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unsungheroes

MAC Unsung Heroes: Sumptuous Olive Eyeshadow

September 23rd, 2011 by Karen 29 Comments

mac sumptuous olive

Adulthood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There are bills to be paid, work to be done and calories to count (lame). On top of everything else, it becomes harder to meet up with your friends. Getting together with my gal pals used to take a quick phone call (on a LAND line) or a five-minute walk. Now, lunch with the girls requires weeks and sometimes months of planning, eight e-mails, a few Twitter DMs, GPS (or Google Maps), babysitters and bridge tolls.

Yup.

But there are, of course, perks to getting older, like learning when and how to improvise. After stumbling and bumbling enough, you start getting better at rolling with the punches, and figuring out how to “make things work.”

I like to think of today’s Unsung Hero as a master of improvisation. Shimmery golden khaki MAC Sumptuous Olive ($15 for a regular eyeshadow; $11.50 for the Pro Refill Pan shown here) is one of my favorite “improv” shades.

mac sumptuous olive

Like, if I were to withdraw a handful of random colors from my eyeshadow drawer, Sumptuous Olive would probably go well with any of them. I love the way it looks with gold, brown, bronze, beige and black, but I also think it works with many brighter colors, too, like purples, pinks and blues. I feel it’s one of the most versatile shades in the MAC eyeshadow line.

mac sumptuous olive swatch
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Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Unsung Heroes Keywords: mac, popular, unsungheroes

MAC Unsung Heroes: Oh Baby Lipglass

August 19th, 2011 by Karen 22 Comments

mac oh baby lipglass

I gotta give snaps to MBB reader Heidi (and her fabulous kitteh Missy!) for introducing me to today’s MAC Unsung Hero, Oh Baby Lipglass ($14.50).

A few months ago Heidi urged me to give this sheer-to-medium coverage bronze gloss a go, so I did, and now it’s my JAM!

Oh Baby kisses lips with a glittery golden bronze that looks particularly great paired with bronze and teal eyeshadows.

mac oh baby lipglass swatch

mac oh baby lipglass lip swatch
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There are 22 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Lips, MAC Makeup, Unsung Heroes Keywords: unsungheroes

MAC Unsung Heroes: Mulch Eyeshadow

August 4th, 2011 by Karen 34 Comments

You know how in boy bands there’s always that one dude whose name you can never remember? He was usually stuck in one of the back corners, probably put there by a choreographer because perhaps his high kicks weren’t quite up to par?

Well, MAC Mulch would not be that guy.

If it were, say, one of the members of New Kids on the Block, Mulch would be Jonathan. Doesn’t hog the limelight, but you’d still tape his picture up in your locker. He’s not quite Jordan (MAC Freshwater) or Joey (MAC Chrome Yellow), yet he’s still an important member of the band.

Shimmery brown Mulch has been one of my go-to neutrals since 2007 (I remember because I wrote about it on the blog). MAC describes it as reddish brown with bronzy pearl, but it reminds me more of a bronzy milk chocolate brown.

I think it really complements warm-toned skin — oh, and this is unrelated, but I’ve seen it look incredible on gals with hazel eyes.


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Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Unsung Heroes Keywords: mac, unsungheroes

MAC Unsung Heroes: The Cremestick Liners

August 3rd, 2011 by Karen 16 Comments

Standouts in MAC’s Lip Pencil line often steal the spotlight (Subculture, Chestnut and Spice spring to mind), but the MAC Cremestick Liners ($14.50 each) also deserve much love.

I’ve been obsessively collecting these creamy twist-up lip pencil liners for years, and I think my lips are better for it.

The regular MAC Lip Pencil line has some stellar colors, but I find myself missing my Cremesticks when my lips feel dry. Softer, smoother and slightly thicker than the Lip Pencils, the Cremesticks are all about comfort and hydration, which makes ’em perfect for lip TLC.

I love them layered beneath glosses, both to increase gloss wear time and to alter (and invent new) colors; I do it all the time with Lipglasses, Cremesheen Glasses and the Lipgelées.


MAC Cremestick Liner swatches from the left: Beurre, Creamola, Gingerroot, Honey B., Pink Treat, Red Enriched, Sublime Culture and Summerfruit
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Categories: Lips, MAC Makeup, Unsung Heroes Keywords: mac, unsungheroes

MAC Unsung Heroes: Sable Eyeshadow

August 1st, 2011 by Karen 57 Comments

American SableMAC Sable Eyeshadow ($15) and I go way back. I think it was maybe the fourth or fifth eyeshadow I brought home from the line, and I remember the day we met because of the hot guy in drag who helped me pick it out.

He looked fierce working behind the MAC counter, like straight off a runway, and I asked him what he was wearing on his eyes.

He said it was Sable, a bronzy golden plum with a frosty finish, and he considered it one of the most flexible MAC shadows, saying it went with just about everything. I’d already decided to get it when he said he thought it would really pop on my skin.

Since then Sable and I have been plummy partners in crime.


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There are 57 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Unsung Heroes Keywords: mac, unsungheroes

MAC Unsung Heroes: Costa Chic Lipstick

July 29th, 2011 by Karen 38 Comments

Okay, sure, it might look a little South Beach swingin’ seniors in its tube, but please, PLEASE, if you have any coral lipstick love in your heart, promise me you’ll try MAC Costa Chic ($14.50) at least once.

This frosty light coral unsung heroine has a distinctly old school flava I like. It reminds me of a hipper, updated version of the Revlon Orange Flip lipstick my granny wore back in the ’80s (and still wears to this day).

Since it is quite bright, I usually pair it with neutral eyes, and I think it looks particularly fetching with black winged eyeliner. When I’m in the mood to wear a retro cat eye but don’t feel like wearing it with a strong red or pink lip, I’ll often reach for Costa Chic.

And sometimes I like to layer it beneath coral lipglosses (like MAC Evolution Revolution) to visibly upgrade the fun. 🙂


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Categories: Lips, MAC Makeup, Unsung Heroes Keywords: mac, unsungheroes

MAC Unsung Heroes: Fast Response Eye Cream

July 25th, 2011 by Karen 36 Comments

What good is a fast-acting beauty product if it takes forever to find?

Not much, which is why I like to strategically place tubes of MAC Fast Response Eye Cream ($30) where I can reach them in a hurry. To that end, I keep one in my travel makeup bag, and another atop my dresser.

Oh, and then there’s the wayward one I found, with all of two drops remaining, in the passenger side door compartment of my car the other day. Poor thing probably thought I’d forgotten it was there (I didn’t.

Needless to say, I kindasorta love this cream. 🙂

It’s been a member of MAC’s permanent makeup line for years; I think I started using it circa 2001.

What is it exactly? Well, it’s a caffeinated, quick-absorbing eye cream to reduce puffiness around the eyes and diminish the appearance of dark circles, while smoothing and firming up the skin.

It also contains subtle light diffusers that really seem to brighten my under-eye area and soften the look of my fine lines, too, which, with this dumb-@ss insomnia I’ve been having, works out great.

I did some digging into the effectiveness of topical caffeine in skincare products, and it appears the jury’s still out. There’s some evidence to support that it might diminish under-eye circles over time (and a few studies have shown that it might be helpful in other ways), but it’s probably not a miracle in a tube/jar.

Either way, Fast Response is widely loved as a lightly hydrating eye cream, especially for normal and oily skin types, but my favorite way to wear it is paired with MAC concealers, a trick I learned from a friendly MAC artist. Combined, they cover dark circles yet don’t look heavy or obvious.

Just mix a couple drops of MAC Fast Response Eye Cream in with some concealer, and buff the blend under your eyes using a fluffy brush like the 224 or 217. The result? — flawless, natural-looking coverage, almost like you’re not wearing any makeup at all.
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Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Unsung Heroes Keywords: mac, unsungheroes

MAC Unsung Heroes: Soft Ochre Paint Pot

July 22nd, 2011 by Karen 50 Comments

mac soft ochre paint pot

Welcome to the Age of the Eyeshadow Primer, young lady. Right now there are loads of them out there to choose from, many of them un-tinted, like Urban Decay Primer Potion, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and my current go-to girl, NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, to name just a few.

But there’s another great way to prime your lids, and all it takes is the right long-wearing cream eyeshadow.

Since they’re pigmented, some of them (especially the neutral ones) can also be used as color correctors, and they’re a great way to give depth to your other favorite eyeshadows. MAC calls their line of cream shadows Paint Pots, and one of my absolute faves of all time (okay, at least the past four years) is also my Unsung Hero today, Soft Ochre ($16.50).

Why Soft Ochre?

MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot ($16.50) touched down a few years ago with the MAC N Collection of neutrals and nudes, and shortly after that it was added to the company’s permanent line. It’s a neutral yellowish beige with a matte finish, and many gals consider it one of the line’s primo primers.

I think it looks great worn all by itself on my lids with some liner and mascara, but I also use it to extend the wear time of other shadows and to intensify shadows that contain yellow or gold tones.

Dang if it doesn’t brighten my eyes as well as anything. It also evens out the skin tone on my lids — mighty convenient when I’m chronically sleep deprived, as I’ve been this week.

mac soft ochre paint pot

mac soft ochre paint pot
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There are 50 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Eyes, MAC Makeup, Unsung Heroes Keywords: mac, unsungheroes

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