MAC Makeup

The MAC Holiday 2015 Enchanted Eve Navy Eyeshadow X 6 Palette

October 12th, 2015 by Karen 40 Comments

mac enchanted eve eyes navy — The MAC Holiday 2015 Enchanted Eve Eyes/Navy Eyeshadow X 6 Palette ($39.50), one of three Enchanted Eve Eyeshadow X6 palettes in the holiday collection

Henceforth, 2015 will be forever etched into my memory as “The Year MAC Did Bladerunner Cell Phone Meets Atari 2600 Packaging for Their Eyeshadow Palettes.”

mac enchanted eve eyes navy 1 — Mercury Alpha Corporation (M.A.C.) Digital Transponder or MAC Holiday 2015 Enchanted Eve Eyes/Navy Palette? You be the judge…

Gotta love the retrofuturistic vibe!

Buuut, as far as the eyeshadows themselves? Well, I was wondering…is it just me, or does it seem like some of the MAC holiday palettes have fallen short over the past few years? Like they just haven’t risen to the same level of quality as the singles in the permanent line?

I wore the Enchanted Eve Navy Eyeshadow X 6 Palette today ($39.50; limited edition and coming to the MAC website Oct. 18 and to MAC stores and counters Oct. 22) and spent what felt like an unusually long time building up the colors. The powders feel harder and rougher than the eyeshadow singles in the permanent line, and it leads to choppier application and just generally more difficulty blending.

mac enchanted eve eyes navy k — Wearing MAC Enchanted Eye Eyes/Navy on my lids and lower lash line; lips are MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Double-Time with MAC Lipstick in Creme D’Nude

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A Look With the MAC Enchanted Eve Eye and Face Palette/Cool: Cool-Toned Gray and Blue Eyes, Rosy Cheeks and Plum Lips

October 9th, 2015 by Karen 7 Comments

My skin may have a sunny disposition — i.e., I’m warm toned — but sometimes I like playing it cool with cool-toned grays, browns and blues like the ones I’m wearing here.

I’m wearing the new MAC Enchanted Eve Eye and Face Palette/Cool ($49.50), one of the two eye and face palettes in the MAC holiday 2015 collection.

mac enchanted eye face palette cool — MAC Enchanted Eve Eye and Face Palette/Cool ($49.50)

Despite seeming like a strange combo, cool tones don’t have to clash with warm-toned skin. Sometimes I think they look really cool! 🙂

This look didn’t take long, either. I used my trusty iPhone timer trick. I set it for 25 minutes, and then I committed to mostly sticking to the colors in the palette, because it has eyeshadows, a blush, two lipsticks and a highlighter, so most of what I needed was right there (yay for convenience!).

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MAC Magic of the Night: Jewel-Toned Smoky Eyes, Glowing Skin and Matte Pink Lips

October 8th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Here’s the makeup I wore to wizardry class today! Huh, I’m tellin’ ya… Sorcery is hard work. 🙂 This is my first look with the new MAC Holiday 2015 Magic of the Night collection, and seriously, I would wear this makeup pretty much every day if I thought I could pull it off.

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MAC Holiday 2015 | Magic of the Night Color Collection and Gift Sets

October 7th, 2015 by Karen 28 Comments

This year I really, really hope I get an invite to a Hogwarts-style enchanted garden/magical nighttime holiday event because then I’ll have the world’s most fitting excuse to get gussied up in makeup from the MAC Holiday 2015 Magic of the Night collection.

I just hope I can find the right black-tie pregnancy dress, hmm… 🙂

Oh, boy! This collection is a doozy. It’s a big one, and it’s split into two parts. First, there’s the color collection, spell caster’s codename “Magic of the Night.” And then there are several holiday gift sets in three different categories, appropriately named Enchanted Eve, Irresistibly Charming and Viva Glamorous.

Playing with these pieces today it was pretty much love at first swipe. The color theme and deep jewel-toned smoky eyes, gleaming skin and matte lips are totally my style, and I’m a sucker for the magical vibe.

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MAC Unsung Heroes: Constructivist Paint Pot

October 6th, 2015 by Karen 11 Comments

mac constructivist paint pot — MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist ($22)

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

When you’re on your second pot of MAC Constructivist — wait, I think this might be my third? — it’s probably time to put flowers in its hair, stick it on a float, and throw a parade for it (don’t forget the brass band). Or, you could give it the Unsung Heroes treatment. 🙂

Dude, what a snazzy little Paint Pot! This pearlescent reddish brown cream eyeshadow is a $22 member of the MAC permanent line, and we’ve been hanging out even more than usual lately.

If you love brown eyeshadows as much as I do (and I know my girls are out there; I can’t be the only one!), Constructivist is absolutely must-have, especially if you’re also a MAC fan and a lover of neutral shadows.

Flexibility is Constructivist’s super power. You can wear it by itself (which I do all the time), or use it as a base under other powder eyeshadows, and hello! — it looks lovely with so many different shades, but I’ll talk about that more in a second.

mac constructivist paint pot 2 — MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist ($22)

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NARS Isolde Eye Duo in Action

October 1st, 2015 by Karen 25 Comments

I wasn’t playing the other day when I said I’ve been all about NARS Isolde lately. Both it and NARS Cordura (LOVE YOU, C!!!) have been two of my full-time eye makeup BFFs for weeks, and even though I’ve mostly gotten over this cold of mine and want to wear more makeup again, I still don’t have the patience to sit still for 45 minutes and blend six different teals till my fingers fall off, ya know?

This week I’ve been using the timer on my iPhone in the morning to rein myself in. I set it for 25 minutes, and whatever I’m able to do in that time, that’s what I end up wearing for the day.

Before I even start, though, I keep all the basics, like foundation, mascara and concealer, etc., in a little box next to my desk so I don’t waste any time hunting stuff down. Then I also put whatever eye and lip products I plan to wear in the same box.

I like to spend the lion’s share of the 25 minutes on my eye makeup, so I’ll cut back on some things and spend less time on my skin, which is why more of my freckles are peeking through in these pics than usual.

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Neat and New to Me: MAC Cosmo Lipstick

September 25th, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

Neat and New to Me

Unlike my Unsung Heroes series, which features permanent collection products I’ve known and loved a long time, the Neat and New to Me series showcases permanent collection products that slipped under my radar for a while, but then I discovered them! — and now I think they’re neat and new to me.

Just when you thought you didn’t need ONE MOAR PINK LIPSTICK!

Who are we kidding…? There’s always room for one more pink lipstick, and this one by MAC is a real contender. I just wish I’d found it sooner because…isn’t it gorgeous!? 🙂 It’s called Cosmo, and it’s one of MAC’s Amplified Lipsticks — the ones with the creamy, long-lasting formula of which I’m a big fan.

It’s classified as a brownish pink, but I think it’s more pink than brown on my NC42 skin. I’ve heard through the makeup grapevine, which is code for, “I went to the MAC counter and talked to a few artists about it,” that Cosmo 1) registers as a pink on lighter skin tones as well and 2) looks amaze-balls on olive-toned skin.

So if your skin has yellow undertones, pour yourself a Cosmo, honey! (It should be noted that this one will not cause hangovers.)

Another thing I love about this color — other than the color, I mean — is how it fades. I put it on the other day around 3, then went about my business. Chatted with the neighbors, took some pictures for the blog, pet Tabs (FOR A WHILE), went to go get a regularly scheduled blood test and stopped by HomeGoods to look at autumnal dinner plates.

When I checked my makeup later at around 7:30, I could still see a hint of Cosmo on my lips. It had lost its creamy shine, of course, but it hadn’t lost its color. It turned into a pretty, pink stain.

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MAC MACnificent Me! Collection | Video Review, Pics and Swatches

September 18th, 2015 by Karen 16 Comments

mac macnificent me eye shadow x 9 — MAC MACnificent Me: Eye Shadow X 9 ($40)

So, what would be MACnificent right now? How about a vanilla milkshake and some fries!? But that just might be me doin’ my #pregnantladythings. The upside of the new MAC MACnificent Me! collection is that everything is calorie-free!

What makes you MACnificent? Is it your impeccable style, your sense of humor or your ability to wear crazy colors on your lids and lips and make them look completely legit?

Whatever it is, I think you’ll be able to find something of interest in the new MAC MACnificent Me! fall 2015 collection. 🙂

mac macnificent me eye shadow X 9 2 — MAC MACnificent Me: Eye Shadow X 9 ($40)

mac macnificent me eye shadow — MAC MACnificent Me Eye Shadow in Cheer Me On, Well Behaved and Everyone’s Darling ($16 each)

This collection has a neat twist. The six models for the campaign, whose identities haven’t been announced yet (as of Sept. 18, 2015), were chosen from among the zillions of MAC fans who submitted their picture and bios and answered the question, “What makes you MACnificent?”

The collection drops on the MAC website September 21, and then arrives a little later on MAC counters and stores October 1 through November 12.

And it’s a huge one! — 42 pieces, with a number of traditionally fall-ish items like dark berry and plum lip colors.

Here’s a glimpse…

mac macnificent me paint pots — MAC MACnificent Me Paint Pots from the left: Stroke My Ego, Imaginary and Nice Composure ($22 each)

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