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My Magical Make-up Kit! – Hanna

By Lina on October 22, 2009

Yes, another instalment of the ‘My Magical Make-up Kit‘ series, and this week we have the gorgeous Hanna! I’ve known Hanna for quite a while and I remember in my early make-up days I did some hideous practice make-up on her involving lots of dots around her eye – naturally I blamed the eyeliner; if it was darker I’m sure the make-up would have a been a masterpiece! But yes, needless to say the pics didn’t quite make it to my portfolio.. Here’s what’s in her bag of tricks.

Hanna’s Magical Make-up Kit

“My entire makeup collection has lots of different brands in it but I put my favourite bits on here…

(1) MAC Fluidline Gel Eyeliner (Dipdown) – Because it doesn’t smudge or flake like every other eyeliner I’ve had.

(2) MAC Concealer(s) – I’ve got 4 different ones and I love them all – Studio Finish in the little pot and the crayon being my favourite of favourites. I can never find the right colour for my skin tone anywhere else…

(3) MAC Powder – Stays put all day (ed – I think it’s Select Sheer!).

(4) MAC Eyeshadow (Concrete) – The best colour I’ve found to do my eyebrows with.

(5) Rimmel Glam’Eyes Mascara – Goes on nicely and doesn’t give you spider eyes.

(6) [Primark] Blusher Stick – I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it but it’s from Primark. It’s really nice – blends well and has a subtle, natural finish that makes you look flushed rather than slapped.”

What a great make-up kit, I’m loving the inclusion of the Primark Blusher Stick as I would never have thought to try their make-up range out but now I’m definitely gonna bag m’self one! And how much am I loving the make-up bag – where’d you get it, Hanna?! Simply adorable.

This entry is filed under Mac, My Magical Make-up Kit, Primark. | 1 Comment

MAC Girl About Town vs Barry M 145 Punky Pink!

By Lina on September 24, 2009

I’ve had this post in the pipeline for quite some time and I’m really excited about it, as to me this is EXACTLY the kinda stuff you wanna learn in a beauty blog. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that I, like many other make-up addicts, have developed a bit of a girl-crush on Cheryl Cole. A REALLY superficial girl-crush I might add, as it is based purely on her make-up and hair. I’ve made a couple of posts about the fabulous lipstick she wears; a gorgeous bright pink that also has hints of fuchsia. If anyone watched last Sat’s’ X Factor (19/09/09), you would have noticed that Dannii is also sporting this gorgeous shade too (good on ya Dannii, it looks ace on both of you!). To cut a long a story short it took a little investigating and I finally discovered which lipstick the lovely Cheryl allegedly wears – there were actually two that have been reported for that shade. One was MAC Girl About Town and the other was…. Barry M 145 Punky Pink. SHOCKING!

Well, obviously I got both and I am genuinely astounded to say – there really is not much difference between them. They both are incredibly creamy, incredibly long lasting, brilliantly pigmented and both have a subtle gloss finish to them. If anything, the Mac one appears to be less brighter than the Barry M one! Crazy. I would say the Mac one is a teeny bit less gloss finish than the Barry M, more matte, the texture a little richer, and thus more likely to stay in place more, but honestly, it is literally like 5% difference. Hardly anything. If I ever lost my Mac (which actually is quite probable with my habit of losing things), I would seriously not feel the need to replace and would just use the Barry M instead.

Mac Girl About Town

Barry M 145 Punky Pink

Don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself!

Day shot

(left) Mac – Barry M (right)

Evening Shot

(left) Mac – Barry M (right)

Can you honestly see a difference that is worth tripling the price? Especially since you now know (from me) that comfort and lastability during wear is almost the same.

Another thing I like about both these lipsticks is that in pics (and I’ve noticed this on Cheryl and Dannii on the X factor too when they’ve worn this lippy) it really picks up the light well, and turns almost luminous. I personally LOVE that. But I can’t see it do that in the mirror when I check myself, but in all my pics with good lighting it really has done that. I suspect in places with bright lighting it looks beautiful but unless you have a mirror directly infront of you you are none the wiser! When you look at it in the tube it looks fairly dark, and I wasn’t even sure this was the right lipstick when I bought the Mac one first, but one swipe on and I knew it was. It is deceptively brighter than you’d ever think.

Both amazing lipsticks, brilliant colour, great texture, outstanding formulas; whatever your budget I’m sure you can afford to get one today!

This entry is filed under Barry M, Lips, Mac and tagged Barry Lip Paint in 145 Shocking Pink, Mac Girl About Town. | 4 Comments

B2M – BACK 2 MAC Program

By Lina on September 11, 2009

I cannot believe that I have only just today done my first B2M exchange. Back 2 MAC is a marvelous recycling program MAC have that allows the customer to return 6 primary packaging of finished products in exchange for a lipstick! OF YOUR CHOICE. I never really knew that much about it, until I decided to google what that little ‘Back 2 MAC’ on so many of those black cardboard boxes meant..

Being a research/nosy whore, I soon discovered that in stores you can return eyeshadow silver pans (you know, the ones you buy specifically for palettes?) as part of an item in the B2M program. I also discovered that if you go to a stand alone store, you can choose between either a lipstick, eyeshadow or lipgloss instead of just lipsticks. After reading that I got super excited and called one of the stand alone stores in central London to check this. I then called their customer services line as I wasn’t happy with the store answer. I then called their press as I wasn’t happy with the customer services answer.

Long story short, boo. I guess all of that only applies if you live in the US. In the UK, you can only ever partake in the B2M program AT stand alone stores, and you can only ever choose a lipstick. Not only that, eyeshadow refills for palettes are excluded from the program. Rubbish.

Now onto the fun part! I hastily gathered 6 unwanted/finished MAC products this morning and decided I’d pop into a store after my passport fast track appointment for earlier that day (I’m doing a make-up shoot in Spain ppl, will blog details separately about this!). I get to the store, show the sales assistants my products, all of which were allowed with absolute minimal fuss (phew!), she literally just glanced at them as I took them one by one out of my bag, and then all I had to do after that was choose my FREEEEE lipstick! AMAZING deal. I’m currently scrummaging in my room for another 6 empty/unwanted products as I’ve decided for Spain my work make-up is gonna be bright statement lips (that way the rest of your face can be pretty bare and thus no hassle), and I want lots of variety!

FYI, I chose Lady Danger this time. Read my review of it here.

This entry is filed under B2M, Back 2 MAC, Mac.

MAC Lady Danger Lipstick

By Lina on September 11, 2009

You may have noticed all around this summer a sea of blood orange lips, pared down with a bare face, and maybe, at the very most, a streak of liquid eyeliner. It’s a good look, but I was actually hoping the trend would pass as I haven’t been a lipstick person for a long time, and once you give up lipstick it’s hard to go back. I eventually surrendered though (sheep that I am) and decided I too wanted blood orange lips, I then decided that my way too old red lipstick which was relatively bright and doing a perfectly fine job just wasn’t good enough anymore (like you do), and what I needed was a brand new red lipstick, a blood orange lipstick, specifically for this look. So off to MAC I went..

I initially thought I’d walk out with Ruby Woo, Gwen Stefani’s alleged shade of choice, but really all that mattered was that it had to be very bright and and very striking, almost glaring, and so wanted whatever would do the job best. Of the three red lipsticks I swatched on my hand (I think there are more I just didn’t see them), Lady Danger struck out the most to me. Compared to the other reds it was just more.. modern. Less classic, dated. Although in retrospect that is probably completely false as I can imagine many a 40′s screen siren with this feisty little number now. Either way, it just seemed the one least likely to be worn by my mother.

Application

I just swiped it on, then went! Being a matte lipstick and from the MAC matte lipstick range, I didn’t feel the need for the precedure of blotting then reapply, I just applied two coats and was done. Like all the MAC lipsticks I’ve tried it just ran smoothly over my lips and painted nice pigmented colour with a good, rich texture.

Verdict

I like these matte lipsticks by MAC, while admittedly some of the other finishes from them may be more moisturising, I’m impressed with the non bleeding or smudging power of this. You don’t need to worry about accidently smudging some lipstick on your face, it thankfully seems to stay put where you applied it; so no scary smeary drunk Robert Smith type lipstick issues here. The only times I felt I needed to reapply was after eating, and even then it never smudged on my chin despite eating rather sloppily as I was at home and therefore not trying to purposely ‘keep’ it, and with drinking it was totally fine. Yep, eventually your lips do get that tired feel to them, where they go a little dry, and you can feel the build up of product, but it wears a great deal of time before you get to that point, and once at that point it is never noticeable visually, which is hugely important.

It looks a teeny bit more red in real life, photographs more orange I think

Colour wise, I don’t know. Colour pigment, fabulous. But actual colour, hmm, some times I love it, others I’m a little shy. I can definitely get away with it, but I’m not sure it’s the most flattering blood orange lipstick out there for me, it is possibly a little too orange? My mum (although I did mention I didn’t want a shade she would wear) said it didn’t look nice and I do feel massively self conscious when I wear it as EVERYONE looks, and sometimes I’m pretty certain it’s looks of horror from some inbred girl with hoop earrings and clumpy mascara (so, why do I care, right?). It’s just that despite all the trends and fashions at the end of the day you still want to look nice, that’s my main objective anyway. So I’m still on the fence with whether I do or not with this. I’m actually considering searching for another bright red lipstick, one that really prettifies me..

This entry is filed under Lips, Mac and tagged Mac Lady Danger LIpstick. | 2 Comments

Mac wish list

By Lina on August 26, 2009

Wow, I didn’t realise I wanted so much stuff from Mac. Obviously, I want everything, but if we’re talking definite must haves I really didn’t expect my list to be this long, like maybe one or two products, max. I’m into positive thinking now so if you say something out loud or write it down or ‘request’ it the universe will provide, so here is my Mac request list.

1. Mac Black Tied/Carbon Eyeshadow (indecisive over which, both black, one is shimmery, need both maybe?).

2. Fix+ (an everything product, refreshes make-up, sets make-up, calms skin, multi uses).

3. Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (face powder, gets rave reviews although to me seems very similar to my much loved Bourjois Mineral Radiance – I will do a compare feature when the universe provides!).

4. Girl about Town Lipstick (going absolutely crazy for this lipstick right now, a brilliant, stand out, bright pink that looks stunning on warmer skin tones).

5. Face and Body Foundation (ok, so technically not new to me, but I’m out of a bottle and really really miss it. Can’t see myself investing in another just yet as I have mountains of other very similar foundations to use up first. I just need a bottle, just to have, on my dressing table, for emergencies, or whatever, I really did love it).

Fingers crossed!

This entry is filed under Mac.

Mac Mineralize Satinfinish Foundation SPF15

By Lina on April 26, 2009

Mac Mineralize Satinfinish Foundation is the only foundation that has required me to continuously add powder whilst wearing it. For my usual dry, slightly parched skin this was certainly a surprise, but not a good one.

Mac Mineralize Foundation is Macs’ liquid take on the ‘mineral’ trend, I’m not sure exactly how much of this is pure minerals, but it apparently contains some, along with vitamins A, C and E. It is meant to provide skin with a luminous, light reflective, skin flattering satin finish, and was apparently ideal for dryer skin.

I feel really cheated with this product, as I’m sure had I got the right shade I may have agreed with it more, as it was, the stupid sales assistant (who transpired to be on her first day) pushed me into getting NC44, when I was pretty certain it was too dark. I should never listened to her and got a shade or two lighter, but when someone’s cooing, “ooh, it’s perfect, definitely the right shade, you’re skin is glowing” it’s hard to not give it a go. I’ve since discovered some black women wear lighter shades of this foundation then the one I bought.

But anyway, moving on. Mac Mineralize comes in a glass bottle, with a black pump that twists to close, big thumbs up for that! I like products that safety shut, removing all risk of accidental leaks or spills. You get a decent amount (30ml) and it’s relatively well priced at £20.

Application

When I first tried applying this, I used my fingers. Big mistake. This is a strictly brush product in my opinion, I found you really need to work the product into your skin to get good coverage and for it to take, otherwise it is way too light. I also found it quite tricky to build in coverage as it is sooo greasy, and doesn’t seem to set. You might wanna use a very light moisturiser if you skin is anything but parched, if you skin is parched (like mine), wait about 20 minutes or longer after moisturising before using this.

I found the best way to use this foundation is to apply as much as I could to get a decent coverage, and then to powder my face down! What a strange concept for me, who usually find the lightest touch of powder dehydrating! I used my Mac Select Sheer on top, and would literally just press product onto my foundation, in a bid to set it. Once that was done, and skin was slightly more manageable, I would apply high lighter pen/concealer, and also a stick foundation (I used Stila Perfecting Stick Foundation), to give extra coverage to the center of my face (and to lighten it up). I had to do this in that order as otherwise those products would not take onto my skin after the Mineralize.

Verdict

Well, my skin certainly didn’t dry out! But oddly the opposite happened, it felt greasy! On some occasions, say on a particularly warm day, I would have to keep continuously adding powder, as I could feel the make-up not setting. To its’ credit, bar colour wise, it did look fine and not cakey, despite the amount of powder I was wearing. And on a few occasions it even looked damn good! They weren’t lying when they said “Satinfinish”!

Generally I found it wore very well, once I had gone through the whole palavar of applying it in the manner I described above, it would stay in place and I even went to few hot sweaty festivals in it and have pictures of me with my hair hanging in strings of sweat, and my face immaculate. I do remember always being pleasantly surprised when I checked my make-up on the way home.

I also do believe had I got the correct shade, this review may be very different, which is the thing that annoys me the most. I was just too much hard work trying to a) get the appearance of the correct colour, and b) powdering it down. So unfortunately for me, as it stands, it’s a resounding thumbs down for Mac Mineralize Satinfinish. Too much work, and on it’s own way too greasy with barely any coverage.

Here are some pics of me in it:

On a good day (with HEAPS of powder):

I’ve mixed Mac Mineralize with a lighter foundation in this pic above.

Here it is (below) with just concealer, no other foundation mixed or added in, and not AS MUCH powder:

This entry is filed under Foundations, Mac and tagged Mac Mineralize Satinfinish Foundation. | 4 Comments

Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation & Concealer

By Lina on April 16, 2009

I bought this foundation pretty much the day it came out, I was VERY excited about purchasing it.

Touted as the same as Mac Face and Body, but with better coverage, it honestly sounded like the exact thing I had been looking for. I have been a Mac Face and Body user for years, I loved it especially when the bottle was half empty, and the foundation changed texture and thickened slightly. It provided me with perfect dewy coverage, and it lasted beautifully on the skin, all day, all night. I’d rarely have to touch up, and if I did it never caked.

However, it was only this great (in coverage) when the bottle was half empty, so in the last year or so, when I had run out, instead of repurchasing I strayed and tried a few other foundations out on the market, but none have been as good as my trusty Face and Body.

As I mentioned, Mac Studio Sculpt was apparently designed to be a stronger coverage Face and Body, with some additional benefits of good ingredients and SPF. It is also a gel formula. When I went to get colour matched, the SA (sales assistant) advised NC42 for me. I’m a C5 in Face and Body, and usually a NC42 might be a good match for my skin tone, but with this particular foundation I think it’s too pale. Having done some research online, I’ve discovered that the shades are a little messed up and can run darker or lighter than expected, so word of warning; don’t assume just because you’re an NCxx in their other foundation ranges that you’ll be the same shade number with this one!

Application
Having tried this foundation both with my fingers and foundation brush (I have the Bobbi Brown foundation brush), I definitely prefer applying it with a brush. However the SA said it was better applied with fingers, so I’m not giving up 100% on that yet. I’ll let you know if I change my mind.

It’s easy to spread and works best on freshly washed and moisturised skin. I found it did sometimes have a tendancy to ‘sit’ on the skin if you’re not careful, but generally it was fairly easy to blend. The coverage is good, very easy to control from light to full, however even though the ‘full’ coverage would sometimes make my face look a little mask like, it strangely didn’t cover one or two freckles I have, that usually a heavy coverage foundation would cover pretty instantly. And it’s VERY dewy. Some people choose to then buff their face after with a brush, but I’ve tried that and prefer not doing it, I find it takes some of the foundation off and removes a lot of the dewy look, but then again, I don’t have the legendary 187 brush so maybe that’s where I’m missing out (it will be mine one day!!)!

To finish my base, I would then use a highlighter pen (like touche eclat) and maybe some concealer where needed and then I would move onto blusher (generally cream, this foundation works great under cream!), eye make-up, etc. As this particular shade is a tad too light, I darken the outside area of my face with a darker foundation to get a better skin tone match and use some bronzer, so bear that in mind with the last set of pictures – this foundation doesn’t ‘colour adapt’! I do also use a tiny amount of face powder under my eyes to help stop my eye make-up slipping, and maybe a teeeny amount on my forehead if I feel it’s too dewy and my fringe will get greasy otherwise, but generally I’m not wearing powder, I like dewy.

Performance
Well, as it’s water resistant and thus sweat resisitant (just like the Face & Body), it lasts ok. However, no way as well as the Face and Body did. I pull all nighters when I party sometimes and sometimes, back in the face and body days, my make-up pretty much still looked perfect the next morning with minimal maintenance. The studio sculpt doesn’t fare as well, but it’s not awful on the few occassions I’ve tested it in that situation. Admittedly, I do need to test this further with better observation, but I have noticed me feeling the need to take all my make-up off because my skin has obsorbed a lot of it and feels a bit dry, instead of feeling it looks passable.

The pros to studio sculpt foundation is that it feels lovely on the skin, almost like you’re not wearing any make up. Definitely not horrible, or cloggy or dry. It’s a very comfortable foundation to wear. The second good thing about this foundation is that I’ve noticed it photographs quite well, it seems to reflect light beautifully, I’m sure when I get the right shade I will fully love this “light reflection” quality it has, but right now I worry it makes me look even paler.

In summary, I like this foundation. I’m still getting to grips with it and will update any new discoveries as I find them, I do feel pretty when I wear it. Where it fails for me is the texture of your skin doesn’t look as great as it does with the Face and Body, but then it does provide a lot more coverage. Also, I have noticed I’ve been getting a few spots! I usually only get ‘a’ spot like once every six months, but I’ve noticed I’ve definitely been getting them now more frequently. However I’m hoping this will go after a while, once my skin gets used to the ingredients.

I wouldn’t recommend this foundation to anyone with oily skin, but if you have dry skin and want a dewy finish with good coverage, this is for you.

Studio Sculpt Concealer
The concealer is ok, however I find I don’t really need it. It covers spots perfectly, but when I use it to conceal redness around my nose, I find it wears off easily, but then I find that with every concealer as I’m always sniffling with a tissue (sickly child!). You can apply it with a brush, but I find it works better with your fingers, which some of you may not be up for doing as it’s in a pot (yes, ewww, germs)! It is a heavy duty concealer, and I think if you need a heavy duty concealer you will not be disapointed.

It gets a thumbs up for price as well! £22 for the foundation, and around £12 for the concealer. As with all Mac products, very reasonably priced considering it’s a good non high street foundation.

Here are a selection of pics of me wearing it: