Tag Archives: MAC

What’s On My Face – Volume 15

Makeup, Tutorials, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tons of vibrant looks this week with one neutral one thrown in the mix. I’m really pleased with how a lot of these turned out.

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Ummm yeahhhhh. Love it – Love this one so much! The lid colour (Inglot AMC Shine 24) is so freaking stunning – it seems to go with anything.

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Eyes

  1. Inglot AMC Shine 24 all over the lid.
  2. Inglot Matte 317 in the outer corner and through the crease, also used to line the lower lash line.
  3. Makeup Geek Creme Brulee through the top of the crease.

MAC Shroom to highlight the brow, Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Gel Liner in Black to create the winged liner and L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara on my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: Revlon Colorstay in 200 Nude (Combination/Oily)
  • Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand Bronzer
  • Blush: Hourglass Diffused Heat
  • Lips: NYX Vanilla Cream Pie

 

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Another really fun vibrant one. Would’ve been kind of neat to draw palm trees coming up from the winged liner, but I’d probably get some weird looks at work for that!

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Eyes

  1. Inglot Matte 317 all over the lid.
  2. Inglot Matte 383 on the outer third.
  3. I goofed – there is no third colour here, it’s just more of Inglot Matte 383, just blend it up higher!
  4. MAC Sushi Flower through the upper crease.

MAC Shroom under the brow bone, Tarte black gel liner for the wing and L’OrealVoluminous Carbon Black mascara on my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: Covergirl CC Cream in 110 Classic Ivory and Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in Shade 51 Light Vanilla mixed together
  • Bronzer: Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light/Medium
  • Blush: Bobbi Brown Apricot
  • Highlighter: Hard Candy Tiki
  • Lips: NYX Butter lipstick in Fizzies

 

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Another favourite look! I really like how this lip combo turned out.

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Eyes

  1. Inglot AMC Shine 24 on the inner two-thirds of the lid and on the inner half of the bottom lash line.
  2. Inglot Matte 334 in the outer corner and through the crease.
  3. Inglot Matte 325 in the outer corner to darken it up and on the outer half of the lower lash line.

MAC Shroom to highlight the browbone and on the inner tear duct, Tarte black gel liner for the wing and L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara on my lashes. I also put on a pair of Sephora lashes in Tempting.

Face of the Day

  • Foundation: MUA Matte foundation Shade 1 Soft Sand
  • Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand Bronzer
  • Blush: Hourglass Diffused Heat
  • Highlighter: MAC Silver Dusk
  • Lips: Wet n Wild Just Peachy (903C) with NYX Butter Gloss in Tiramisu on top

 

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That skip in the liner is driving me crazy (even though you can’t see it when my eyes are open)! For this look, I wanted to wear a bright lip, but I’ve not yet mastered (if it’s possible) wearing bright eyeshadows and bright lipstick at the same time, so for now – toned down eyes and bright lips.

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Eyes (all Makeup Geek)

  1. Shimma Shimma on the inner two-thirds of the lid.
  2. Goddess on the outer third and to line the lower lash line.
  3. Frappe through the crease.

Vanilla Bean on the browbone, Tarte black gel liner for the wing and L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara on my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: MUA Matte foundation in Shade 1 Soft Sand
  • Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand Bronzer
  • Blush: Sleek Crochet
  • Highlighter: MAC Soft and Gentle
  • Lips: Revlon Fire and Ice

 

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Photographing glitter is near impossible! I wasn’t a huge fan of how this look came out, but it was good enough for a 80s night at a nearby club and to be honest, I ran out of time to take it off and try again.

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Eyes

  1. Too Faced Pure Glam all over the lid and on the outer corner of the bottom lash line.
  2. Inglot AMC Shine 33 to blend out Pure Glam and through the crease. Also used to line the inner half of the lower lash line.
  3. Inglot AMC Shine 28 on the inner tear duct.
  4. Make Up For Ever Glitter in 13

MAC Shroom to highlight the browbone and Benefit They’re Real mascara on my lashes with Ardell 102 Demi false lashes on top.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: Revlon Colorstay in 200 Nude (Combination/Oily)
  • Bronzer/Attempted Contouring: Revlon Photoready Bronzer in Bronzed & Chic
  • Highlighter: MAC Silver Dusk
  • Blush: Hourglass Diffused Heat
  • Lips: Milani Flamingo Pose with Maybelline Stormy Sahara on top

What’s in my Makeup Drawer @ Work

Miscellaneous, , ,

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Being the only female I know who doesn’t own a purse (by choice!), this very obviously makes doing a “What’s in my Purse” post completely impossible. So instead I’m showing you what beauty products I have stuffed into one of my drawers at work for emergency moments. These  items are permanent fixtures… they never leave the office!

The wee compartment that holds my goodies
The wee compartment that holds my goodies

These products are a mix of necessity and/or items that can be used in a pinch if I have a really destructive day on my makeup (i.e., I walked to work in the rain and it completely dissolved my face).

So let’s take a closer look as to what’s in my stash at work.

Hard Candy pencil sharpener and CoverGirl Liquiline Blast pencil in Black Fire
Hard Candy pencil sharpener and CoverGirl Liquiline Blast pencil in Black Fire

First up is a really nasty looking pencil sharpener, but this is the best one I have ever owned. It’s better than my MAC one and my NYX one. This is a Hard Candy sharpener (the ollllllldHard Candy that used to be sold in department stores at high end prices, not the revamped one you see in Walmart now) that I picked up in 1997. It might be a relic, but I’ve yet to find anything better! (And yes, it has been disinfected a few times over the years! ;))

The second item is a liner from CoverGirl. It’s a straight black (Black Fire, to be precise) and it’s from their Liquiline Blast collection. It’ll do in a pinch, but it’s not great. It smears, smudges and transfers. The smudger on the end is also pretty much garbage. That being said, this has helped to fill in the occasional gap on my eyes that I missed at home and, of course, it can double as an eyeshadow if you blend it out enough.

Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm in Twilight
Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm in Twilight

This Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm in Twilight is part of my “To Use Up” products of 2014, so I keep it at work for those days when I forget to bring in a lip product to wear that day. It’s a wonderful stain – very intense, and can be built up to a very strong, dark raspberry shade. I even like the balm on the other end.

MAC Prep + Prime for lips
MAC Prep + Prime for lips

I’ve sung the praises of MAC‘s Prep + Prime for lips before so I’ll keep it brief. This is the second open tube I have of this product right now – I keep one at work and one at home. This tube is almost gone – it’s actually rolled up as far as it’ll go. This is an absolute necessity for me when I wear lipstick.

MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink
MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink

When I need a balm or some kind of lip conditioner, I’ll reach for MAC’s Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink. This product doesn’t have opaque coverage, so you really only get a faint hint of colour to the lips when you wear this. I’ve owned this for about three years and it takes forever to go through the pot!

CoverGirl & Olay Simply Ageless Eye Concealer in 210
CoverGirl & Olay Simply Ageless Eye Concealer in 210

I’m not much of a concealer person, so this products sits there rather neglected. CoverGirl & Olay‘s Simply Ageless Eye Concealer in 210 doesn’t work on my undereye area – it’s way too stiff of a product and drying, which you can easily see because the product is actually CRACKING – but it does work for blemishes. I’m not acne prone, so this really does sit untouched in my desk. BUT… it’s there if I ever need it!

The middle drawer holds the good stuff!
The middle drawer holds the good stuff!

That’s it! Not a whole lot in that drawer, but they’re handy when I need them. Do you keep anything in particular at work? Or do you carry your products back and forth every day?

5 Blushes for Spring & Summer

Makeup, Reviews, Swatches, , , ,

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Is it time for bright cheeks yet? Could it be that spring is finally going to happen at some point? (Sources say no based on the amount of snow that Toronto got this past Tuesday… yikes!) Maybe we’ll skip right into summer – either one is fine, let’s just feel some heat already!

Stack ’em up!
Stack ’em up!

These are my top blush picks for the spring and summer. I’m a sucker for coral and orange shades, which, conveniently enough, is the theme of every spring and summer EVER!

Hard Candy - Skinny Dipping
Hard Candy – Skinny Dipping

First up is Hard Candy‘s boxed powder blush (which they refer to as Fox in a Box) in the shade Skinny Dipping. The left side is more of a bronzer really and has a sheen to it. The right side is bright orange that seems rather matte. You could use them independently of each other, but I prefer to swirl my brush into the two shades and get the combined muted peach shade. It’s almost a boring shade – it really doesn’t look like much in my swatch does it? But this shade is really surprising on the cheeks. There’s an instant pick-me-up vibe to the shade that is really refreshing. This has been one of my most surprising blushes (in the sense that I wasn’t expecting to look as amazing as it actually did!

MAC – Petal Power
MAC – Petal Power

MAC recently came out with a collection for the spring called Fantasy of Flowers and this blush in Petal Power was part of that limited edition collection. Unfortunately it’s sold out online, but you may be able to still find them at free standing stores or counters (Edit: It’s part of the permanent collection now!). Petal Power is one of their mineralize blushes which usually means it has more dimension to it than a normal blush by MAC. Petal Power is no exception – this is a bright hot pink/coral shot through with gold shimmer (not glitter). Personally, I find mineralize blushes can be pretty hard to apply so I have to use a stiffer brush to apply them to my cheeks otherwise I don’t get enough product onto the brush. The nice thing about this shade, aside from the fact that it’s stunning, is that since there’s so much gold in the product, you don’t need to add highlighter to your cheekbones as the gold flecks in this product will set off your cheekbones anyway.

Tarte – Blissful
Tarte – Blissful

This is the first blush I ever owned and it’s my absolute favourite to this day. Tarte describes their Blissful blush as “warm peach”, but to me this is the very definition of the colour coral. The shade is completely matte and goes on the cheeks wonderfully. Tarte‘s Amazonian clay formula is pretty stiff in the pan, so I use a duo fiber brush to really stab at the product before buffing it onto my cheeks. This isn’t to say that the product doesn’t blend nicely, it does! It’s just something with the formula that seems to make it a harder blush. On me, this blush looks especially good in tandem with a shimmery bronzer.

Revlon - Coral Reef
Revlon – Coral Reef

Revlon‘s Photoready cream blush in Coral Reef is a strong orange coral. The texture of this product is pretty neat – it has a slightly waxy but slippery slicone-y feel. Fingers or a synthetic brush work really well to blend this into the cheeks. It goes on smooth and can be built up in light layers if you’re afraid of the vibrancy of the colour. Me though? Pack that on and blend out the edges and you’ll get a wonderfully flushed look.

Hourglass - Diffused Heat
Hourglass – Diffused Heat

Hourglass‘ Ambient Lighting blush in Diffused Heat was such a huge shocker to me. In the pan it looks like a bright vibrant pinky-coral mixed with the Diffused Light powder. As a result, I  was expecting coral *something*. Instead, this swatches out, and applies like, a pale pink. This is almost a bit of a relief to me as I tend to focus too much on coral blushes and as a result don’t end up with much variety.

I said it the last time I mentioned this blush, but I’ll say it again: This blush is idiot-proof. The swatch above is heavy, but it doesn’t apply like that. It goes on softly and can be built up in intensity. The powder swirled into the mix ensures that the blush isn’t as stark or as bright as you would expect it to be by looking at it in the pan. This is an incredibly easy colour to wear and on my fair skin it’ll match pretty much any eye look I come up with.

My blishes pics - click to enlarge
My blishes pics – click to enlarge
  1. Hard Candy’s Fox in a Box in Skinny Dipping
  2. MAC – Petal Power
  3. Tarte – Blissful
  4. Revlon – Coral Reef
  5. Hourglass – Diffused Heat

That’s my roundup! Any blushes you’re loving for the warmer months?

What’s On My Face – Volume 14

Makeup, Tutorials, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MOAR LOOKS

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I really like how this one turned out. Inglot‘s AMC Shine 24 is ridiculously amazing – one of my favourite eyeshadow colours ever. I love seeing how it pairs up with other colours and this one turned out to be a good match!

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Eyes

  1. Inglot AMC Shine 24 all over the lid.
  2. MAC Sushi Flower at the top of the crease.
  3. Makeup Geek Simply Marlena in the outer corner.
  4. Makeup Geek Burlesque to darken up the outer corner on top of Simply Marlena.

MAC Shroom to highlight the brow and L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black on my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Alaska (Light 2)
  • Bronzer: Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light/Medium
  • Blush: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat
  • Highlighter: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle
  • Lips: NYX Butter Gloss in Strawberry Parfait

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I wish I knew how to photograph MAC‘s Vanilla Pigment – it has a beautiful pinky, orange sheen to it that just never seems to come across in photos I take. It’s a seriously stunning pigment, even though it looks rather white-ish here!

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Eyes (all MAC)

  1. Vanilla Pigment all over the lid.
  2. Charcoal Brown in the outer corner.
  3. Gorgeous Gold blended between the pigment and Charcoal Brown (that being said, I really don’t think it showed up all that much).
  4. Cork through the crease.

Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara on my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: Revlon Colorstay (Combination/Oily) in Buff
  • Bronzer: Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light/Medium
  • Blush: Tarte Exposed
  • Highlighter: Dior Amber Diamond
  • Lips: Revlon Cherries in the Snow

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This eye look turned out better than I expected, but I’m not showing you the full face shot because holy crap did I ever choose a bad lip colour to match with this (do NOT use MAC‘sDarkside, I looked ridiculous). Despite the bad lip choice, this is a really beautiful combination.

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  1. Makeup Geek Dirty Martini all over the lid.
  2. Makeup Geek Bitten in the outer third, through the crease and brought slightly down to the outer lower lashline.

MAC Shroom to highlight the brow bone and L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara on my lashes.

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A play around with some of the goodies from Ipsy’s March 2014 bag.

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Eyes (NYX‘s Love in Rio – Segredos De Giselle)

  1. The cream coloured shade from the trio all over the lid.
  2. The brown shade in the outer corner and crease.

Too Faced Cream Colored Ponies to highlight the brow, Chella Indigo liquid liner to create the wing (this colour is amazing) and Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara on my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Primer: Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer
  • Foundation: MUA Matte foundation in Shade 1 Soft Sand
  • Bronzer: Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light/Medium
  • Blush: Sleek Chantilly
  • Highlighter: MAC Whisper of Gilt
  • Lips: Nothing

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This lip combination is seriously having me rethink my idea to no longer buying any lipglosses, especially when layered over a lipstick.

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Eyes (Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette)

  1. Cherry Cordial on the inner and outer third of the lid.
  2. Creme Brulee in the middle of the lid.
  3. Haute Chocolate through the crease.

Too Faced Champagne Truffle to highlight the brow bone and L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black on my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: CoverGirl CC Cream in 110 Classic Ivory mixed with Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 51 Light Vanilla
  • Bronzer: Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light/Medium
  • Blush: Wet n Wild Pearlescent Pink
  • Lips: Wet n Wild Red Velvet (901D) with MAC Strawberry Malt lipglass on top

The Unmentionables

Makeup, Reviews, , , ,

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I absolutely adore these products. I use them every  single time I do my makeup. But it gets incredibly repetitive saying that I use them every time I do a makeup look because really… these products aren’t changing in my routine any time soon and it’s not like you need to hear what primer I used unless I actually change it up, right?

So here are my unmentionables… and they’re only unmentionables because they’re too well loved!

The Tools – Tweezerman eyelash curler and an old mascara wand
The Tools – Tweezerman eyelash curler and an old mascara wand

Nothing glamorous about these two but they’ve ingrained themselves into my daily makeup routine.

The eyelash curlers are self explanatory – They’re a pair of Tweezerman ones I picked up at Shoppers Drug Mart several years ago. I’ve run out of the rubbery things to replace on the band, but they’re still working just fine as far as I can tell. (Although… side note, where the heck do you actually get replacement rubber thingies?!)

The old mascara wand is from a tube of L’Oreal Voluminous that I cleaned up and use as a spoolie for running through my brows when I’ve applied too much powder through them. Works like a charm, so why bother paying for an actual spoolie?

The Eye Primers – Urban Decay Primer Potion and NARS Pro Prime
The Eye Primers – Urban Decay Primer Potion and NARS Pro Prime

Double primers because, for whatever reason, using only one of them no longer seems to work on me. I use the NARS one first, allow it to dry, then apply the Urban Decay one on top. These two together ensure that my eyeshadows don’t budge all day.

The Lip Primer – MAC Prep + Prime for lips
The Lip Primer – MAC Prep + Prime for lips

MAC‘s Prep + Prime for lips has been an absolute lipstick saviour for me. I was a really timid lipstick wearer until about three years ago. My major problem was that my lipstick, no matter what brand I used, would slide all over the place and bleed outside my lip lines. Lip liner never worked for me. Nor concealer. Someone at a MAC counter eventually suggested this primer and I was incredibly skeptical… how much better was this REALLY going to be? Well… it is. It just flat out is. My lipstick stays on my lips and doesn’t bleed outside my line. I won’t wear lipstick without this now!

The Brow Filler-Iner – MAC eyeshadow in Omega
The Brow Filler-Iner – MAC eyeshadow in Omega

I’ve been using MAC‘s eyeshadow in Omega to fill in my brows for the last two years and I’m only just now getting to the bottom of the pan. The colour is a perfect match for my barely there blonde eyebrow hairs. I’ve been surprised at the longevity of this product too – it doesn’t wear off during the day and that’s a necessity for me since my brows are so blonde it looks like I’ve overplucked them to hell and back. (I haven’t, the hairs just don’t seem to grow where the tail of my brows are supposed to be.)

All of these products are part of my daily routine and won’t be changing any time soon. They’ve all attained holy grail status in my collection. Is there anything you use in your daily routine that you can’t be without? I’m at the point where I don’t even want to test out replacement products or tools because these are already so good as is!