Makeup and Beauty Blog: Makeup Reviews, Beauty Tips and Drugstore Beauty Finds
Beauty product reviews, makeup tips and news from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict.
January 22nd, 2008 | Karen | Filed in: Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To, Video
I’m not shy about my obsessions — Christian Bale (marry me!), the MAC 266 brush and the Terminator series (more on this later) — but by far the deepest of my frivolous obsessions is for our Madge-esty almighty, Madonna, an obsession I’ve harbored since the tender age of eight.
When I finally got my hands on MAC’s Russian Red lipstick from the MAC Originals collection, I had a minor Madonna fan freak-out moment. Madge rocked the Russian Red in her late-80s Blonde Ambition era. Remember the Express Yourself and Vogue videos? I taped them on MTV and replayed the sh*t out of both until my mom yelled at me to “turn it off!” Parents just don’t understand.
For Madonna’s Blonde Ambition Tour, Russian Red accompanied all the over-the-top costumes designed by Jean Paul Gaultier.
I remain 1,343,555,432,543 degrees of separation from Madonna, but at least I can wear her lipstick. So, in honor of my favorite pop star of all time, here’s a tutorial of a look I did with MAC Russian Red lipstick, along with other products from the Originals Collection (Daisychain eyeshadow, Ochre Style eyeshadow and Melon Pigment).
Here’s the finished look (complete with mole)! I call it the “Ode to Madge.” LOL!
First, grab your brushes, your products and find a nice spot to work.
Continue Reading…
January 15th, 2008 | Karen | Filed in: Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Product Reviews
If I had a nickel for every time I rocked the brown eye shadow back in the day I’d be a rich woman. Even though I’ve recently ventured into brighter colors like blues and greens, I’ll always have a place in my heart for my first eye shadow love — beautiful, basic brown.
Brown may be neutral, but it doesn’t have to be boring. Brown doesn’t mean you can get away with yawn-worthy makeup, young lady. The face of the day below, inspired by the Avarice face chart from MAC’s Originals collection, shows that brown can still be fun.
Eyes
When I wear different shades of brown at the same time, I choose browns in the same tonal family (cool browns with cool browns, warm browns with warm browns) that don’t have a lot of contrast between them. This makes them easier for me to blend.
The only semi-difficult part about this eye look was getting the darkest brown, A Little Folie, into the crease with a MAC 219 brush, a brush I have a love/hate relationship with. Used to apply a fine line of color in the crease or underneath the eye, the 219’s pencil tip-shaped brush head doesn’t always distribute color evenly. It could be faulty design, but more than likely it’s because I haven’t discovered the brush’s sweet spot yet. Using the 219 well takes a lot of practice.
Despite the range of products I used for this look, the whole thing took about 10 minutes because there wasn’t any complicated layering or lining of the waterline (which for me can take SO MUCH TIME).
Cheeks
The original Avarice face chart called for Raizin blush (a gold reddish-brown matte) and Reflects Blackened Red Glitter, but I don’t own Raizin, and Reflects Blackened Red looks terrible on me, so I opted for two Shu Uemura Glow On blushes instead.
Lips
I’m a total klutz, so it took me forever and a day to get this red lippy going. My biggest issue? I couldn’t get the Rozz Revival to apply evenly, and because I didn’t use a lip liner the Rozz was revival-ing all over the place. I resorted to applying two layers of it and one layer of Avarice Lipglass with a MAC 316 covered lip brush. Next time I’m going to use a lip-colored pencil, like MAC Pink Treat Cremestick Liner, to make it easier!
Clue eyeshadow. When I first swatched this I wasn’t moved, but after I got it on my eye I totes fell in love. A mid-tone dirty grey with silver pearl, this eyeshadow has a pretty finish, soft texture and is very easy to work with. For a simple, subtle grey eye, I use Groundwork Paint Pot over the entire lid and then swipe Clue from the lashline into the crease. I give my lashes a quick curl, add two coats of mascara and I’m done!
Rozz Revival lipstick.When I think of red lipstick I usually think of sophisticated and serious looks, but Rozz Revival is a fresh, young and fun twist on red. With a high shine, lustre finish, this watermelon reddish pink lippie would look great with a tan! I can’t wait for summer!
Coffee eye pencil. This pencil is a fantastic deep brown with no red or orange tones. Even though it isn’t a Technakohl, I love it because it’s soft and easy to blend.
Are ya rocking the browns today, or did you go crazy with color?
I’m in the middle of my first cup of coffee and the caffeine is starting to work its magic - wheeeee! I hope you’re Tuesday is off to a fantastic start!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
January 4th, 2008 | Karen | Filed in: Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Product Reviews
Figuring out how to use MAC pigments opened up a new world of makeup for me. I used to be at a loss when it came to these sparkly jars of color, but learning what brushes to use made a big difference in preparing this face of the day. Below is the Originals C-Thru face chart for inspiration.
Do you ever go through makeup phases? Right now, I’m all about green eye makeup, and MAC Golden Olive pigment really makes the eyes in this look pop!
Here’s what I used to get the look:
Eyes
Brows - MAC A Little Folie eyeshadow
Browbone - MAC Frisco eyeshadow
Lid - MAC Sweet Sage Fluidline, followed by MAC Golden Olive pigment
Crease - MAC A Little Folie eyeshadow
Upper lashline - MAC Blacktrack Fluidline
Lower lashline - MAC A Little Folie eyeshadow
Lashes (upper and lower) - Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara
Cheeks
Cheeks - Neutrogena Softcolor blush in Sunny Spice
Cheekbones - MAC Antique Gold Reflects
Lips
Lipliner - MAC Subculture
Lipstick - MAC Sandy B
Lipgloss - MAC C-Thru lipglass
Do you wanna know what your new favorite browbone shadow is? Despite its terrible, terrible name, you’ve got to pick up Frisco eyeshadow because it’s totally boss. This beautiful pale pink is sheer and subtle, and it’s not as loud as browbone shadows like Ricepaper or Shroom. It’s a great choice for natural looks (for work, pair it with Woodwinked or Soba).
Sidenote: Please don’t call San Francisco “Frisco” when you visit! It is my number #3 pet peeve in the entire universe (#1 is when people leave an empty toilet roll and don’t bother to put in a fresh one, and #2 is knee-high boots that don’t hug your calves). It’s “The City,” or “SF,” and in some very rare cases (i.e., Christian Bale can get away with it) “San Fran.”
Also, Sandy B lipstick is a can’t miss color. Peachy with a slight frost, it’s a pretty neutral for no-fuss days. That said, I’m not crazy about it with C-Thru Lipglass in the look above because the C-Thru has that overly frosty, 60s go-go dancer thing going. I think it’s much more wearable and prettier topped with a clear gloss instead.
A few days ago I was all about the glitters in this collection, but now I’m having second thoughts. Next time I do this look, I’m skipping the Reflects Blackened Red. It made my cheeks look really muddy and didn’t mesh well with my skin tone at all. I’d think twice about this purchase!
We got hit by a hurricane early this morning in the Bay Area. Trees and street signs were down outside, but we made it through. I heard that 6-foot waves were supposed to hit inside the Bay and 28 footers just outside the Golden Gate. Too bad we can’t surf this!
Right now I’ve got a killer sore throat. I guess I’m fighting a cold, so I’m off to do some serious resting on the couch. Stay dry, and if you’re out on the road drive safely, please!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
January 3rd, 2008 | Karen | Filed in: Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup
I’m feeling the sass today because I get tomorrow off from work, so today is my “Friday,” and also because of my wacky hair:
El Hub’s been reading a lot of manga books (Japanese comics), and I swiped a few the other day. They inspired me to rock my hair like this.
Hair of this sassified caliber deserves superhero makeup, too, so today I gave the MAC Full on Lust face chart a go.
This is a brighter daytime look than I’m used to wearing, but I like it because it makes me feel really cute and spunky. If the blue is too cartoony for your liking you can always use a lighter touch to lessen the color intensity.
Here’s what I used to get the look:
Eyes
Brows - MAC Concrete eyeshadow
Browbone - MAC Frisco eyeshadow
Lid - MAC Jadeye Fluidline
Center and outer lid - MAC Parrot eyeshadow
Crease - MAC Charred eyeshadow and MAC Carbon Eyeshadow
Upper lashline - MAC Blacktrack Fluidline
Lower lashline - MAC Carbon eyeshadow
Lashes (lower and upper) - Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara
Cheeks
Cheeks - MAC Blushbaby blush
Lips
Lipliner - MAC Subculture
Lipstick - MAC Twig-Twig
Lipgloss - MAC Full on Lust
When using dark colors in the crease, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Build color slowly. First, if you’re clumsy like I am, I find that it helps to take the time to build a color slowly, layer upon layer. First, I dipped my crease brush in the eyeshadow pot, swiped it gently on some tissue to remove the excess shadow, and then applied Charred (a shade of grey) in a light layer using a sweeping motion in my crease. I applied about five light layers before I got the color where I wanted it to be. Yes, it’s time consuming, but it’s easier for me to slowly build up layers instead of overloading my brush. Remember, it’s easier to add color than to take it away.
Don’t over blend. Have you ever tried a smokey eye, used several colors, but ended up with absolutely no definition between the colors you applied to your lid, your crease or your outer V? Here’s the deal: when you’re doing a smokey-inspired eye, you can’t go crazy with the blending; otherwise, you end up with a solid layer of dark shadow (aka ONE HOT MESS) on your eyelid. Trust me, I’ve effed up my share of smokey eyes by overblending to oblivion.
Now when I’m doing a smokey eye I use a MAC 224 brush to lightly diffuse any harsh lines and take special care not to go crazy with the blending. I use the very tip of the brush and lightly tap the edges of the shadow to blend the color. Or, I’ll use the tip, and with a light hand sweep it back and forth to diffuse the color.
Carbon 101. If I’m using a dark color like Carbon in the crease, it’s all about the brush. To get that dark black pop in the outer crease I’ll use a MAC 219 brush, which has a pointed head shaped like a pencil tip. Using the very tip of the brush, I’ll lightly swipe Carbon back and forth in the crease with extra emphasis on the outer half. To keep the Carbon from blending into the Charred, I’ll use the 224 brush to tap out any overly harsh lines.
Often I attempt a lighter lip with smokey eyes and end up looking like a corpse with pale beige lips, but the Twig-Twig lipstick/Full on Lust lipglass combo has just enough warmth to not look undead. It’s light, natural-looking and keeps the emphasis on the eyes, hawt!
This look isn’t one that I’d do everyday because I don’t always have the time to devote to layering color ever-so-carefully, but I’ll definitely do the eye makeup again when I’m feeling the spunky sass spirit.
MAC asks, “Are you an original?” Your answer better be Hell-to-the-Yeah!
If you exude OG spirit, then be sure to enter this spiffy contest ’cause there’s some serious MAC prize loot.
Enter by visiting MAC Cosmetics online and uploading a picture and a 200-word testament on how you are a MAC Original. Online voters will then determine the winner, who’ll snag a $1,000 gift card (holla!) from MAC and the entire Originals collection.
or…
If you live in the New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, San Francisco or Houston areas, you can visit your designated MAC location to get your makeup done for free and have your photograph taken by a professional. Each city will have one winner who’ll receive a $250 MAC gift card, the entire Originals collection and be featured in local publications. The winners will also be entered into the online contest mentioned above.
If you were visiting the site in the wee hours last night you may have noticed that it was out of commission. Go Daddy, my web host, was having server issues, but all is well now. 
Anyway, my sassy self has to run a few errands before it starts raining. Happy Thursday, ya’ll!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
If you are looking for a easy liquid liner... Out of all of the products you listed I’ve only... I have always had a battle with not only dark circles, but dry under-eye area...© 2009 Makeup and Beauty Blog | Design By The Blog Studio
