitely not the most comfortable lip products or the easiest to apply. If you don’t mind suffering for your fashion, you’re in luck. These are like 5-inch spiked heels in lipstick clothing. Plus, the whole matte thing is so hella ’90s, which I love.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+

Powder Blush Duo in Hibiscus Kiss ($26)

MAC Hibiscus Kiss — Hibiscus Kiss Powder Blush

Cheek this out, babe!

I flipped a sprocket when I saw the neutral bronze and coral in this Hibiscus Kiss Powder Blush Duo ($26), but my fever waned when I swatched it for the first time.

The blasted thing feels hard to the touch and applies very sheer.

It shows up a little better on my skin when I apply it with the brush (which, unfortunately, also takes longer), but still — not by much. I have to really build this up in layers to get a look I like. Sorry, no intense flushes here, but this might light your fire if you like super sheer cheeks.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-

Lustre Drops Liquid Highlighter in Barbados Girl ($20)

What a nice surprise! From the Lustre Drops in Barbados Girl, I expected a clone of Pink Rebel, but it’s actually a different deal. This liquid highlighter contains more bronze, and there are tiny flecks of glitter swimming around in it.

The effect’s flashy enough to notice from a few feet away, but it’s not gonna hit anyone over the head and say, “LOOK AT ME!!”

I’d call this perfect if it wasn’t so easy to over-apply. The glitter can get a little goopy if you use too much (yep, like I did at first).
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A-

MAC Hibiscus Kiss Lustre Drops Swatch — Swatches of Hibiscus Kiss Powder Blush on the left and Lustre Drops on the right (unblended and blended)

MAC Riri Boy Riri Woo Heux Swatches — Lipstick swatches from the left: Riri Boy, Riri Woo and Heaux

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MAC Is Serving Juicy Colors in Every Sip of Summer With the MAC All About Orange Nail Lacquers

June 13th, 2013 by Karen 11 Comments

MAC All About Orange Nail Polish Swatches — With these five nail lacquers, it’s All About Orange. The five nail lacquers from MAC’s All About Orange collection ($16 each)

Juicy orange summer nails — oh, yeah!

Err, let’s make that mostly orange, because technically, one of these five nail polishes from the MAC All About Orange collection is more of a pink, and its name sounds like a karate spirit shout.

KIAI!!

Or Ke Ai, which is how MAC spells it here.

I like to say it loud and do karate chops in the air for emphasis…

KE-AI!!

So the collection is actually mostly about orange (MAC Mostly About Orange?), but that doesn’t sound as sweet. 🙂

The five $16 quintessentially summer polishes in the release ripened last week (they’re available now). The collection features four bright, juicy Creamsicle-like nail shades and one shimmery pale pink called.

KE-AI!!

Chop, chop, chop…

I think they’re a bumper crop save one thing. I wish some of them were a little easier to work with, but then I’m coming off a major Chanel Starlet high…

Starlet is one of the smoothest polishes I’ve worn in a while. By contrast, a few of these All About Orange colors are making me grind my teeth. I can them to look the way I want them to, but it takes some work.

MAC Colour Punch — Three coats of Colour Punch, a yellowish orange with a Cream finish

Super cute Colour Punch is awfully thick and surprisingly streaky. I have to remember to remove most of the polish from the brush before applying, and then paint s l o w l y, watching my strokes.

I think it looks fine with two coats but better with three.

MAC Sweet Pop — Two coats of Sweet Pop, a peach with a Cream finish

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How Do You Make an Orange Crush? Just Squeeze Seven MAC All About Orange Lipsticks

June 6th, 2013 by Karen 33 Comments

Wearing MAC Flamingo Lipstick, a bright milky coral with a Lustre finish ($15), one of seven MAC Lipsticks in the new All About Orange collection

Oh, Tivo… You’ve been so good to me lately.

It was really, really sweet of you to record six hours of The Millionaire Matchmaker… You know how much I enjoy that show (oh, hells yeah!). 🙂

But wait — what’s this? You also recorded Blue Crush, one of my favorite chick flicks of all time?

Aww!! And you even did it without my asking?

How did you know I’ve been missing Hawaii something fierce this week and that I needed something good to watch while swatching the seven $15 lippies in the MAC All About Orange collection (available now at MAC counters, stores and online)?

MAC All About Orange Lipsticks from the left: Razzledazzler, Sweet & Sour, Tangerine Dream, Flamingo, Sushi Kiss, Tart & Trendy, Neon Orange — From the left: Razzledazzler, Sweet & Sour, Tangerine Dream, Flamingo, Sushi Kiss, Tart & Trendy, Neon Orange

You know me so well…

You gave me three more reasons to love the living room — an orchard of orange lipsticks that tend to well with warm skin tones, a surf movie with spectacular views of Oahu and a napping tabby cat.

I feel…like one of the characters from Blue Crush, maybe a missing member of the surf girl crew, the one obsessed with orange lipsticks and surfing.

“Flamingo Lipstick rips, man. Neon Orange? Charge it, charge it, CHARGE IT!”

I would totally paddle out for tubes of Razzledazzler, Sweet & Sour, Tart & Trendy and Sushi Kiss, but Tangerine Dream? Probably not.

Whenever I wear that one, I look like I’ve been worked over by big waves.

MAC All About Orange Lipstick Swatches — From the left: Razzledazzler, Sweet & Sour, Tangerine Dream, Flamingo, Sushi Kiss, Tart & Trendy and Neon Orange

MAC Tart & Trendy — Tart & Trendy, a bright, neutral-toned orange cream with a Lustre finish

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