Archive for the 'Face of the Day (FOTD)' Category

Am I the only girl out there who thinks watching The Golden Girls and playing with makeup constitutes a good time? I hope not, LOL!

Earlier this afternoon, with MAC’s Cherry Blossom face chart laid out on the floor in front of me, I did some experimenting with MAC Cult of Cherry’s Spiced Chocolate Quad, Plum du Bois blush, Creme Cerise lipstick and Cherry Blossom Lipglass.

Face charts for Cult of Cherry and MAC’s other makeup collections are available on the MAC website. The charts indicate which products and brushes to use for different looks, and, in some cases, indicate the proper placement of color.

The Cheeks and Lips

In the Cherry Blossom chart, the eyes are bold, but the cheeks and lips are soft and subtle. I reached for Plum du Bois and, following the chart, swirled some on my cheeks with a MAC 187 brush (aka the skunk brush).

Then, I lined my lips with Sublime Culture Cremestick Liner, filling them in with Creme Cherise Lipstick. I topped them off with a layer of Cherry Blossom Lipglass.

The Eyes

Eye Products I Used

• MAC Concrete Eye Shadow
• Nanogold, Sweet Chestnut, and Spiced Chocolate Eye Shadows from the MAC Spiced Chocolate Quad
• MAC Pink Couture Shadestick
• MAC Zoom Lash Mascara in Zoomblack

I prefer to do one eye at a time, working each one to completion before I move on to the next eye. Some women prefer to work on both eyes at the same time, completing a step on one eye and then repeating it on the other, since they already have the correct brush in hand. I think it boils down to personal preference. For me, it’s faster if I finish one eye before moving on to the other.

The Eyes: Step by Step

1. First, using a MAC 266 brush, I shaded in my brows with Concrete.
2. Then, I highlighted the brow bone by dusting Nanogold onto it with a 252 eye shader brush.
3. I applied Pink Couture Shadestick onto my lids, blending out the edges with my finger.
4. Then, I swept Sweet Chestnut Eye Shadow directly on top of the Pink Couture Shadestick with a 217 blending brush.
5. To add more depth to the eye, I added Spiced Chocolate Eye Shadow into the crease with a 219 pencil brush.
6. With the same brush, I ran Sweet Chestnut Eye Shadow along the lower lash line.
7. To finish the eye look, I curled my lashes, and then added two coats of Zoomblack mascara onto both the upper and lower lashes.

All done, my little cherry blossom!
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Hey, hey, girlies! Can you believe August is almost over?

For some of you, that means heading back to school. In the comments on a previous post, reader Abigail said she was looking for a new look for school and wanted to use purple. I’m a big fan of purple and reached for Top Hat, a shimmery purple shade from MAC’s recent Starflash release, for this face of the day.

Abigail, I hope it gives you some ideas.

Back in school, I struggled to get to class on time. I was that girl always chasing down the bus. “Wait! Wait for me!”

I shot for quick and easy with this purple and gold look to help other students who suffer from the same affliction.

To complement the eyes, I went with plum cheeks and lips. I used MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Secret Blush on my cheeks and MAC Star Nova Lustreglass on the lips.

Eye Products I Used

Benefit Birthday Suit Creaseless Cream Shadow
MAC Woodwinked Eye Shadow
MAC Top Hat Eye Shadow
MAC Graphblack Technakohl LIner
MAC Powersurge Eye Kohl
MAC Prep + Primer Lash
MAC Zoomblack Zoomlash Mascara

Step by Step

1. First, I covered the entire eye with a layer of Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit.

2. Then, I dusted MAC Woodwinked eye shadow into the crease.

3. I swept MAC Top Hat Eye Shadow onto the lid area, just barely into the crease and along the lower lash line to softly define the eye.

4. When I’m in a hurry (late for work, yo!), I don’t always have the time or patience for eyeliner along my upper and lower lash lines. Sometimes, I’ll apply liner to both water lines and leave it at that. I think it’s tougher to spot uneven lines on the water lines because of their location. They’re partially obscured when the eyes are closed. Uneven lash lines, on the other hand, really stand out. For the upper water line, I applied Graphblack Technakohl Liner.

5. Next, I added Powersurge Eye Kohl on the lower water line.

6. To finish up, I curled my lashes, applied two coats of MAC Prep + Prime Lash lash primer, followed by two layers of MAC Zoomlash mascara.

Finito! Time to hit the books!

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day | walker

noun
1 a sub-species of vampire from European folklore, which, unlike traditional vampires, is able to survive in full sunlight; still must drink the blood of the living by biting their necks with long pointed canine teeth.

Yesterday, as I was “dropping the kids off at school” (ha, ha, TMI, I know!), I spent some quality time perusing this month’s issue of Sephora Beauty Authority magazine. The model’s dark, matte lipstick reminded me of vampires and MAC’s Kirsch Mattene.

I wanted to try a similar cat eye-dark lip look but had to keep it responsible enough for the office (boo).

Fun with MAC Kirsch Mattene

Guess who just watched Zoolander

The lips are my favorite part of this look! Following Gordon Espinet’s dark lipstick application method, I lined them with Chanel Nude Lip Liner followed by two layers of Kirsch, applied with a lip brush. Watch out, Count Chocula!
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Yippee! Let’s hear it for sleep deprivation! I stayed up late again reading Breaking Dawn. Now I’m a little bleary eyed and loopy. In my altered state I realized a few things:

1. Did you know there’s a difference between the words “ya’ll” and “y’all”?




2. I Must. Have. More. Coffee. When I’m tired my coffee consumption increases, which consequently makes me even more tired when the caffeine wears off. Shoot!




3. Shimmery pastel eye shadow colors aren’t a substitute for a good night’s sleep, but light shades of purple, green, pink and beige shimmer eye shadows do help to conceal tired eyes. Huzzah!

My eye look of choice for the past few days has been a light purple and beige eye with a touch of green. I’ve been using the three pastel shades in Bobbi Brown’s new Metallic Eye Shadow collection ($20).

A Look for Tired Eyes

Bobbi Brown’s Pastel Metallic Eye Shadows

The three pastel colors from Bobbi’s Metallic Collection make it easy to fake a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed look.

• Mint - light green shimmer
• Lavender - light purple shimmer
• Navajo - beige shimmer

All three colors are highly pigmented with excellent color payoff. They’re also easy to blend and apply, lasting all day long with nary a crease.

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Evening, hotties! Just when I thought I couldn’t get any lazier, I did. I had a major makeup revelation this week. A neutral shimmer shadow plus a lil’ bit of matte in the outer V led to my easiest day eye EVER. A whole new world of 10-minute looks has opened up before me, fo’ reals.

The combo I’ve worn for the past few days combines a champagne shimmer shade with a matte black. It feels breezy and work-friendly. To get the look I used makeup from Chanel, Dior, Laura Mercier and Lacome, as well as three just-released products from Clinique.

Clinique Me

• Colour Surge Eye Shadow Stay Matte in Midnight
• Defining Liner for Lips in Pomegranate
• Blushwear Cream Stick in Very Blush

All are fun and easy to use. I’ll post detailed reviews soon, but for now let’s just say *me likey*.

The Products

Eyes

• MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer in NW 25
• A shimmery champagne eye shadow from Dior’s Iridescent Leather Palette
• Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Stay Matte in Midnight (a soft black matte)
• MAC Concrete eye shadow (a dark brown-black matte)
• Chanel Exceptionnel De Chanel Mascara in Smokey Noir
• Lancome Le Stylo Waterproof Eye Liner in Black

Lips

• Clinique Liner for Lips in Pomegranate (creamy matte berry)
• Clinique Glosswear lip gloss in Bamboo Pink (light pink with shimmer)

Face

• Chanel Teint Innocence SPF 10 Foundation in 50 Natural
• Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder
• Stila Sun Bronzing Powder in Shade 02
• Clinique Blushwear Cream Stick in Very Blush (violet)

Doing The Eyes

I like to prime my lids before applying eye shadow, so I started by dabbing MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer onto my lids with a concealer brush. Then, I swiped the shimmery champagne shadow from the Dior Iridescent Palette onto the entire lid with a flat eye shadow brush like the MAC 252 to create a neutral canvas upon which to work.

With a fine, pencil-tipped MAC 219 brush, I applied Clinique Midnight eye shadow on the outer third of the lid. In this step, I concentrated more color on the outer eye, which after blending helps with the smokey effect.
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Today I got all science fair on my MAC Fresh Green Mix Eye Shadow Duo, swirling the two shades together and working with a combination of wet and dry brushes to create this look.

Get up in Fresh Green’s Mix

For this look, I thought it would help to prime my lids with a color close to my natural skin tone. I chose MAC Paint Pot in Layin’ Low.

The final color I wanted was a combination of both shades in the Fresh Green Mix duo, so I mixed them together with Sonia Kashuk’s Large Eye Shadow Brush.

Then, I swiped the brush against the back of my hand to unload some excess shadow before using it to apply the new color to my lid area and just into the crease.

With a bottle of MAC Fix+ to make the shadow color more radiant, I wet a MAC 239 brush and swirled it around in the pan to load it with shadow. I applied the color to the area closest to my lash line. I wanted the green to look like it’s fading as it travels from the lash line up into the crease.

Next, I added MAC Alum, a shade of grey, into the crease using a MAC 217 — a soft, fluffy blending brush fabulous for both applying and blending color.

Following MAC Alum, I dusted the pink from Dior’s Earth Tones palette onto the brow bone to contrast with the grey.

I don’t always get enough sleep and didn’t last night, so I added MAC Vex in the inner corners of my eyes. It’s a good brightener. If you don’t already own it, then hustle your booty to the MAC counter ASAP. It’s a super pretty shade and seems to change colors in the light, flashing from pink to grey to green.
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Hey, hey! I’m on my way to the BEAST right now (East Bay in Pig Latin, ladies) for work stuff, but here’s a quickie look I did yesterday with a few items from MAC’s new releases — Sonic Chic, New View and Electro Flash.

The eyes

Thanks to the texture and quality of the products in these collections, the eyes weren’t difficult at all. I began by priming my lids with MAC Bare Canvas Paint and dusting the dark marbled green shade of Fresh Green Mix Mineralize Eye Shadow duo on the lid and barely into the crease.
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