Ways To Wear Series: Da Bling

A more traditional "pink eye" - doesn't that sound pretty!?! Cranberry is one of my favorite colors to use. I love how rich it is, and how well it plays with others. It is particularly beautiful with bronzey golds as well.

Base: Elf Shadow Primer
Inner Lid: Soft Force (try Nylon)
Middle Lid: Da Bling
Outer Lid and Crease: Da Bling
Highlight: Shroom
Mascara: Maybelline Falsies

Ways To Wear Series: Da Bling

Today's look is going for the classic sunset look. This is a great way to wear a pink shade without feeling ovewhelmed by it, as the more traditional golds and bronzes dominate. You know, these might be my 4 favorite MAC colors ever!

Products used:
Base: Elf Shadow Primer
Inner Lid: Da Bling
Middle Lid: Goldmine
Outer Lid and Crease: Bronze
Highlight: Shroom
Liner: Urban Decay El Dorado
Mascara: The Collossal

Ways To Wear Series: Da Bling

As promised, another way to wear the gorgeous pinky goodness that is Da Bling eyeshadow by MAC. This time I've gone for for a sheer pink wash over my lids, and a gray shadow liner underneath. I saw this look in Lucky magazine this month, and love how simple it is. Apparently, keeping the pink on the lid and the gray underneath stop the dreaded pink eye effect that we fear from pink eyeshadow. If I was doing this again, I think instead of using a smudgy shadow liner, I would go for more crispness in the form of a pencil liner.

Base: Elf Shadow Primer
Lid: MAC Da Bling
Lower Liner: MAC Knight Divine
Highlight: MAC Shroom
Lashes: Maybelline Falsies

Ways To Wear Series: Da Bling

Over the last couple of weeks I've been putting together a little series for the blog. Sometimes I look at my eye palettes, and I always end up picking the same combination of colors, or only using one shade with one other. I wanted to challenge myself to get more use out of the current colors I have, and think of new ways to wear them, and I'd like to share that with you all.

The first shade I've picked out to work with is Da Bling. Da Bling is one of my favorite permanent MAC shades, and probably one of the first that I picked out for myself. It's a mid-toned pink with gold shimmer. Pink is a color a lot of people avoid, but Da Bling is a great one to start out with if you are scared, because it really does play well with others.

For the first in my Way To Wear Series, I picked one of my all time favorite color combinations: Gold and Pink. For this look, I've used another classic MAC color (I'm trying to only use permanent colors in this series so that anyone can try out these combinations), Goldmine. This look can be softly worn during the day, and then by adding black liquid liner on top and on the lower inner rim, it really takes it up a notch for the night.

 

All colors MAC unless otherwise stated:
Base: ELF Shadow Primer
Inner Lid: Goldmine
Outer Lid and crease: Da Bling
Highlight: Shroom
Mascara: Maybelline Falsies

New Super Product: Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream

I have been meaning to try the Make Up Forever Aqua Creams for a couple of months now, but for some reason have been managing, for the most part, to keep my credit card in my wallet and be strong with my purchasing instincts. However, it all got a bit too much for me and so I finally caved and went to Sephora on Sunday and picked up a pot. There are two types of Aqua Creams – ones that are suitable for eyes and cheeks, and ones that are suitable for cheeks and lips. After much, much deliberation, I picked out an eyes/cheeks pot in #16 – Pink Beige. When I swatched it in store, it appeared to be a pinky gold, but whenever I came home, it was much cooler than I had thought. Typical Sephora lighting. Honestly, that store kills me with its crowded aisles, manky testers, lack of product (stock I mean), and weird lighting. All is usually forgiven for its awesome returns policy and huge breadth of choice.

As I was a little disappointed when I tested the shade as it wasn’t quite what I had been expecting, I did not have particularly high hopes for this product. People, I was wrong. The color is really quite beautiful in a cool, shimmering, kind of way, which I can imagine looking fresh both in summer and winter. The cream has quite a thick consistency, so you should be careful with your brush when you pick it up in case you get too much. However, it applies like a gorgeous, rich, frosting and so, so smooth. I found it super easy to blend as well. The finish is not for the faint-hearted – these little pots pack a shimmer! I can imagine the brighter colors like aqua and teal might be quite hard to wear, but this pretty, shimmery cool pink was actually surprisingly neutral. I was really expecting it to make me look ill or strange, but instead got a pretty, shimmering bright effect. They can take a minute or two to set, and during this period the creams can feel a little tacky to the touch, but once they are set, they sit in place for hours and hours, although came off quite easily with my Neutrogena wipes. 

My particular pot is suitable for either eyes or cheeks. I did try it on my cheeks as well, but the shimmer is just too much for me to be comfortable wearing, to be honest, and if I want a wearable amount of shimmer, the color is incredibly sheer. The lips and cheeks colors look like they would be more suitable for multi-tasking to be honest.

I have heard of people getting addicted to collecting these little pots of goodness, and now that I’ve tried one, I can see why. They truly are little pots of magic. I’m already debating which colors to pick up next.

Let's Have a Romance By Candelight

There's been a lot of talk about MAC's Mineral Skin Finishes with the recent launch of the In The Groove collection. I have to admit that I don't exactly see what the fuss is about. I have one, which I do love, but it doesn't make me rush out and buy more. Weird, no?

Anyway, I decided to build out this look around by only MSF, By Candlelight, which I picked up in the Warm and Cozy collection that came out late last year. It's a gorgeous pinky golden glow, strangely suitable for both summer and winter. I used a bunch of other Warm & Cozy products to put together a warm, neutral look. My husband's reaction was, "ooooh! you look so pretty. You should do that all the time!". I think that's a good thing.


All products MAC unless otherwise stated:

Eyes:
Base: Elf Shadow Primer
Base: MAC Shadestick in Nurture
Inner lid and highlight: Camomile
Middle Lid: Expensive Pink
Outer Lid: Modellete
Crease: A Little Folie
Liner: UD Lucky

Face:
Smashbox Primer
Tinted moisturizer mix
MAC MSF in By Candlelight

Lips
Perfectly Unordinary

Summer Lip Favorites Part 4

The final installment!!! And really, my absolute favorites - my glossy gold and corals. These colors lift up anyone's face and really make for the most perfect summer look.

From right to left: Liberated, Silly Girl, Gold Dust, Flurry of Fun Kumquat, Perennial High Style

1. Liberated came out in last summer's Style Warriors. It's a sheer yellow. It might look a little scary in the tube, but it acts more like a neutral on pigmented lips, providing a gorgeous, bright glow.

2. Silly Girl came as part of the Holiday 2009 sets. It's a classic bright coral with shimmer. It's quite sheer, so can either be worn alone or layered with other colors.

3. Gold Dust is from Spring Color Forecast. TRACK THIS COLOR DOWN!! Oh, I love it! It is a gorgeous rich gold, making my lips so golden and rich. Luscious.

4. Flurry of Fun is from To The Beach. It's a similar color to Silly Girl, but the glitter is much bigger, brighter, sparklier, and also a contrasting blue/purple in tone. A fun summer color. Not one for the board room.

5. Kumquat is a rich, pigmented bright coral gloss. It has some shimmer, but it's main feature is packing a coral punch. Bright and gorgeous.

6. Perennial High Style is really more pink than coral. It's an amazingly flattering shade, and so simple to wear. This is a simple, no fail look. It's a color that I never need to think about when I put it on - it just works, ya know?

So, there we have. 21 glosses and lipsticks later, my entire summer lips collection. I'm sure I left one of your favorites out! Hit me up in the comments and let me know what you think.

Summer Lip Favorites Part 3

I know - quite the saga, this whole summer lip favorites series! I hope you guys had an excellent July 4th weekend (I went to Cape Cod, and this is actually written before and post-dated). Anyway, onto the shiny shiny lip colors!!!

This post is actually all about my favorite lipsticks that evoke that hot, summer sun feeling.

From l-r we have Beachbound, Ever Hip, Fresh Salmon, Sandy B, and Victorian. All MAC

As you can see, I'm a major sucker for the recent limited edition lipsticks!!!

1. Beachbound Glaze came out in the recent MAC To The Beach collection. It's an incredibly sheer, shimmery gold-bronze-melon color. It adds a touch of golden shimmer to your lips without much color. It's an effect that needs some getting used to, and is not super over the top. 
2. Ever Hip is a fabulous pink-coral that came out in the Liberty of London collection. Amazing on it's own, but so not overwhelming you can't wear other make up as well. 
3. Fresh Salmon came out with Spring Color Forecast. It's pretty similar to Ever Hip, I must admit. A sweet, pinky coral that brightens up your face no end!
4. Sandy B - the only permanent color I've included here. It's a shimmer, sheer, bronze that is easy to wear to the beach or cocktails. I don't think that this color gets enough love, to be honest. 
5. Victorian - maybe my favorite color that MAC has brought out this year! It's pink, with gold shimmer and orange undertones, giving an almost duochrome effect. The epitome of fun and flirty. Delicious. 

Any pinks I've missed? 

Summer Lip Favorites Part 2

Yesterday I showed you some of my favorite bright lip colors. Now I'm showcasing my softer pinks. I get that these pinks might usually be more associated with Spring, but sometimes I just want something light and sheer and pretty in summer, and these are my go-to grabs for those days.

So, from left to right we have Elf Lip Shine in Pink Kiss, MAC Dazzleglass in Perfectly Unordinary, and MAC Lip Glass in Virgin Kiss.

1. Elf Lip Shine in Pink Kiss - this lipgloss feels slightly tacky and has a sweet scent. It's a sheer, slightly milky pink with silver shimmer. At only a buck, I think that this gloss is a great deal, as it's the sort of color everyone needs at least one of.

2. MAC Dazzleglass in Perfectly Unordinary - gorgeously pretty pink, gold sparkly shimmer - what is there not to love? Apart from MAC do come out with this shade ALL THE TIME!!! It does have a slightly gritty feel to it which isn't wonderful, but it's worth it for the pretty pretty shine.

3. MAC Lip Glass in Virgin Kiss - this came out in the Rose Romance collection last summer. Confession - I wore this at my wedding, so it will always have a special place in my heart. Apart from that, I think it's a gorgeous, cool, shimmery, baby pink. Again, a classic that's always going to make you feel pretty.

Any simple, pretty pinks I've left out or should try?

Summer Lip Favorites Part 1

Summer is probably my favorite season for lip products. I just love love love the bright colors bringing to mind raspberry popsicles and orange soda. I’m a big fan of sheer, jelly style colors which are easy to wear – slick and go! For evenings, some gold shimmer can kick up a look to summer goddess. Cosmetics companies this year have really raised their game in terms of corals, golds, and bright pinks for us lucky girls to play around with. I really like a shiny, summery lip with neutral eyes. Keeping the cheeks bright in the same family can be fun, or neutral with a touch of bronzer to bring out your natural glow.

I'm going to do a couple of posts about my favorite colors. This was originally one post until I realized that I'm a summer gloss junkie and have faaar too many for just 1!!!

I'm going to work from left to right here to talk about each product.

 

1. Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess – a yummy jelly, thick raspberry gloss. It has a slight blue shimmer to it as well. There’s something about it which does make me feel all goddess-like. Until I realize that I’ve spilt my ice cream down my shirt.
2. Tarte Amused Lip Stain – a jumbo pencil that moisturizes (although not quite as much as Tarte claims!!), smells deliciously pepperminty, and makes you look like you’ve spent the afternoon eating raspberry popsicles is a summer must have. If I’m running out the door and have no make-up on, this is my go-to single product. Yum yum yumminess.
3. MAC  Lipglass in Totally It - I got this as part of the Holiday 2009 lipgloss sets. I have seen these in CCOs recently actually. This color is a shout it out gorgeous bright pink, very similar in color to Tarte's Amused Lip Stain.
4. MAC Lipglass in Hush Hush Rose - a pretty, bright, coolish, pink with gold shimmer. It is actually quite pigmented for a gloss. I wear it alone for a pop of pretty shine. Unfortunately, it's a limited edition from this year's Spring Color Forecast. 
5. Stila Lip Glaze in Raspberry - this is one of my oldest products!!! I've had this for years. (Wait, I shouldn't tell you that, should I? I should have tidied everything out and all that. Ooops). It's a perfect sheer summer fuchsia. It is quite sticky, but I do love the twist packaging. 
6. Cover Girl Wet Slicks in Raspberry Splash - can you sense that I will buy ANYTHING if it has the world raspberry in the title? Really. I bought this on a total whim in Miami when all my bags were lost. It is almost clear, but it snuck in here because the packaging makes it look much more pigmented. It has a pleasant scent and a little bit of a minty kick. A cheap thrill, if you will. 
7. MAC Lip Gelee in Lush & Bright - this is not a subtle product!!! This is more over the top shiny glittery, shimmery FUN!!! It came out in the Lily Pulitzer collection, which so should have been a summer collection, but whatever. I don't wear this super often, because the glitter in it can be a bit overkill, but it is fun. Think poolside with heels, ya know? That kind of trashy but fun.

What are your favorite summer lip colors? Are you a sucker for anything raspberry or coral?

Sugary Sweet Pink FOTD

I wanted to see whether it's possible to do a pink-themed FOTD and not end up looking weird or ill. I think I more or less pulled it off, but mascara really saves the day here. I had a lot of fun experimenting with these colors.

Eyes:
Base: UDPP in Sin
Inner / Highlight: MAC Sweet Lust
Middle: UD Sphynx
Outer: MAC Da Bling
Crease: MAC Da Bling and Stars and Rockets
Mascara: Maybelline Full N Soft
Brows: Elf Brow Kit in Medium

Base: Tinted Moisturizer Mix

Cheeks: NARS Orgasm (Cream)

Lips:
MAC Hue
MAC Lusterglass Pinkarat

Korres Mango Butter Lipstick in Rose #22

Korres Mango Butter Lipstick in Rose #22 ($18) is a delicious, smooth, slightly sheer rose pink with gold shimmer. This lipstick is smooth. I have never put on a lipstick that felt so wonderfully rich, smooth, buttery, and moisturizing. It does mean that it doesn't have the longest staying power (2hrs for me), but putting it on every time was such a delight that honestly, I didn't care. I loved the color. It's a very pretty, neutral spring color, and the gold adds a touch of brightness. It is not an amazingly dramatic lipstick, and is very sheer, so if you are looking for a bright, or something with a lot of pigment, I suggest you steer clear of this one. If you are looking for something with a simple touch of pretty pink, then #22 is worth a look.

Another Spring Color Forecast Look

 

Another Spring Color Forecast look today. I wish the eyes stood out more a little in the pictures, but they were very pretty and spring like in real life. 

All MAC unless otherwise stated. 

Eyes: 

MAC Paint in Bare Canvas

Inner Lid: Flip

Middle Lid: Da Bling

Outer: La La

Crease: Creole Beauty

Highlight: Manila

Mascara: Maybelline Full & Soft

Brows: Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel

Face:

Tinted Moisterizer (my mix)

MAC Moisture Select Concealer NW20

NARS Orgasm Illuminator

Benefit Posie Tint

Lips

Fresh Salmon

Gold Dust

Gold Dust is the most gorgeous lip gloss - it's pure gold in a gloss. I wish the sparkles showed up more in the picture I took, but if you can imagine the most lovely rich golden gloss, then you're there. Creole Beauty also tones down the pinkness of Da Bling and La La, neutralising and making the look super day time pretty. Definitely a look I'm going to wear again and again.

MAC Spring Color Forecast FOTD

It's a beautiful day here in NYC - the sun is shining, the snow is melting, and there's barely a cloud in the sky. What better time to play around with MAC's latest collection - Spring Color Forecast?

I love this collection. It's so bright and fun and spring-like, with colors that will attact anyone eye. The fact that there are four separate color collections based on Pink, Coral, Plum, and Amber means there's a little something for everyone.

I wanted to wear something easy and straightforward today as we were just going for breakfast. It's just a very light sunset eyes look with light base and simple lips. Hot Hot Hot is such a fun pink to wear - so far it hasn't made me look ill once - always a risk! :)

Everything MAC unless stated

Eyes:
MAC Paint in Bare Canvas
Inner lid: Nanogold
Middle Lid: Straw Harvest
Outer Lid:Hot Hot Hot
Browbone: Nanogold

Base:
My own tinted moisteriser using Kiehls Ultra Facial Lotion, MAC Studio Sculpt in NW25, and a touch of MAC Strobe Cream
MAC Select Moisture Cover in NW20

Cheeks
NARS Orgasm Illuminator
Benefit Posie Tint

Lips
NARS Dolce Vita Lipstick

Urban Decay Pink Lipsticks

I was inspired last week by Temptalia's Spring Season to get some new spring pink lipsticks. After much thought, I decided on two from Urban Decay - Rush and Naked.

Naked is a pretty dusty rose pink with the slightest hint of gold shimmer.

Rush is ever so slightly darker, again with a hint of shimmer. It is ever so slightly warmer than Naked.

 

Urban Decay lipsticks apply gorgeously rich and creamy, and are a real pleasure to wear. They have a slightly sweet scent which I actually really like. They come in interesting packaging. The lid is clear plastic with purple and cream swirls, and the bottom of the lipstick has a dagger on it. The only drawback I found was that the Naked lid didn't stay tight on the tube, although the Rush one did. 

 

L-R Rush and Naked

Both of these were gorgeous on - a kind of my lips but better color. have quite pigmented dark pink lips, so when I applied these, there was absolutely no difference in the shades. Or at least, not enough of one to warrant having both colors, so I'm returning Rush. Having said, I would highly recommend at least one of these colors for perking you up on a cold winter's day to remind you that Spring really is around the corner.

Neutral EOTD Using MAC Devil May Care Palette

As you may know, I recently went back to the UK for a week. For eye colors, I decided to only take my MAC holiday palettes and see if they would work for a week of experimenting, seeing friends, shopping, and the like.

The first thing I should fess up to is that I actually ended up not wearing make up most days. There’s really not much need for it when my main activity is stomping across the country-side with my dog wearing wellies (rain boots). I find that on vacation I do tend to skip out on getting myself made up. As I’ve said before, I do not treat make up as a mask or a thing I need to do before I face the world. I can easily go out completely bare-faced, and not just hiking across fields, but shopping and meeting friends as well. For me, make up is something that is a fun accessory, like the rest of my unashamed fan. It’s a way for me to be creative and have fun.

I did wear it a couple of days though. This was my day time look for heading into a full day of hard shopping.

I used the MAC Devil May Care Palette palette from Holiday 09. This is a truly gorgeous and really versatile palette. I use it reasonably often for both day and night looks.

 

  

As this was meant to be a soft day time look, I decided against using any eyeliner at all, and just let the prettiness of the soft pinks and golds shine through. This could easily work in any office environment, and then be taken to a night-time look by adding a line of black liquid liner.


I’m thinking of doing a line of work-safe pretty neutral looks - what does anyone think? A good idea, or a little bit boring?

EOTD Smoky Pinks

Right now I've been going through a real neutrals phase, hence my love for the Warm & Cozy collection. But, every so often, a girl wants to have fun, and what better way to do that than play with pink? As a bonus, I get to tick off a couple of my never used items like MAC Stars and Rockets eye shadow, NYX Black Bean Jumbo Pencil and NYX Candy Pink Glitter Liner.

Products used (all MAC unless stated)

• Paint in Bare Canvas
• NYX Jumbo Pencil in Black Bean
  
• Stars and Rockets Eye Shadow
• Dark Blue shade from Mystic Cool Palette
• NYX Candy Glitter in Pink
• Highlight shade from Mystic Cool Palette
• Feline Pencil
• Covergirl Lashblast mascara
  

I used Bare Canvas as as base, then used Stars and Rockets all over the eye. I took the dark blue from Mystic Cool and used it in the outer third and the crease, blending with the pink to smoke it out. I then highlighted with the cool shimmery white shade in the Mystic Cool Palette. I then used the NYX Pink Glitter liner all over the lid for a glittery sheen. This was something I'd seen A Brilliant Brunette do in a gorgeous dark blue look I lined the waterline with Feline and the lower lashline with Stars and Rockets.

I think I'm slowly getting better at the whole picture taking malarkey, but it's a learning experience!