June 2012

Monday, June 25, 2012

Navy Smokey Eye Tutorial ft. MAC Contrast Eyeshadow

As much as I love bright eye makeup, it's not something I opt for very often. I definitely prefer more neutral looks for everyday, unless I'm feeling inspired. But then there's the days when I want to spice my look up with some color, without being over the top. I do this by finding wearable shades of specific colors. I love blues; They make my brown eyes really stand out. So when I want to incorporate blues into my look, I turn to my MAC Eyeshadow in Contrast. It's a gorgeous navy blue with a hint of purple and is so incredibly wearable.

Since I got a lot of great feedback on my last tutorial, I thought I'd do a tutorial on my favorite way to wear MAC Contrast, with a smokey eye. Enjoy!


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Products Used (in order of use, with shade descriptions and dupe, if applicable):
*MAC Paint Pot in Painterly (not shown)
1. Sonia Kashuk Dramatically Defining Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Charcoal Grey
2. MAC Eyeshadow in Contrast (purple-ish blue with blue pearl) [dupe: MAC Deep Truth]
3. MAC Eyeshadow in Wedge (soft muted beige taupe) [dupe: mid-tone brown from WNW Vanity Palette]
4. Inglot Eyeshadow in Matte 318 (intense matte white) [dupe: MAC Mylar]
5. Inglot Eyeshadow in Matte340 (peacock blue) [dupe: MAC Plumage]
6. Wet N' Wild Brule Eyeshadow from Vanity Palette (matte ivory)
7. Avon Black Eyeliner
8. NYX Eyelash Curler
9. Revlon PhotoReady 3D Volume Mascara
10. Loreal Telescopic Mascara


Brushes/Tools Used (in order of use):
1. Sephora Dome Smudge Brush
2. Sigma E60 Large Shader Brush
3. Sigma E25 Blending Brush
4. Sigma E55 Eye Shading Brush
5. Sephora Shader Brush
6. Sephora All Over Shadow Brush
7. Sigma E30 Pencil Brush
8. NYC Eyelash Curler


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Prime your eyes before beginning! (not shown)
1. Apply a gray or black gel eyeliner as a base on the outer half of eyelid with a densely packed brush or your ring finger. Blend out as much as possible to avoid creasing. Don't worry if it looks patchy! (I used a liner with a dryer formula because cream products crease very easily on me, hence the patchiness.)
2. With a blending brush, apply Wedge through the crease making sure to blend out the edges of the base.
3. Apply Contrast with a large shader brush over where you applied the gray or black base.
4. Apply Wedge into the crease with a blending brush, blending out the harsh edges.
5. With a small shader brush, apply Inglot Matte 318 to the inner corner and inner half of lid, slightly overlapping Contrast.
6. Go back in with the large shader brush and a bit more Contrast and go back over where you first applied it to bring back its intensity and to blend it into the white shadow.
7. With a shader brush, apply Inglot Matte 340 to the outer corner in an angled shape. Bring it slightly into the crease, no more than 1/3 of the way in.
8. Go back in with Wedge on the same blending brush to blend everything out once more.
9. With a fluffy shadow brush, apply an ivory shade to the brow bone.
10. With the tip of a shader brush, apply Contrast to the outer half of the lower lashline.
11. With a small shader brush, apply Inglot Matte 318 to the inner half of the lower lashline.
12. Apply black eyeliner to the waterline and tight line your upper waterline, if preferred.
13. Curl your eyelashes! (optional)
14. Apply mascara! I always layer my mascaras.

Voila`!


If you're wondering what I used on the rest of my face, when I do this look I like to use peachy pink shades for the cheeks and lips, to balance out the blue in the eyes. I also make sure to bronze my face to avoid lookig washed out, since the eyes are so dark. Here's what I used:

Cheeks:
MAC Blush in Blunt (contour)
MAC Bronzing Powder in Refined Golden (bronzer)
NARS Blush in Orgasm (blush)

Lips:
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Primrose mixed with
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Nude
Pixi Lip Booster in Leanan


The Finished Look:
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Sunday, June 24, 2012

The Many Uses of MAC Vanilla Pigment

If you're a hardcore makeup addict, I'm sure you've heard of MAC Vanilla Pigment. It's a must-have, a necessity, an amazing product. If you own this bad boy, you already know how amazing it is. But for those of you who have not had the opportunity to own it yourself or even to swatch it, I'm here to let you know just how amazing it truly is. Not only is MAC Vanilla Pigment the most beautiful shade of golden yellow you've ever laid your eyes on, but it can be used in so many different ways! Because of it's multifunctional purpose, this is a must have in everyone's makeup collection.

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On the MAC Cosmetics website, Pigments are described as:
"Pigment is a highly concentrated loose colour powder that contains ingredients to help it adhere to the skin. Create a subtle wash of colour or an intense effect. Does not streak or cake. Easy to blend and long-lasting. Please note: Pigments are sold by weight not volume. Containers can appear to be less than full due to settling of the product."

MAC Pigments used to be sold in different packaging, which contained WAY more product. For whatever reason, pigments now come in a slimmer bottle containing 4.5 g / 0.15 oz of product.

They retail for $20.00 US.

MAC Vanilla Pigment is described as a Soft Ivory White and is a Frost Finish.


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PhotobucketLeft: Swatch, blended out - Right: Swatch


Now let's get down to business...
Pigments can be used for many things. The main use, as you can probably guess, is for eyeshadow. Pigments can be used wet or dry for this purpose. Using a pigment wet, which is also referred to as foiling, makes the product more intense and gives a metallic finish.

Vanilla Pigment makes a perfect high light shade, if you don't mind the frostiness of it. I typically only wear high light shades that have shimmer in them if I use only matte shades on the rest of the eye, and this is the one I usually turn to.

I also like wearing Vanilla Pigment as a wash of color on my eyelids on simpler makeup days. 

Here's some other fantastic uses for Vanilla Pigment:
  • Mix it in with a nail polish! Adding Vanilla Pigment to a nail polish won't deposit opaque color by any means, but would add a golden sheen to any color polish! 
  • Mix in with your body lotion or facial moisturizer for luminous looking skin. Vanilla Pigment reflects light like you wouldn't believe! This is a great tip for summer to make your skin look glowing.
  • You can also mix this in with your liquid foundation, to give your face a dewy, luminous glow.
  • Highlight your cheekbones, the bridge of your nose, and cupid's bow. 
  • Mix Vanilla Pigment in with your lipgloss to add a golden sheen, whether it be a clear gloss or to spice up any shade.
  • After applying your lipstick, add a touch of Vanilla Pigment to the center of your lips to give the appearance of fuller lips.
  • Turn a matte blush into a shimmery blush! Apply the matte blush of your choice (my favorite is MAC Powder Blush in Melba, which a pinky peach shade), then take the same brush, swirl it in Vanilla Pigment (don't forget to tap off the excess!) and apply it over the blush. Doing this will eliminate the need for a cheekbone highlight.

Pretty impressive, huh? MAC Vanilla Pigment definitely is a must have, whether you're a makeup artist or just a makeup lover. It can be used in so many different ways and contains so much product to let you do all this and more with it, that is, if it's not spilled on accident (the dreaded pigment fail....).

If you don't already own this product, I think it's definitely worth a shot. It's an essential product for me, especially now that it's summer.

Photobucket(MAC Vanilla Pigment applied on my cheekbones)



Do you own MAC Vanilla Pigment? What's your favorite way to use it?






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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Review: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Primrose

Thanks to a couple bad experiences in the past, I always strayed away from drugstore lipsticks. I'm an avid MAC Lipstick fan and would rather buy a higher end lipstick that I know I'll love than take my chances on a drugstore lipstick (especially since you can't swatch things at the drugstore and I HATE returning things). Well long story short, I've been giving them a try lately. On a recent trip to the drugstore, I decided to pick up the Revlon Sper Lustrous Lipstick in Primrose on a whim and was very impressed. It's purple toned pink that looks amazing when paired with either a smokey eye or a fresh face.


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"Infused with mega-moisturizers to seal in color and softness. Find your lip color amongst a dazzling array of 82 fabulous, fashionable shades!"
  • Exclusive LiquiSilk™ formula with mega-moisturizers seals in color and softness
  • Silky-smooth, creamy texture
  • Stay true color wears evenly

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Primrose is a purple/mauve toned pink. With that being said, it's also very cool toned. Because of the purple tones in it, it does look like a bolder lipstick, but due to the moisturizing nature of this lipstick, it can easily be worn with one layer for a more sheer wash of color, which is great for summer time. It can also be built up if you prefer the boldness that it can potentially have.

Even though it is moisturizing and very creamy, it does cling to the dry patches on your lips and makes them stand out more, so exfoliating is key beforehand. Thankfully, with having to take extra precautions such as exfoliating and applying chapstick, this lipstick doesn't need a gloss over top, so that's at least one step out of the way. A downfall to the formula of Primrose is that it doesn't last long. I get about 1-2 wear before needing to reapply and that's if I don't eat/drink anything within that time.


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The packaging for the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks is in a very classy black and gold tube. It's simple, yet timeless.I find that some drugstore lipsticks' packaging can feel very cheap and plastic-y, but the tube for these lipsticks are nice and durable.


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Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks are reasonably priced at around $5-6. Revlon almost always has coupons available, especially via Target. Target.com often has $2 off coupons for Revlon Cosmetics, so if you plan to pick this up, I'd definitely check that out!


Comparison Swatches
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  • Maybelline SuperStay 14 Hour Lipstick in Perpetual Peony is has the same purple/mauve tones but is slightly lighter than Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Primrose and also has a matte finish. 
  • Wet N' Wild MegaShine Lipstick in Mauve Outta Here has the same purple/mauve tones as the two lipsticks, but is a couple shades darker and is also matte.

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Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Primrose on my lips


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I found this on Tumblr, so I cannot take credit for this photo, but I did want to share this with you guys because I thought it was interesting. Primrose isn't included on here, but Stormy Pink is, which is the next Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick on my list! Hope you all enjoy this photo as much as I did.



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For such a cheap price, Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Primrose is an amazing lipstick, especially for the summer. It's a beautiful shade of pink with beautiful purple tones that make this lipstick pull very cool, but it's easy to pull off even if you have a warmer skin tone like me. It can be sheered out for a wash of color or layered for a bolder look. Primrose has been one of my favorite lipsticks to wear in the Summer so far. If you like the color of this lipstick, but would prefer a matte version that would last hours longer, another summer favorite of mine has been Maybelline SuperStay 14 Hour Lipstick in Perpetual Peony, which is an almost exact dupe color-wise for Primrose.


Have you tried any of the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks? What's your favorite shade?

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Review: MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadow in "Carefree"

Mac Pro Longwear Eyeshadow in Carefree is a product I've had in my collection ever since it came out with the Style Driven Collection back in September, I believe, and became a part of their permanent range. I absolutely love highlight shades and this one looked very promising to me. I think what really sold me, was MakeupByTiffanyD referring to this as a "candlelit" gold and she just raved about how gorgeous it was. Boy, was she right. I absolutely love it. Recently, I've discovered that it not only works as an eyeshadow, but doubles as an amazing highlight powder!

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According to Temptalia, Pro Longwear eyeshadows are "supposed to wear for eight hours with a “silky, creamy texture” that yields “maximum color impact."

"Carefree" is described by MAC as a "pale white gold." Temptalia describes it as a "pale, creamy white gold with a soft, frosty finish."



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Carefree won me over from the start with it's pigmentation. Although I do admit that it is slightly powdery to the touch, but not chalky like some eye shadows, particularly highlight shades, can be.

Carefree lives up to it's "longwear" title and lasts a good 8-10 hours on areas like the brow bone and cheekbones, whereas on my lids it will last about 6-8 hours before fading a good amount.

Even though Carefree is described as a ":white gold", it does pull more yellow due to the gold flecks of shimmer running through it. Therefore, it's more of a white gold with yellow gold shimmer.



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Classic, black MAC packaging, of course! If you're not familiar with the MAC Pro Longwear line of eyeshadows, you might think that they would be the same size as their regular eyeshadows. On the contrary, they're actually a bit larger. The size of the Pro Longwear Eyeshadows is comparable to the size of a MAC Cream Color Base. Pro Longwear Eyeshadows contain 3.4 grams (0.11 oz) of product compared to a regular MAC eyeshadow that contains 1.5 grams (00.5 oz) of product.


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MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadows are $20 each and can be found at MAC stores/counters, maccosmetics.com, or wherever MAC Cosmetics are sold. As I said earlier, they are part of the permanent range so there should be no trouble finding them.

They are about $6.50 higher in price compared to the regular MAC Eyeshadows, but you are getting 1.9 grams more product, which is the equivalent of getting two MAC Eyeshadows (plus an additional .4 grams) in one Pro Longwear Eyeshadow! Definitely a steal, if you ask me!



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Left: Swatch - Right: Blended Out


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If you're a fan of highlight shades, I definitely recommend MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadow in Carefree. If not for an eyeshadow, for highlighting purposes. I love that it's such a multi-tasking product. On hot summer days when I don't feel like wearing must makeup, I'll apply this on my lid, browbone, and across my cheekbones. One product, three uses- it's so effortless! Not to mention, it gives such that amazing golden glow that we all crave in the summertime. I also think that the Pro Longwear Eyeshadows are a steal. You're getting SO much more product than a regular eyeshadow, not to mention the long wearing properties!

I'm definitely going to be trying out more the MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadows. Hopefully in the future MAC will make a palette to put these shadows in!


Have you tried any of the MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadows? What are your thoughts?



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