Tag Archives: makeup blog

Makeup of the Day – MAC does purples right 

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A while back, a friend of mine sent me some MAC makeup.  One item was this Chromaline cream liner in Rich Purple, which is a rich plum shade.  I’ve tried several times to wear it as eyeliner, but it has just enough red in it to make it look like I’ve been crying or something! Same thing happens when I wear pink eyeshadow.  Anyway, it’s such a big jar and I don’t want to waste it, so today I thought I would try it as a cream eyeshadow.  I placed it on the lower lid, and then I used a cooler blue-purple shadow under the eyes and in the crease and my regular black eyeliner on the top lid.  I think it worked!

Omg, that hair frizz!  It’s humid in August in the South, guys.

MAKEUP BREAKDOWN:

FACE:  Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in 010 Light Porcelain, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly, MAC Casual Color on cheeks in Evening Stroll with ELF Small Stipple Brush, face set with NARS Light Reflecting Powder

EYES:  Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Bone on top lid, MAC Chromaline in Rich Purple on bottom lid, L’Oreal Infallible Cream liner in black, MAC Mega Metals shadow in Noir Plum in crease and for lower liner, Dolce and Gabanna Passion Eyes mascara, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder in Ebony with #7 brush

LIPS:  NYX Deep Purple liner with MAC Up The Amp lipstick

Stratton Convertible Compact and How to Depot Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

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So, I’ve been out for about a week sick!  But before I became ill, I did this fun little project.  You see, my cats stole my other vintage Stratton compact from atop my dresser and I have yet to find it.  My boyfriend and I have looked under all the furniture, etc.  We are completely mystified!  I decided to get another compact, this time something to keep in my purse.  This one is modern and holds pressed powder.  It’s a bit thicker so it will hold a modern powder puff (it did come with one that fits in the sifter, but I prefer the velour puffs).  It just so happens that there are only a few powders that fit in these and the ones that are actual refill types didn’t look light enough for me.  The two types that looked like they would work for my pale skin are Estée Lauder Lucidity and Rimmel Stay Matte.  Seeing as how the Rimmel has great reviews and is $3.99, it was the obvious choice.

So, here’s my lovely Stratton compact in the Art Deco design.  

  
Here’s my towel laid down to cushion my powder when I pop it out of the pan.  I used the candle method to depot my powder.  I don’t have to tell you to open a window and turn on a fan when you do this, right?  We are talking melted plastic fumes, here.  Hell, do it outside!  And BE CAREFUL.  I seriously have a friend who’s house burned down this week.  Be vigilant when messing around with fire!  Ok, Mom Moment over.

  
You can see on the back of the Rimmel Stay Matte that there are a couple of pin holes.  These aren’t really going to do a whole lot of good though.  The glue is in one blob right in the very center, so you can’t really push it out with the pin hole.

  
I held the candle over the label for a few minutes, using metal tongs.  DO NOT hold it with your fingers.  Burns hurt.  

  
WTF?  These old grilling tongs should be replaced, LOL!  Anyway, they’re good for something. 

I was able to peel the label off with ease. 

  
Then, I held the compact over the flame.  I was REALLY surprised at how fast it melted!  The glue is all one big dot under that cross area in the center.  You want to melt around that, and then you can slip a knife in under it and pop the pan out.  Don’t burn yourself! 

  
All out.  Nicked it with my nail, heh!  Pretty perfect, though. 

  
The circle of glue popped right off the back. 

  
A perfect fit!  My velour powder puff sits on top and when the compact is closed, it holds the pan perfectly in place, so there is no need for a magnet. 

These compacts seem to sell for $60-100, so I was shocked to find this new one on eBay for $10. Total cost for this project was just under $15.00.  Depotting is a pain, but this piece is so unique and fun to use!  And this huge pan of powder will last ages, as I am just using for touch ups.  

Have you depotted any powder makeup products before?  I also have done this with many eyeshadows and blushes, so I’m kind of a pro at it by now.  Putting stuff in palettes really saves room! 

Makeup Of The Day

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Casual day here!

  
FACE:  Tarte Clean Slate Poreless primer only on T-zone, Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hr Foundation in 010 Light Porcelain, MAC Set Powder in Invisible in t-zone, NYX Cream Blush in Glow, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly under eyes

EYES:  Too Faced Shadow Insurance, MAC Vanilla Eyeshadow, Taupe shade from Wet N Wild Silent Treatment Trio, L’Oreal Super Slim Liquid Liner Black, Dolce and Gabanna Passion Eyes Mascara, It Cosmetics Brow Power brow pencil 

LIPS:  MAC Soar lip pencil, Marc Jacobs lipstick in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

What are you wearing? 

Purging the makeup stash — LET IT GO! 

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Today, I watched some inspiration videos on YouTube before cleaning out my makeup kit. I do this from time to time, but today I decided to get ruthless. Woohoo! I made a set of rules for myself and went to town.

1. Look for anything that has gone bad or expired. Do you really want an eye infection or breakouts? Let it go!

2. Look for anything that just plain looks bad on you and you haven’t been able to make work. That nude lipstick that didn’t work before ain’t gonna work now. Let it go!

3. Look for anything you have dupes for. It’s fine to have different types of red lipsticks (deep red, orange red, cool red), but do you need 3 that are exactly the same? Make some room. Let it go!

Going in the bin:


You guys, those MAC eyeliners are from 2009.  And no, I wasn’t using them.  A couple of those lip products haven’t gone bad, but I can’t stand how they feel or smell (better luck next time, Ipsy).  I can’t tell you how bad those Benefit products smelled.  Cream and liquid products go bad faster than dry products.

(I had a bigger pile of stuff to go to my sister – she loves that!)

So, I’m not going to give you a hard and fast list of rules on how long to keep things before tossing them – not everyone agrees on the rules anyway, but a quick Google search will tell you some guidelines. In general, don’t keep your mascara and eyeliners longer than 6 months at the most, and everything else lasts a while longer.  In general, if something feels or looks really off and has stopped performing as it normally does, you should probably toss it. You can give things the old sniff test if you’re uncertain.  If it has the funk, toss it!  I believe as long as you don’t get a powder product wet, it should last you a good long time. Of course, if you get some horrible infection or have eye surgery, toss it all and use it as an excuse to shop for new stuff! (Like I did years ago when I had LASIK eye surgery).

So go forth my friends and liberate the old crap sitting in your drawers and makeup bags! BE FREE! 😀 When was the last time you purged your old and unused makeup?

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How to reshape a makeup brush 

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So, yesterday, against my better judgement, I used a cleanser on my MAC 210 Precise Liner Brush that was probably too harsh.  I wanted to get out dried gel liner, so I used a cleanser I usually only use on synthetic brushes for really tough to get out emollient products (this is a natural hair brush).  Anyway, when I woke up today after letting it dry overnight, it was splayed all over the place and I was mad as hell, since this brush is new and I probably should have known better.  Anyway, I have used a method in the past for reshaping brushes with boiling water, so I thought I would give it a shot before giving up on a new brush.

I took an old beat up coffee cup (nice spoon marks there) and boiled water in the microwave.  I dipped the brush tip in for a few seconds…

 
Lifted the brush out, let it cool a couple seconds so as not to burn the crap out of myself, and re-shaped the brush tip with my fingertips.  DONE.  

  

It’s really that easy!  I’ve done this with the MAC 242 synthetic eyeshadow brush before too, I just made sure not to leave it in long enough to melt the bristles.  It works pretty well, if your brush is in a salvageable state.  Of course, sometimes you have to know when to let one go, LOL! 

FYI, you can do this with artist’s paint brushes, too! 

Hope this helps someone!  

Makeup of the Day 

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I tried and tried to get the green in MAC “Shade” Fluidline to really show up in my pictures today, but it’s just really overcast!


Blurry in the bathroom…


Light from the front door is blown out on the chest, shaded on the face…better luck tomorrow for a sunny day, I hope!

MAKEUP BREAKDOWN:

FACE:  Smashbox Photo Finish Primer (thanks for the sample, Ipsy), Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Poreless Foundation mixed with L’Oreal Lumi Primer for some luminosity (applied with fingers because I was messy/lazy today), NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer under eyes also applied with fingers, no spot concealing on face (so lazy today), MAC Invisible Set Powder lightly dusted to set face, NYX HD Blush in Taupe for contour, Benefit Dandelion blush, MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish for highlight (I swear, you really can see this in person)

EYES:  Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Bone all over lid, MAC Vex on lower lid, MAC Satin Taupe in crease, MAC Vanilla to highlight, MAC Shade Fluidline with angled brush for eyeliner, Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara, Anastasia Beverly Hills Ebony Brow Powder Duo (light side) with angled brush for brows set with ELF Clear Brow Gel

LIPS:  MAC Soar Pencil with MAC Brave Lipstick and Smashbox Radiant Lip Gloss

Makeup of the Day 

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So, I feel off my makeup game today.  I decided I wanted to give MAC Chromaline in Rich Purple another try today, although the last few tries had me feeling this plum-purple cream liner just had too much red for me to pull it off.  I should have known better, because I’m having allergies today already.  Sure, it matches my shirt, but I don’t think it’s doing me any favors.


Yep…off day.  I also used my sample of MAC Strobe Cream under Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation, hoping it would make it look a little more satin and life like and less flat matte.  Well, it did at least a tad…but the color is still a bit too light or something and oh my GOD you guys…the fragrance of the Strobe Cream is not going away!  I did my makeup an hour ago.  No Bueno!  Yeah, I’ll stick to L’Oreal Lumi Primer, thanks.  :-/

At least my NYX lipstick in Hunk looks awesome.  Thanks, Ipsy!

Ok, here I am 5 hours later, at 9:00 pm.  I added Sephora Contour eyeliner pencil in Eccentric Diva, which is a blue purple, which I think looks a bit better.  However, I think I’ve gone from “satin glowy skin” to straight up shiny (hard to tell here since my house is dark).  Not sure how I’m going to like Strobe Cream in the summer (regardless of the scent).  I am just so…combination.  *gets out Blot Powder* I switched here to Wet N Wild Fergie lipstick in Ferguson Crest Cabernet.  This lipstick has such great staying power!


Ever have makeup off days?

How I learned to love the MAC 190 foundation brush

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I’m a former MAC artist…ok, that was many years ago, but I still use some brushes by MAC (as well as many by other less expensive brands).  The 190 foundation brush is a flat, paddle shaped foundation brush that has always vexed me a bit when I try to use it with liquid foundations, especially ones with a texture like Studio Fix Fluid that can be prone to streaking.


The MAC 190 foundation brush is a natural fiber brush (horse hair) and great for application of liquid and creams, but blending was where I was having a problem – this is because I was using back and forth “painting” type motions to work the product onto the skin and continued trying to blend this way.  Eventually, I became disenchanted with my somewhat streaky results and stopped using this brush altogether, which sucks, because it’s expensive ($34.00 USD).  One day I was feeling bummed out about it and started looking around YouTube for some tutorials on how to get better use from this brush.  Low and behold, Wayne Goss (I love him!) had tips including using the side/tip to stipple and pat any streaky texture away once the product is on the skin, working in small areas of the face.  This absolutely works wonderfully!  I feel like I’m having a renewed love affair with an old brush now, as I have gotten my 190 out and have been using it for days.

Awesome!


MAC 190 brush with Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation in Porcelain with MAC 134 brush and Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder in Translucent

Have you rediscovered any old favorites or learned to love something you thought you didn’t like?

My NYX Memorial Day Sale Goodies <3

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At the end of May, I posted about NYX’s annual Memorial Day sale.  I took this opportunity to grab a few things I had really been wanting, but had not yet trekked across town to Ulta to get (especially considering our Ulta is not always well stocked and it is 20 minutes away).  It took quite a while to get my order, because this is a huge sale and it takes a while each year for them to process that many orders – but the savings are worth the wait!  I got all this for a whopping $20.00 USD:

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NYX Wicked Lippie in 01 Betrayal, NYX Primal Colors pressed Pigment Hot Black, NYX HD Blush in Taupe, NYX HD Concealer in Porcelain

Let’s take a look!  First up, the thing I’m most excited about, the HD Blush in Taupe.  I have been contouring for years with MAC’s Sculpt Powder in Bone Beige.  It is light and sheer enough for my porcelain skin, but it has a bit too much redness in it for my skin tone.  I make it work because it’s in a duo with a favorite highlighter (MAC Shape Powder in Emphasize).  I have been wanting to try a more taupe colored contouring product, though, because let’s face it…shadows are not brown.  I am pleased to say, this blush fits the bill for that purpose (there’s a photo at the end of this post of me wearing it.).  Plus, the compact is very slim and takes up very little room in my kit and has a cute bow on the the clasp:

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NYX HD Blush in Taupe

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Would you look at that?  It’s not orange!  Hallelujah and praise the makeup gods!

Next up, the product I’m almost as excited about, because pale concealers at drug store prices are a bit of a unicorn…the NYX HD Concealer in Porcelain:

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NYX HD Concealer in Porcelain

I’m also wearing this in the photo at the end of the post.  This is a great high coverage concealer that works wonderfully for concealing imperfections on the face.  It’s too thick and dry for using under my eyes; however, your mileage may vary.  I’m using NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer for that.  The NYX HD Concealer shade Porcelain is a lovely pale shade with a slight pink undertone that works great with my MAC Studio Fix Fluid shade in NW10.  It’s a keeper!

Next up, NYX Primal Colors pressed pigment in Hot Black:

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NYX Primal Colors pressed pigment in Hot Black

When I went to use this product today, I used it as an eyeliner with an angled eyeliner brush.  It performed extremely well, but I did have some fallout as I was applying, getting some black powder on my cheeks.  I sometimes forget this is an issue with pigments, whether they are pressed or not.  I would say use this product where you do your eyes first, then the rest of your makeup.  The great thing is, this is blaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.  Like, black like my soul black (hahahaha!!!).  It works great as liner and you could also use it to set pencil or gel liner.  I have not tried it as eyeshadow yet, but hey, goth night is coming up…oh hey, maybe I’ll wear it to the Voltaire show tomorrow!  (I am wearing it as liner in the photo at the bottom of this post, blended with Urban Decay Mushroom eyeshadow.)

All in all, I have to say that while NYX can be a hit or miss brand for me, I love everything I got in this order.  (I am also wearing the Photo Loving Primer underneath my foundation today – a long time favorite!)  I am wearing the concealer, blush for contour, and black pigment here.  I like that the contour is subtle, but I can go heavier for an evening look if I want to.  The only thing I haven’t tried yet is the purple lipstick, but the photos I’ve seen online are (wait for it) Wicked.

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Also shown:  Urban Decay Smoked eyeshadow palette, MAC Azalea Blossom Blush Ombre, Maybelline Lilac Flush lipstick with L’Oreal Extraordinaire Lip Color in Purple Prelude

What are your favorite NYX Products?  Have you tried any of the new stuff for 2015?

And now, your moment of fail

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I recently ordered some stuff from NYX from their Memorial Day sale.  Some sweet warehouse person saw that I ordered a black eyeshadow and threw in a freebie pencil brush – how nice!  As I was snipping off the plastic wrapper, the brush slid down in the package…


Well, it’s the thought that counts.  Sigh.

Have you ever had an un-boxing disaster?  This is not my worst one, by far.  I once stabbed a pair of scissors right through the fabric of a corset.  Luckily, it was a cheap one (giggle)!  Yes, yes, I know…each time I swear I will pay better attention!