Sep 30, 2010

MAC Pro Longwear SPF 10 Foundation - THOUGHTS...

MAC Pro Longwear SPF 10 Foundation - THOUGHTS...


From MAC:A long-wear foundation that gives up to 15 hours of wear in any environmental condition. Lightweight and creamy, applies smoothly to provide sheer to medium coverage. Even in hot and humid conditions, controls oil to keep skin fresh, natural and flawless. Provides everyday SPF protection.


30 ml / 1.0 US fl oz
US$29.50




My Four Ps
 
PRICE

The MAC Pro Longwear SPF 10 Foundation costs $3.50 more than MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 and MAC Select SPF 15 Foundations at $29.50 versus $26. However, the amount of product is the same and the MAC Pro Longwear SPF 10 Foundation comes with it's own pump already on the bottle. The pump costs an additional $6 for the other two foundations. So technically you are saving $2.50 with the MAC Pro Longwear SPF 10 Foundation. That's just the engineer in me.
 
MAC Foundations are great for the price and are much cheaper than other high-end makeup brands. MUFE and NARS both run $40 are higher. Besides foundation is an investment since it's the base (foundation get it) of your makeup. A little splurge in this area is well worth the results.
 
PACKAGING
The MAC Pro Longwear SPF 10 Foundation comes in a glass bottle just like the MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 and MAC Select SPF 15 Foundations and as mentioned before it comes with it's own pump! Savings of $6 for a separate pump. The pump allows you to get just the right amount you need without wasting a lot of product on over-pouring plus it's much more sanitary than an open bottle.
 
 
PRODUCT

As far as product goes, it's a similar consistency to most of the liquid foundations on the market. It's not runny or watery but it's definitely not thick and goopy.
 
It has a semi matte finish...well I prefer to say it's 95% matte because it's pretty close to being matte but a touch of moisture that gives it a very very very natural finish.
 
It's lightweight so it does not 'feel' like you are wearing foundation at all. It also has a sheer to medium coverage so it will not cover serious problem areas. This is great for those who need minimal/medium coverage just to even out their skin tone. Concealer can be used to cover up any other problem areas.
 
  Sheer to Medium Coverage
 
It blends very well onto the skin BUT I will say there is a bit of a dragging feel to it because of the near matte finish. It's best to work in smaller areas that the whole face at once because the foundation settles onto the skin very quickly.
 
The foundation is perfect for oily skin since it has oil controlling ingredients that I can say definitely work. I have less oil in my t-zone area hours into wear than with every other foundation I have tried.
 
I do recommend using a powder to set the foundation for oilier skin but for normal and dry skin I would say you can get away with not setting the foundation at all. And for dry skin make sure you moisturize well before using this foundation because it can be a bit drying.
 
  See mom? No shine!

I have also heard there are issues with the color of the foundation. It seems to vary from the other MAC foundations so it's recommended to try out the color first before assuming the shades are equivalent. Honestly, my MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC45 looks the same color as the MAC Pro Longwear in NC45 to me. But get matched just to be sure.
 
Top: MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC45
Bottom: MAC Pro Longwear in NC45

PERFORMANCE
Based on the MAC description I would say this product is pretty dead on! It gives great sheer to medium coverage and is lightweight for that 'no makeup' feeling.
 
It wears very well and is probably the longest wearing foundation I have ever used. My skin still looks the same up to 8 hours later. The 15 hour wear time will require a bit of blotting for those with oilier skin but on normal and dry skin I can bet this is fantastic!
 
I highly recommend this foundation for normal to oily skin and for those seeking a lightweight, long-wearing, but not super heavy coverage foundation.
 
I'm in love and this will be a staple on my foundation list!!!!
   
FYI - I was also warned not to mix this with any other foundations because the formula makes mixing very tricky and you can end up with a mess!

'Pride, Vanity and Lust' Look

Pride, Vanity and Lust' Look

This look was inspired by Alejandra from QueenBMakeup. I have admired her work from her early days in the Show Your Face forum on MakeUpGeek and she continues to rock our world on her blog as well as YouTube.

I used a lot of Wet 'n' Wild products this time around to show how great they perform. While I love the eye products I can't say the same for the lip products. I have had major issues when applying the Mega Last® Lip Colors because they creep into lip lines and will not stay put! I think they have great colors but the wear-ability is lacking in these.  

Eyes:

PRIME:
I started off with NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base all over my lid up to the brow bone. I applied MAC Layin' Low Paintpot (matte beige) all over my lid and on my brow bone as my primary base.

COLOR:
On the entire lid area I applied the matte Light Pink Eyeshadow from the Wet 'n' Wild Lust Palette.
For the outer lid and crease I used the Frosty Bronze Eyeshadow from the Wet 'n' Wild Vanity Palette.
On the outer crease and brow bone area I applied the Yellow Gold Eyeshadow from the Wet 'n' Wild Vanity Palette.
To deepen the outer V I used the Dark red-based Brown Eyeshadow from the Wet 'n' Wild Vanity Palette.
For my highlight I used the Sparkly Ivory Eyeshadow from the Wet 'n' Wild Lust Palette.
For my lower lashline I used the Frosty Dark Blue Eyeshadow - OUTER and the Frosty Forest Green Eyeshadow - INNER from the Wet 'n' Wild Pride Palette.

BROWS:
My brows are filled in with MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Stud and NARS Coconut Grove Eyeshadow (matte blackened brown).

DEFINE:
I lined my upper lashline with MAC Dipdown Fluidline Gel Eyeliner (matte dark brown).
I lined my lower waterline with L'Oreal HIP Cream Eyeliner in Black.
I used MAC Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara for my lashes with Beautee Senses Annie False Eyelashes for effect.




Lips:

POLISH: 
For my lips I used Wet 'n' Wild 900B Pink Suga' Mega Last® Lip Color (creamy light peachy nude) topped with MAC Chai Lipglass (creamy nude).


Face:

FINISH:
I prepped my skin with MAC Oil Control Lotion and Too Faced Primed & Poreless Skin Smoothing Face Primer. I used MAC Pro Longwear Foundation in NC45 for my face set with MAC Blot Powder in Dark. I used MUFE Full Cover Concealer in #12 under my eyes set with Benefit Powderflage. No blush.

    
  


TWITTER- @thefancyfaced

TWITTER - @thefancyfaced

What the heck do I use Twitter for? Do I twiddle? Or tweet? Does that make me a twat (pardon my language)? Or a twizzler? Tweedle dee Tweedle dum!

I have no idea where to begin with Twitter! When I first started this blog I made sure to secure my YouTube name and Twitter account right away as well...even though it took some time before I used YouTube much less Twitter.

Now my question to you is when would I use Twitter? What do I talk (tweet) about? I am not the type to babble about nothing and everything in any web arena (hello Facebook....yes you!)....so I have no idea what you guys would want to read on said Twitter page.

Should I talk about makeup? Quick tips? Purchases? Wishlists? Looks? Stuff.....? I actually want to make it easier for you guys to ask quick questions and maybe get a feel for my personality versus just reading posts on here. I don't guarantee too much when it comes to Twitter but since I'm an avid texter then this just might work out...

Let me know what you guys think.....

Sep 29, 2010

'Ocean Pearl' Look

'Ocean Pearl' Look

This look was inspired by my new Coach bag...outlet shopping is the best because you can get 50% off! I'm big on sales and discount shopping since we all need to stretch our dollars as far as we can. I like nice things but I don't like paying full price!

 
Eyes:

PRIME:
I started off with NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base all over my lid up to the brow bone. I applied MAC Layin' Low Paintpot (matte beige) all over my lid and on my brow bone as my primary base. I use MUFE #6 Aqua Color (shimmery light pink) on my lid only as a secondary base.

COLOR:
On the inner lid and tearduct area I applied MAC Pink Opal Pigment (bright white/pink duochrome).
For the middle of lid I applied the Satin Pink color from MAC Fresh & Easy Mineralized Eyeshadow Trio.
For the outer lid I used Satin Grey color from MAC Fresh & Easy Mineralized Eyeshadow Trio.
On the outer crease and brow bone area I applied the Matte Dark Blue from the Wet 'n' Wild Pride Palette.
For blending I used MUFE #76 Eyeshadow (matte camel).
For my highlight I used Wet 'n' Wild Brule Eyeshadow (matte creamy beige).
For my lower lashline I used Shimmery Dark Blue from the Wet 'n' Wild Pride Palette.

BROWS:
My brows are filled in with MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Stud and NARS Coconut Grove Eyeshadow (matte blackened brown).

DEFINE:
I lined my upper lashline with Wet 'n' Wild Gel Eyeliner in Black.
I lined my lower waterline with L'Oreal HIP Cream Eyeliner in Black.
I used MAC Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara for my lashes and added Beautee Senses Erotica False Eyelashes for effect.

Lips:

POLISH:
For my lips I used Wet 'n' Wild Think Pink 901B Mega Last® Lip Color (light pink) topped with MAC Melt In Your Mouth Cremesheen Glass (creamy pink).


Face:

FINISH:
I prepped my skin with MAC Oil Control Lotion. I used MAC Pro Longwear Foundation in NC45 for my face set with MAC Blot Powder in Dark. I used MUFE Full Cover Concealer in #12 under my eyes set with Benefit Powderflage.
I used MAC Coygirl Blush (matte light purple pink) for my cheeks.




Sep 28, 2010

MAC Venomous Villains Collection - THOUGHTS and SWATCHES

MAC Venomous Villains Collection - THOUGHTS and SWATCHES



As some of you may know I went to an unveiling event a week ago for the MAC Venomous Villains Collection with my girl Amy. The collection is now online at MAC and will be in stores on Thursday September 30. See a complete list of the products HERE.

I only picked up a few items from the collection that appealed to me plus I already have a few of the re-promoted/permanent items in my stash.


THOUGHTS...
This collection has been on the minds of MANY MANY beauty lovers the world over. This is one of the most talked about collections this year for sure. Beauty forums are overflowing with thoughts about the collection from the packaging to the villains to the actual products. It had our heads spinning for months upon months.

PRICE
So you may notice that the prices are a bit more for the items in this collection versus regular products. They are roughly $1 more overall. I'm sure MAC has done this before and they do it yearly for the luxe fall collections so I can't get mad at that. You have to pay a bit extra for the Disney packaging and images. Some products, such as the pigments and nail polishes, are the regular price and available for PRO discount because they don't sport the Disney graphics.

PACKAGING
Personally, I'm was not a Disney baby so the whole packaging and such was not a big deal for me. I know some people wished that the packaging was 'better' but I think the graphics stayed true to Disney with a seasoning of MAC tossed in. Would it truly be Disney if the graphics were just sketches of the characters? I don't think so...they used the true representation of the characters on the product packaging and sketches on the boxes which was all well and good to me. But you can't please everybody. I don't feel that the packaging is tacky or childish either...hello it's Disney! It is what it is.


   

PRODUCTS
There are a few stand-out products in the collection but I find that many of the shades are dupe-able and not necessarily to die for!

Definitely, the Mineralized Eyeshadows, Toxic Tale Lipstick, Bite of Apple Blush, Briar Rose Beauty Powder Blush will be sold out quickly if not already. If you are interested in these then go get them fast!

I picked up Toxic Tale Lipstick (Evil Queen), She Who Dares MES (Maleficent), Magically Cool Liquid Powder in Cajun (Dr. Facilier) and De-Vil Eyeshadow (Cruella De Vil) just to get one item from each villain.

The lip products are decent but again dupe-able but I strongly suggest taking a look at Toxic Tale and Dark Deed Lipsticks.

Also check out the Mineralized Eyeshadows if you are into darkened, sparkly eyeshadows. These are superb. I didn't get both of them because one of them was purple-ly (you know me and purples).

As far as the blushes go I don't think any of them are to die for but I know people would trample me for Bite of Apple Blush and Briar Rose Beauty Powder Blush. Don't go postal if you miss out on these because you can get similar colors elsewhere.

The regular Eyeshadows are tame and I bypassed them except for De-Vil just so I could pick something up from Cruella. if you already have Coppering then this is a pass.

The Nailpolishes are really pretty but again dup-eable. There are similar/identical colors from OPI and I'm sure other brands as well.

The Greasepaint Sticks are pretty much a re-promote and a rename to be honest. For dark smokey looks these are fun so if you like dark looks go for these.

The Pigments are great as well but are just re-promotes. If you don't have these check them out.

Ahhhhh! The Magically Cool Liquid Powders! I know these are a bit gimmicky and all but I'm happy I picked one up. They are meant to be highlight powders that give a nice dewy glowy look to the skin. The neat thing about these however is the cooling liquid effect.

MAC says that these are made from some of the same ingredients as Fix+ and is 80 or 90% water. Cajun is great! I used it as a highlight powder on my cheeks and forehead and it felt so great on my skin. It's cooling and refreshing and I think hydrating as well. It gave my face a great glow rather than shine which I love (I am oily so dewy and shine are not my friends). Thumbs up! Check this out for sure.

Enough babbling....onto the swatches...

TOXIC TALE LIPSTICK
  
Flash                           No Flash

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SHE WHO DARES MINERALIZED EYESHADOW

Dry/Wet

 Dry/Wet


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DE-VIL EYESHADOW


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PIGMENTS

 Melon, Brash & Bold, Push The Edge
DRY

  Melon, Brash & Bold, Push The Edge
WET

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MAGICALLY COOL LIQUID POWDER - CAJUN





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