Exhausted from the day, I stopped by the mall last night before the Project Runway finale to pick up a few pieces of “comfort chocolate,” and I figured that since I was already there, I might as well pay a quick visit to the MAC store.
I wasn’t there for long, but I spent every minute of the visit with the MAC Holiday collection.
We’re — how shall I put this? — still getting to know each other. It’s that awkward stage, ya know, where I’m attracted to the packaging but haven’t quite figured out how I feel about the products yet, in particular the frosty, cool colors in the sub-collection called Glitter & Ice.
I told myself, “Don’t be scurrred,” but I couldn’t help it. Frosty, cool-toned shades like the ones in Glitter & Ice don’t always play well with my warm undertones. Often they’ll look ashy on my NC42 skin.
But today, not wanting to give up without a fight, I decided to channel Tim Gunn and “make it work,” so I used one of my all-time favorite makeup tricks — pairing a cooler eyeshadow with a warm matte brown in the crease.
The brown’s warmer tones tend to balance out cool, frosty colors, and the trick has one more very cool side effect: whenever I blink or close my eyes, it reveals a quick flash of shimmer (fun!).
How do you know if you have warm or cool undertones?
If your skin has a lot of yellow in it, you probably have warm undertones (think Jennifer Anniston or Beyonce), but if it contains more red than yellow, you may lean cool (a la Courtney Cox or Oprah).
Here’s another way to tell: take a look at the veins on your inner wrist. If they appear green, then you’re probably warm toned; if they look blue, then you’re probably cool. For a more detailed explanation, check out this helpful post by my friend Jen over at BSB.
For these pics, I started by patting Glitter & Ice’s shimmery champagne Paint Pot in Morning Frost onto my lids with a finger. Then, I swept MAC Brown Script, a warm, matte chestnut brown from the permanent collection, into my crease with the MAC 217 Blending Brush. Next, I applied MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow in Fresh Ice, a frosty, silvery white, also from Glitter & Ice, onto my lids with the 286SE brush that comes with the MAC Make It Perfect/Mineralize Brush Kit.
I think Brown Script really mellows out cooler shades that I might otherwise not be able to wear, and for that I say, “Goooo brown!” 🙂
Additional makeup worn in this look: MAC Technakohl Liner in Smooth Manoeuvre on upper lash lines and Chanel Inimitable Mascara on upper and lower lashes; Chanel Tweed Rose on cheeks and MAC; Chanel Les Tissages de Chanel in Tweed Rose on cheeks; and the MAC Iced Delights Lip Bag/Sultry on lips
**RYAN GOSLING ALERT**
**RYAN GOSLING ALERT**
Have you ever wondered if Ryan Gosling is cuter than a puppy? Of course, you know that the only acceptable answer here is yes, right?
Behold! — quite possibly one of the greatest inventions since the wheel. And Nutella. And Nutella gelato.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Great trick! You look good in everything!
You’re so sweet, Marian. BTW, I love the new hair.
Brown Script looks much more stunning when worn on your eyes. Is it just my computer screen or does Brown Script look more mauvey, plummy and burgundy-ish on your crease? The way you’ve worn it is making me want to head over to MAC ASAP to buy it.
My skin tends to bring out the purples in some shades. You should get it! It’s awesome.
OMG! I need to get myself to a MAC store so badly! I want to see this collection in person.
Let me know what you think of it! 🙂
I LOVVVE Brown Script!! The makeup artist that hooked me on it called it my “best friend color,” and I totally agree with her. I pair it with everything, it’s probably my most used Mac shade.
I hadn’t thought to pair it with cool tones to make them more wearable, though. I’m also around NC 42 and very, very warm toned, so I normally just avoid really cool shades. But thanks for the great tip, I’m definitely going to give this a try! I love your blog 🙂
Hi A,
Ooh, glad to meet another Brown Script fan! 🙂 Please let me know how this trick works out for you… it’s one of my faves.
Happy Saturday!
Karen, can you explain the NC/NW MAC thing to me? :-\
Hi Britany B.,
This might help: A Makeup Tip from the Barbie Loves MAC Seminar – Choosing the right MAC Concealer.
Hey Karen, I second Britany B’s request for an explanation as to what NW/NC means.
Btw, I’d like Ryan Gosling stand in as my tree please! I haven’t watched Drive. Have you? Is it really good?
Hi Naj,
You and me both! Yes, I watched Drive a few weeks ago. Some people think it’s slow, but I loved it! The soundtrack is awesome, too.
As for the NW/NC, I wrote about it a while back: A Makeup Tip from the Barbie Loves MAC Seminar – Choosing the Right MAC Concealer.
Oh! I miss See’s Candies so much! Peanut Crunch is heavenly and always reminds me of my grandmother. When I was pregnant, I would get a box with just Peanut Crunch and snack on it for a few days. Mmmmm. I love Brown Script. It looks great with Carbon shadow as a base.
Hi Kate,
I’ll have to try both the Peanut Crunch and combining Brown Script w/Carbon. 🙂
How’s your day going so far? Good, I hope.
So far, so good! We just moved to Japan and are crazy busy unpacking. How did we accumulate so much stuff? It’s been great, but I have been having anxiety attacks driving on the left side of the road. Looking forward to trying out all the Japanese beauty products and exploring the local culture.
I immediately took note of See’s Candies! Many years ago when I went to L.A., I tried See’s Candies chocolates for the first time – so yummy! And I liked how they even offered full-sized samples of many. If I lived there, I’d duck in all the time…although they’d probably cut me off after I’d eat a lot of their samples. 😛
They are so good. Next time you get to visit one try one of the butterscotch squares. They’re the best. 🙂
Happy Saturday!
Good trick Karen, says this warm toned gal. Now about that candy…See’s rocks the mic! I worked with a See once, she married in but knew the ins and out of the line. She taught me how to look for the good candies in a mixed box. AND she introduced me to their hands down most delicious variety – butterscotch squares! O.M.G. they are heaven! Next time you’re at a store ask for one!
GURL, I’m all about the butterscotch squares. I have two in the pic above… I always save them for last. NOM NOM NOM!
AH I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU FEATURED THE SITE I SENT YOU! YAY! CAN I GET A SHOUTOUT!? hahaha
LOL! That site is the best! Thank you!
Another good color to pair is Copperplate, too 🙂 I find that shade really works well 🙂
Love that color, Phyrra!
I always thought Beyonce was warm but, according to L’Oreal, Beyonce is actually cool. In all of the ads, especially the ones for True Match, she wears pinks, purples and silvers and wears C7 foundation. A really good example of a warm tone is Rosario Dawson.
For real? The Becca foundation finder also classifies her as warm. Interesting! Ahh, Beyonce. You’re such a mystery!
I had my makeup done at MAC today. They were doing eyes, lips, and cheeks all day to promote the new holiday collection :). I have yellow undertones (I’ve recently discovered). I knew I wanted to try the Morning Frost paint pot and Hold that Pose mineral eye shadow. Hold that Pose is definitely a cool-toned purply shimmer shadow. Very pretty! I picked out Silken Taupe as a crease color. I’m no makeup pro, but I looooved this combination and felt like that made it work. I purchased Hold that Pose and Morning Frost and think it will be a nice change up from the warm, copper tones I’ve been wearing for fall!
i guess im warm but i always felt that i look better with cool colors
Another great easy way to tell if you’re a warm or cool tone: do you look better in reds, oranges, yellows, or dark greens, blues, and purples? Generally, I look better in jewel tones while my sister looks better in reds and such. She’s warm undertones and I’m cool. Of course, you can also see if you look better in a white or an ivory-colored shirt too. The one you look better in won’t wash you out.
Wait, wait, wait. Back this up a second…nutella gelato???? Where can I find such a grand invention???
i want some stuff from this collection but i am scurrd that they are all too cooltoned for me! i must go check it out in person!
I only recently discovered your blog – horrors I know – however am beyond thrilled I have. For the longest time I’ve drooled over the soft pretty cool toned colors especially pinks however on my Caucasian NC42 skin (red hair, blue eyes) they also just looked ashy and gross. I almost passed on every single item from the Glitter & Ice collection until I read the above post. Bought the paint pot and shadow adding the Brown Script and wow wow wow I’m in heaven!! Thanks so much for the amazing tip!
I just picked up Chanel’s Lagon Quad and Diors Couture Golds 554 this weekend. Do you have either, any tips or tricks? I did see where you raved about the Vanities but the Lagon grabbed my eye (may have to go back to get the Vanities too).
Thanks for the informative and entertaining blog!!
you look gorgeous have you checked out mark. by Avon they have mascara as low as $6.00 visit youravon.com/ladyavon to check it out