NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Red Square ($24), tonight’s unsung hero, has a lot in common with MAC Lady Danger and NARS Heat Wave, but while it hangs out in the same bright reddish orange circles, it sports sportier, travel-friendly attire.
Lips
MAC Unsung Heroes: MAC Red Lipstick
The holidays are in full effect, y’all, and red lipsticks are in the mutha’ truckin’ house! Of course, I couldn’t forget to include one of the most party-poppin’ colors in MAC’s permanent line, the bright, bold, beautiful MAC Red ($14.50).
Swatches from the left: MAC Red, Ruby Woo, Lady Danger, Russian Red and Dubonnet
MAC Unsung Heroes: Twig Lipstick
We interrupt our regular schedule of dark fall lipsticks to bring you this important message about trees…
Wait — did I say trees? I meant twigs. 🙂 Rather, a twig, as in MAC Twig Lipstick ($14.50), today’s Unsung Hero and another one of my favorite transitional shades.
QUICK REWIND: What are “transitional shades”? They’re what I like to call colors that help bridge the gap between the vivacious shades you want to wear (yet might not feel ready for), and the shades you feel most comfortable wearing now.
Say it’s one of the dark, rich lipsticks we see a lot in fall, something like a full-on vampy red. If you feel the urge to go there but haven’t quit mustered the courage, an approachable lipstick like Twig could walk you a little further down the path to your ultimate destination.
It’s a little like Crème in Your Coffee (another great transitional shade), except a smidgen lighter and a little more pink than brown; I feel like Twig’s semi-matte finish gives it a slightly more formal, more conservative, vibe than Crème has with its subtle sheen.
MAC Unsung Heroes: Creme in Your Coffee Lipstick
So maybe you’re tempted to try darker MAC lippies like Dubonnet and Paramount but haven’t worked up the courage? No worries. I totally get it. If you’re not accustomed to seeing yourself in dramatic lip colors, a bout with “transitional shades” could help. Somewhere between the bolder colors you eventually want to wear and the colors you’re already comfortable in, transitional shades can help you push your limits while easing you into something bold.
Say your game plan is to work your way up to fall’s darker browns, reds and plums. Crème in Your Coffee ($14.50) lipstick, today’s Unsung Hero, could be a great place to start.
MAC describes the color, which is part of the company’s Cremesheen lipstick line, as a mid-tone pinkish brown, and I think it’s that touch of pink that elevates it from a run-of-the-mill nude lipstick to something else (something more). The brown within it gives it a degree of intensity, but one that doesn’t cross the line into melodramatic, and the combined shade sits comfortably at the halfway point between barely-there and look-at-me lips.
MAC Unsung Heroes: Party Line Lipstick
Should you ever find yourself at a loss to locate a fabulous red lipstick for fall, dial 555-HOT-REDS, and kiss your lip grief goodbye.
Listen carefully to the menu because their options have changed. When you get to the part that starts, “If you like MAC Dubonnet but find it a touch too brown,” hit two followed by the pound key.
That should take you directly to today’s MAC Unsung Hero, which, incidentally, happens to be a Party Line ($14.50).
Lipstick, that is. 🙂
Not even hot chai lattes, chubby baby cats in Halloween costumes and dirty/flirty texts from Ryan Gosling can hold a candle to Party Line’s opaque, plummy red.
MAC Unsung Heroes: Dubonnet Lipstick
Am I way too easily amused for my own good? Survey says, “Probably.” For instance, I continue to get a huge kick out of mucking up names. Around here, Trader Joe’s is Traitor Joe’s, Target is Tar-ghay, and Whole Foods is affectionately (not) referred to as Whole Paycheck.
Lame? Yes. But also hilarious to moi. 🙂
And now I’m doing it with makeup, too. I’ve heard the peeps at a MAC counter pronounce today’s Unsung Hero, MAC Dubonnet Lipstick ($14.50), as “Doo-bow-nay,” but I like to call it “DEW-bonnet” instead.
Sorry! I can’t help it, even if I am messing with the moniker of one of the greatest reds in the MAC permanent line.
MAC Unsung Heroes: Paramount Lipstick
As silly as it sounds to get emotional about a lipstick, I got verklempt when I sat down to write about today’s MAC Unsung Hero, Paramount Lipstick ($14.50), because it’s been a such a pivotal color in my makeup life.
My BFF introduced me to it about 15 years ago in college; since then it’s been on my lips or by my side (literally, in a purse or a pants pocket) through some of the most important moments of my life.
In the living room at my parent’s house, I’m wearing it in a graduation picture taken a few seconds after I walked across the stage to get my diploma. The color also holds the distinction of being the very first MAC product I ever purchased (shout-out to the MAC Arden Fair counter in Sacramento!).
When I pulled out Paramount this morning it hit me like a ton of bricks!
Wait — not like that. I mean that I realized I should add it to my list of MAC Unsung Heroes. 🙂
Plus, hello! — it’s a perfect color for fall!
I’d Like to Kiss The Inventor of These MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencils
Wearing MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Kiss Me Quick
In the summer before my freshman year of high school, my friend Nancy taught me how to kiss.
I hadn’t had a boyfriend yet but figured I should probably prepare myself before school started, just in case. Nancy, having dated a boy earlier that year, was my closest friend with the appropriate experience, so on our breaks during the algebra class we took together that summer, Nancy dispensed various pearls of kissing wisdom like…
- Eat grape lollipops before kissing to freshen the breath (according to Nancy, they worked better than breath mints)
- Observe proper gum etiquette (gum should not change owners during a make-out session)
- Practice makes perfect
Forget pillows. Nancy recommended making out with your knee or the back of your hand to more accurately assess spit production and refine your technique (Nancy was all about the scientific method; she wanted to be an engineer). I have to admit — the girl was sharp. 🙂
I hadn’t thought about those old kissing lessons for years until today, when I decided to put the new MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencils ($18 each, part of the upcoming MAC Styledriven collection) to the test.
Pro Longwear Lip Pencils, $18 U.S./$21.50 CDN
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