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MAC Unsung Heroes: Coffee Eye Pencil

January 8th, 2019 by Karen 30 Comments

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

I know…. A picture of MAC Coffee Eye Pencil ($18) with a big-@ss cup of ☕ coffee? So meta! Oh, and not just any big-@ss cup of coffee. This was my second cup of the morning…

Dude, I wake up at 5! An obnoxious level of caffeine is the only way I get through life these days.

I’ve mentioned MAC coffee a few times lately, but I’ve been hesitant to give it the “unsung heroes” treatment because, for reasons unknown, it vanished from the MAC website, which was sacrilegious craziness to me because it’s *the best* dark brown matte pencil I know of.

So specific, I know.

But it really is. I wear it more than all of my other MAC liner loves.

Yes, even more than Teddy, Costa Riche and — I can’t believe I’m about to type this — Powersurge.

Ever since I discovered the power of pencils that *aren’t* black, I’ve been all about brown liner (it’s the whole “black liner looks so harsh on me now that I’m older” thing).

mac coffee swatch — Livin’ that NC42 life, yo.

mac mineralize foundation loose medium dark — Wearing Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyehadow Palette, MAC Coffee liner, MAC Gingerly blush, MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour in Burnt Spice and MAC Dazzleglass in Tangerine Tropica

This particular dark chocolate brown doesn’t have red undertones, and it does all the right things for me. It works on my water lines (both upper and lower), doesn’t irritate my eyes (and, GIRL, everything irritates my eyes these days), and it doesn’t smudge unless I want it to.

It’s not as soft as a gel or a soft kohl, so it doesn’t glide along like those formulas, but perhaps that’s why it sticks to skin so well. I can wear MAC Coffee all day long without any transferring onto my lower lash line or up into my crease.

(Don’t worry — you won’t be tugging to apply it. It’s hard, but it’s also very pigmented and not dry at all, so no skipping, if that makes sense.)

Be warned: Once you try MAC Coffee, you’ll become addicted…just like real coffee.

Speaking of coffee…

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MAC Kajal Crayon: Better the Second Time Around…

October 10th, 2018 by Karen 5 Comments

It just goes to show ya that it never hurts to give a product a second chance, because I did not care for the $23 MAC Kajal Crayons when they first launched in Diane Kendal, but I’m all about this new batch. I don’t know if MAC tweaked the formula, or if I’m just remembering things differently, but I think these are SO good — especially if you’re a smoky-eye-’til-I-die person like I am.

Basically, these are chubby liners/eyeshadows that adhere to water lines AND skin. You’re supposed to plop them on, then blow out the edges (a.k.a “smoke it the eff out”) using your fingers or a brush.

I like using the MAC 217 with them because I think I can feather out the edges more quickly with it than I can with a fluffier brush like the 224.

By the way, I softened the transition along the edge in this pic with Soft Brown and Saddle.

mac kajal crayon 2018 — I’m wearing Dear Darling on my eyes, and the lip is MAC Liptensity in Smoked Almond (also worn as a blush on my cheeks).

Creamy pencils like these usually have a limited — I guess you could call it “shelf life” on your lids and water lines because of how easily they move. And the creamier they are, the more they move.

You can smudge these Kajal Crayons and smoke them out as much as you want, but once they’ve set, they stay put.

I mean, you don’t have all day long to make tight and tiny circles with your 217, but you get about five minutes, and for a messy, smoky eye using a single color, that’s usually enough time.

Another thing: You can layer these as much as you want to because they don’t go patchy.

mac kajal crayon 2018 swatches — I ❤️ these shades.

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Kiss ‘n’ Telling on the New MAC Powder Kiss Lipsticks

October 2nd, 2018 by Karen 28 Comments

I just want your extra time and your mwah-mwah-mwah-mwah-mwah, KISS!

New Powder Kiss Lipsticks from MAC! These mattes feel just like the luscious Chanel Rouge Allure Velvets — lightweight, so more like a lip balm than a lipstick — but even creamier. So there’s little-to-no chance of cat butt lips. (I can hear you sighing from relief.) And, dare I say it, they’re kinda moisturizing? Just a little.

Must apply on dry lips (NON NEGOTIABLE!); otherwise, patchy
Taste and smell like vanilla, so classic MAC
Will move outside your natural lip line if you rub your lips together a lot
Special matte packaging (did you catch that?)
Pigment levels — between medium and just shy of full, depending on color
Less pigmented than MAC Matte lipsticks
Fade after a meal or a cup of coffee
Wear time is about an hour — two, tops
Watch out for vertical lip lines with the paler beige colors and pinks (they will highlight them if you apply too much).
Stand-outs: Mull It Over (a dirty peach) for everyday wear, and Fall in Love (a bright creamy fuchsia) for special occasions
~~I’m still tracking down prices, but it’s safe to assume they’ll be priced similar to regular MAC lipsticks, so about $18.50.~~ Each lippie is $19, and they’re all permanent

Final take? These are a’ight… They feel really smooth and lightweight, and the hazy matte finish is trés “I’m rock ‘n’ roll and too cool to care,” but the formula scoots around a lot and doesn’t last long on my lips. If you’re going for this type of soft matte look, the Chanel Velvets look very similar, and while they’re more expensive at $37, I think they’re user-friendlier because they don’t move around as much. Plus, they last longer.

If you’re curious, you can smooch the 16 MAC Powder Kiss Lipsticks starting October 11th, which is when they arrive at select MAC counters and the MAC website. 🙂

mac powder kiss lipstick swatches — I’m an NC 42, in case you’re wondering.

Well this FINALLY happened

I broke my personal vow to only read books I can check out out from the library (don’t ask me why I do these things; I just do!) and bought Crazy Rich Asians because I still couldn’t find the book at the library for like the 20th time. I just couldn’t take it anymore, LOL!

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Lipglossing Like It’s 1999

September 7th, 2018 by Karen 4 Comments

It’s funny to me when all ’90s makeup gets lumped together into a single category. Like, for lips it’s the ’90s matte lip look, and trust your homegirl when she says that everyone did not wear matte lips throughout the entire decade of the ’90s.

(Well, a lot of people did, but not everyone.)

You also had different sub-eras, like the late ’90s — circa 1997-1998 — when everybody (at least everybody I knew who wore makeup) wore dark, unblended lip liner, frosty silver lipstick and clear lipgloss.

Then you had 1999, 2000 and 2001, when it was all about glossy, frosty lips, which reminds me…remember when everyone and their mother was carrying a tube MAC Oystergirl?

Yeah, you know what’s up. 😉

I’m getting that ’99 vibe so hard from these non-sticky MAC Grand Illusion Glossy Liquid Lip Colour lipglosses, which are $21 each and hella pigmented.

mac goldieloxxed — Goldieloxxed (this shade reminds me an amped up MAC Nymphette)

Ah, they’re taking me back…especially It’s Just Candy! It reminds me of my early 20s when I rocked MAC Lychee Luxe to da club.

Da club… Oh, my gosh, I feel so ridiculous saying that. Like, when do you get to that point where you just sound silly using slang? It doesn’t happen overnight… It’s a slow burn kinda thing, ha ha ha.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Golden Bronze Iridescent Powder/Loose Is Back! — and It Wants to Bathe You in Buttery, Lovely, Long-Lasting Sunset Lighting

August 30th, 2018 by Karen 16 Comments

Every MAC artist I’ve ever chatted with about Golden Bronze raves about it and basically showers it with love. (Side note: If you caught the Surface reference, you and I were probably at the same eighth-grade dance.)

Shower me with your looooooooove

MAC Iridescent Powder/Loose in Golden Bronze ($29)

This peachy golden loose highlighting powder briefly peace’d-the-eff out for a while, and I didn’t hear about it or see it around (I gave it the Unsung Heroes treatment in 2012), but it’s back with a new version, and it’s just as epic as before.

Kits everywhere are sighing with relief, I’m sure. 🙂

It’s easy to see why this multipurpose miracle-worker is a staple at photo shoots and on runways. You only need the littlest bit to gleam with a gorgeous glow, and it requires, like…zero skill to blend.

Seriously, if you breathe — if you literally JUST EXIST — you can blend this powder.

It’s fantastic as a basic powder highlighter, or mixed into a face/body lotion or oil, or even sprinkled into tinted moisturizer, BB or CC cream, or foundation.

Tip: Load up a tapered eye brush like the MAC 224 with it to precisely place Golden Bronze down the bridge of your nose, on your upper cheekbones, in the inner corners, and on your Cupid’s bow.

You may be thinking, “OK, but can’t other loose highlighters do the same thing?”

Naw, babe, they don’t.

mac golden bronze swatch final — NC42 in MAC

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