Sugarsweet-inspired Look

I saw a fun post on Makeup and Beauty Blog with a MAC Sugarsweet Face of the Day. I decided to do something similar however I only purchased one item from the collection. I substituted other colors that seemed similar.



Here's the one item I did purchase - the Lollipop Loving lipstick. It's considered a glaze so it's actually pretty sheer and coral in color.








Here's my Sugarsweet-inspired look:


I tried to use eyeshadows that were similar to the ones that came out with the collection:


EYES
MAC Shroom - Similar to Sugarshot e/s
MAC Creme Royal (from Hello Kitty Lucky Tom palette)
MAC Paradisco (from Hello Kitty Lucky Tom palette) - Similar to Dear Cupcake e/s
Dior Greenish Brown (sorry - this is from the Chic Palette and I can't figure out what the name is of the shadow) - Similar to Club e/s
MAC Graphblack Technakohl Liner
Maybelline Full&Soft Mascara

FACE
MAC Petticoat Mineralized Skinfinish

LIPS
MAC Popster Tinted lip conditioner
MAC Lollipop Loving lipstick

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Benefit Sale & MAC Sugarsweet collection

In addition to Bobbi Brown, Benefit Cosmetics is also having a sale - 20% off purchases of $50 or more. Enter HOTCORAL at checkout (expires at 11:59PM PST tonight).

I was thinking about ordering a couple of things, but when I thought about it, they seem to be very similar to products I already own so I actually stopped myself from continuing with the check out. So proud of myself!

But in case you were wondering, I was planning to purchase the following:

smokin' eyes: sexy eye & brow makeover kit


hoola: bronzing powder


And one product that I absolutely love and highly recommend is this one:

big beautiful eyes palette: an eye contour kit


I bought this awhile back before I really got into make-up. This was my go-to eyeshadow palette - love it! The colors are really subtle and neutral but work so well together for a very pretty, work-appropriate look. The little box even came with instructions on where you should place the different colors to contour your eyes. Perfect for newbies, like me! I loved this kit so much that I used it all up within a few months. I'm on my second one right now and I've pretty much hit the pan on that one, too. The concealer isn't bad, either, but I usually don't wear that on a daily basis. The best part is that the mini brushes that come with the kit are pretty decent brushes! Not sponge applicators like you get in other high end kits. You get two and one is double-ended so you actually have three brushes: a basic eyeshadow brush (soft, too!), a liner brush, and a concealer brush. I bought one for my sister as well and she loves it, too.

*****

Anyway, the other reason I refrained from buying Benefit is because I plan to stop by MAC tonight to check out the Sugarsweet collection that just launched today. I know I said I wouldn't get anything but I am really intrigued by the Lollipop Loving lipstick - the shade looks so pretty!

As usual, I got the lowdown from one of my favorite sites, Temptalia.com. If you're interested in what the collection has to offer, check out her very informative posts with product photos, swatches and reviews.

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Random make-up tips from a make-up novice

Thanks for the comments on my last post! I wanted to respond to some of them so I'll just post them here.

For Marcy: I have bald patches in my eyebrows too! My brows are naturally thicker on the outside and kind of sparse on the inside (I have scary high school pics to prove it.) I also have some uneven patches from times I went a little overboard on the grooming. So now I always fill in my brows with eyeshadow - it's subtle but I think it really improves the overall look. I take a small angled eyeliner brush (ex. MAC 208 brush) with a light brown eyeshadow (ex. MAC cork e/s) and fill in my brows use short, light strokes starting on the inside where it is the most sparse and working my way out. Now I have jet black hair and used to use a darker eyeshadow, like a darker brown, but then a MAC make-up artist recommended using the lighter color and I like it so much better! Otherwise you can look kind of scary if your dark brows are screaming at you.

Now for the look I just posted, I actually did try to make the brows a little darker and more defined than normal since I had darker lips and thicker eyeliner. For this I also used a brown eyebrow pencil (ex. MAC Spiked brow pencil) to sort of outline the brows and fill in the baldy areas. Sometimes I go a little overboard so then I use an eyebrow brush to lightly brush out the brows and soften the look.

*****

For Jackie: First of all, thanks for stopping by and I hope you return! For me, I needed a lot of practice with the gel eyeliners. I love them because they don't budge and are a little darker compared to pencils but aren't too sharp and defined like liquid liners. I think the trick for me is the brush, the amount of product you put on your brush, and how you apply it.

I've experimented with a lot of brushes and I personally like angled eye liner brushes the best. Currently, I use the MAC 266 brush. I try to be careful with how much I get on the brush - I usually try to get enough so that I can do one eye without re-applying product from the pot. Now for the application... I always point the angled tip of the brush out. For example, I start with the outside of the lid first, with the point of the brush at the outer corner and line the lid to the halfway point, staying as close to the lash line as possible. Then I flip the brush so that point is now facing the inner corner. I continue lining the lid from the halfway point toward the inner corner although I usually only line to the midpoint (i.e. I don't usually line the inner 1/4 of the lid). For the second half of the lid, you shouldn't have as much product on your brush so you should be able to sort of thin out the line from the halfway point. And yes, sometimes the line isn't so clean, so I'll just take the brush (with most of the product gone) along the line to try to clean it up.

Anyway, hope this helps! Usually I just play around with different techniques to see what works best for me. If you want an even thinner line, you might want to try one of the more pointed brushs like the MAC 209 or 210.


Update:

By the way, there's a 25% off discount for all Bobbi Brown cosmetics, only good for online purchases using code "Instant". Free shipping for $60 or more. Ends on March 19th.

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Another make-up look... Bronze-y eyes with red lips

So this post is for my friend G who I boogied down with this weekend. I tried out a new make-up look and G liked it and was curious about what eyeshadows I was wearing.

Well here you go, G! (This gave me an opportunity to play with my new-ish Photoshop elements software which I am still getting the hang of... the whole layers concept always throws me off.) These are all MAC eyeshadows.



And here's the pic without all the graffiti:



Open eye... I tried to add a little bit more of a dramatic "tail" to my eyeliner. And don't you just love my non-existent eyelashes?



Face shot!



Products used:

FACE
Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation in Beige
MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer in NW25
MAC Mineral Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
NARS Orgasm blush

EYES
MAC Brule e/s
MAC Ricepaper e/s
MAC Woodwinked e/s
MAC Mulch e/s
MAC Texture e/s
MAC Smut e/s
Bobbi Brown Black Ink Gel eyeliner (although the MAC version is lower cost - Blacktrack Fluidline is $15 vs Bobbi Brown's $21 for the same amount)
MAC Smolder Eye Kohl (waterline/lower lash line)
MAC Carbon e/s (on top of Smolder)
MAC Cork e/s (brows)
MAC Spiked eyebrow pencil
Maybelline Full & Soft mascara

LIPS
MAC Burgundy lip pencil
MAC New York Apple lipstick

By the way, I can't stress enough how much I love primers! I took the pics above *after* a night of sweating on the dance floor and only had to re-touch the lipstick. For the eyes, I used Urban Decay Primer Potion (although I just got my hands on Too Faced Shadow Insurance so I'll let you know if that's any better) and Smashbox Photo Finish Light primer on the face.

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