MAC Makeup

MAC Unsung Heroes: Brun Eye Shadow

June 4th, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

INSIDE VOICE: Dude. You should do an Unsung Heroes post for MAC Brun Eye Shadow ($15).

OUTSIDE VOICE: Eh, I dunno. I love it and all, but it’s a dark blackish brown shadow. I mean, that’s not very exciting, ya know?

INSIDE VOICE: True dat. It’s no Club or Impassioned, but I think it’s still worth a shout-out, right? You wear it practically every day.

Plus, remember that trip when you forgot it at home?

OUTSIDE VOICE: Oh, boy.

INSIDE VOICE: You freaked-the-eff out! You had to track down the nearest MAC counter on your iPhone, and then had El Hub drive you there before you would agree to do anything else. That’s dedication, dude.

OUTSIDE VOICE: El Hub was so grumpy! He was like, “Are you kidding me right now!? Come on! We’re on vacation!”

Bless that man. He puts up with a lot of crazy sh*t. 🙂

OK, I guess you do have a point. Brun’s a great brow filler for brunettes. It’s warm-toned, not too reddish, and I’ve always liked that despite it being so dark, it doesn’t look harsh on my skin, and it’s interesting, too, how the satin finish looks almost matte.

INSIDE VOICE: I’ve seen you use it for other things — not just for filling in your brows.

OUTSIDE VOICE: True, true. I also wear it a lot with slightly defined neutral eyes, where I’ll pat a little MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot all over my lids, buff some MAC Mylar on top of that with a 224, then sweep a little Cork or Soft Brown in the crease.

For a little depth, I’ll take Brun, apply it in the outer corner or the outer crease, and do a quickie winged liner. I tell you, that’s the best classic neutral eye combo right there, I swear. It’s so easy! I can do it half asleep, LOL!

Wearing MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot, Mylar Eye Shadow, Cork Eye Shadow and Brun Eye Shadow on my lids, and Maybelline Blackest Black Lasting Drama Eyestudio on my upper lash lines

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Gold Glitter on a Tuesday? Why the Hell Not! A Face of the Day With MAC 3D Glitter in Brass Gold, and the Clinique On Safari All About Shadow Quad

June 3rd, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

Wearing Clinique's On Safari Quad with MAC 3D Glitter in 3D Brass Gold — Glitter! Wearing Clinique’s On Safari Quad with MAC 3D Glitter in 3D Brass Gold

Generally I think of rigorous makeup rules and structure as hogwash, hooey and blarney, otherwise known as crazy talk.

Can’t say I’ve ever really believed in hard-and-fast rules for le war paint, but I do have a mantra — a guiding principle, if you will — and this is it: WHY THE HELL NOT!?

Want to rock a blown-out Khal Drogo smokey eye to a formal Sunday brunch?

Why the hell not!?

Want to wear a bright green gloss and gold glitter on your lids to walk your cat around the block?

Why the hell not!?

My point is this: life is short. You might as well wear what moves you.

Today I was in the mood to sparkle because, you know, it’s Tuesday, and that’s as good a reason as any. 🙂 So I did this glittery, brassy, kind of smokey greenish khaki eye.

I like that it has tricks up its sleeve. One minute, when my eyes are wide open, I think it looks almost tame, just a warm brassy golden eye, but then when I blink, BAM! — that’s when the glitter does its thang.

I used MAC 3D Glitter in Brass Gold atop Clinique’s greenish gold All About Eyeshadow Quad in On Safari, and I kept the glitter in the center of the lid so it wouldn’t overpower the whole look.

The Clinique On Safari All About Shadow Quad

I think the loose glitter I’m using here, MAC 3D Glitter, is really cool. The hexagonal multicolored glitter bits may look kind of mellow in these pics, but all about the drama in person.

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Food for Thought: 7 Lip Combos With the New MAC Sharon and Kelly Osbourne Collection

June 2nd, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Wearing a combination of MAC Satin Lipstick in Kelly Yum-Yum and Lipglass in Bijou from the new MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne collection

The Osbournes are in the hizz-ouse!

The online hizz-ouse, because the MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne collection debuted online today (Sharon’s products + Kelly’s products). Are you going to (or have you already) grabbed any of the Patentpolish Lip Pencils, Lipglasses, Lipsticks or regular Lip Pencils from this mighty mother/daughter collab?

If you have (but even if you haven’t), maybe some of these seven lip combos will give you ideas.

Hmm… What else should I try?

1. Satin Lipstick in Kelly Yum-Yum + Lipglass in Bijou

OK, this is random, but that word, “Bijou”? It’s my latest nickname for Tabs.

I’ve been calling him Bijou for days. 🙂 “Bijou! What are doing, Bijou!? Come here, Bijou! Does Bijou want to go for a walk?”

Yes, I know. You even don’t need to say it. I already know.

2. Matte Lipstick in Dodgy Girl + Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Patentpink

MAC Matte Lipstick in Dodgy Girl + Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Patentpink — Matte Lipstick in Dodgy Girl + Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Patentpink

3. Lip Pencil in In Synch + Patent Polish Lip Pencil in Innocent

MAC Lip Pencil in In Synch + Patent Polish Lip Pencil in Innocent — Lip Pencil in In Synch + Patent Polish Lip Pencil in Innocent

4. Lip Pencil in Cranberry + Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Ruby

MAC Lip Pencil in Cranberry + Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Ruby — Lip Pencil in Cranberry + Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Ruby

5. Patentpolish Lip Pencil in French Kiss + Lipglass in Pussywillow

MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencil in French Kiss + Lipglass in Pussywillow — Patentpolish Lip Pencil in French Kiss + Lipglass in Pussywillow

6. Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Patentpink + Lipglass in Bijou

MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Patentpink + Lipglass in Bijou — Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Patentpink + Lipglass in Bijou

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What Do You Think of the New MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Packaging?

May 22nd, 2014 by Karen 49 Comments

New threads for the MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes ($32 each, available now at counters and online)

Saw these cuties at ~~my home away from home~~ the MAC counter yesterday.

I went because — well, you know, do I really need a reason? 🙂 — but I was also running low on Bulk Wipes and Cleanse-Off Oil.

What do you think of the new packaging for the Mineralize Skinfinishes?

From the left, that’s Global Glow, Cheeky Bronze, Soft and Gentle, and Gold Deposit

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The MAC Pedro Lourenco Collection for Summer 2014: Classic Cosmetics for a Far-Future Catwalk

May 21st, 2014 by Karen 43 Comments

What struck me first was the packaging. The black against the gold. It pulled me in like a tractor beam. Classic and edgy at the same time, a la Blade Runner, which is a style I aspire to achieve, on occasion.

The black cases are different than usual for MAC and have this rubbery texture, so they’re kind of NARS-y, and that coupled with the makeup — the nude eyes, cheeks and bright red lips — add up to a recipe for instant makeup lust.

There are definitely things here I’ll wear, and actually, a lot of them are pieces I already wear. The new quad has two of my long-time favorite MAC eyeshadows, Sable and All That Glitters, and the Cream Colour Base is a re-promoted shade called Hush, which I absolutely love.

The new MAC Pedro Lourenco collection (not shown: the Nail Lacquers in Skin and Rlaming Rose)

A couple of the lipsticks also look like classic MAC shades I wear all the time, like True Red, which looks a little like Lady Danger but has an Amplified finish instead of a Matte, so it has that shine. And Ruby is kind of like Russian Red, but with the Amplified finish instead of the Matte.

So, I don’t really think the release shatters new ground. The edgiest pieces here are probably the Lipglasses, which are these sort of weird metallic colors like Gold Mirror, a neutral gold, and Mirror, a neutral silver, both of which, I think, seem very indicative of Pedro’s sometimes sci-fi style, from what I’ve seen of his work.

I tell you what, though — if I were a robot, I’d be all over those Lipglasses in two ticks of an animatronic heartbeat, beep-beep!

MAC Pedro Lourenco Collection Amplified Lipsticks — Pedro Lourenco Amplified Lipsticks, $17.50 each

MAC Pedro Lourenco Amplified Lipstick in Peach Beige — Amplified Lipstick in Peach Beige, a light pinkish nude

MAC Pedro Lourenco Amplified Lipstick in Ruby — Amplified Lipstick in Ruby, a mid-tone blueish red

MAC Pedro Lourenco in Amplified Lipstick in Roxo — Amplified Lipstick in Roxo, a deep red

MAC Pedro Lourenco Amplified Lipstick in True Red — Amplified Lipstick in True Red, a vivid bright coral

MAC Pedro Lourenco Lipglass in Mirror (top) and Gold Mirror (bottom) — Lipglass in Mirror (top, a neutral silver) and Gold Mirror (bottom, neutral gold), $16.50 each

I was so stoked about the Corol Blush Duo before seeing it in person. It’s the big compact with the black matte packaging and Pedro’s name across the front. But then I tried it on, and it really wasn’t working for me. The powder’s extremely hard and difficult to pick up with a brush or finger. When I did these swatches, I actually had to chip away at the powder with a fingernail to free up some product.

But other than the Duo, I like the collection. I think there’s something cooly futuristic and classic about it at the same time, like something you’d see in a sci-fi movie starring Milla Jovovich as the main character, and her eyes would be shining with the sparkling nude and bronze and rosy tones.

I can see it now… She’s walking down a dusty, decaying urban alley between tall, grimy buildings holding an oversized plasma gun. Her cheeks are highlighted and glowing, and her lips are bright red. 🙂

Beautiful and accessible, with an edge — that’s how I see this collection. If you have a friend you’ve wanted to convert into a MAC fan, this is the collection where you hold her hand and guide her into the light.

Let me know what you think.

MAC Pedro Lourenco Nude Quad — Nude Quad, $17.50

MAC Pedro Lourenco Cream Colour Base in Hush — Cream Colour Base in Hush, $22

MAC Pedro Lourenco Powder Blush Duo in Corol — Powder Blush Duo in Corol, $26

MAC Pedro Lourenco Nude Quad Swatches — Nude Quad

MAC Pedro Lourenco Lipstick Swatches — From the left: Amplified Lipsticks in Peach Beige, Ruby, Roxo and True Red

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The MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne Collection for Summer 2014: Kelly’s Lips

May 20th, 2014 by Karen 35 Comments

MAC Kelly Osbourne Satin Lipstick in Kelly Yum Yum

MAC Kelly Osbourne Kelly Yum Yum Lip Swatch — Wearing Satin Lipstick in Kelly Yum Yum on my lips

I was really looking forward to Kelly’s lipsticks from the the MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne collection, because from the product pics, they looked like the cats meow/whole enchilada (what’s the British equivalent of an enchilada? A pasty?) — like, take off your stretchy pants, and put on some real pants so you can head to the counter right now.

But then I tried them on…and I realized that you may have to be 16 years old with lips smoother than a baby’s butt to pull them off.

With the exception of Kelly Yum-Yum, the only satin lipstick in the bunch, the others are hard to wear, at least for me, and I really, REALLY tried to make them work.

Dude. I almost didn’t want to post these lip swatches because I’m not exactly thrilled with how they turned out. My lips look dry and heavily lined. I mean, I know I’m not a spring chicken, and I may be a little dehydrated today, but come on! I feel like Miss Havisham up in this b*tch.

So, first, the good. Kelly Yum-Yum. 🙂 If you only get one lip product from the Kelly squad, let it be this. It’s a satin finish version of the spectacular matte Candy Yum-Yum Lipstick. I just wore Candy Yum-Yum last week in the Jem lips post.

Other than the finishes being different, the colors aren’t identical. Kelly Yum-Yum has a little more pink, and not quite as much blue. But I think both are straight-up showstoppers.

Then there’s In Synch, the re-promoted Lip Pencil. It’s a solid oldie but a goodie.

I found the others here — the three matte lipsticks — difficult to wear, at least without serious lip prepping.

Like, if I smothered my lips first with lip balm the night before, and then on the morning of, and then drank five gallons of water, and then turned back time 10 years (ok, 20), then, yeah, we could make ’em work.

MAC Kelly Osbourne Matte Lipstick in Strip Poker — Matte Lipstick in Strip Poker, a light nude, $17.50

MAC Kelly Osbourne Matte Lipstick in Riot House — Matte Lipstick in Riot House, a light vivid orange, $17.50

MAC Kelly Osbourne Matte Lipstick in Dodgy Girl — Matte Lipstick in Dodgy Girl, a light lavender, $17.50

MAC Kelly Osbourne Lip Pencil in In Synch — Lip Pencil in In Synch, a bright yellow pink, $16.50

MAC Kelly Osbourne Lipstick swatches from the left: Strip Poker, Riot House, Kelly Yum Yum, Dodgy Girl and In Synch — From the left: Strip Poker, Riot House, Kelly Yum Yum, Dodgy Girl and In Synch

MAC Kelly Osbourne Strip Poker Lip Swatch — Matte Lipstick in Strip Poker

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The MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne Collection for Summer 2014: Kelly’s Eyes and Cheeks

May 20th, 2014 by Karen 24 Comments

MAC Sharon and Kelly Osbourne collection — Wearing makeup from the MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne Collection Kelly sub-collection on my eyes, cheeks and lips

Things I know about Kelly Osbourne…

I saw her guest host a fashion show once (I think it was with Joan Rivers), and she seemed very sassy, like a regular sassy-pants girl.
She appears to be funny and good at banter.
I know that the purple hair she’s rocking these days is totally working for her in a cool, Dorothy Zbornak kind of way, and it makes me want purple hair…but I figure that I’m just going to wait for my hair to turn gray first, and then I’ll take it from there.
I’ve read that she has a penchant for, um, colorful language.
I know that she’s Ozzy Osbourne’s daughter, and that makes me wonder what Halloweens at their house were like, and what she’s getting him for Father’s Day (maybe one of the her MAC Kelly Osbourne eyeliners, perhaps?).
I know that she has a reputation for being edgy and fashionable, and I can see that edge in her products from the MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne collection.

MAC Kelly Osbourne Collection — The MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne Kelly sub-collection products (not including the two brushes)

Strutting down the runway first are the eyeshadows, eyeliners, and cheek and face products from the Kelly sub-collection of the mother-daughter MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne collection for summer 2014 (stay tuned for the four lipsticks and single lip liner in a few).

Like ice is to fire, these are cool! — as in cooler-toned than the colors in momma Sharon’s part of the release.

I get the sense that Kelly is a long-time MAC fan, since some of the re-promoted pieces, and there are a few, are products I love, too, like Smolder, Soba and Brun. The two eyeliners, and the eyeshadows in the duo, as well as one of the shadows in the quad, are re-promotes.

See the purple packaging? It’s like Kelly’s hair, and her signature graces each of the pieces.

Nice handwriting, by the way. 🙂 I like how she writes her ‘K.’

The MAC Kelly Osbourne Bloody Brilliant Quad and Morning Mister Magpie Eye Shadow Duo

Good Morning Mister Magpie! I see that your duo has two re-promoted shadows (Soba and Brun).

Except that these versions look a little odd to me…

Not in a bad way. Just different.

I mean, I know both of these bad boys like the back of my hand (Get it? Bad swatch pun…) because I wear them a ton. Soba is one of my everyday neutral browns, and I use Brun to fill in my brows every single day.

But the Soba here seems more golden to me than the Soba I know, like it’s Soba’s second cousin or something. Brun looks a little different, too, but only in its pan, where I swear it looks gray.

Weirdly, it swatches the same.

The Bloody Brilliant Quad also has a re-promoted product of its own — Shadowy Lady (a matte blackened plum).

Based on Kelly’s eyes in the promo pic, I was hoping for a bloody brilliant purple in the quad, or maybe a bloody brilliant coral, because her eyes look bad-@ss! It looks like there’s a warm coral in the crease and a bright, intense purple along her lower lash line, and when I saw that pic, I thought, “Yes! I want to go to there.”

But after playing with the quad this week, I don’t know… I just wanted more intensity. Maybe it’s because of our different skin tones, but I feel like the quad’s colors don’t look as good on me as they do on Kelly in the promo pic.

Also, there’s the way the shadows feel. Compared to the shadows in Sharon’s quad, these feel slightly harder to me and are consequently a little tougher to blend. Not sure why.

MAC Kelly Osbourne Bloody Brilliant Quad — Bloody Brilliant Quad, with Tickety Boo (a soft muted plummy brown with a Satin finish), Fizzy Rose (a pale lilac with a Satin finish), Spoonful of Sugar (a sparkling platinum with a Veluxe Pearl finish) and Shadowy Lady (a blackened plum with a matte finish), $44

MAC Kelly Osbourne in Morning Mister Magpie — Morning Mister Magpie, with Soba (a soft taupe with a Satin finish) and Brun (a dark brown with a Satin finish), $22

MAC Kelly Osbourne Morning Mister Magpie — Morning Mister Magpie

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The MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne Collection for Summer 2014: Sharon’s Lips

May 20th, 2014 by Karen 25 Comments

MAC Sharon Osbourne Patentpolish Lip Pencil in French Kiss

MAC Sharon Osbourne Collection — Wearing the Lip Pencil in Cranberry and the Lipglass in Bijou from the MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne Sharon sub-collection

If you’re the kind of person who fudges from time to time when it comes to applying lip products (um, yes, I am guilty of this), like, if you don’t always use a lip brush to precisely outline your lips — ding-ding-ding! Sharon will hook you up.

Sharon’s lip products from the mother-daughter MAC Sharon & Kelly Osbourne collection are all about shine. The Patentpolish Lip Pencils are shiny, the Lipglasses are shiny. There’s also a classic MAC Lip Pencil (that’s obviously not shiny), but the bulk of the release is Shine City!

We’re talking about sheer to moderately sheer coverage from these four Patentpolish Lip Pencils, two Lipglasses and one classic MAC Lip Pencil, so a good amount of your natural lip color will sneak through when you’re wearing them. Essentially, you have a lot of room for error. 🙂 (Read: you can mess things up pretty badly, and you’ll still look OK.)

It’s a sheerer, more neutral lip look than Kelly’s — very mom (and everyone) friendly — so if you like your lips nude and/or neutral, you’re in luck.

Check back a little later today for the Kelly sub-collection products.

The MAC Sharon Osbourne Lipglasses in Pussywillow and Bijou

Pussywillow is super sparkly!

And still pretty sheer. I see it as a good layering gloss.

As for Bijou, the other Lipglass in the Sharon launch, there’s something very MAC Spite Lipglass about it…if MAC Spite were blushing and brighter. Just your everyday rosy, dusty pink — perfectly pretty, but it doesn’t haunt my dreams.

MAC Sharon Osbourne Lipglass in Pussywillow — Lipglass in Pussywillow, a light neutral gold, $16.50

MAC Sharon Osbourne Lipglass in Bijou — Lipglass in Bijou, a soft rose, $16.50

MAC Sharon Osbourne Collection Swatches: Lipglasses in Pussywillow (left) and Bijou (right) — Lipglasses in Pussywillow (left) and Bijou (right)

MAC Sharon Osbourne Pussywillow Lipglass Swatch — Lipglass in Pussywillow

MAC Sharon Osbourne Bijou Lipglass Swatch — Lipglass in Bijou

The MAC Sharon Osbourne Patentpolish Lip Pencils in Innocent, Patentpink, French Kiss and Ruby

Lipstick for non-lipstick people, the Patentpolishes are sheer, shiny and uber-comfortable.

If Innocent and Patentpink, the lighter two of the four here, look familiar to you, you have a great eye. Both are re-promotes of Patentpolishes MAC released for spring.

For warm caramel French Kiss, the ’90s are calling! — when brown lips were all the rage. Except in this case, they aren’t matte or opaque. It’s a sheerer, shinier take on that classic ’90s look.

Ooh! I think both French Kiss and mid-toned rosy Ruby could be great neutrals for darker divas.

MAC Sharon Osbourne Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Innocent — Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Innocent, a nude beige, $21.5

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