A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

So, Nicki Minaj’s personally designed pepto-(a)bismol pink lipstick is up on the MAC website today… for one day only.  Until next Friday.  And the one after that…

And the one after that… until MAC have bled their fans dry not only of their money but also of their patience.

Buying stuff from MAC… it’s like the 12 labours of Hercules.

I’ll (unsurprisingly) be passing on this.  I can’t even make All Styled Up work for me so I have no hope with this one.  Plus, I don’t shop on Fridays.  It’s against my religion (as of today).

Will you be picking this one up?

As soon as I saw the veining in one of the latest Accessorize Merged Blushers… I knew I’d seen it before.  I didn’t even really want the shade but my curiosity got the better of me, so I picked it up along with the rest of my little haul yesterday afternoon.

On the way home, the penny dropped and I dug out my discontinued MAC Moon River mineralize Blush.

MAC Moon River mineralize blush was released as part of the Grand Duo collection in Spring ’09 and has recently been spotted in a few CCO’s up and down the country.  It’s a particular favourite amongst pale skin types who just want a hint of colour.

Compared to Accessorize’s Merged Blushed in #3 Pretty Pink, first impressions as a dupe possibility are promising.  The veining is simillar: Pink, Lilac and Soft Yellow.  Accessorize’s offering looks slightly less glittery in the pan and also just a hint warmer/peachier.

Accessorize gives us 8g of product for £5.50 compared to MAC’s 3.2g of product for around £17.50.

MAC on the left, Accessorize on the right.  Are you seeing dupes?

Obviously… Accessorize Pretty Pink isn’t a duo… the veining is consistent throughout the pan.  Do you agree that Pretty Pink looks a little warmer than Moon River?

As for texture…

Moon River feels a little softer and my brush picks up the powder more readily when swept over Moon River.  Despite this, pigmentation is pretty simillar.  I’d say that Moon River appears to be more glittery than Pretty Pink, though strangely the sheen on the Accessorize dupe is a little more apparent…. a touch more ‘metallic’ once on the skin.

The most important swatches are the two on the left.  I added the third just to show the marbled half of Moon River alone.

What do you think?

MAC Moon River vs. Accessorize #3 Pretty Pink – Dupe or no dupe?

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When my lips are in good enough shape for matte lipsticks, there’s one that I reach for over and over again.

It’s pink… but not too pink.  It’s girly, but not prissy.

It’s MAC Please Me!

I find it bright enough to be interesting without being one of those MAC shades that make me feel a bit myspace profile picture-y?  You know the ones I mean…. pink plaid, st. germain, snob etc.  Some people can wear those shades really well… me?  I just look OLD in them.

Having said that, I’m having a bit of a MAC revival at the minute… especially with the lippies.  I have a few on my shopping list including Sweetie, Faux and Milan Mode.

What are your favourite MAC lipsticks?  The ones that you reach for over and over for everyday wear?

I wanted to get these out quickly in the hope that the photos/swatches over my overspend haul may be useful to those still making up their minds on what they want to order.  But I failed…

I’m not gonna do any proper reviews, I’m just trying to put some shots out there that are as colour accurate as I can manage.

Without further ado…

The Haul!

Stereo Rose MSF – surprisingly wearable on my pale, cool-toned skin.

Read the rest of this entry »

I thought it might be useful if I did this post ahead of the upcoming MAC In The Groove Collection which is due for release on the 1st July.

The rather lovely Karleigh wanted a shot of my pale arse wearing it. Well, not my ‘arse’… that would be enough to send global MAC sales plummeting. I mean… oh, you know what I mean.

Anyway, I’m gonna show you my FOTD and then I’m gonna link you to one of my fav bloggers who’s got a fabulous shot showing the shimmer far better than I was able to… so read on!

Read the rest of this entry »

Love, love, love.

“Repurchase” isn’t a word you’ll find used too often on this blog.  I try to save it for products that really make it into daily use.  When you own and enjoy using makeup as much as I do, there’s tons of products that you love with all your heart.  But a repurchase?  When there’s so many gorgeous new things to try?  Gotta be reserved for something genuinely useful.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (£18) is one of my most used products.

I usually use light medium, but was colour-matched to medium last time I was instore at MAC.  On the way home I was all “Oh noes, why did I let him persuade me to get medium… gonna look muddy and orange”.

Yanowot?  It works really well.  I couldn’t go darker than this, but when I apply Light Medium now (I still have a scrap left in the bottom of an old pan) it simply isn’t as flattering as Medium which warms me up a teeny bit without a hint of orange.

Love. It.

Also, now it’s Summer… I’m making more use of my MSF Natural than ever before.  It offers more coverage than many pressed powders and when worn over a sheer tinted moisturiser gives me the coverage I’m looking for but with a light texture.

Did I mention I love it?

MAC MSF Natural is available instore at MAC or online.  My tip for this product?  Next time you’re instore, ask the MUA to apply a shade darker than you would normally go for…

WOAHHHHHHHHH too much blush.

Aside from that, I was really pleased with how this turned out!  I was looking forlornly into my pigment drawer thinking that I don’t use them enough and although it was 6pm in the evening and I had just done my first DIY home facial (courtesy of Liz… yeah, we’re on first name terms innit) I decided to have a little play anyway.  Was that the longest sentence in the blogosphere?  Possibly.

I really need to start using more than 2 eyeshadow shades, I really enjoyed playing!

Products Used:

Face

~ Skin79 Super BB Cream
~ L’Occitane Etoiles des Neiges Illuminator
~ MUFE Full Cover Concealer in Shade 1

Eyes

~ Urban Decay Primer Potion
~ Silk Naturals Vanilla Pigment (all over lid up to brow bone)
~ MAC Melon Pigment (all over mobile lid)
~ MAC Revved-Up Pigment (crease and slightly above)
~ Elemental Beauty Vamp Pigment (outer v and under lower lashline)

~ Bourjois Khol & Contour in Brun Design (smudged on upper lashline then melon pigment reapplied over the top)
~ Benefit Bad Gal Lash Black Mascara

Cheeks

~ Milani Luminous Blush
~ Bobbi Brown ShimmerBrick in Nectar (yeah, I got carried away)

Lips

~ Bourjois Sweet Kiss Naturel Lipstick in 09 Sienne Kiss

I’m talking about the upcoming MAC In The Groove collection of course!

I’m self-indulging in some lovely high res shots of the items I’ve singled out from the collection that’s due for release on the 1st July.

I’m going for broke…

Too many things I want…

Seriously… gonna have to PARE. IT. DOWN.

Yikes.

Help me pare that down… I don’t need those 4 eyeshadows.

I definitely want Stereo Rose, New Vibe and Happy Together though…. and probably All Styled Up too… damn.  And I’m not even a MAC addict.

What are you desperately desiring from July’s (UK) the In The Groove Collection?

Indulge me, I rarely do haul posts.  But I’m really loving the things that I picked up this week.  And just look how restrained I was at my local CCO (the MAC).

At the beginning of the week my Stila bits turned up from CheapSmells.. oh! I haven’t included my Stila Topaz Kajal in the photo!  Oh well, I got that too… But anyway, look at that lovely taupe (bottom left).  That’s Stila Cloud, a very cool toned shimmery silver taupe.

I finally took the plunge and ordered a Shu Uemura IR Beige 800 eyeshadow… I was struggling between the IR and ME versions, but felt the ME version swatched a little too pink for me.

I also took advantage of the Barielle BOGOF offer and picked up two colours from the Spring Wildflowers Collection (A Bouquet for Ava & June Bug) and two from the Summer High Steppin’ Collection (Belly Dance & Electric Boogie)

Hmm what else…

Oh, I nabbed Clinique’s (relatively) new High Lengths mascara that I’ve had my eye on for a little while… super funky alienesque brush!

Finally, I was (semi) well-behaved in my local CCO on Friday.  I don’t have a MAC counter near me… so I usually target the MAC stand quite heavily when I raid the Gunwharf CCO.  I picked up: Melon pigment, Blonde MSF and Femme-Fi eyeshadow.  Pat on the back for resisting Moon River from the Grand Duo collection and Flower Mist Dew Beauty Powder from the Ungaro collection.  (Please don’t tell me I NEED those two items in my life… I totally bend to peer pressure!)

What have you bought this week?

OK… bit of a sensationalist title… apologies, but I’m thinking of the google keyword search!

A reader requested a list of the CCS/CCO outlets in the UK as she was struggling to find the information on Google.

Here are the ones that I know of… if you know of any others, please let me know so I can update the list!

1). Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth Harbour
2). Bicester Village, Oxon
3). Designer Outlet, York
4). Cheshire Oaks, Ellesmere Port
5). Designer Outlet, Swindon
6). Junction One, Antrim

What is a CCS/CCO?

If you’re not sure what it is, let me explain…  CCS/CCO stands for Cosmetics Company Store/Outlet.

They sells discounted Estee Lauder owned company’s cosmetics… which includes brands such as: MAC, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown and Origins… I would imagine there’s probably a shed-load of Prescriptives in the outlets at the moment aswell.

The discount is generally in the region of 30% and often includes discontinued or hard to find products (including past MAC collections).

Stock changes frequently, so if you see something you like… buy it.  It probably won’t be there next week.

If you’re looking for something in particular, it’s worth googling for the phone number of the store you’re planning to visit.  Give them a ring and check to see if it’s in stock to avoid disappointment.

Sounds good, why isn’t there one in London?

Dunno…

But… if you’re in London, your nearest would be either Bicester or Gunwharf Quays.

Gunwharf Quays is my local and boasts a train station right outside (Porsmouth Harbour).  You can purchase a megatrain ticket from London Waterloo which costs around £12 for a return and takes just over an hour and half journey time.

I’m biased… but Gunwharf Quays makes for a fabulous day out, especially in the Summer… if your other half isn’t interested in the discount shopping, Portsmouth’s historic dockyard is worth checking out next door.  Just make sure he leaves his wallet for you to look after ok?

I purchased this in my local CCO last year and it’s a valuable addition to my highlighter collection!

A great product to take on my travels as a multi-use powder/highlighter.  The shimmer side is smooth and I particularly enjoy applying this highlighter with a dampened brush for a smoother sheen.

Applied dry, it’s quite a golden sheen which means that on my cool skintone I prefer to use this one in the evening as it’s a touch too obvious for daytime wear.

If you can get your hands on it, I recommend!

Way back in mid-March, I promised you chaps a whistlestop tour of my highlighter collection… and then I forgot to do it!  Well, after a bit of nagging, I’m back on the case!

So, here we go…

I love highlighters, I think that if used carefully they instantly add luminosity and freshness to a weary face.  They help you go from a daytime to a nightime look in an instant and are hugely versatile products that are happy to be dusted/blended over various bits of your face/body.

I have quite a few highlighters and I thought I’d share the ones that I own… swatches and close ups are always useful right?

So let’s get started with…

MAC MSF in Perfect Topping.

From the Sugarsweet collection, this now discontinued MSF can still be readily found on blog sales, discount online websites and ebay (though, be wary of fakes as always).

On my skintone, Perfect Topping is a shimmery warm golden peach/pink… it’s fairly pigmented so I tend to only use it across my cheekbones or a quick dusting over my collarbone.  It’s a bit sparkly to use liberally, but I love it regardless.

Stay tuned for NARS Albatross!