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Raise your hand if you’ve ever thought, “Ahhh, fresh Blacktrack!”

If you have, then hello there fellow member of Cult MAC Blacktrack ($15). 🙂

If you haven’t, however, then allow me to introduce you to your new favorite (hopefully) gel eyeliner.

During my LBB years (aka Life Before Blacktrack), every liner I’d try would slip right off my oily skin. Blacktrack changed everything.

True story: I was wearing it when I watched The Notebook for the first time, and by the end of the movie my liner was still going strong. ‘Nuff said.
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The beginning of my relationship with MAC Groundwork Paint Pot ($16.50) was white hot and heavy. Oh, that creamy taupe and gorgeous matte finish… I must have worn it every day for weeks!

But then like most relationships, things cooled, and we started spending more and more time apart (it happens).

When we recently bumped into each other one rainy afternoon, I was rifling through a drawer of makeup at the time.

Hello, good looking. 🙂

And the spark was still there.

At first glance, Groundwork doesn’t look like much, but it’s what I like to call a “work horse” shade, the kind of color I’ll wear day after day.
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If MAC ever discontinues Powersurge Eye Kohl ($15), I’ll hunt down every pencil at every MAC counter within a 30-mile radius, fo’ reals.

My love for this shimmery golden bronze eye pencil runs deeeeep. A MAC artist introduced me to it about two years ago, and ever since that fateful day this pencil has graced my waterline many a time.

On days when I don’t want the harshness of a black or brown liner, I like Powersurge. I think it adds just the right touch of emphasis to my lower waterline without leaving me looking too overdone.

Here she is in action with MAC Style Black…

Curious about Powersurge? Here are a few earlier posts:

• MAC Starflash Goes Back to School: A Purple and Gold Eye
• MAC Golden Olive Pigment Tutorial: A Green Eye for St. Patrick’s Day
• Going Peach and Purple with MAC Brunette Blonde Redhead
• MAC Cosmetics Blue and Green Face of the Day

I love it with gold, purple, bronze and green eyeshadows, but I think it also looks great on its own … or with curled lashes and tons of mascara, yay! 🙂

Have you met MAC Powersurge?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC never rests for long on their laurels, and they don’t give fans a lot of time to digest the many fantastic shades in their permanent line because they’re always bringing out new limited edition ones.

Take Gorgeous Gold, for instance. Like Patina and Arena, two of my favorite MAC permanent collection ladies, I paid her no mind for years.

She’s not your average shimmery gold shadow. Gorgeous Gold’s complex and unusual and unlike any other color in my stash.

It goes on like a cool lemony gold, at certain angles flashing to a shimmery green — kinda like getting two colors in one. 🙂

One of my favorite daytime looks lately has been padding Gorgeous Gold on my lids and lining my upper lash line with MAC Humid. It’s easy, casual and makes my brown eyes *pop*.

What say you about Gorgeous Gold? What other ways would you wear it?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Speaking of MAC limited editions, the new Make-Up Art Cosmetics collection hit the website earlier today. I’ve been playing Fill the Shopping Cart for hours.

Good morning, ladies. 🙂 I hope your weekend started well. Right now I’m on a mish to get to know another member of the MAC permanent eyeshadow line, and I’m holding a pan of Patina ($14.50) in my paw.

Like I did for years with MAC Arena, I overlooked Patina when I realize now that I probably shouldn’t have. It’s not the flashiest shade in MAC’s permanent collection, but once I tried it on I fell truly, madly, deeply in love.

Patina’s magic lies in her flexibility. In the pan, she’s a shimmery, brownish taupe with golden pearl, but on the face her color varies depending on the wearer’s skin tone.

MAC Patina on NC 35 skin

On my tan NC 35 skin, I see a golden taupe (more purple than brown)…

MAC Patina on NW 20 skin

…but she’s such a quick-change artist! On NW 20, she looks more like a lovely golden brown.

I’ve just started to experiment with Patina, so please share any ideas you might have for product combinations. I can’t help but wonder how she’ll look with eyeshadows in gold, brown, taupe, beige, peach or even purple.

Have you gotten to know MAC Patina before? Any ideas for colors to wear her with?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen