Mac Favorites

I have always had a love hate relationship with Mac makeup. I like that their products are mid range and not too expensive but, I hate going to a Mac counter. The Mac store near me is really small and the artists that work there aren't always the most helpful. For the most part I order Mac products online so I don't have to go into the store. The only time I buy in store is if I need to buy a foundation or concealer. I thought I would share a few of my favorite Mac products with you guys.

packaging sleek af

Personally what I love the most about Mac is their limited edition collections. Mac knows amazing packaging and amazing themes. Recently I was lusting over the Rocky Horror collection that came out in the fall. Unfortunately I didn't have any extra cash to pick up a few items from the collection. However if you are looking to get into Mac I would go on their website and look at the New Collection tab. The Cinderella Collection sneak preview photos were just released and everything looks so beautiful. If you are interested in getting something from a new collection I would try to go to a store because everything sells out online really fast. 

The first product I ever bought from Mac was the famous and widely loved Mineralize Skin finish. I picked Soft n Gentle because you can't go wrong with a pinky golden highlight. I have to say there is a reason why Soft n Gentle is a cult favorite. It is simply beautiful in the packaging and on the skin. The product is really versatile. I use it all over my cheeks as a light blush, on my cheek bones as a highlight and in a quick pinch it works well as a sheer wash of color on the lids. I also own another Mineralize skin finish from the Flower collection but you can't buy it anymore which is sad because it is so pretty on the skin I might even like it more that Soft N Gentle.

The only problem with Soft N Gentle is that it has actual glitter in it so if you have a problem with large pores then you might not want to pick this up. I don't have a problem with large pores on my cheeks and sometimes I feel that this can exaggerate them. Because this product is so shimmery/glittery I like to apply it with a light hand. I also wouldn't recommend using this a highlighter all over the face because of the glitter. I would never use this on my nose, forehead or chin just on the cheeks for a nice glow. This product can be used on all most all skin tones, if you have really dark skin then this will be a really subtle highlight. 

Another favorite that will be no surprise to Mac lovers is my paint pot in painterly. Paint pots are eyeshadow bases/cream shadows that set on the lids and stay all day long. Painterly is a pinky ivory that conceals all of the discoloration on my lids and keeps my eyeshadows in place. I have very oily lids so everything creases on me. So still use a primer under paint pots but for people who don't have really oily lids then this will never crease on you. Paint pots come in a bunch of color so if you are looking for a neutral base close to your skin tone their are plenty of options. I have had my paint pot for over a year and it hasn't dried up and I still have so much of it left. I apply it with with ring finger and blend it on the lid up to the brow bone. 

Mac is famous for their lipsticks. They come in a million colors and have several different textures. I only own three because 14 dollars for a lipstick is pretty expensive. That said the three I own are my favorite lipsticks in the entire world. In high school my mom had Twig and she gave it to me. I became obsessed I wore it every day for about a year. Twig is a pinky brown very 90's and super on trend right now. If you are looking for that Kylie Jenner lip Twig is a create option. Twig is a satin finish but isn't to glossy so it is comfortable.

After my love affair with Twig I bought Creme Cup which is a blue tones light pink. Cream cup is a the perfect pink and I love it when I wear it over my UD lipliner in Naked. If I don't know what lipstick to wear my my eyeshadow I always put on Creme Cup.

Recently I have been loving red lips so I went out and purchased Ruby Roo. This is my holy grail red lipstick. The color is perfect because it is blue toned so my teeth look super white. The texture is very dry and chalky. Some people don't love dry lipsticks but I love it. When you a wearing a bold color you want the lipstick to stay in place and to never smear. Ruby Roo is very dry so it tugs a little when applying but once it is on your lips it doesn't budge. I can apply it once when I am doing my makeup and I can eat, drink and talk. I never have to reapply and the color is so rich I don't even use a lip liner. Even though the texture is really dry it is so comfortable on the lips. Once I put it on I don't even feel it. A testament to this lipstick is sometimes I don't even put it in my bag when I wear it because I know it will look amazing through out the day with no touch ups.

I struggle to spend a lot of money on a single eyeshadow. I will spend a little extra cash on a palette because you get so many shades but for a single shadow rarely I will spend for than 5 dollars or what ever the drugstore price. I have one mac eyeshadow and I rarely ever where it. Though I rarely wear it is so beautiful. I de-potted the shadow when I bought so I took it out of my Z palette and I popped it in a Coastal Scents Go Pod for the photo.

So that is my mac collection/favorites. I do own two mac concealer palettes but I only use them in my kit. If you are interested in those palettes I have a previous blog post talking about them click here to see it. My Mac collection is definitely growing as I become more familiar with the brand. I really want to try out their lip pencils and their pigments. I hope that this was helpful if you are interested in starting to build-up your mac collection. I think that these products would be a great starter kit if you were just beginning to get into makeup or higher end brands. If could only keep one product from my Mac collection it would be my paint pot for sure because I don't think that their is anything else on the market that really compares. 

Luxury Powders Mark Jacobs and Hourglass

If you are going to spend some money on makeup I would suggest splurging on luxury powders. I find that face powders last a long time and are a worthy investment because they make your makeup next level gorgeous. I have been holding on to two really nice face powders for a while now and I wanted to share my thoughts on them with the internet. 

I was watching a video from Essie Button on youtube and she was raving about how much she loved her Marc Jacobs bronzer and face powder. I am not one to spend a lot of money on bronzer when there are so many good drugstore options so I went for the powder foundation instead. Marc Jacobs advertises this powder as having light reflecting properties. I don't know what ingredient would do that because this doesn't make your skin glow. I think the light reflecting refers to the satin matte finish.

First off I would like to say that this powder is bomb. It is worth the extra cash because it is simply amazing. The texture is buttery smooth, the coverage is light but build-able and the packaging is to die for. I like to use it as a setting powder, for light coverage I use a fluffy brush. But if you use a sponge this baby can be a full coverage powder. I used this powder everyday to set my makeup for months and I still have so much left. The products is really able to set your foundation and give you a matte finish without looking powdery or cakey. It is like a ramped up high end version of my Rimmel Stay Matte.I picked up this compact at Sephora for 46 dollars and you get .38 oz of product.

I like many people get pulled into to buying products because of the hype. I purchased The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder purely because the internet told me to. It took me some time and research to really understand how to use Ambient Lighting Powders but now that I have it is a staple in my makeup routine. Ambient Lighting Powders are setting powders/highlighters that give the skin a very subtle glow. They give your skin a natural radiance that isn't glittery which is why you can wear it all over your face. The powder is finely milled and so smooth it just makes your face look amazing.

All of the powders have different tones that color correct or brighten for different skin tones. I have Ethereal Light which is a cool white powder that shows up as translucent crystal on the skin. It is like an HD powder but it makes your skin glow instead of giving a matte finish. If you have oily skin you might need to set your makeup with a matte powder and then dust your face with your Ambient Lighting Powder.

This really isn't a highlighter for your cheek bones the glow is too subtle. This powder should be used all over the face instead of targeted areas. I use this powder everyday on myself and clients and I have barely made a dent. This is an expensive product but it will last you forever.

I hope that this will help you when you are looking to buy something nice for your face. As always would recommend researching expensive items before you buy them so you never waste your money.

Four Holy Grail Red Lipsticks

So I am so obsessed with red lips. It might be my love of Taylor Swift but it is mainly because so many amazing red lipsticks have been released. To be honest you no longer have to go to Sephora to get an amazing lipstick. Personally I am not a fan of glossy red lips. I want my red lips to be matte and to stay put. I thought I would 4 my favorites.

The first red lipstick I really feel in love with was the Revlon Matte Balm. This is the smoothest lipstick it really goes on like a balm but has the full pigmentation of a lipstick. I only need to go over my lips once. Unfortunately I have no idea where my beloved Matte Balm is. So I grabbed a picture from Revlon's website. The color that I love is Standout. If you are looking for an easy to apply lipstick this is definitely the right choice. The only downside is once you wear down the nice pointed tip it is a little bit more tricky but still do-able. I think it is a testament to this product that I plan to go out and buy a new one because I lost mine.

If you are looking for a more traditional lipstick packaging then I would go for the Maybelline Color Sensational Creamy Mattes. The whole collection has three reds but the one that I went for was Divine Wine. Finding a darker red that is the right texture is hard. Most of the time wine reds are too glossy and just slide around on my lips and make a mess. Divine Wine is the perfect texture and the perfect dark red. If you are scared of really dark lips then this is a great color because it is just on the cusp of being a classic red and a darker wine. When it comes to lipsticks Maybelline knows what they are doing and Divine Wine is no exception. I love these so much I want the whole collection for my kit.

When I wear reds I want them to stay put all day no matter how much drinking and eating I do. I love lipstick but I hate re-applying. The benefits of a matte lipstick is that the texture bonds to the lips and stays in place. Mac's Ruby Roo lipstick is like glue. I have to be honest this lipstick is chalky. But it is that dry texture that makes this lipstick amazing. I carefully apply this in the morning and I don't touch it throughout the day. Personally I think Mac lipsticks are expensive but because of Ruby Roo's lasting power I don't use a lot of it so it will last me a long time. 

For a while I was very skeptical of the liquid lipstick format. So to try it out I went and purchased NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream. the Soft Matte Lip Cream goes on like a gloss but dries to a matte lipstick. I have Monte Carlo which is a classic blue toned red. The texture of this product is creamy but sheer. By itself I can't get it to be opaque. You have to use a lipliner underneath to get it to be full. I don't mind using a lipliner because once this product sets on the lips it is very dry and mask like. The lipliner helps make it more comfortable. For a lip liner NYX makes great ones and so does Milani. This is a great product because it is easy to apply and it is reasonably priced. A lot of liquid lipsticks on the market are very expensive.

I hope that this post was helpful in your perfect red lip quest. I am in the works of doing a follow up post about lipliners so look out for that post by following me on Bloglovin. You can follow me by clicking the Bloglovin button on the side bar right next to this post. By following me on Bloglovin you can keep track of all my posts in one easy place.  Comment below with your favorite red lipsticks or your red lip combo. 

Bite Beauty Cashmere Lip Cream. . . Lipstick Addiction

So it was my birthday recently and I had a little extra cash in my pocket so off course I went to Sephora. I bought a expensive lip product on a whim and I got lucky because I love it. I have never owned anything from Bite Beauty but BeautyBroad Cast on youtube loves Bite Beauty so I figured it couldn't be too bad. Bite Beauty's Cashmere Lip Creams are highly pigmented cream to powder lipsticks that come in a range of bright and bold colors. No joke these little babies are so pigmented and creamy.

These lip creams are very much like the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream but they have better color pay off. Because these lippies are so pigmented it can be hard to get clean lines. I like to build up the color slowly instead going full monty in one swipe. Bite describes the color as a burgundy but it changes depending in different lighting. Sometimes it looks like a wine but then it looks like a dark red. I love it because purple and red are my favorite colors for lipsticks. The texture is really smooth and creamy and stays creamy for a long time. After a hour or two the lipstick dries to a powder matte finish.

The lipstick has a slight herbal scent nothing too strong but it is there. This isn't a product you have to touch up but it can be dry. I like to top it off throughout the day just to get a little moisture back onto my lips. It layers well over a lipliner but it is pigmented enough that you don't need one. I picked this up at Sephora for 28 dollars so it is quite pricey but the quality is amazing.

Brands I love NYX

Recently NYX has really stepped up its makeup game. They went from being a brand with a few holy grail products to a brand that is really new and different in a an industry that is always advancing. I think that NYX really stands out because they are reasonably priced, cruelty free and they are great quality. I honestly don't think that there is a makeup lover out their that isn't a little obsessed with the company. In 2014 they really made a name for themselves coming out with unique products that quickly became cult favorites. Now in the first few months of 2015 they are continuing to do so. 

NYX is one of  the first drugstore range brands that has products you could find in Sephora. They have realized that the everyday woman (and men) want high quality makeup artist products for a reasonable price. Many drugstore brands don't branch out into primers, setting sprays, HD powders, contouring products, and a vary of lip colors. Up until recently NYX was the only reasonably price foundation primer on the market. I would also say that NYX really started the jumbo pencil eyeshadow stick trend. 

Living in NYC I feel that I have almost everything at my fingertips but NYX is hard to get a hold of. I can't find them in my local drugstores and their are no Ulta locations in New York City. The only place that I can get my hands on them are at Rickey's which usually is under stocked. I tend to stay away from buying makeup online that I have never used before. NYX is an amazing company that really has stepped up the quality of drugstore makeup. 

I am looking forward to their brand expansion and my quest for testing out more of their products. They really understand the market; they just came out with a highlight and contouring palette for 25 dollars which I think it so smart. What makes the palette even better is that you can replace and refill all of the powders. I am also excited for their new line of High Definition blushes.

My current favorites from the Brand are their Mineral Foundation Stick, Soft Matte Lip Cream, Jump Eye Pencil, concealer and their blushes. 

What are some of your favorite NYX products comment down below. 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Gel Eyeliner Splurge or Save?

I was recently given a few gifts because of my birthday in February. I received some high-end makeup and I thought it would be interesting to compare it to its drugstore equivalent. One of the items I was given was the Estee Lauder Double Wear Gel Liner in Stay Onyx. This is your basic matte black gel liner in a screw off cap pot. 

This eyeliner retails for 25 dollars on Nordstorm.com. I looked on the Sephora website but they don't seem to sell this product. I have actually never seen Estee Lauder sold at any of my local Sephoras so I am not that familiar with the brand. I do know through the blogger grape vine that the Double Wear liner is really amazing so I had high hopes for this product. 

The liner is a super rich black color but the liners consistency is very very creamy. Estee Lauder advertising this products as a long wearing gel formula but it applies much more like a cream. Because it is so emollient it slides and slips on the eye and never really packs a punch with pigment. When an eyeliner is so creamy it actually becomes very difficult to apply. Trying to do a wing liner was nearly impossible. Even with a fine liner brush I would get a sharp point at the end of my wing. I also have to go over my lines a few times to get opaque color. I really only use gel liner to do a cat eye. This doesn't perform well on that aspect. 

Once this liner dries and sets on the lid it is super matte. A lot of gel liners and liquid liners when they dry will have shiny satin finish. What I really liked about this liner is dries totally matte. But, because this liner is so creamy you will have to wait for it to dry. I made the mistake of closing my lid and the liner smudged all over the place. 

Overall I am not a huge fan of this product. As liner it doesn't perform nearly as well as my Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Liner. However this product does work well as a base for a smokey eye. I took a small synthetic brush and I was able to create a perfect smokey eye in seconds. For 25 dollars I would expect more out a product and this just fell short. This product claims to be long wearing and it is if you let it dry completely. If you are looking for a gel liner I would go to the drug store and save some cash on the Maybelline Eyestudio in Blackest Black. 

Professional Kit: Concealer

I think that concealer might be the most important item in my kit. It is so versatile. A lot of the times when I can't find the right shade of foundation I mix in a little concealer to get the right color and boost coverage. Using concealer to color correct, highlight, and contour is really what makes a makeup look from pretty to stunning.  

If you are doing your make on yourself or other people a good concealer palette that includes corrector shades is crucial. If you are on a budget you can purchase your favorite concealers and depot them into one palette. You can also buy a pre-made palette. For my kit I use MAC's concealer palettes. I purchases two of them a little a while ago and I love them. I often find myself going into my bag to use them on myself. 

For dark circles you want to use orange/peach toned concealers to cancel out blue tones. For highlighting under the eye and cheek bones a golden or yellow toned concealer is perfect. For a contour color you want to use a color darker than your skin-tone that has a neutral undertone. A contour that is too orange will look especially unnatural. 

All of the concealers are creamy and have great coverage. They're are three palettes in total light, medium and dark. I have light and dark so I can mix to create the perfect shade for all skin tones. The bottom two colors are correct shades. The left shades are NC and the right are W and NW.  

Milani Moisture Matte Lipstick and Color Statement Lipliner

Again I have red my red lip obsession. If you think I have too many post about lipsticks I will tell you that you are incorrect. You can never have enough lipsticks in slightly different shades and finishes. When it comes to red lipsticks I live them to be blue toned so my teeth look whiter, darker burgundy reds and to have a matte finish. In general I hate glossy lipsticks I don't like they way they feel and they are too slippery. I want a lipstick that glides on smoothy with fully color in one swipe. 

Milani just released their new line of Color Statement Moisture Matte lipsticks. The range includes 7 lipsticks that contains nudes, pinks, purples and red. I purchased mine at CVS for 5.99 which mid price range for the drugstore. 

I picked up 67 Matte Confident which is a blue toned brick red. I went on the Milani website and they listed these lipstick as vegan which is really awesome. The packaging is really pretty, a classic lipstick tube and on the bottom is a the name of the lipstick and a colored square to represent to the color inside. Personally the lipstick I bought was safety sealed and the color on the tube was very accurate to the lipstick inside. The lipstick has a slight scent of butter-creme that disappears on your lips. I love the way it smells and actually wished it continued to smell on the lips. 

The pigmentation of the lipstick is not completely full like my Maybelline Matte lipstick but by no means is shear. With one swipe I can get pretty much full color but I do like to go over it to really pack a punch. Matte Confident glides on smoothly and feels like there is nothing on my lips. The lipstick when you apply it will have a balm feel but once it dries this lipstick does feel a little glue closest to the inside of my mouth. The color didn't crack but it did begin to feel a little uncomfortable but still totally wearable. I ate a meal with this lipstick on and when I was done most of the color was still there. This lipstick does layer on top of it self well, so you don't have to remove it to touch up.

While picking up Matte Confident I also purchased Milani's Color Statement Lipliner in 02 true red. I have purchased this liner before but I gave it to a friend. This is my holy grail lipliner. It applies creamy with full color and it comfortable enough to wear as a lipstick.

I really want to pick up more colors from this line. The quality is so amazing at an inexpensive price point. 

I would totally recommend picking up both of these products for a killer red lip. I have more posts coming about my favorite red lipsticks so be on the look out!

e.l.f. Poreless Face Primer

I have really gotten into primer this year. For a while I thought it was just a gimmick but it really does help your foundations go on smoother. I used to hate the slippery feel but I found a primer that makes my skin look great and not feel gross. The e.l.f Poreless Face Primer is super budget friendly and makes your makeup look great.

The primer comes out of the bottle as a milky white cream and when blended into the skin it is clear. If you are sensitive to scents then I would be careful because it strongly smells of eucalyptus but, once on the skin it goes away. I don't know if this really eliminates pores but it does make your skin a perfect canvas for concealer and foundation. 

The most important quality that I love about this primer is that it doesn't break me out. Often primers have really weird ingredients that makes me break out in red splotches. You can pick up this primer on the e.l.f website or at Target.