Beauty Icons from the Past

Lately, I've been enamored by the glamour of the 30's, 40's and 50's. Even without all the modern beauty fixes we have today, they looked effortlessly beautiful- no plastic surgery (cough*Heidi Montag*cough),  no botox. Just a little bit of our favorite thing called makeup- and "primitive" makeup at that. :) Sometimes, when I need a little beauty inspiration, I just look at some of my favorite starlets.

Here are my favorites:

Ava Gardner

Audrey Hepburn

Elizabeth Taylor

Doris Day



Grace Kelly



Lana Turner


(I think this one of Lana is my favorite!)

What do you think? Who is your beauty icon (and please don't say Kate Gosselin!)?

NOTD: MAC Light Affair

I tried so hard to resist this nail polish; in fact, I almost thought fate was trying to stop me too when I first went to MAC and they had "lost" their entire shipment of this polish. Fast forward two weeks, and while I was perusing the counter at Nordstrom, this nail polish was just too pretty to pass up a second time.

But really, Light Affair is an awesome color- it is unique, it is a cream, and it is on par with the pastel trend that is coming up this spring. The color itself is hard to describe. It actually looks just like All Races eyeshadow from the recent All Ages, All Races, All Sexes collection. Same mauve gray cream tone. :)

Well, enough gabbing, here's what it looks like:

Please forgive me for the horrible application, as I am not the most patient person in the world :)

Light Affair is available as part of MAC's Love Lace collection, and can be purchased at maccosmetics.com.

What do you think of this polish? Would you buy it?

I-Need-A-New Camera FOTD

So I wanted to take a photo of my All Ages, All Races, All Sexes look, but I can't get any good detailed photos of it! Plus, I always look like I'm in a fishbowl. :( Anyone know some good cameras for FOTDs?

Well, nonetheless, I used:
-All Races e/s (lid)
-Banshee e/s (outer/upper crease- btw, this looks kinda like a velvet when applied!)
-Showstopper e/s (crease)
-Rapid Black Penultimate Liner
-So Sweet, So Easy Blush
-Equality l/s

Additional Photos:

Anyways, these are great neutral e/s that will look fantastic on everyone. I honestly think Banshee, although a lustre, is really awesome. It is a perfect neutral pink, and funny I should say that, because it is very similar to neutral pink e/s from the N collection. Oh, and Showstopper is a little rough in the pot, but it applies rather smoothly!

Sorry once again that the photos are so weird, but just imagine it twice as intense and that's what it looks like in real life :)

Review: MAC in Lillyland & All Ages, All Races, All Sexes

Just got back from MAC and I might have gone a little haul-happy, but I don't think you'll blame me when you see how awesome these two collections are!

I was actually really surprised because I didn't anticipate wanting very much from them, but I loved the collections so much that I might be going back for more this evening.

Mac in Lillyland:
Ok so I only picked up 3 items (so far!) from this collection. I got 2 Lipgelees (Resort Life and Lush & Bright), and one Creme Blush (So Sweet, So Easy), and all I have to say is wow on these new formulas!

The Lip Gelees are like dazzleglass cremes, only in a squeeze tube, and instead of .06 oz for $18, it's .5 oz for $14!! If there is any difference between the two products it would be that these are less sticky but far more pigmented than I've ever experienced from any of the dazzleglass formulas. They are super sparkly, but smooth when applied.

Resort Life is a nudish pearly color, and is great if you're like me and you like neutrals for a day-to-day look.

Resort Life LipGelee

Lush & Bright was not on my radar at first, but it is such a beautiful coral in real life. It is lighter than in any photos.

Lush & Bright LipGelee

Top: Lush & Bright; Bottom: Resort Life

Anyways, these are a total hit, so I expect to see them in subsequent collections.

As for the creme blushes...

So Sweet, So Easy

Once again, these are super beautiful, and the colors are so bright that I would expect these from the Pro line or something. Truly phenomenal colors. I only got So Sweet, So Easy, as it is the calmest of the bunch, and one that I can picture myself wearing on a day-to-day basis. The others though, if you love bright colors, you will not want to miss them! Optimistic Orange is just that- an intense pop of color; Joie-de-Vivre is a corally pink color, but very intense; and Florida is a purple-fuschia that definitely makes me feel like going to Florida when I look at it. :) I'm sorely tempted to go back tonight for more of these, because I have a feeling they will be sold out prettty quickly.

So Sweet, So Easy

Top (l to r): Joie De Vivre & So Sweet, So Easy

Bottom (l to r): Florida, Optimistic Orange

Things I didn't get & why:
-The eyeshadow trio is pretty, but the pay off is faint and that color palette generally doesn't suit me anyways. However, the $19.50 price tag is reasonable for 3 eyeshadows, and the container is blush-size, so it's a generous amount.

-The pearlmatte face powder is also pretty but is very orange. At $27, it wasn't worth it. It is definitely marketed to the average consumer, so if you are really into makeup art, it's not that great.

-Nail lacquers- the colors looked like anything you could find at the drug store.

Overall though, this is a cute collection that set my wallet back much more than I'd like to have. :)




All Ages, All Races, All Sexes:

Perfect universal collection, a total throw-back to N Collection in 2008. I picked up: Banshee, All Races and Showstopper eyeshadows; Equality lipstick; Real Life pigment; and Personal Style Blush.

Clockwise from top: Banshee, Showstopper, All Races

The eyeshadows obviously were my favorite part. They are universally flattering neutral colors, and yet they all seemed unique.

l to r: All Races, Banshee, Showstopper

Banshee, though a lustre, comes off almost more matte with a slight shimmer. It is a soft gray pink that would look perfect even as an all-over lid wash.

All Races is so perfect in real life. Photos often make is look like Vanilla or something, but actually it has a gray-taupe color instead. It will be a perfect lid color!

Showstopper is kinda rough in texture, but the color is a crease-lovers dream. It is like a mix of Embark and Carbon, so for an everyday crease, it's way less intense than Carbon. I have been looking for other dark browns, and this is perfect for me.

Equality l/s

The lipsticks were also pretty, and I think every skintone is going to find a color suited for them. I totally intended to skip these altogether, but I didn't expect Equality l/s to be so...perfect! It definitely must be the lightest MAC lipstick I've ever seen. Honestly, it is like 2-3 shades lighter than Fleshpot, and Close to Real! I love it. I might be getting a backup of this one, because I've been waiting and waiting for MAC to put this color out. Also, it has a grayish hue to it, which is unique. Kinda like Runway Fave from the fall trend collection but 5x lighter. :)

l to ro: Equality, Close to Real (High Def coll.), Fleshpot

Rich Life pigment is cute, like Embark with sparkles. I skipped Universal Life, despite it's smooth texture because it is too similar to Provence or  Vanilla. I couldn't believe how small the vials are, though! Like I knew they'd be different but when I saw it in real-life, I was like "whoa", it's teeny tiny! :(

Rich Life pigment

Finally, Personal Style blush just jumped out at me- wasn't even going to look at the blushes, but it is a beautiful soft color that will blend in perfectly to add just a hint of life to my dead, pale skin :) Reminds me of Enough Said from Red She Said, but is cooler in tone.

Things I didn't get & why:

-Cross-culture eyeshadow was like Cork or something else in the perm line, blah.

-The other blush (sorry, name escapes me) was beautiful, but very much like X-rocks (maybe more brown) from Neo Sci-Fi.

-Other lipsticks were too dark and/or too similar to what I already have, but great for others!

-Brow tools were awesome, I really loved Taupe brow pencil, as it is my perfect match, but I am going to use up the products I already have. And they're perm! :)

-Brow pen was initially on my to-buy list, but I just wasn't impressed when I saw it. I tried one of these from Anastasia and it stopped working after two uses- it got clogged or something! And this looked EXACTLY the same, so never mind.

Anyways, hopefully you looked past some of my horrid swatches and were able to get an idea of how these collections are. As for me, I might be running back to the mall right about...now! :)

Ulta-mate Deal!

Sorry sorry, that was a horribly corny pun- but I am really excited to share a good deal I got at Ulta today! They have a buy 2 get 1 free on Maybelline, including these XXL Pro Mascaras.

l to r: Curl, Extenstions, Volume

 This is actually one of my favorite mascaras in the world- they are cheap, but for me, the results are better than any of those $30 mascaras- and I got 3 for $16! They are way cheaper than the high-end mascaras.

But since I want to give you guys a solid, good quality review, I will be trying these over the next few days for a more in-depth look at Maybelline XXL Pro Mascaras! :)

P.S.- Ulta has some other fantastic deals right now, including Buy 2 Get 1 on Neutrogena, and their famous Liter-sale!

Opinion: MAC Pigment Changes

As most of you are aware, MAC has recently reduced their pigment jar from 7.5G to 4.3G, while still carrying a $19.50 price tag. Naturally, this change has made many MAC collectors quite upset, as who really likes a price increase, especially one so drastic?

I thought I would address the issue from my viewpoint. Please remember this is simply my opinion, and I welcome your thoughts as well, whether you agree or disagree with me. So, here goes:

The "old" 7.5g pigments are too big. After all, that has been their appeal for so long- one could purchase a jar for $20, then split it into "samples" ranging from 1/2 the jar to 1/4 teaspoons, and still have plenty to last a lifetime. In fact, some people even made a business off of this idea. I have never finished a pigment let alone even gotten close; I still haven't used more than is in the lid! :)

That is why I am approaching this from the p.o.v. of MAC, the corporation. Because pigments are unique in that they are the only MAC product that can easily be shared (you wouldn't really share an eyeshadow or lipglass), MAC was very likely losing money, or at least breaking even on the product. Because, if 1 pigment is split between 5 customers, MAC gets $4 per customer. 1 pigment per 5 people using the product, is sold. But if those 5 people each bought their own jar of pigment, MAC would get $20 per person, equalling $100. Obviously, what business wouldn't want $100 vs. $4?

So, it appears that MAC made the pigments small enough to be consumable by one individual, while making the same amount of money, the amount that I believe they originally expected they'd get from the old jars. And, for those who did not split pigments, there will be less waste from product never being used- I look at some of my pigments and wonder how I'll ever get through them!

The success of these new jars also comes down to whether or not people will buy the smaller jars. As we know, the power is often in the hands of the consumer, and if no one buys them, they'd be quickly changed back. However, my guess is that they will sell more pigments than before- the new vial is, for the average consumer, a modern, user-friendly shape, and people love their pigments. We would rather pay more than lose out on having our favorite product in our hand. :)

So, in conclusion, I think that is situation is more than just MAC being greedy, rather them trying to maximize on one of their finest products.

What do you think?

Holiday Haul: MAC Pro

Just thought I'd share this mini-haul I did at MAC Pro in NYC over the weekend! I only get to visit a MAC Pro store 1-2x a year, and I only planned on getting 1 or 2 things but ended up with a little more. I got:

-Grape Pigment.

I have been meaning to pick this up for a while, so now that they're changing pigment packaging, I'm glad I got it in the old packaging. It's got great color pay-off, I anticipate some very vibrant looks with this pigment!

-Deep Damson Eyeshadow.

I was lucky enough to get this in the pot, because apparently they're just releasing pro colors in pans now. It is a deep berry color, very dark, great color payoff. Again, I can see the richness of this eyeshadow complementing a lot of different looks.

-Red Brick Eyeshadow.

They didn't have this in the pot so I got it in the pan, and I sure hope it doesn't shatter before I get home from vacation! It is a totally weird color, not quite true red, but I think there's potential here. In fact, I think the challenge of figuring out how to use it will be fun!

-Fleshpot Lipstick.

This is my third tube of this lipstick, it is my everyday fave lipstick. I simply pat it on to my very pigmented lips, and it allows me to wear bright colors on my eyes and cheeks without feeling like a clown. One thing I do NOT do, is I don't apply it like a regular lipstick, because then it looks like foundation lips and is actually really gross. But otherwise this lipstick is a must for the fairer ladies.

-Mixing Medium, Gel.

I wanted something to use with my glitter, because I've got all these glitters laying around but no way to apply it! This is the answer, because it will make it sort of like a paste to keep my glitter from going anywhere. If you are looking for mixing medium, there are different consistencies for different uses, so make sure you speak with a MAC Pro MA before buying :)

...Well, that's about it! What are your favorite pro items?

Buyer Beware: Fake Mac!

Ok so there are plenty of informative posts out there to help you decipher if your MAC is real or not (a good start is the lovely ladies at Specktra: Counterfeit MAC), so if you would like to know how to spot fake MAC, start there, or even head over to this Ebay page for more info.

This entry isn't so much how to spot fakes but the sad truth that even I have been a victim of the MAC fakery, and even though I'm pretty much over it and accepted this fact, I had a semi-LOL moment yesterday with the fakes.

Here's the story:

Last year, I bought about 6 eyeshadows from ebay, from two different sellers, and they all turned out to be fake. I didn't find this out for certain until maybe 2-3 months ago, although I definitely had my suspicions, because the packaging looked a little off (don't worry, I didn't use them, because they seemed weird).

Well, there is one way for certain to tell if they're fake, and that's by depotting them and checking to see if the pan has rings on the bottom. So, I decided to do that. And actually, even though the rings are the sure-fire way, depotting it is not an easy process when it's a fake! Whatever kind of glue/plastic they use, it takes FOREVER to melt, and might even start on fire (like mine did!)! It even caused the eye shadow to shatter, which has never happened to me before. It was just such an arduous, ridiculous and totally unnecessary process, if I had just not been cheap and bought straight from MAC.

Moral of the story: Stay away from eBay, ecrater, etc and buy straight from MAC!!! :)

Update

So I just wanted to drop in and apologize for a lack of updates- I feel like I am apologizing every 2 months for this same thing. Sigh. But the good news is, my new year's resolution is to be better at keeping this blog updated. AND I have so many nice products to talk about, so it should be fairly easy :)

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season! :)