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Showing posts with label MAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MAC. Show all posts



Congratulations "NoraGrahe"!!! You've won the Mac Holiday Glitter and Pigment boxed set!! Please respond within 48 hours with your mailing address so I can get it sent out to you as soon as possible. 

Thanks so much to everyone who entered!!
I'm not sure how I feel about this color combination, but I wanted to step out of my comfort zone a bit. This look was a little too out there for me though and so I promptly washed my face before going anywhere, lol.

Beauty Breakdown:
Mac Pure Creation Paint Pot as a base
Mac Electric Eel eyeshadow all over lid
Sugarpill blended above the crease and under the lower lashline
Lorac Espresso blended into lower lashline
Physician's Formula 2in1 Lash Boosting eyeliner
Ardell false lashes
Make Up For Ever recently revamped their entire line of eyeshadows changing them all to a new formula that they call Artist's Eyeshadows. I've swatched these new shadows and been amazed at the creaminess and color payoff...however the hefty (for a single eyeshadow) price tag kept me from actually purchasing any. 

Enter the Studio Case, a limited edition boxed set that includes 12 (!!) of the new Artist's Eyeshadows, a full size Artist Liner and a booklet with instructions on how to create 4 different eye looks. This set is exclusive to Sephora and although it says "online only" my local Sephora had about 5 of these in stock and so I purchased mine in person. 

In inches the case measures approximately 6x5x1.75 and each eyeshadow is roughly the size of a dime. 
The set comes with a booklet with instructions on how to do 4 different eye looks. 
The case has a nice sized mirror and a slot to keep the Artist Liner. Click to enlarge

The tray with the eyeshadows and liner can be lifted out to reveal a compartment underneath to store other cosmetic items. Even small travel makeup brushes would fit in there! Click to enlarge
Close-up of the eyeshadows. Each row has a different name and co-ordinating look in the included booklet. But instead of names for each individual shadow, MUFE uses a letter/number system. Click to enlarge


Swatches of the right half of the palette. Click to enlarge

Swatches of the left half of the palette. Click to enlarge

I was very happy with the pigmentation of all of these eyeshadows except for two: M-100 (matte black color) and M-530 (matte cream color). These two were lacking in color payoff and were not as creamy as the rest. M-350 was especially chalky and difficult to get a good swatch of without a primer. 

Overall this set is great for trying out the new Make Up For Ever Artist's eyeshadows without paying the full price for each. Even with the 2 dud matte eyeshadows, the rest of the colors in this set more than made up for them. The color variety is great and most of the shadows feel silky and easy to apply. The packaging also makes this an ideal gift for the makeup enthusiast in your life, or for yourself. Since it's a limited edition set, there's no telling how long it will be available so I'd suggest grabbing a set as soon as possible!

The Make Up For Ever Studio Case retails for $59 and is available at Sephora stores (not Sephora inside JCP) and at Sephora.com.
This gorgeous red gloss was the first thing that caught my eye from the MAC Heirloom Mix collection Holiday collection! It's a rich shade that's guaranteed to be flattering on just about any skin tone. Courting Chic is also infused with ultra-fine red glitter which makes it perfect for holiday glamour. 

I knew Courting Chic was going to be similar to Amorous (an older, now discontinued MAC gloss). But when I swatched the two together I could hardly tell them apart.
Top: Courting Chic Bottom: Amorous 
Both are rich, red glitter glosses. Amorous is a Dazzleglass Cream and is probably slightly more pigmented. Otherwise I couldn't tell the difference between the two. 
Overall, if you already own Amorous, then you can probably pass on Courting Chic. But since it's already sold out in most places, if you can get your hands on it then I highly recommend it. 

P.S I'm trying a new DIY lighting setup for my pics and swatches, but I still need to tweak it a bit, lol. 

This month's Elle Magazine featured 5 different covers with 5 different actress for the annual Women in Hollywood issue. I'd seen the versions with Elizabeth Banks and Tina Fey on the cover at the grocery store, so when I got my copy in the mail I was floored by this absolutely gorgeous picture of Gugu Mbatha-Raw! Not only am I a huge fan of her acting but I'm totally in love with her makeup here! 

The glossy eyelid trend is something I've been wanting to try, but was always intimidated by. Mac recently released the Studio Eye Gloss collection and even though I've read mixed reviews of the eye glosses, I think its time for me to take a trip to my nearest Mac counter and try them out for myself (any excuse to shop)


Mac Studio Eye Gloss Collection
If my look comes out anywhere near as great as Gugu's I'll be posting it, if not then...yeah, lol.

From left to right: Museum Bronze, Naked, Black, Copper Sparkle and Gold. 



Mac Holiday 2013 Boxed Pigment and Glitter set with 2 pigments and 3 glitters. 

Colors included in this set are:
Museum Bronze (Pigment)
Black (Glitter)
Copper Sparkle (Pigment)
Gold (Glitter)
Naked ( Pigment)


HOW TO ENTER:
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I WILL ship the prize internationally. Giveaway ends on Nov 15th 2014! The winner be chosen at random and announced on my blog (beautyandthebrowngirl.blogspot.com) and Instagram (beautyandthebrowngirl). The winner will have 48 hours to respond and claim their prize, otherwise a new winner will be selected. 

Good luck everyone!

As the title suggests, I don't know what to call this look, lol. It started out with just a simple green eyeshadow, but then I darkened the crease and blended some purple above that...

Beauty Breakdown:

All Urban Decay Eyeshadows:
Damaged all over lid
Smokeout in the crease
Voodoo blended above the crease
Righteous under brow
Vengeance in crease

Mac Pearlglide liner in Undercurrent on waterline
Sephora "Mink" lashes (I know I said I didn't like these, lol)

Tarte Brow Mousse in brows
This was inspired by the lovely Sharon at sharon-871sher.blogspot.com. She posted a gorgeous pic wearing Mac Heroine lipstick. Purple lipsticks are a favorite of mine (I probably have more purples than any other color) and even though I've had Heroine since it was re-released I don't wear it nearly enough!

This time I decided to mix it up a bit my adding Mac Pure Heroine lipstick (from the Lorde collection)



Beauty Breakdown:
Mac Pure Heroine used as a liner
Mac Heroine in the center

Not sure how I feel about these lipsticks. I love the other Mattes I have from Mac like Riri Woo Flat Out Fabulous and Smoked Purple, but these aren't as great to me. 

I don't mind the dry texture of the matte lipsticks and I do love how long lasting they are. But something about these particular ones is not working for me, lol. 

Mac Damn Glamorous Matte Lipstick

Mac Fashion Revival Matte Lipstick
                 
I think this is my first time using orange eyeshadow. I was nervous about the strong color at first, but I think it actually complements my skin tone. I'd probably not wear this out during the day though, lol.

Beauty Breakdown:
Mac Soft Ocher PP all over lid
Mac Farasha in center of lid
Lorac Espresso in crease
Sugarpill Flamepoint blended in and above crease
Mac Juiced on inner lid
Physician's Formula Lash Boost Liner
Tom Ford Mascara
Ardell #120 Demi lashes
Cargo Barcelona eyeshadow on brows
"Fall" red lip using MAC Riri Woo lipstick and MAC Vino lip liner.

These aren't new releases, they're just new to me! I love transforming the look of a lipstick or gloss by adding a complementary or even contrasting lip liner.
I'm hoping Vino will be the perfect fall companion for some of my brighter, more summery lipsticks. And Beet was just too pretty to pass up!

This was something new for me. Not sure I'd ever wear it out, but it was fun to try!

Beauty Breakdown:
Urban Decay Honey all over lid
Lorac Taupe/Sable/Espresso in crease
Graftobian Magic Set mixed w/Sleek eyeshadow to create blue liner
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack 
Ardell lashes
Beauty Breakdown:
Mac Soft Ocher PP all over lids up to brow
Mac Blacktrack FL blended from lashline to crease
Lorac Black all over lid and under bottom lashline
Lorac Taupe blended above crease
Lorac Sable blended into crease
Laura Mercier Vanilla for brow/inner corner highlight

Ardell 105 lashes

Brows: NYX Brow Kit Black/Gray applied with an Anastasia #7 brow brush!








To be honest I hadn't heard of this collection until the day it was released online. Of course the items I wanted were sold out within a few hours. Thankfully the nationwide store release was still a week away and I was able to stalk my local MAC counter to get what I wanted! I came away with 4 items: Heavenly Hybrid ls, Snapdragon ls, Sassy Moss and Phlox Garden fluidlines.
The lipsticks are luster finishes which means they lean more towards the sheer side. But the good news is that both colors can be built up for more saturated look. Although they feel nice and moisturizing going on, in my experience with MAC lipsticks, the tend to dry my lips out quickly. I'd recommend using a lip balm first, then applying the lipstick. 

The fluidlines are very nicely pigmented and set quickly! However, they will stain your skin. Its been hours since I swatched them and my arm still has visible green and purple lines despite me scrubbing it until my skin was red :(