MAC Makeup

Introducing MAC Maximized False Lashes Maximizer

November 16th, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

See that pristine white porcelain candelabra/bed post in the picture below?

Haha, just kidding. It’s actually a tube of new $17 MAC False Lashes Maximizer (coming to the MAC website November 30 and to MAC counters and stores December 3), and it only stayed looking pristine like that for about 18.325 seconds…which is about how long it took me to get foundation fingerprints all over it.

If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed that this stuff was designed to take false eyelashes to the next level, because of its name, False Lashes Maximizer, but it’s actually designed to make the most of your real lashes.

It’s a lash treatment and volumizing lash primer rolled into one, with the idea being that it’s supposed to make your real lashes look like falsies.

As the owner of stick-straight, underwhelming natural lashes, THAT’S an idea I can totally get behind. 🙂

The formula, which goes on white but dries clear, is supposed to condition lashes while priming them for mascara layered on top, and it’s also supposed to make your lashes look thicker and plumper.

So it’s basically a mascara primer, but unlike some others, it doesn’t have those tiny fibers in the formula.

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MAC Berry Black Friday Patentpolish Lip Pencil

November 12th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

For me Black Friday means sitting in my pajamas and eating leftover Thanksgiving pecan pie for breakfast.

And maybe also for lunch…

And perhaps dinner…

Aaand it also means playing Fill the Online Shopping Cart, which is a game I like to play where I see how much I can put into various online shopping e-carts with no intention of actually completing the checkout, and going “WOW!” as the tally grows into the thousands of dollars. 🙂

LOL!

For MAC, Black Friday means another limited edition makeup launch on one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

This year, they’re putting the focus on lips with a new shade of Patentpolish Lip Pencil called Berry Black Friday. It’s a blackened plum with a shiny finish, and it’ll be $20, available exclusively on the MAC website (I believe it’s a one-day limited edition product available only on Black Friday).

If you like sheer-to-medium coverage dark lip shades, it’s a beauty.

mac berry black friday — MAC Berry Black Friday Patentpolish Lip Pencil

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MAC Dita Von Teese | Von Teese Matte Lipstick

November 10th, 2015 by Karen 36 Comments

There should be a video right here, but if not, you can also watch it on YouTube.

mac dita von teese — MAC Dita Von Teese Matte Lipstick in Von Teese ($28)

You know you’re a little obsessed with typography and fonts when you notice things like how the swoosh on the lower case “t” slides under the dot above the “i” on MAC’s new Dita Von Teese Lipstick, and your first thought is “Dang! I wish I’d thought of that.”

It’s those little touches, man!

Limited edition MAC Matte Lipstick in Von Teese ($18) is an online exclusive arriving on the MAC website ~~December 7~~ December 9, and as you’ve probably already guessed, it’s a collaboration with burlesque beauty/dancer/author Dita Von Teese.

Yup, she’s also an author. Her new book, Your Beauty Mark: The Ultimate Guide to Eccentric Glamour, arrives in bookstores December 1.

The lipstick, on the other hand, isn’t very eccentric. It’s a pretty classic take on matte tomato red, and it’s very, very Dita. Her love for matte red lips is well known.

On me, it’s an opaque warm red with a hint of yellow, and the hint doesn’t take it into MAC Lady Danger Land, so there aren’t any orange undertones.
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MAC Fluidity: Introducing the New MAC Fluidline Pens!

November 9th, 2015 by Karen 19 Comments

There should be a video right here, but if not, you can also watch it on YouTube.

mac fluidline pen — The new MAC Fluidline Pens ($22 each)

First, there were the original MAC Fluidline Gel Liners, then the MAC Fluidline Eye Pencils, and now the pen is even mightier than the sword, pencil and the gel, thanks to the new $22 MAC Fluidline Pens.

Wait — say what?!

Yup, that’s right, fellow Fluidline fans. Now you can get your Fluidline fix from a pen.

I know! I’m blowing your mind right now!

These four pens are essentially liquid versions of MAC Fluidline gel liner, so they’re smudge-resistant and dry quickly to a bold matte finish.

They arrive with the new 10-piece MAC Fluidity collection, which is mostly made up of re-promotes from the MAC permanent line.

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The MAC Dark Desires Collection: Well, Well, Well! These Shadows Are Rocking My Winged Liner World

November 9th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

There should be a YouTube video above this blurb. If you can’t see it, you can click here to watch it on YouTube.

mac well eye shadow — MAC Dark Desires The Well Eye Shadows clockwise from the brown pan in the upper left: Midnight Tryst, Beg For It, Think Kink, Switch Me On, Dark Desires and What’s Your Fantasy ($20 each)

Oh, heavens! Look at those naughty names… Spank Me, Beg For It and Think Kink? And those are just the tip of the S&M iceberg, haha. I think it’s safe to say that the new MAC Dark Desires collection was inspired by some sort of 50 Shades of Grey type situation.

But I’m thinking that this collection is going to make a different kind of fantasy come true — one of my makeup fantasies — which is to be able to draw winged liner and not have it take half a day!

OK…so maybe half a day is exaggerating (barely), but you know what though?! It feels that way sometimes, especially when I’m deep in it, and I’ve been sitting there futzing with the angles for 20 minutes.

I know you feel my pain!

There’s a reason for that saying about winged liner being the reason why everyone’s always late (why can’t I remember that saying??).

MAC Dark Desires promises to upgrade your winged liner life with a new product line called The Well Eye Shadows ($20).

mac well eyeshadow beg for it — MAC Dark Desires The Well Eye Shadow in Beg For It ($20)

mac well eye shadow switch me on — MAC Dark Desires The Well Eye Shadow in Switch Me On ($20)

mac well eye shadow midnight tryst — MAC Dark Desires The Well Eye Shadow in Midnight Tryst ($20)

They aren’t ringing any bells for me, so I think these are brand-spankin’ new.

Designed from the start to be applied wet or dry, these super soft, pigmented powder products are dual-purpose. You can use them as eyeshadows and/or eyeliners.

The little packages are slimmer than MAC’s regular eyeshadows, and check this out: each one has a divot, or “a well,” right in the middle of the pan.

The idea is that you’re supposed to wet your brush, then swirl it around in the divot, then apply the wet powder to your lids.

mac well eye shadow whats your fantasy — MAC Dark Desires The Well Eye Shadow in What’s Your Fantasy ($20)

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5 Great Gothy Glam Lipsticks for Fall

November 2nd, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

5 gothy glam lipsticks — You can’t go wrong with one of these gorgeously gothy glam lipsticks this fall

“Luke, I am your father!”

Wha!? Who you talkin’ to? Ain’t no Luke here, buddy. My name is Karen, and this is my cat Tabs.

“JOIN THE DARK SIDE, LUKE!”

Man, you are cray, but OK. Sure, I’ll join the dark side…of lipstick! BOOM! What!? Surprise attack! Get him, Tabs! Attack his ankles!!

–END–

Yes, fellow fierce force users, dark, vampy plums and wines are giving me So. Much. Life. There are so many great gothy glam lip colors out there, and here are five fabulous ones for fall.

1. NARS Audacious Lipstick in Liv ($22)

Oh! I love Liv’s deep, satiny aubergine finish and rich, creamy formula. It livs (get it?) online and at NARS counters, where you can find it now for $22.

2. Dolce & Gabbana Matte Lipstick in Dolce Inferno ($37)

dolce gabbana dolce inferno — Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Inferno

I am burning up with love for $37 Dolce Inferno. It’s hands down one of my favorite deep, dark lippies around. A moody matte plum, it has the faintest essence of pearl that gives it a little kick.

For a dark lipstick, it’s also easy to apply. The smooth, opaque formula feels fairly thick, and it doesn’t slip and slide all over my lips when I apply it, which I do with a lip brush. You’ll find this hot ticket heating up Dolce & Gabbana counters now.

3. MAC Satin Lipstick in Cyber ($17)

My dry lips love MAC Cyber’s comfy, creamy formula. This dark, satiny plum is so creamy that it tends to scoot beyond my natural lip line, so I like to wear it with MAC Cyber World Lip Liner, because 1) the two products are like peas in a pod (the colors match very closely), and 2) the liner totally keeps Cyber under control.

Skynet approved! Look for it passing Turing tests now at MAC counters and online.
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An Affable Autumn Moody Monday Makeup Look for a Folksy Fall

November 2nd, 2015 by Karen 44 Comments

I wasn’t sure what to call this look… Moody Monday? Or Folksy Fall? How about Affable Autumn?

So I’m leaning toward a combination of all three — an Affable Autumn Moody Monday Makeup Look for a Folksy Fall — because it’s overcast and drizzling right now (it rained hard last night), and part of me definitely wants to be sitting by a warm fire under a flannel blanket while sipping a mug of hot cocoa, while another part of me wants to be walking around outside in the rain dressed in black from head to toe with my headphones on while listening to Joy Division.

Basically, I’m feelin’ it. 🙂

There are three main concepts at work in this cozy/moody Monday makeup look. First, it features a warm matte reddish brown smoky eye. Second, the edges of the winged liner have been blurred. And third, the dark matte plum lip.

It’s a lot of look, for sure, but I think it all goes well together, especially if the weather where you are is anything like the weather is here now. It’s like it just turned full-on fall last night!

Skipping the winged liner or leaving out the falsies would tone it down. Or, you could not line your lower water line with the black liner, and just leave your lower water line bare.

Of course, to go the other way completely and boost the drama, you could go more intense with the brows, or add a gloss on top of the plum lip, or use a gel or liquid liner, which would add even more oomph (I just used a black eyeshadow applied with a wet brush). Any of those tweaks would look super cool.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Layin’ Low Paint Pot

October 29th, 2015 by Karen 23 Comments

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of my all-time favorite permanent collection products.

When was the last time you heard somebody flip their lid and rave about MAC Layin’ Low?

Ever…? Have you ever heard it? Because I can’t remember ever hearing somebody rave about MAC Layin’ Low. It really does lay low and keep a low profile. Among the MAC Paint Pots, it just doesn’t get the same kind of love that Soft Ochre and Painterly get and, yes, while they’re also cream eyeshadows, I think Layin’ Low deserves some love of its own, because it’s one of THE BEST base colors for warm browns.

There, I said it! WARM BROWNS. I know I go on and on about how much I like to wear cool browns on my lids (the gray tones create fabulous faux shadows that give the illusion of a deeper crease, which is something I’m always striving for since my crease is pretty shallow), but there’s something about warm orangey browns and reddish browns in the fall and winter. They just feel right, and they go oh, so well with plum, wine, brown and red lips.

Warm and creamy matte beige Layin’ Low is like Soft Brown’s creamy shadow cousin, and if you like warm browns like MAC Saddle, Texture, Swiss Chocolate (and others), it’s an absolute must.

If you’re warm toned like I am with a skin tone around NC20 or up, it’s like friggin’ David Copperfield (i.e. magic). If you’re lighter than NC20, just in case, give it a swatch first before committing, because it can look a little more orange than warm beige on some gals.

mac-layin-low-on-lids — A quick daytime look with Layin’ Low on my lids and MAC Costa Riche Eye Kohl on my lash lines; the lipstick is bareMinerals Lead the Way

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