MAC Eyeshadow

April 2015 Favourites

As a university student, April seems to come and go in the strangest fashion – it’s just a weird time, the first half (or more as was the case this year) full of the doom known as the exam period where the most menial tasks such as bathing become a hassle and makeup application can be somewhat laughable before leading to this weird sense of freedom when it’s all over but you can’t exactly process it. It’s also the time when Spring is beginning to rear its head, despite the snow still hanging out.  To get to the point, I might not have experimented with beauty or makeup all that often this month, however, I can report on some essential items for me.

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NARS Audacious Lipstick in Brigitte ($37): Whenever I did that whole full-faced makeup thing and went for something on the lips, I happily grabbed for the slightly coral-tinged rose hued lipstick that I succumbed to at the end of March. The formula is ridiculously good and does all it claims – the formula hydrates the lips, lasts and actually stains the lips in the best way possible without any sort of drying effect or weird fading and just look good on the lips without requiring any fuss. I find pink colours extremely difficult to wear, however, I have to say that I adore this more neutral-pink offering, likely because of its slight tinge of coral and warmth that I adore, and it’s a bit more of a unique rosy neutral shade. This is a really great staple shade in my daily life because it works with anything, offering enough life to the face when worn with minimal other makeup but subtle enough to work with smokier eyes.

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MAC Eyeshadow in Bronze, Bamboo & Swiss Chocolate ($12-19): After popping the inserts out of my MAC palette in order to justify buying more eye shadows, – and picking up Bamboo and Bronze – I’ve really gotten back to relying on my MAC palette on the daily basis and these are the three shades that I’ve been reaching for. I’ve been constantly using my new Bamboo eyeshadow as a transition colour that blends into absolute nothingness in the best way possible, – (it’s lighter than Soft Brown) – Bronze, a true red-toned reflective bronze eyeshadow in the outer corner and along the lower lashline to add easy definition and the warm red-toned Swiss Chocolate to add some matte dimension to the crease or outer corner.

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Skin79 Snail Nutrition BB Cream ($35): In my journey, searching for a way to get adequate sun protection on a daily basis without irritating my skin, making my makeup look questionable and drying out my skin, I’ve gone back to using my favourite authentic Asian BB Cream and I’ve been pleased with it. It has ridiculous sun protection, hydrates the skin nicely while adding medium-coverage with a more generous amount, only contains mineral actives and has loads of beneficial ingredients, such as the potent niacinimide along with other hydrating ingredients. On some occasions, I’ve been reaching for this as my sole base but on other days I’ve been using it pre-foundation as sun protection. I’m still of the belief that this is one of those few authentic multitasking products that function excellent both in terms of a skincare product and in terms of makeup application.

Paula’s Choice Resist C15 Super Booster ($20-48 US): Ever since I received my Paula’s Choice order, I have been incorporating my trial size of this potent vitamin c antioxidant product into my daily skincare routine – or at the very least every two days – but it was in April when I began to really reap the benefits and discover how much that I liked the stuff. While it seemed to tingle slightly the first couple of times that I applied it, the 15 % antioxidant treatment stopped triggering that response within a couple of uses – my bet is that my skin was a bit irritated from retinoid use and weather conditions, along with a little bit of being temperamental. Now I apply this antioxidant booster at least every second night in the serum stage and my skin drinks it up, immediately looking smoother along with just looking a bit brighter, even and less angry in the six weeks that I’ve been using it. I’ve been using it alternate nights with my prescription retinoid and I would have to say that it’s gentle and actually seems to help soothe the skin rather than leaning towards any sort of aggravation.

Elizabeth & James Nirvana Black Rollerball ($26): When I’ve been feeling like making myself feeling a little (or a whole lot more) put together, I’ve been applying this warm and spicy vanilla scent. It’s uber warm but doesn’t have even the faintest touch of a sugary candy sweetness and is more of a winter scent to be completely honest. It reads a bit androgynous and lasts for ages on the skin without being overwhelming in the slightest.

Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Candle in Renew & Refresh ($22.50): It’s times like this month that I burn candles the most excessively; I find myself turning towards scented candles the most when I’m stressed out of my mind but some productivity needs to happen so obviously April was a candle heavy month. I loved burning this mellow but warm springtime scent – it was never overwhelming but potent enough, reading as fresh and calming with a hint of jasmine. For once, the candle appears to be named appropriately if you’re asking me.

What did you love during April?
Maggie, x.

 

The Monthly Roundup #9: August 2014

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I might not have been loving life all August (but when am I ever?), but things have been pretty great here at Beautylit & Ramblings this month. Obviously, I haven’t done all of the posts that I planned to at some point but I’ve definitely been pleased overall with the quality of my posts and I did post 22 times, so I can’t complain.

1.  August Favourites –

Where I shared a nicely edited selection of products of the beauty variety (along with a few random ones) without going overboard with the most complex, exhaustively long sentences known to man. I’ve been good in the last few months and haven’t been consistently including every single favourites post in these monthly posts so I was happy to go back to my old way for once.

2. The Pre-Fall Haul –

Where I outlined the products that I picked up in preparation for the upcoming fall season and close-approaching fall school semester and gave my general thoughts on them. I was particularly pleased with the vast quantity of nice pictures included in the post along with my feelings towards the items themselves.

3. The Six-Step Sunday –

Where I wrote more of a typical lifestyle-infused ‘weekend post’ and talked about my six different steps for the ideal relaxed Sunday. It was definitely a different post for me but I was pleased with the results and it did get a significant number of views etc., so I’m assuming you enjoyed it as well.

4. The Five Sumer Essentials –

Where I wrote a ‘little’ ode to the five products that I agonized over including as my five standout products of the summer season. I liked it and it did take some thought…

5. My MAC Eyeshadow Palette –

Last but not least is a post that I’ve been meaning to do and planning for ages that finally came to fruition this month, taking more work than you would assume. I was happy with the result and I hope that my overview of my shadows was a helpful resource to some of you. I just about choke with satisfaction whenever I glance at this post…

What were your standout posts/things of the month?
Maggie, x.

My MAC Eyeshadow Palette

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The first beauty love of my life was MAC eyeshadows — For my thirteenth birthday, I got my first one along with my beloved MAC 217 — and to this day, that love hasn’t weakened in any shape or form. I’ve been wanting to write one of these kinds of posts for ages and they are my favourite to read so now that I’ve kind of sort of completed the eyeshadow portion of my palette, I feel compelled to bite the bullet and do it. If you’re ready to see my palette and hear an assortment of my thoughts on the whole thing and the individual shades, read on. However, before I get to all of that I shall preface this by saying that all of the shades are good quality (unless specified, sort of) and I highly recommend putting your own palette together because although it seems expensive at first having to pay for each shade, there’s something practical and economical in putting together your own MAC palette.

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Dazzlelight (Veluxe Pearl) – neutral with shimmer

A creamy ivory shade that is only subtly different than my natural skintone on my lids but slightly lighter with a golden sheen running throughout, Dazzlelight is a gorgeous subtle highlighting shade and also works on the lid for an extremely natural shade. This is a staple that I might just adore and need to repurchase in the future.

Vex (Frost)– beige with pink-green pearl

This one has to be among MAC’s most unique offerings but I will admit that I don’t reach for it enough. It’s a shimmery cool-toned ivory colour that has a strong pink-green duochrome so it looks really interesting on the lid. It’s a nice highlighting or general lid shade, in my experience.

All That Glitters (Veluxe Pearl)– beige with gold pearl

This longtime favourite eyeshadow of mine has to be my favourite eyeshadow to this day and I’ve already used up two pans of this stuff already. In essence, it’s a golden-peachy champagne with the nicest metallic sheen running throughout that has the easiest texture to work with and is my favourite lid shade of all time. It’s a more golden and peachy souped-up version of Urban Decay Sin. It’s worth all of it’s praise. This is one of the few items I would deem ‘holy grail’.

Patina (Frost) – taupe brown with golden pearl

This one is yet another gorgeous lid shade and its one that I hadn’t been reaching for enough because until recently it was in pot form and out of sight. It’s a slightly cool-toned muted golden hue that comes out a whole lot lighter than one would expect and with a whole lot less obvious shimmer too. It does have that gorgeous taupey lean to it, too.

Era (Satin) – soft golden beige with shimmer

I’m afraid that I can’t say much about this one as I only picked it up yesterday (after lusting after it for well over a year) and haven’t applied it to my eyelid yet but it does look rather promising and I’m excited to put it to use. I will admit that it doesn’t look too different from Patina, but I promise it is unique because it doesn’t have any of that olive kind of lean and is more of a golden champagne shade — without the peachiness of All That Glitters. It seems to be extremely smooth and pigmented with a gorgeous sheen running throughout that comes off rather subtle. I’m fairly certain this shall be a lid shade.

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DSC_0142Soft Brown (Matte) – soft golden peachy-brown

I really should have listened to others when they raved about this shade and gave into the hype much earlier than I did, despite my reluctance to buy the neutral matte ‘boring shades’ but nevertheless, this new addition to my palette is valuable. It’s a really creamy warm-toned crease or transition shade that is a staple for me and I think it would be for anyone who is on the warmer side of things with a fair to medium skintone.

Coquette (Satin) – muted greyish taupe

I’ve rambled on about this ‘matte’ (but easy to work with) ashy medium-dark taupe before more than a time or two so I’ll keep this brief to the best of my ability. If you ask me it’s a better version of Charcoal Brown, perfect for naturally-ashy brunette brows as it doesn’t turn red and also works nicely in the crease with its smooth and pigmented texture.

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Swiss Chocolate (Matte)– muted reddish brown

This is much more of a recent addition to my collection but it was one that instantly impressed me with its practicality; it’s a smooth and blendable warm reddish brown darker medium tone that’s ideal for deepening the crease and adding subtle depth to the outer corner and lower lashline.

Woodwinked (Veluxe Pearl) – warm antique gold

Paired with All That Glitters, this is my most repurchased item, having been replenished three times and it’s safe to say that the shade is worth the hype. It’s not always my favourite shade in the world, but it’s the best gold ever with amazing texture and warm metallic finish; if you ask me it’s a much better version of Urban Decay’s Half-Baked. However, it does come off much more coppery on cooler skintones, especially when blended.

Clarity (Matte2)

It is rather unfortunate that this punchy smooth and pigmented electric turquoise shade has been discontinued; it was definitely a good one, despite being of the neon variety. Because of this, I haven’t mentioned this great shade around these parts, although I do use the shade — but not often enough. I do love using the shadow for a pop of colour on the lower lashline. Sorry, but it’s no longer available 😦

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Coppering (Veluxe Pearl) – orange copper

Coppering is more than a little bit more interesting than your average neutral shade and because of this, it doesn’t get used on an everyday basis by me but it is one of my very favourites on account of its phenomenal pigmented and buttery texture and gorgeous true copper metallic hue. It’s a shade that I either like to wear through the crease for some rustiness or all over the lid.

Satin Taupe (Frost) – taupe with silver shimmer

This cult-favourite shade is not the most unique by any means but it’s an amazing medium-buildable neutral taupe with strong plummy undertones. It’s worth the hype as it is one of my alltime favourites for the crease with it’s blendable, smooth and creamy finish.

Club (Satin) – red-brown with green pearl

This popular shade is a unique and versatile medium-dark brown shade that’s essentially a reddened brown with warm undertones. It also takes on a gorgeous green duochrome and this is one of those shades that works well on the lid, in the crease and in the outer corner!

Sketch (Velvet) – burgundy with red shimmer

This one is an unsung hero of my eyeshadow collection, an almost-matte warm deep plum shade that oddly enough swatches rather dry but applies much more smoothly to the eyes to smoke things our or add definition to the outer corner. Plus the slightly less powdery, drier texture ensures that there is minimal fallout during application.

Smut (Velvet) – muted black with red shimmer

I might have only added this almost-black-but-not-quite-alternative to my collection last month, but it’s become one of my staples, serving the purpose of a black as a liner and outer corner shade, but also being easier to work with and more interesting. It has the same great texture as Sketch, and is notably darker although it doesn’t swatch so — it doesn’t swatch as impressively as it applies to the lids — and is a darker version of the former shade with less plum and warm-tones to it. I might say that it’s a taupe shade that also has a good amount of burgundy to it and a hint of grey to it.

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Moving on to my quad…

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Sable (Frost) – gold-plum with bronze pearl

This popular shade is rather nice but it’s not a favourite of mine; the warm muted plummy bronze shade has a nice sheen running throughout and looks much nicer on those with green or brown eyes, if you ask me. This strikes me as a slightly darker version of Urban Decay’s Toasted and to be honest I prefer the lighter version. This is like Satin Taupe’s warmer and bronzier sister.

Charcoal Brown (Matte) – muted taupe brown

This is a matte slightly cool-toned medium brown that I purchased initially as a brow shade but proved itself to be inferior to ashier shades as my brows pull most products red. It’s a nice shade, both in practicality and quality, but it’s not necessary for me because of Coquette, although it does make a nice crease shade. I won’t be repurchasing after it’s used up, however.

Satellite Dreams (Veluxe Pearl) – deep plum with pearl

I’ve had this shade for ages and even after working through the top layer, I’m afraid that this shade is a dud in my eyes. However, I know others don’t seem to share my pigmentation concerns so I’m convinced that I might have just got a dud of this shade. If I do really pack it on, it is nice and will show up better than swatched.

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What’s your favourite MAC eyeshadow?
Maggie, x.

The Daily Face #21: Actual “No Makeup” Makeup

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I’m neither someone who has an authentic affinity for minimal product makeup or the kind of makeup that hardly looks like its there but after countless attempts at both, I have to say that I’ve been far more successful with the latter and I figured I would share the countless steps I took to give the illusion of not wearing makeup unless one was to examine my face ultra-close with meticulous detail.

Because my skin is about as combination as it gets at the moment – my t-zone might actually appear to produce oil like any normal t-zone but I’m suffering from dry patches on the cheeks – and of course I’m suffering from my usual dehydration, the skin required the most thought in order to appear bare but much nicer. With this in mind, I began with a little bit richer of a moisturizer, the impressively lightweight Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer to make sure that whatever I put on top would not be sticking to the skin in an unflattering way. Keeping up with this theme, I also went for my primer of choice, the Annabelle CC Colour Control Luminous Finish Instant Perfecting Base, making sure to massage it into the skin. Foundation-wise, I went for a scant pump of the trusted Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in 100 Ivory and really went to town, buffing it into my skin to perfection with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush. 

Afterwards, I really went to town on creating a natural-looking luminous and rested complexion and this was not easy especially considering the quality of my sleep as of late. As per usual, the Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light-Medium Bisque was patted underneath the eyes to camouflage darkness and afterwards the L’Oreal Magic Lumi Concealer in Fair was lightly applied and blended below the concealer to brighten that area and on the cheekbones, center of the forehead, chin and above the jawline to highlight in an undetectable way. Furthering the rested and luminous look, I put the subtle but instantly-dewy Benefit Girl Meets Pearl liquid highlighter to the tops of my cheekbones; unlike outwardly shimmery powder highlighters, this one looks invisible on the skin but fakes that luminosity to perfection. I then set my t-zone lightly with the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light, mixing in some of the Incandescent Light shade when applying to the forehead to avoid the weird effect that the shade can give off. And because I wanted to be as subtly highlighted as possible, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Incandescent Light was dusted over the cheekbones for even more glow. I then went in with my L’Oreal Glam Bronze Mono in Universal Sun to add some (subtle) shape (and warmth) to the backs of my cheekbones before applying the peach-leaning tan MAC Tenderling Powder Blush with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush.

I’m pleased to inform you that the skin was the most work overall and that I didn’t spend ages and ages to look like I didn’t put any effort in at all. I began by priming my lids and correcting any discoloration with the L’Oreal Colour Riche Eye Primer before moving onto shadow. Before I begin with the explanation here, I thought I would note that I have deep set eyes so I feel that I can pull off more added depth to my eyes without looking made up in the slightest – I know for many, this would look obvious, blah, blah, blah. First off, MAC Soft Brown Eyeshadow was blended through my crease, to be followed with a generous portion of MAC Dazzlelight Eyeshadow, a cream hue with subtle golden shimmer running throughout, all over the lid and packed into the inner corner of the eyes. The last shade used was MAC Swiss Chocolate Eyeshadow, a warm reddish brown and it was then used to add depth to the crease and the outer corner. At this point I blended smudged some of the soft-black Lancome Le Crayon Khol along the outer half of the upper and lower lashlines but diffused the upper lashline further by adding more Swiss Chocolate in the outer corner and along the lashline. For mascara I chose the L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess, as it brings definition and natural-looking volume to the lashes and obviously there had to be something done with the brows so I ran the MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set in Quiet Brunette through them, concentrating on the outer arch portion.

The lips weren’t anything new — I simply filled them in with the Annabelle Lipliner in Demure and applied the darker warm-browny-pink based nude, the sheer MAC Patisserie Lipstick. The final touch was a few spritzes of the NYX Dewy Finish Makeup Setting Spray, eliminating any hint of powderiness to the face.

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What do you reach for when achieving the “no makeup” makeup look? Thoughts?
Maggie, x.

July Favourites

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This July was one of the worst months I’ve had in a while, to be honest, but I’ll spare you from too many of the details. I’m really not looking for sympathy either — in fact, I abhor the whole institution of writing things just to look for sympathy (genuine or otherwise) from others, so don’t mistake this. However, I have been loving beauty products and I must say that it’s been a particularly good month for product loving — and this month I haven’t had loads of time or energy for makeup and beauty experimentation so there’s a low-fuss theme going on.

Origin’s Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask ($28)

This was one of those products I had always wanted to try as many who I read with similar dehydration concerns to me seem to rave about this but it’s not stocked on the Sephora website and it’s not easily available anywhere close to me so I didn’t fully add it to the shopping list but when I went in to pick up the Hourglass Ambient Palette, I spotted this on the shelves and I couldn’t resist. It was amazing from first use, feeling lightweight and ultra-soothing on the skin, providing intense hydration with that slightly belly oil-rich feeling. I think this one might just beat out my The Body Shop one but I can’t be too sure. It does smell heavenly but I’m not a fan of scented skincare and could easily do without the peach fragrance. It’s truly intensively hydrating and not particularly thick feeling and actually can vastly improve dry flaky skin overnight.

L’Oreal Sublime Sun Alcohol-Free Quick Dry SPF 50 Sheer Finish Spray ($18)

I really never expected to include a body sunscreen in one of these favourites posts but here I am, once again surprising myself. I love the ease of spray sunscreens (as many others do) but I have easily irritated skin and suffer from eczema and some body acne (fun stuff) and this neither irritates with alcohol content, feels greasy or causes breakouts while providing solid sun protection. It does need a little bit of rubbing in in my experience but it’s so much easier and fuss-free than a lotion formula.

 Skin79 Snail Nutrition BB Cream ($20/39)

After my lovely cousin picked this authentic Korean BB Cream up for me at Sasa in Hong Kong last summer, I became really obsessed with the stuff until Summer ended and forgot about its loveliness, especially as an all-in-one skincare-makeup hybrid product but I’ve been gradually adding it back into the routine and this month it’s been an essential. I don’t love it as a foundation as much as Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet etc. but the medium-coverage base provides fabulous sun protection and moisture while still looking fairly natural and glowy on the skin. I’m not someone who usually experiences oxidation but this one actually does and when it changes tone it looks phenomenal (not when you just put it on and this is why I’ve probably been neglecting this one). Another word of advice is that these sunscreen-heavy bases need to be worked into the skin well in order to have the desired effect in my experience. However, when I went to a music festival last summer this was a lifesaver – and a timesaver. You can order from the brand’s American site if you’re interested, by the way.

Nivea Vanilla & Macadamia Lip Butter ($4)

With such sensitive and perpetually-chapped lips, lip treatments are essential for me and as a result, you’ll hear about them loads on the pages here. It’s not a miracle treatment but this affordable balm has been a savior for hydrating my lips without ever causing them to become irritated. It can give a milky cast to the lips but the balmy formula instantly soothes and brings moisture to the lips without any weird smell, taste or anything.

Now Solutions 100% Natural Shea Butter ($20)

Somewhere in the early phase of the month, I did something (presumably) that caused quite the painful and unsightly eczema flare-up on my legs and unfortuantely there doesn’t seem to be a miracle cure or fix for the whole itchy situation, applying this basic cream twice daily has helped to soothe the area, prevent itching and help to calm the situation more quickly. As of now, I’m pleased to report that the basic formula has helped my legs to recover tremendously.

L’Oreal Glam Bronze Mono in Universal Sun ($15-16)

I will admit that I’ve raved about this pigmented red-toned matte bronzer numerous times in the last month but in truth I have only done so because the formula and the colour are both so phenomenal. The smooth powder offers impressive buildable pigmentation that remains effortless to blend into the skin. It’s also nice that it wears like a champ. It’s not the most cool-toned or non-orangey of bronzers, with quite a strong red undertone and warmth to it but it is the perfect hue to add that natural-looking sun-kissed hue to the skin.

Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain in Milan Moment ($14-16)

This is yet another rather pricy (for a product of the drugstore variety) product that I’ve mentioned my love for more than once or twice and have been wearing most of the time. Despite being a stain, the formula does not dry out lips, even after the flattering balmy ‘gloss’ has worn off completely. The lightweight stains also don’t highlight dry patches or textural problems on the lips like thicker formulas can and I’ve been addicted to the summery sheer-but-buildable muted tangerine hue.

MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set in Quiet Brunette ($21)

In the last year or so, I’ve become addicted to the results of filling in at least the sparse areas of my brows on a daily basis but in all honesty, I don’t love the effort it can take, especially lately as I haven’t been going all out on my makeup and this tinted brow gel seems to be the perfect solution. The cool-toned light brown hue matches my hair to a t, adding invisible looking definition to the brows that tend to look hairlike. True to its name, it stays in place on the brows until you remove it and can be worn alone for subtler brows or worn alongside some powder or pencil for more of a full-on look – but I’ve been just reaching for this one and it’s suited my laziness nicely.

MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked, Soft Brown & Smut ($12/18)

This month I’ve been using my MAC palette consistently and have fallen back in love with new colours to the palette and an old-standby — they are easy shadows to work with and consistently fabulous quality so they have suited my minimalistic mood nicely. The ever-popular antiqued-gold Woodwinked was rediscovered early in the month and I’ve become addicted to applying it all over the lid and blending it well to achieve that coppery hue, generally paired with some lazy-girl liner of some kind. The warm-tan matte Soft Brown and the dirty brown-taupe Smut were additions made throughout the month that I’ve been relying on equally as much. Smut is the perfect shade for smoking out the lashline and adding definition to the crease as it’s an interesting hue and doesn’t have much fallout while still delivering on the pigmentation front and Soft Brown has proven itself as worth the hype, being thrown through the crease for some depth as well as some transitioning-colour goodness. Oh MAC Eyeshadows, how I love thee…

What was your staple product from June?
Maggie, x.

The Daily Face #20

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It has been a good couple of weeks since my last ‘Daily Face’ post, strangely enough, so it goes without saying that it was time for another one. On another note, don’t get used to this whole two posts in one day kind of deal — it’s only happening because life has gotten in the way lately and this morning’s post was really meant to go up yesterday, so it truly is the post I wanted to put up today and I had the time, inspiration and focus to do so. With it being all Summery and whatnot paired with general life busy-ness, I haven’t been feeling like playing and faffing around as much with makeup so it’s on the more basic end of the spectrum for me and easily takes less than 10 minutes.

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DSC_1153First things first, I promise that the above shot is not doing my eyeliner justice — it’s the angle that makes the line look uneven, seriously. End Ramble. Seeing as I’ve accidentally gotten a bit of colour from the sun (whilst using good spf of course), I’ve been able to wear the lovely dewy Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect Foundation in 73 without having to work at blending the rather dark shade into my pale neck and therefore I did so. I was much too lazy to do that whole pinpoint concealing regime, but I had quite a red blemish on my right cheek so I covered it up (somewhat) with the Revlon Colorstay Concealer in Light and my finger. As per usual, I relied on the tiniest amount of the Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light to Medium Bisque to cancel out some undereye darkness. At this point I decided to run some of the MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set in Quiet Brunette through the brows for some heavy-duty taming and some natural-looking effortless definition — before I went on and continued with the face.

I decided to use my loved MAC Harmony Powder Blush that I recently depotted to contour the face a bit and then of course, I decided to use a whole load of MAC products — apparently I’m having a bit of a MAC moment. For blush, I used another shade in my palette, MAC Tenderling Powder Blush, a rosy tan hue to add some warmth and colour to my cheeks with little to no effort. Then I went and grabbed the lovely Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette , running Dim Light throughout the t-zone for some finishing and blurring action and finishing with a dose of Incandescent Light to highlight the cheekbones.

As I have been for the last week or so, I went for the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded as my base to add some much-needed longevity. Then on the eyeshadow front, I stuck to three colours from my MAC palette that I’m currently obsessed with; Soft Brown was blended through the crease, the antiqued-gold Woodwinked went all over the lid and my recently acquired shade, Smut was placed in the outer corner and used to line the lower lashes. I’m having a bit of a love affair with all of these shades but Woodwinked might be the most noteworthy as I’ve had it for ages and have just recently rekindled my obsession with it. In the last week or so, I’ve also become reacquainted with my liner love, the effortless L’Oreal Lineur Intense and I obviously went for a subtle flick — that I repeat is much more on point in real life. Because we all know that mascara is a necessity, I’m sure you’re unsurprised to hear that I went for the Revlon Bold Lacquer Mascara.

On the lips — you guessed it — I went for another MAC shade that I’m currently obsessed with and that shade is the MAC Lipstick in Kinda Sexy. While it’s a matte lipstick it’s not overly drying or unflattering on the lips but most importantly it’s the most flattering my-lips-but-better rosy peach shade with the subtlest brown-tinge to it. Neither words or swatches do this one justice, I’ll tell you…

Thoughts on this makeup?
Maggie, x.

 

Weekly Medley #26

Recently Updated20(1) Soaking up the sun as it reemerged (2) Continuing with the ‘Daily Highlights’ posts (3) Good thing I didn’t say I was on a ‘No Buy’? (4) I kind of Netflix binge-watched both seasons of this – (no regrets)  (5) A somewhat adequate picture of the day above (6) A daily face featuring my MAC Palette (7) An amazing and hilarious video, of course courtesy of ChelseaWears (8) Yesterday’s therapeutic wishlist post (9) My most liked post of the week and quite possibly my favourite post too – linked here

Another week has passed and therefore I’m coming at you with a Weekly Medley post – to state the obvious. It was really not the greatest of weeks but it was not the worst of weeks as it wasn’t physically debilitating like that hellish week during exams for me; it’s been a serious family one, my grandfather whom I’m rather close to, has been sick for a while but things have escalated for the worse rather quickly, requiring lots of care, and it’s difficult to stomach the whole situation. Being someone who struggles with anxiety (putting it mildly), it’s no surprise that I’ve been affected in an unusual way — I’m constantly on edge and unable to focus on any sort of task at hand and be productive. I’m not someone who cries easily over these things and exhibits typical emotional displays but I’m supposing that I’m experiencing it in a different way. The funny thing is that I never intended for this blog to become so personal but writing this down was so therapeutic that I’m letting it slide. I’m not usually one to go on and on about weather actually, but until yesterday, the weather was warm and muggy but constantly overcast and raining on and off so it wasn’t a great one on that front either, until now. Spoiler alert: the last couple of days have been gorgeous sunny ones of 30 degrees that have been spent down at the dock, swimming in the 25 degree water — woo! I’m sure there will be a bit more on this next week and scrambled through upcoming posts.

On a much more superficial note, this week lost points because my basement started to accumulate heat and lose it’s status as the most delightfully cool room to escape to – but I’m working on not leaving every single electronic device on to help matters so it might be more along the lines of a fault of mine. This wasn’t my most exciting makeup week or one where I was particularly into wearing makeup; I did wear makeup most days but on a few occasions I ended up wiping it off a few hours later because I was feeling rather ‘meh’ and on others I found myself merely wearing wearing some BB cream, brows and maybe mascara. However, when I was feeling makeup, I was consistently reaching for my (ALMOST FULL – :))) MAC Palette and loving it. I know I look either extremely sleep-deprived in the picture above or drugged-up but I promise that it was just my general non-photogenic nature coming through. I didn’t wear this combination again on the eyes but I did rather like it and it was somewhat different than what I’ve been reaching for on other days in a nice way. As I have been doing daily, I began with running Soft Brown loosely through the crease – blah blah blah, I’m sure you get it. All over the lid I went for the pale pearly unique Vexshade that I’ve hit pan on but have been neglecting for ages and then deepened up the crease, as per usual (as of late) with Swiss Chocolate. The star of the show might have been Sketch, as it was used to add the plummy smokiness, packed onto the outer corner of the lid and blended out with actual effort (and placed underneath the lower lashes), but I liked the overall look. The shades minus Vex, have been my staples this week along with the other 10 shades in my palette – with a few exceptions.

Two of my lovely confidants from High School (that I happily still am close to and see frequently) decided that they wanted to go beauty product shopping and obviously told me to come along and I agreed, faintly aware of the purchases that would occur as a result, despite being somewhat committed to my ‘Low Buy’. In my defense, I held onto my pennies (joking, we can no longer use pennies here) and watched them go somewhat to town at Sephora and MAC (*pats self on back*) but gave in at the drugstore for a few practical purchases that I was rational about and then we went into Lush and weirdly out of character, I couldn’t resist a purchase or two. On more occasions than I would like to admit, I can be found grumbling on about how ridiculously expensive drugstore makeup in Canada is in comparison to the US and how tragically unfair it is that we cannot return drugstore makeup but I felt both sentiments rather strongly (particularly the second) as I tried and tried the L’Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascaraand wish I had never allowed myself to look inside the drugstore with my friends (kind of) – or at least, wished I had the willpower to say that I would just wait it out for another mascara as I do have enough at the moment. In my defense, it was on sale and I had been hoping that it would be a really easy throw-it-on mascara that removed with minimal effort – a la Maybelline The Falsies, that has recently dried out completely on me. In the last post linked above, I ramble on about this product and four others in more detail that doesn’t reach the realm of excess tangential descriptions, IMO. Sweet success.

Funnily enough, I’m not actually a huge TV person, despite the shows that I’ve included in these posts as of late as I tend to watch them whilst doing other things but while doing so, I’ve found some really interesting ones that capture my attention by their own merits and complicated intricacies and the top spot in recent months might just go to Hannibal,which is a NBC horror show that can also be found on Netflix. It’s placed in the horror genre but it has that thriller-esque complexity that grabs my attention but at the same time, you need somewhat of a strong stomach in order to watch it. It’s psychologically intense (my cup of tea) but it’s best feature is the acting; Hugh Dancy is fantastic at playing the psychologically-troubled Will Graham, who has been pulled out of the classroom to help solve these complex murders and Mads Mikkelsen is just about as believable as the psychiatrist, Dr. Lecter, who has been brought in to theoretically ensure Will’s safety. It keeps you on your toes, that’s for sure. On the beauty-related front, I absolutely loved Chelsea’s latest video, “NEW IN: Skincare + Beauty Part Two”; with actual life busy-ness getting in the way, the hilarious but helpful Chelsea had taken a break from making videos and this has been among the first few videos of her return and I suddenly remembered why I missed them so much. Plus she’s such a genuine human being and her shop ships to Canada so I might actually have to order online.

How was your week? This sounds rather bullshitty (if that’s a word?) but despite lacking general functional human emotional stability, I hope yours was at least a little bit better than mine. Aaaaand I think I love you if you actually got through this little novella of mine!
Maggie, x.

P.S. I’m the last person to get Twitter and I most likely will be the most boring person to follow but if you’re interested in the occasional update, you can follow me @beautyandlit – because beautylit etc. etc. was already taken not because I absolutely loved the name…

 

MAC Recommendations #1: The Basics

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I don’t think that MAC is by any means the be all and end all of makeup but they are among my favourite brands and they were the company that kindled my makeup love and I might have slightly sentimental feelings toward the cosmetic store. Somehow I haven’t talked about the brand very much considering how often I use the products on a daily basis. From forcing my friends who are not beauty-obsessed into conversations about MAC and later-on trips, I know that many find the store extremely intimidating (moreso than any other high-end brand) and I can understand that but there are some real treasures there and quite often their products are very economical – not that much more expensive than drugstore and at a fraction of the price of Sephora brands without sacrificing quality whatsoever. I don’t have a massive collection of MAC makeup but MAC is easily the brand that I own the most makeup of and I thought I’d attempt to challenge myself into giving my five ten recommendations: here goes…

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1. MAC Powder Blush in Harmony ($21/25 CDN)

If this isn’t the first post you’ve read of mine I’m confident that this hardly needs any explanation. It’s considered to be a blush by MAC (and it might be nice as one on dark skin) but it’s the ideal contour for fair and medium skin. It’s slightly warm toned but the rosy brown does not have any of the oranginess of a bronzer so it’s able to add shape and definition to the face looking natural while still adding some flattering warmth to the face. If you are darker than medium in colouring or find this difficult to show up, I know Blunt is equally as nice and if you’re lighter it should suit you. I do know that those with cooler-toned skin that’s as fair or even fairer than mine can find Harmony slightly red-toned and I’ve heard that Prism and Cubic are good alternatives. These are all matte obviously. Coincidentally these are all fabulous matte shades to use in the crease as well, even though they’re not marketed as eye shadow.

top: Dazzlelight, Vex, All That Glitters bottom: Coquette, Charcoal Brown, Satin Taupe
top: Dazzlelight, Vex, All That Glitters
bottom: Coquette, Charcoal Brown, Satin Taupe

2. MAC Eyeshadow in Coquette ($12/18 CDN)

I have naturally unruly and large but sparse brows and there’s nothing like a matte eyeshadow that fills them in in a natural manner. I used MAC Charcoal Brown for ages which I still do really like but recently I discovered Coquette which is slightly cooler toned and looks like a gross khaki grey in the pan but fills in the brows without looking red, giving a natural appearance to them. The formula is great in these shadows (Coquette is technically a satin but it’s matte on) and they also are great for adding depth in the crease. I would reccomend Charcoal Brown for warmer brunettes, Omega for blondes and I’ve heard Brun is great for darker brunettes. This shadow is that workhorse product that may not seem super-exciting but is functional and worth the money. 

3. MAC Eyeshadow in All That Glitters ($12/18 CDN)

This veluxe pearl eyeshadow is buttery, easy to work with and pigmented and is that perfect everyday lid shade that is neither too light or too dark – a shimmery but not glittery golden-peach shade that can’t be duplicated. I’ve been through two of these in the past and went without it for ages and now that I’ve picked it up it’s what was missing from my life. It’s a fairly universal shade but the cooler-toned fair skinned might find it to be slightly too coppery and I’ve heard that they favour the lighter pink-champagne Naked Lunch and on darker skin, Woodwinked can be a better option.

shown in Light
shown in Light

4. MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder ($32 CDN)

This might be a shocking product inclusion as I’m not a powder kind of girl but I’ve rekindled my love for this and this is easily my favourite powder of all time. It doesn’t have much coverage to it but it has enough to even out the skin when worn alone and sets the skin without looking matte and losing all of it’s glow. It gets rid of excess shine without being completely matte and its finely milled-texture sits nicely on the skin without clinging to dry patches. Anyone on the drier side of things would enjoy this but I know that those needing more oil control adore MAC Studio Fix Powder, which has more coverage to it and might not look quite as seamless but it’s a great powder nevertheless. I wear the lightest shade in the powder but Studio Fix has a much wider shade selection.

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5. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Stereo Rose ($35 CDN)

If you’re looking for a glow to your cheeks and particularly if you’re looking for a gorgeous highlight, these cult favourite products that tend to be released as limited edition items in the abundant collections are an offering to consider. I know that some can complain about the frostier shades of these can highlight larger pores for some but that can be remedied with a pore smoothing primer, or powder but I don’t have this issue and I didn’t even when I had more of a true combination skin years ago. I adore the infamous Stereo Rose that is limited edition but will be appearing as a repromote in the upcoming spring collection and I recommend it if this sounds good to you. This is one of the darker offerings, acting as more of a highlight-blush duo in one product – it has nice pigmentation, fabulous texture and has that sheen without being frosty. It’s a coppery pink-coral, I’d say. For lighter skin-tones it works as a highlighting blush of sorts and I know it works for darker ladies as well as a highlighter. On my warm-leaning skin this is an instantly brightening shade that is perfect when you only have a few minutes to slap on some makeup before heading out the door. I haven’t tried them personally but there are also some permanent options that I’ve heard so much about – Soft and Gentle is supposed to be a great champagne-peach shade that is a versatile highlighter.

Have you tried any of the products here? I would also love to have any recommendations!