Showing posts with label MAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MAC. Show all posts
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Thursday, October 9, 2014
MAC The Matte Lip Collection (2014)
MAC Cosmetics released The Matte Lip Collection today, October 9th, in stores. MAC collections are usually available for sale online a few days before the collections are sold in stores. I wanted to share my thoughts on this collection as soon as I could because MAC limited-edition collections do tend to sell out within the first few hours of their release. I am truly impressed by this collection and given that this collection will be available for a limited period of time, I want to convey to my readers my eagerness for them to try at least one item from this collection for themselves.
The Matte Lip Collection includes eight matte finish lipsticks, three blushes, and six lip pencils. I selected five of the eight lipsticks, all of which I recommend, and one of the blushes. Don't the products look delicious in the pictures below? At first, I could not bring myself to swatch the items because they looked so fresh, clean, beautiful, and colorful.
Initially, I had only planned to purchase Styled in Sepia, Pander Me, and Make You Mine, which is what happened during my first trip to Macy's in the morning. However, I returned a few hours later and purchased Damn Glamorous, La Vie En Rouge, and Nouvelle Vogue.
The lipsticks applied smoothly and did not feel dry like some of the permanent MAC matte lipstick formula and of course not at all like the "retro-matte" lipsticks, which were released last year. The magical feature of these lipsticks is that they appear matte without looking dry. I find that such an effect is very difficult to achieve with most matte lip products.
Styled in Sepia is a conversation piece. I am in love with it. Of course my Mr. Beau dislikes it very much. He thinks it makes me look depressed. I beg to differ. It is bold, but I feel I am comfortable to carry it on with confidence. Although Styled in Sepia might seem very unique to western consumers, it is a commonly worn shade by Southeast Asian and Indian women. As I have mentioned before, the lipsticks that fit into the brown category have been popular in the Indian market ever since I can remember. Styled in Sepia looks like an intimidating, perhaps even hideous, shade, but I highly recommend you try it out. You may surprise yourself. It is perfect for the Fall / Autumn season. If you can only purchase one item from this collection, then I highly recommend this particular shade.
Damn Glamorous and La Vie En Rouge are similar so you might not want to invest in both. So perhaps purchasing both was a bit excessive. Well, my Mr. Beau seems to think so. He was unable to tell the difference between these two shades. I believe the formula really swayed me. Both are cool-toned, blue-toned reds. Damn Glamorous has a magenta base, while La Vie En Rouge has a coral-pink base. Need a fun bright red for Christmas? I recommend one of these two. If you are currently liking the neon trend, then opt for La Vie En Rouge. Damn Glamorous is a tad bit deeper, more for the raspberry or berry lip color fans. Pander Me is a peachy light brown shade; an ideal nude for deeper skin tones like mine. Nouvelle Vogue is a cool-toned or blue-toned medium pink. Some describe it as a deep mauve-pink, but on me it appears quite bright as you can see in the picture below.
In the pictures below I have worn each one of the lipsticks paired with the Make You Mine blush.
MAC Pro Longwear Blush in the shade Make You Mine
Other items, apparel, and accessories that are shown in the photographs were purchased at the following stores:
Eyeliner - MAC Fluidline Gel Liner in Blacktrack
Sweaters - SO and Vera Wang Princess @ Kohl's
Earrings - Sterling Silver Tiffany-Ball Studs @ Kohl's, Antique Gold Crystal @ J. Crew
I hope this post was informative and helpful. Your friendly comments are much appreciated. Come back soon. Please follow, like, share, connect, and subscribe. Thank you!
Saturday, September 20, 2014
MAC Matte Blush in Pink Cult
Until recently, I was blissfully unaware - well in regards to my unsuccessful attempts to spend frugally - of MAC's Matte and Satin finish blush / cheek powders; a recent and favorable new discovery for me. Thus far I have acquired three matte shades, called Melba, Coppertone, and Mocha, and three satin shades, called Modern Mandarin and Fleur Power. Last week my mother-bear bought two more shades, one matte and one satin, from the MAC flagship store in San Francisco. She happened to pass by it on route from her hotel to the conference center where she was presenting her research - pretty cool. She called me up and said, "I'm standing in front of the biggest MAC store ever... text me what you want or I'll get confused in there."
I cannot continue this post without adding a side note about my mother. She only goes shopping when she needs something. My father is very lucky to have a woman as simple materialistically as her. She is not keen on visiting shopping malls or beauty stores, yet she took the time to call me as she stood in front of places like MAC and Sephora. Not only was she with her co-workers, but she also was not feeling well. My mother is my role model because she does it all and does more than anyone I know. I hope that I can reflect her tact, simplicity, beauty, diligence, intellect, tolerance, and endurance. A mother is one who balances the mood swings of everyone - family members, friends, and co-workers. She is my air, water, and fire. Mothers can always bring a smile to their babies' faces - be the baby five months or 25 years old. And the most basic things bring mother's happiness, like seeing that smile on their child's face.
OK! Now I can continue with my review. MAC Pink Cult is a cool-toned, dusty, milky, baby pink. The only reason this shows up on my skin tone is because it is a good balance of dusty and milky. Pink Cult appears to have a grayish undertone in the pan, but once applied on the cheek it is not a deep shade at all. I was expecting it to give a pink-taupe bruised look. In dim lighting or with flash, this looks like a pale pink highlight color on my skin tone. Although this shade is nicely pigmented, I still have to apply two layers to achieve the look in the pictures below. Color-wise, I have to apply Pink Cult carefully. It did not pair well with an orange lip, but it looked nice with n*de lips. Otherwise, for being a light color, the pigmentation is good. The blush applies evenly and blends nicely. I am not wearing any base face makeup, such as moisturizer or foundation, in the pictures below and yet the blush looked very natural, skin-like. The staying power of this particular shade is not as good as the other MAC matte and satin blushes I own. I felt the need to touch up, meaning add a bit more, after about four hours. However, the wear-time does not bother me much personally. Of course women who wear primer or base makeup may find that the blush lasts for a longer time on them. This blush may not suit skin-tones darker than mine. On deeper skin-tones, this shade will most likely look like a high-light rather than a cheek-color.
I hope this post was informative and helpful. Your friendly comments are much appreciated. Come back soon. Please follow, like, share, connect, and subscribe. Thank you!
Thursday, April 24, 2014
MAC PROENZA SCHOULER LIPSTICK MANGROVE (LIMITED EDITION COLLECTION 2014)
Hey y'all! I am dying of excitement to share my review of a brand new lipstick I bought this morning. In fact my excitement is bouncing off the walls in my mind to the extent that I am not able to write a proper review. I have never posted a review along with pictures and swatches on the very same day as purchasing the product. I like to test out a product for a while before sharing my thoughts on it. For this reason I am often too late in sharing my review of limited edition products.
It seems like every time I blink my eyes, MAC releases a new limited edition collection. I do not own very many MAC limited edition cosmetics. These collections are difficult to keep up with - practically and financially. Even though I adore the packaging of most MAC limited edition items, the actual product itself might not always be my cup of tea. I cannot justify purchasing makeup for packaging alone. I purchased a lipstick and a blush from the Winter 2013 Divine Nights collection. More recently I purchased three lipsticks from the Huggables collection. This is the extent of my MAC limited edition makeup.
Yesterday, Mr. Beau asked me what time I was going to wake up in the morning. I told him bright and early. He asked me why. I told him that MAC Proenza Schouler collection is coming out. He didn't understand. So, I explained to him that every time MAC releases a collection, it is like Black Friday at Walmart. Hyper women chasing after hyped makeup.
I have never done this before. I reached the mall at exactly 9:50 a.m. I was the first customer inside the Belk store. Honestly, I was a little let down that I didn't have to fight a crowd or stand in a line of women huffing and puffing, waiting to get their hands on the good stuff. I had imagined it to be a crazy experience. I had seen a preview of the collection on Temptalia, so I had my eyes set on the vivd coral-red lipstick called Mangrove. I paid about $24 and some change for this lipstick. It costs a bit more than the permanent MAC lipsticks.
Okay enough of sharing my experience. Let us move on to the actual review. I love this lipstick! I loved it before I even applied it. In fact, I was hesitant to apply it at first because I didn't want to ruin the perfect hot coral-red-orange bullet. Personally, I think this is the best feature out of the entire collection. I highly recommend this lipstick. Although Temptalia mentioned that Mangrove is the most "dupable" shade out of the whole collection, I find that Mangrove is a very unique shade and a must-have.
I have been searching high and low for vivid, bright, hot coral red-orange. The formula is matte, but it feels nothing like a true-matte. I would describe it as a semi-matte because it feels much more comfortable and less rigid than the matte and satin formulas of MAC permanent lipsticks. It glides on smoothly like a creme formula, yet does not have the slip of such an emollient formula. It is non-drying and does not emphasize lip lines or crevices. I hate matte formula that soak up all of the moisture and natural youthful look of lips, instead making lips appear parched and wrinkly.
This is not such a matte. This lipstick could not be any better - it is perfection as is! I have tried quite a few bright lipsticks, but was unimpressed by all because they appeared patchy, streaky, and stark on my lips as if I was trying to wear neon color mousse. One swipe across the lips is enough for intense, opaque color. All day today I have been thinking about purchasing a back up of Mangrove, which implies a lot because I don't have back ups of any products I use, except maybe shampoo and conditioner.
I think the name of this lipstick is cute too. Mangrove sounds tropical to me and makes me think of an area where colorful tropical fruits grow, like mangoes, pineapples, and papayas. As for the staying power, I would like to wear this lipstick a bit more and then report back. The packaging is sort of tropical and festive too - reminds me of Mardi Gras beads, lush greenery, plantains, and a sunset on the beach. Can y'all tell by now that I am very happy with this purchase?
Keep in touch with me via Instagram, where I post previews of upcoming reviews, hauls, and makeup looks.
I hope this post was informative and helpful. Your friendly comments are much appreciated. Come back soon. Thanks!
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Monday, March 10, 2014
Radiant Orchid: Pantone Color of the Year 2014 (Beauty Edition)
Hey y'all. Today's post has been inspired by the gradient of shades that fall under the umbrella of Radiant Orchid. When I first heard that Pantone's "Color of the Year" for 2014 was deemed Radiant Orchid, I thought to myself, "I was already rockin' this last year." In fact, for the past two or three years, especially around Spring and Summer, I have been drawn to - with blinders on - lilac, lavender, and fuchsia-purple pastel shades.
At first I was not planning on doing a post dedicated to the Radiant Orchid theme. I don't find purple based makeup particularly flattering on me. The closest I come to wearing purple based makeup is by wearing deep mauve pink and plum shades. Recently, I tried a lipstick by Cover Girl in the shade Delicious. Although I have plenty of nail colors like the shade Delicious and do think such a shade looks lovely on my hands, I cannot carry off such shades on my lips against my skin-tone. Fortunately, thereafter I purchased another shade by Cover Girl called Tantalize. I believe Tantalize is exactly what I had expected Delicious to look like on me. So, Tantalize, which is the color I am wearing in the picture below, is the better suited version of Delicious for girls with a similar skin-tone as me.
My research for today's post began with this look below:
What am I wearing? Cover Girl Bombshell Shine Shadow in Oh La La Lilac on the eyes deepened with a matte plum purple shade in the crease and blended out; Milani Baked Matte Blush in Delizioso Pink; Cover Girl Bombshell Lip Perfection Lipstick in Tantalize.
However, I did not stop here. I selected two more blushes and plenty of more lip colors as y'all can see from the pictures. I posted one of these images on my Instagram to give a preview, but then I got carried away.
The picture on the top left corner, first box, are my blush selections: Milani Baked Matte Blush in Delizioso Pink (bottom), Milani Baked Blush in Fantasia Mauve (middle), and Sleek Makeup Blush in Pomegranate (top).
The picture on the bottom right, fourth box, displays the swatches for four of my top five lipstick "Radiant Orchid" lip color selections are: Cover Girl Bombshell Lip Perfection Lipstick in Tantalize (bottom left), Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick in #47 L'Amoureuse (top left), Purminerals
Chateau de Vine Lipstick in Show Off (top right), and Milani Power Lip in Raspberry Tart (bottom right).
Here are the lip swatches to match the arm swatches above: Cover Girl Bombshell Lip Perfection Lipstick in Tantalize (first), Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick in #47 L'Amoureuse (second), Purminerals Chateau de Vine Lipstick in Show Off (third), and Milani Power Lip in Raspberry Tart (fourth). Adding Rimmel London Lasting Finish Colour Balm in Viva Violet (fifth) was an afterthought, so I do not have an arm swatch for it.
Y'all may think the inquiry stopped once I added a fifth shade, right? Hereafter, I posted the picture above where I have displayed all of Radiant Orchid selections on Instagram. I think I gravitated towards the products mentioned above because they are all new additions to my makeup collection.
Once I posted the picture on Instagram, I thought to myself that I must have other colors that might qualify as a Radiant Orchid shade. Indeed, I was right!
At this point I was overwhelmed by my findings - so many similar shades! What was I thinking when I purchased all of these lipsticks? I was also feeling too exhausted to create more makeup looks or photograph these shades on my lips, so I hope y'all won't mind the arm swatches. I will add links to the review posts for any of these lip colors below that I may have already reviewed.
Honestly, the way I actually wear makeup in reality does not justify my lipstick collection. Gel eyeliner and lip balm are my staple. I rarely actually wear makeup unless my Beau is taking me out. Sigh! I am glad I had this eye opening experience, however, because now I think I might place a ban on my lipstick shopping as I did with nail polishes last Summer. The nail polish ban was not difficult at all and I continued the ban till January. I am planning on doing a blog sale. I have mixed feelings about it though.
(1) Shiseido Perfect Rouge Lipstick in RS745 Fantasia (2) Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture (3) Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick in Deep Lilac (4) Chanel Rouge Allure in #108 Determinee (5) Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in Plum Velour (6) Milani Power Lip in Raspberry Tart (7) Rimmel London Lasting Finish Colour Balm in Viva Violet (8) Chanel Rouge Coco in #42 Culte (9) Sonia Kashuk Shine Luxe Sheer Lip Color in Sheer Plum (10) Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in Berry Couture (11) Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick in #47 L'Amoureuse (12) Cover Girl Bombshell Lip Perfection Lipstick in Tantalize (13) MAC Satin Lipstick (LE) in Private Party (14) L'oreal Colour Riche Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick in Purple Prelude (15) Purminerals Chateau de Vine Lipstick in Show Off
(1) Shiseido Perfect Rouge Lipstick in RS745 Fantasia (2) Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture (3) Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipstick in Deep Lilac (5) Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in Plum Velour (8) Chanel Rouge Coco in #42 Culte (9) Sonia Kashuk Shine Luxe Sheer Lip Color in Sheer Plum (10) Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in Berry Couture (12) Cover Girl Bombshell Lip Perfection Lipstick in Tantalize (13) MAC Satin Lipstick (LE) in Private Party (14) L'oreal Colour Riche Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick in Purple Prelude
*I decided not to swatch (4) Chanel Rouge Allure in #108 Determinee because it is more of a muted mauve pink with a brown base, so it does not truly come under the Radiant Orchid category. This post took a lot of work. I kept going back and forth, adding more lipsticks, taking more pictures, editing, watermarking, and it all happened in annoying incriminates. At this point it would have driven me nut crackers to take another picture without (4).
(16) Maybelline Color Elixir in Mystic Mauve (17) Maybelline Color Elixir in Amethyst Potion (18) Rimmel London Lasting Finish Colour Balm in Keep Mauving
I hope this post was informative and helpful. Your friendly comments are much appreciated.
Come back soon. Thanks!
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Thursday, January 16, 2014
MAC Huggable Lip Color in Fresh & Frisky!
Hey Y'all!!!
Ms. Naughty over here - well perhaps not really - bought another MAC Huggable Lip Color. Please take a look at my in-depth review of two other shades from this collection here. The two shades I purchased first are called Rusty and Rich Marron. I would call these my "comfort-zone" shades.
I am not a fan of coral lip colors, whether it is a pink-coral or red-coral shade. It makes me look dated. I stray away from coral apparel and jewelry as well, but I think red-coral would probably suit me more than pink-coral. Very close to corals are peachy-orange and red-orange shades.
I bought quite a few red-orange or orange-red shades last Spring and Summer. I have yet to find a matching lip color. I have also been on a hunt for a peachy-orange shade in both nail color and lip color that does not have yellow-undertones. If fuchsia, hot-pinks, purple-lavender, orange, and warm red lip colors do not suit you, then you and I are in the same boat. Oh! The plague of yellow-ness!
As if I have not made it clear enough, I am quite excited about this shade because it is very unique to my personal collection. I tried my best to capture this shade as it appears in person, so y'all can understand my description of the shade. (I have noted that sometimes my images change a bit when I upload them here. Also, do keep in mind that your own computer browser could alter the color (or other characteristics) of the pictures I have posted.)
Fresh & Frisky is a pure peach shade that looks different with change in lightening; This shade can look like a toned down neon, milky peach. It can also look like a subtly shimmery peachy-pink. The versatility of this shade is deceiving. Fresh & Frisky is not as pigmented as Rusty and Rich Marron. Rusty and Rich Marron gave off full color in one swipe, while Fresh & Frisky requires a few swipes. I would suggest dabbing it though rather than swiping it heavily across your lips. It is easy to get carried away because of the emollient, gel-balm, "huggable" texture of these lip colors, but this particular shade is a bit different. Continue reading to find out why! Although all three shades obviously have the same formula, I personally had a different experience with how Fresh & Frisky appeared on my lips. It still felt nice, but did not look like it felt.
The formula of Fresh & Frisky felt different from the other two shades, Rusty and Rich Marron. I would not recommend this shade for people with dry and chapped lips. Being that it is winter right now and I keep the heat on very high at home, my lips are dehydrated. I had to exfoliate and moisturize my lips before applying this lip color because otherwise it did not look flattering. The mixture of the subtle shimmer in this shade and my chapped lips gave a "frosty" appearance. I almost regretted buying this one at first and thought to return it. However, once I treated my lips and dabbed this lip color on, it looked great. So, this one is a keeper, but slightly high-maintenance for people with dehydrated lips. In my review of the other two Huggable shades, I mentioned that I gravitated towards wearing these when my lips felt parched, but with this particular shade I would not expect the same.
Overall, I adore this shade and am glad to have it in my treasure chest. Please treat your lips before wearing this shade, that is all y'all. I hope this review and my previous review are helpful. This is a limited edition collection, so if y'all like what you see, then go get yourselves one or a bunch before these are all sold out.
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