MAC Makeup

Haaaay, shady lady! Okay, I know you’re not shady… It’s just that for some reason every time I think of the MAC Shadowy Lady quad from last week’s Cult of Cherry collection I am compelled to shout “shady lady!”

A few days ago, reader Lexi asked to see a face of the day with the Shadowy (Shady!) Lady quad. That sounded like fun, so here’s the look I wore to work yesterday — a light purple eye with a bright blue liner.

Lips

Products

• MAC Pink Treat Cremestick Lip Liner
• MAC Lightly Ripe Lipstick
• MAC Rich & Ripe Lipglass

How to Get the Lip Look

1. First, I lined my lips with Pink Treat Cremestick.
2. Next, I applied one layer of Lightly Ripe Lipstick directly from the tube onto my lips, blotted my lips with a tissue and then added a second layer for good luck.
3. To finish the lips, I topped them off with a layer of Rich & Ripe Lipglass.

Cheeks

Products

• MAC Blooming Blush
• Stila Sun Bronzer

Get the Cheek Look

1. Using a 129 powder/blush brush, I swept Blooming atop the apples of my cheeks and then up into the hairline.
2. Next, I applied Stila Sun Bronzer with a 116 blush brush, starting near the outer corner of my right eye and swiping down the curve of the cheek bone (under the apple of my cheek). Then, I swiped back up the same way. From there, I swiped the brush over the right temple onto my upper forehead just below the hairline (reverse and repeat the process on your left).

Eyes

Products

• MAC Concrete Eye Shadow
• MAC Painterly Paint Pot
• MAC Shadowy Lady Eye Shadow Quad
• MAC Fix+
• MAC Prep + Prime Lash
• MAC Zoomlash Mascara in Zoom Black

The Eyes: Step by Step

1. First, with a 266 angled brush, I shaded in my brows with Concrete.
2. Then, I patted Painterly Paint Pot over the entire eye with a 239 eye shading brush.
3. Next, I dusted Light Fall over the Painterly Paint Pot on the eye with a 252 eye shader brush.
4. Using a 217 blending brush, I applied Smudged Violet onto my lids, blending out the edges with the same brush.
5. To make the outer corner look a bit smokier, I added Shadowy Lady with a 224 tapered blending brush and applied the color with a small, circular motion.
6. To line my eyes, I wanted something a bit different than my regular old black liner, so I wet a 212 flat brush with a spritz of MAC Fix+ and swept the wet brush head across a pan of Deep Truth eye shadow. I applied the wet shadow to my upper lash line, thickening the line as it got closer to the outer corner my eye.
7. To finish the eye look, I curled my lashes and added two coats of Prep + Prime Lash followed by two coats of Zoomblack mascara (on the upper lashes only).

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Am I the only girl out there who thinks watching The Golden Girls and playing with makeup constitutes a good time? I hope not, LOL!

Earlier this afternoon, with MAC’s Cherry Blossom face chart laid out on the floor in front of me, I did some experimenting with MAC Cult of Cherry’s Spiced Chocolate Quad, Plum du Bois blush, Creme Cerise lipstick and Cherry Blossom Lipglass.

Face charts for Cult of Cherry and MAC’s other makeup collections are available on the MAC website. The charts indicate which products and brushes to use for different looks, and, in some cases, indicate the proper placement of color.

The Cheeks and Lips

In the Cherry Blossom chart, the eyes are bold, but the cheeks and lips are soft and subtle. I reached for Plum du Bois and, following the chart, swirled some on my cheeks with a MAC 187 brush (aka the skunk brush).

Then, I lined my lips with Sublime Culture Cremestick Liner, filling them in with Creme Cherise Lipstick. I topped them off with a layer of Cherry Blossom Lipglass.

The Eyes

Eye Products I Used

• MAC Concrete Eye Shadow
• Nanogold, Sweet Chestnut, and Spiced Chocolate Eye Shadows from the MAC Spiced Chocolate Quad
• MAC Pink Couture Shadestick
• MAC Zoom Lash Mascara in Zoomblack

I prefer to do one eye at a time, working each one to completion before I move on to the next eye. Some women prefer to work on both eyes at the same time, completing a step on one eye and then repeating it on the other, since they already have the correct brush in hand. I think it boils down to personal preference. For me, it’s faster if I finish one eye before moving on to the other.

The Eyes: Step by Step

1. First, using a MAC 266 brush, I shaded in my brows with Concrete.
2. Then, I highlighted the brow bone by dusting Nanogold onto it with a 252 eye shader brush.
3. I applied Pink Couture Shadestick onto my lids, blending out the edges with my finger.
4. Then, I swept Sweet Chestnut Eye Shadow directly on top of the Pink Couture Shadestick with a 217 blending brush.
5. To add more depth to the eye, I added Spiced Chocolate Eye Shadow into the crease with a 219 pencil brush.
6. With the same brush, I ran Sweet Chestnut Eye Shadow along the lower lash line.
7. To finish the eye look, I curled my lashes, and then added two coats of Zoomblack mascara onto both the upper and lower lashes.

All done, my little cherry blossom! 🙂
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Hey, hey, girlies! Can you believe August is almost over?

For some of you, that means heading back to school. In the comments on a previous post, reader Abigail said she was looking for a new look for school and wanted to use purple. I’m a big fan of purple and reached for Top Hat, a shimmery purple shade from MAC’s recent Starflash release, for this face of the day.

Abigail, I hope it gives you some ideas. 🙂

Back in school, I struggled to get to class on time. I was that girl always chasing down the bus. “Wait! Wait for me!”

I shot for quick and easy with this purple and gold look to help other students who suffer from the same affliction.

To complement the eyes, I went with plum cheeks and lips. I used MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Secret Blush on my cheeks and MAC Star Nova Lustreglass on the lips.

Eye Products I Used

Benefit Birthday Suit Creaseless Cream Shadow
MAC Woodwinked Eye Shadow
MAC Top Hat Eye Shadow
MAC Graphblack Technakohl LIner
MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl
MAC Prep + Primer Lash
MAC Zoomblack Zoomlash Mascara

Step by Step

1. First, I covered the entire eye with a layer of Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit.

2. Then, I dusted MAC Woodwinked eye shadow into the crease.

3. I swept MAC Top Hat Eye Shadow onto the lid area, just barely into the crease and along the lower lash line to softly define the eye.

4. When I’m in a hurry (late for work, yo!), I don’t always have the time or patience for eyeliner along my upper and lower lash lines. Sometimes, I’ll apply liner to both water lines and leave it at that. I think it’s tougher to spot uneven lines on the water lines because of their location. They’re partially obscured when the eyes are closed. Uneven lash lines, on the other hand, really stand out. For the upper water line, I applied Graphblack Technakohl Liner.

5. Next, I added Powersurge Eye Kohl on the lower water line.

6. To finish up, I curled my lashes, applied two coats of MAC Prep + Prime Lash lash primer, followed by two layers of MAC Zoomlash mascara.

Finito! Time to hit the books!

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day | walker

noun
1 a sub-species of vampire from European folklore, which, unlike traditional vampires, is able to survive in full sunlight; still must drink the blood of the living by biting their necks with long pointed canine teeth.

Yesterday, as I was “dropping the kids off at school” (ha, ha, TMI, I know!), I spent some quality time perusing this month’s issue of Sephora Beauty Authority magazine. The model’s dark, matte lipstick reminded me of vampires and MAC’s Kirsch Mattene.

I wanted to try a similar cat eye-dark lip look but had to keep it responsible enough for the office (boo).

Fun with MAC Kirsch Mattene

Guess who just watched Zoolander

The lips are my favorite part of this look! Following Gordon Espinet’s dark lipstick application method, I lined them with Chanel Nude Lip Liner followed by two layers of Kirsch, applied with a lip brush. Watch out, Count Chocula!
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