Unsung Heroes

MAC Unsung Heroes: MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation

November 2nd, 2017 by Karen 17 Comments

mac studio fix fluid foundation nc42 — I’ve had a love affair with this foundation for almost 10 years now.

Chances are, if we bumped into each other at — UGH! — The X in San Francisco in the late ’90s or early aughts (it was a place Jen and I used to go clubbing, and in retrospect it was pretty gross), I was wearing MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation ($29) on my face and partying all night long.

Studio Fix Fluid is one of those foundations that you can put on your face, and you know that no matter what you’re doing — dancing, sweating, making out with strangers (um, not that I did that), dancing in cages (not that I did that either!) — you know, that Studio Fix will keep going and going and going and going.

A medium-coverage matte liquid foundation, Studio Fix is one of my two all-time fave MAC foundations (the other one is Face and Body). You can easily ramp up the coverage to full by using additional layers, but I wouldn’t use more than two or three, because you can completely mask red areas and pigmentation spots with just two layers, I’m not kidding, and if you go beyond three, it starts to look cake face-y.

Of all the MAC liquid foundations, I think Studio Fix is the best at controlling oil. It sucks it all up! I can really tell when I’m looking between my eyebrows, which is the oiliest area on my face. I don’t see any shiny spots there when I use Studio Fix. It completely obliterates oil without drying out my combo skin.

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.

It’s also extremely long-wearing. Like, my club days are so far behind me, so I’m not wearing Studio Fix all night long anymore, LOL! I do wear it all day long now, though, and I know that I can wake up at the crack of dawn, put this on, and when I take off my makeup at night, my foundation will look just as fresh as it did that morning.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Amorous Alloy Eyeshadow

October 31st, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

mac amorous alloy — So moody… That’s Amorous Alloy on my lids, MAC Texture in the crease, and MAC Velvet Matte Lipstick in Beatrix on my lips.

It’s fall, and zillions of lips in our hemisphere are currently delighting in deliciously dark fall lip shades — like wines, berries, plums and deep chocolaty browns…

YUM.

But what are you gonna rock on your eyes, my love? You need something that won’t overshadow those bold, rich lips.

May I offer a suggestion please? Because that’s what I do? 🙂 Try MAC Amorous Alloy Eye Shadow, also known as “Sexy Metal,” which is my nickname for her.

Amorous Alloy is one of the MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadows, a sub-genre, so to speak, in the MAC permanent eyeshadow fam.

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.

The Extra Dimensions are powder shadows, but they feel crazy soft like creams. They’re also very easy to blend and long lasting. This particular color, Amorous Alloy, is a shimmery, highly pigmented reddish copper with a hint of brown.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Texture Eyeshadow

October 27th, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

mac texture — Get into thy crease, stat.

Today, on the MAC Greatest Brown Crease Color Hits Tour (Geez, that would be a very specific tour, wouldn’t it?! Hahaha! Never mind me as I crack myself up in the corner.), we visit MAC Texture Eye Shadow.

Ooh, Texture! We’ve talked about/drooled over several of my all-time favorite MAC brown crease colors over the last couple weeks, like Swiss Chocolate and Saddle.

Yum!

And I couldn’t forget about Texture. 🙂

It’s also a peachy brown, but it’s lighter and less orange than Saddle and darker than Soft Brown, and if you really, really wanted to get technical, you could do Soft Brown as your first crease color, then Texture as your second color, and then Saddle as your third.

But that’s only if you’re in the mood to complicate things and carefully do all of the steps in your gradients.

mac texture swatch — An essential MAC brown

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.

Texture isn’t only for peeps who want to spend two hours on their eye makeup, though. In fact, if you can’t blend for sh*t and just want something easy, you need Texture in your life as a crease color/transition shade, because although it usually looks matte, it’s technically a shimmer and has these tiny flecks of micro-glitter in the pan. Most of the time, those flecks are imperceptible, but they help to make Texture very easy to blend.

mac texture crease — Texture doing it’s thing in my crease

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base

October 24th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

You guys know that for the past few years (it feels like the past FOREVER) I’ve been a hardcore devotee of NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I’ve gone through countless tubes since I started using it in 2011, and I haven’t found anything better…until now.

MAC Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base is just as good IMO, if not better in some ways. Yes, I still think Pro-Prime is exceptional when it comes to extending the longevity of your eyeshadow, enriching the colors and making everything on your lids look flat-out better, but MAC Prep + Primer 24-Hour does those same things, too, and it hangs onto glitters and creams even better than NARS Pro-Prime.

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.

If you’re looking for an all-around primer that you can use for everyday looks (say, using your favorite workweek palette) AND for evenings out (say, when you want to do it up friends and some loose pigments, glitters or creams), MAC Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base is the way to go.

The colorless formula doesn’t settle into creases or fine lines, and it immediately mattes down your lids when you apply a layer. Use the thinnest layer you can, BTW. The less I use, the better off I am. Thank goodness, because a 0.40-oz. bottle is $23, and it even looks small when you hold it in your hand.

But really, you only need a little dab for both lids.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Swiss Chocolate Eyeshadow

October 23rd, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

I was at the gym last week when we started talking about desserts (These are the things you do when you hang out with a bunch of people who do HIIT together. You talk about desserts!), and the teacher, Nicol, said that if you put anything chocolaty in front of her, she’s basically toast.

I’m the same way with chocolate desserts AND eyeshadow, and especially MAC Swiss Chocolate Eyeshadow.

mac swiss chocolate swatch — Chocolaty delicious

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.

Oh, my goodness, I’ve been wearing this shades for eons! — and I start busting it out more often in the fall because I love the way it looks with vampy fall berry, burgundy, purple and wine lip shades. A little MAC Swiss Chocolate added to your eyeshadow mix ties everything together in a DEEEEE-luscious chocolate bow.

mac swiss chocolate heroine 1 — MAC Swiss Chocolate in my crease and MAC Heroine Lipstick

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Urban Decay Rehab Makeup Prep Lip Love

October 18th, 2017 by Karen 2 Comments

urban decay lip love — The best lip balm!

I realize that I keep talking about this lip balm, but it’s THAT. GOOD. I’ve gotten to the point where I have tubes everywhere. I have one on my nightstand. I have one in my Kate Spade wristlet… I’m thinking now that I also need to keep one in my car.

It’s Urban Decay Rehab Makeup Prep Lip Love, and it’s $15, which, you know, is more expensive than something you can get from the drugstore for less than five bucks, but it’s really, really, really comfy and moisturizing.

Oh, my goodness! I barely even feel it. It’s a little slippery, but it’s not thick or heavy or sticky. And because it isn’t too thick, the balm also lays well underneath lipsticks and lipglosses, so it’s great for prepping your lips before color.

I realized just how much I truly love it after I swatched a whole bunch of lipsticks last week, and my lips felt like I’d been making out with a bag of broken glass afterward. Lip Love basically rescued my lips from flaky oblivion and restored them to their previously smooooove state.

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.

I’ve read that some folks find the flavor to be a turnoff. I don’t mind it so much… I actually kind like it. It’s a little bit coconut and shea butter, which is good because it has both shea butter and coconut oil in it, and for the most part I think it’s nondescript.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Saddle Eyeshadow

October 17th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

I know that a few of you gals and dudes who visit MBB also ride horses, so I need to know — does MAC Saddle Eye Shadow in any way remind you of actual saddles? Is this what color saddles are? Because I’ve never ridden a horse, so I have no clue.

All I know is I love this color, man, and I’ve been wearing it for years! It’s a — now please don’t run away when I say this — matte orange brown.

Yep, I said orange…but it’s more brown than orange. It’s not obnoxiously orange. The little bit of orange just gives it some warmth.

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 saddle swatch — Howdy, pardner. I reckon I’m about a MAC NC42 for refrence, if’n yer inclined to know…

Sometimes I use Saddle to deepen my crease and make my eyes look like they’re set back further in my sockets…

OK, that sounded weirder than it did in my head…but anyway, mattes are useful when you want to make something look more recessed.

You could start with a light brown matte like MAC Soft Brown, Soba or Wedge in the crease first, then add Saddle on top on the part of your crease that you want to look deepest and furthest back.

Feathering it up into the lighter brown you started with also creates a gradient and gives the look a little somethin’-something, a.k.a. complexity.

I’m wearing Saddle and Wedge on my lids and in the crease, Brun and Mulch in the outer corners, Ricepaper to highlight the inner corners and my brows, and Feline Kohl on my water lines.

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Unsung Heroes: Dandruff-Defeating Neutrogena T/Gel Shampoo Original Formula

October 10th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

I’m gonna put this out there and say that I think dandruff shampoo is easily top three least sexy beauty products. I mean, shiny patent-leather lipgloss or dandruff shampoo: which is a sexier conversation starter?

Dandruff happens, though, and I get it every once in a while, usually around this time of year and during winter. With the cooler weather, my scalp’s been going nuts. It’s flake city.

Enter today’s unsung hero, my old standby, Neutrogena T/Gel Shampoo Original Formula (there are a few different versions).

It’s the only dandruff shampoo that really works for me, and I know this because I ran out last month and decided to try some other dandruff shampoos, and nothing — NOTHING! — worked as well as T/Gel did for me.

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.

This caramel-colored shampoo smells like Ricola Cough Drops. The scent is sort of clinical and medicinal, which some people might even call stinky, but I’ve grown to appreciate the scent over the 10+ years I’ve used it.

The active ingredient is coal tar, which is a byproduct of coal processing, and it stops dandruff by slowing the rate at which the skin cells on your scalp die and flake (you can read more about it here).

Active ingredients
Coal Tar 0.5% (2% Neutar® Solubilized Coal Tar Extract) (Anti-dandruff, Anti-seborrheic dermatitis, Anti-psoriasis)

Inactive ingredients
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamide MEA, Laureth-4, Fragrance, Sodium Chloride, Polysorbate 20, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA

Trying those other dandruff shampoos made me realize that there’s a lot out there that just doesn’t work for me. T/Gel works immediately — like, right after the first shampoo. My scalp feels clean, doesn’t itch, and the flakiness — which I was seeing mostly around my hairline right near my bangs — is completely gone. My roots don’t feel greasy or coated with product, either, which happened after I used the other anti-dandruff shampoos. After T/Gel, my scalp and hair feel really, really clean. AHHHHH!

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