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Monochromatic Makeup With the MAC Loud and Clear Collection and Glow Play Blush: Coral Lids, Lips and Cheeks

February 11th, 2020 by Karen 15 Comments

mac loud and clear glow play

I’m a fervent fan / enthusiastic adherent of monochromatic makeup, and that’s because I only have so many brain cells, and I like not having to expend them all thinking too deeply about matching my lids, lips and cheeks.

I’d rather conserve a little more of my life force for other things, ya know? And I need every single drop of life force I can spare to just make it through the day, ha ha ha!

Monochromatic madness!

  • Fast and Flirty Valentine’s Day Makeup Tutorial: A Romantic Monochromatic Soft Peach Look for All Skill Levels
  • A Monochromatic Multitasking Makeup Look
  • Monochromatic Makeup: Playful Pinks, and a Play on Cat Eyeliner
  • Today’s (7-Minute) Makeup: Monochromatic Lids, Cheeks and Lips

The key players in this monochromatic coral look are blush, eyeshadow, lipstick and gloss from the new Loud and Clear collection and the Glow Play Blush collection by MAC, both of which are on counters now.

The eyeliner is an old MAC standby called Teddy… I love me some Teddy! It’s an pearly reddish brown pencil liner and a workhorse staple if you like wearing warm orange browns, reddish browns, orange, or coral shades on your eyes.

I’m wearing Teddy here with matte orange coral Painted by Umber eyeshadow, and I like the contrast between Teddy’s pearly finish and the matte eyeshadow. That’s a minor detail, but I think it elevates the look a little.

I wore this look to the bakery the other day, and it was a day when sugar cookie dough, otherwise known as “the bane of my existence,” was killing me softly… You see, I had to roll out 60 heart-shaped Valentine’s Day cookies, and the temperature in the kitchen was warmer than usual (we’ve had a couple of warm, spring-like days in the low-60s lately).

A toasty outside temp means that everything inside the bakery warms up faster than usual, and that means MISERY if you’re handling sugar cookie dough.

Basically, you wanna keep your sugar cookie dough as cold as possible, because when it’s cold, it “listens” to you and does exactly what you need it to do. It stays thick and retains its shape as you roll it, and it continues to do so as you stamp out your shapes with a cookie cutter and move them to a baking sheet. Yup, when it’s cold, it is very, very good dough.

However, as the dough warms, like it does in an unseasonably hot kitchen, it embraces its inner rebel and becomes progressively ill-tempered and misbehaved. Your sweet, previously kind-hearted sugar cookie dough transforms into @sshole dough. 🙁 It picks up dents and fingerprints, stretches out where you don’t want it to stretch out, and becomes nearly impossible to transfer from the counter to a baking sheet.

WARM SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH HATES YOU.
[Continue reading…]

There are 15 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Collections, Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup, Makeup Tips/How To

MAC Loud and Clear, Glow Play Blush Collection Swatches on NC42 Skin

February 6th, 2020 by Karen 22 Comments

mac loud and clear collection
The MAC Loud and Clear Collection and Glow Play Blushes, both available now at select MAC locations and the MAC website

Man, I couldn’t get this on my arm and face fast enough. First of all, NEUTRALS. Second, MAC.

Seriously, too good.

Technically, you are looking at two LE MAC collections. One is Loud and Clear, which consists of single Eyeshadows ($18 each), Lipsticks ($20), Lipglasses ($18.50) and Extra Dimension Skinfinishes ($37 each), and the other is a collection of Glow Play Blushes ($30 cheek colors extraordinaire).

A few high-level observations:

  • The blushes are not in the standard-issue powder formula. They have a creamy, bouncy formula and feels gel-like. They’re silky. They’re soft, and they work best when applied with my fingers. I believe they’ll be fab friends to five-minute makeup.
  • As for the eyeshadows, they feel softer than usual, like they have more “give” than usual for MAC powder shadows. I have high hopes for them, especially because they appear to be more intense than usual, too.
  • If you like monochromatic looks, this is the collection for you. There are several coordinating eye/cheek/lip products (this becomes more apparent when you separate the items into color families). I love matchy-matchy makeup because I think it’s easy sophisticated, so I’m all about that life.
  • THE PACKAGING! It’s kinda Shu Uemura, yah? I’m into the clear cases, not just because they look cool, but they’re also practical, because it’s easy to tell what shade they are from the front and the back.
mac loud and clear collection
I love the clear packaging… So unlike the standard MAC black.
mac loud and clear collection swatches lipstick and lipglass
Lipsticks ($20 each) and Lipglasses ($18.50 each)

mac loud and clear collection swatches eyeshadow extra dimension skinfinish
Eyeshadows ($18 each) and Extra Dimension Skinfinishes ($37)

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There are 22 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Collections, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Product Reviews

MAC Lunar Illusions Collection in Action With Swatches on NC42 Skin

January 6th, 2020 by Karen 8 Comments

mac lunar illusions 2020
The new MAC Lunar Illusions collection, available now

OK, I totally get it. MAC-aholics are always questing to find “The Newest Newness,” but every now and zen (hint, hint), a MAC collection comes along that puts the classics in the spotlight. And ya know what? I’m not mad at it.

The new Lunar Illusions collection highlights so many MAC must-haves. The Now and Zen eyeshadow palette alone is packed with greatest hits like Soft Brown (LOVE), Honey Lust, Omega, Expensive Pink and good ol’ Tilt, which is a beautiful bluish green…and that’s just for starters!

The shades may be repromotes, but that LE packaging is a fresh twist, so if you’re on the market for a replacement tube of Ruby Woo Lipstick, why not grab one of these for fun?

mac lunar illusions swatches nc42 skin
From the top: Lipsticks ($20 each), Lipglasses ($18.50 each), Blush Split Pan ($31), Eyeshadow X 9 ($33). Not pictured: Extra Dimension Skinfinish ($37).

mac lunar illusions eyeshadow
Lids: Eyeshadow X 9 in Soft Brown, Omega, Honey Lust and Tilt. Cheeks: Blush Split Man in Pinch O’ Peach and Modern Mandarin (mixed together). Lips: Marrakesh Lipstick topped with Magically Delightful Lipglass.

[Continue reading…]

There are 8 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Collections, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Product Reviews

Product Spotlight: MAC Opalescent Powder in Rising Star, From the New Starring You Holiday 2019 Collection

November 14th, 2019 by Karen 7 Comments

mac rising star
Shoot for the Stars, Rising Star!

This Rising Star from MAC 🌟 is shooting straight to the top of my list of “Best of the Best Makeup to Wear With MAC Teddy.”

(Wait…doesn’t everyone keep that list around?)

Of all the things in the new MAC Starring You holiday makeup collection (which is the sub-collection of makeup within the mega collection of LE holiday items, including the kits and palettes), warm golden Rising Star ($36) face powder is the 1) most wearable eye product IMO, and 2) the kindest to fine lines, which makes it the star of the show in my book.

And, oh yeah, it looks amazing when you wear it with MAC Teddy! (Totally key.)

Rising Star is a warm golden pressed powder in the MAC Opalescent Face Powder fam. It’s a pressed powder with finely-spun grains of granulated powder that practically float atop your skin, and it’s designed to be worn as a highlighter.

Are you familiar with the Hourglass Ambients? If so, MAC’s Opalescent Face Powders are very similar in terms of texture and finish, but with slightly higher shine.

As a highlighter, it gives cheeks a soft, subtle candlelit glow…but I like to take my cues from MAC artists who use it as an eyeshadow! That’s where I think it really shines (pun intended).

I buff it on top of my lids with a MAC 217, and it automatically adds a glam “Charlotte Tilbury-ness” to my lids, especially when I wear it atop a base of MAC Teddy liner.

It’s an easy and elegant eye look, which is totally my style, and best of all, the powder lasts all day. I wore this eye makeup to the bakery the other day, and it stayed put for a solid 14 hours!

mac rising star k
Rising Star Powder layered on top of a base of MAC Teddy liner
mac rising star look
Makeup worn in this look

Makeup in this look

  • Eyes: MAC Teddy (base), MAC Rising Star (lids), Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow (crease), MAC Extended Play Perm Me Up Lash (lashes), MAC Concrete and It Cosmetics Prow Power (brows)
  • Base: Estee Lauder Double Wear mixed with Becca Backlight Priming Filter
  • Cheeks: NARS Amour (this looks really great with MAC Smoked Almond lipstick)
  • Lips: Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk, MAC Smoked Almond, NARS Chelsea Girls

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

There are 7 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Collections, Eyes, Face, Face of the Day (FOTD), MAC Makeup

To Me, From Me

November 13th, 2019 by Karen 17 Comments

trader joes 12 days of beauty
You guys, I had to do it!

LOOK WHAT I FOUND AT TJ’s!

This 12 Days of Beauty gift box is $20, and it comes with 12 beauty minis exclusive to Trader Joe’s. Everything it comes with is listed on the back (and reproduced below), so it’s not a super-hard-to-figure-out surprise…but if you don’t wanna know what it comes with (SPOILER ALERT), look away meow.

I’m serious, look away!

This is your last warning…

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There are 17 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Collections, Skin Care, Trader Joe's

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About Makeup and Beauty Blog

Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog
Hi there! I’m Karen, your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, and I’m a Bay Area girl who hoards brown eyeshadow and covets coral lipstick. Every morning, I wake up and say, “I’m going to do something other than a smoky eye today.” Then…I end up doing a smoky eye anyway (most days). When I’m not putting on makeup, taking pictures of makeup or writing about makeup, which I’ve been doing daily since 2007 (!), you’ll find me hanging out with my hubby (“El Hub”), my four-year-old daughter (Connor Claire) and my torbie girl cat (Pretty Girl Rosie, a.k.a. PGR).

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