M·A·C Temperature Rising Available May 23!

Its almost time to bring out your goddess glow for the summer and M·A·C wants to help you be the best bronzed beauty you can be with this collection!  I am excited so lets get into it!

Per M·A·C:

M·A·C captures the steamy nocturnal scene in a vivid summer colour collection.  Powder Blush sets the tone, Eye Shadow Quads smoulder and Powerchrome Eye Pencil illuminates with molten metallic. Lipstick and Lipglass speak volumes as lacquered nails glisten in the night. Take back the night with M·A·C Bronzing Powder as Pro Longwear Bronzer stays stunning all evening long, Bronzing Oil’s botanical blend transforms skin with lush moisture and Strobe Liquid flashes its sexy afterglow in a new shade.

Lipstick
Altered Beige
creamy yellow beige (lustre)

Feel My Pulse
vivid magenta violet (cremesheen)

Sheer Seduction super dazzle
bronze (dazzle)

Caliente super dazzle
violet (dazzle)
SRP $16.50 US/$20.00 CDN

Lipglass
Liquid Passion
creamy nude

Soft Serenade
mid-tone neutral pink with pearl

Rhythm
vivid magenta violet with pearl

Underdressed
bronze plum with multidimensional pearls
SRP $16.50 US/$20.00 CDN

Powerchrome Eye Pencil
Rich Glance
light gold

Copper Strip
frosty mid-tone copper

Life’s Luxury
deep bronze brown

Polished Jet
charcoal with pearl
SRP $21.00 US/$25.00 CDN

Eye Shadow x 4
Bare My Soul
Bare My Soul
frosted gold (lustre)
When in Rio
deep green with copper pearl (frost)
Friendly
deep bronze chocolate (veluxe pearl)
Romantico
light taupe bronze (veluxe pearl)
SRP $44.00 US/$52.00 CDN

Temperature Rising
Circus/Performance Art
frosted gold mauve (veluxe pearl)
Swelter
mid-tone grey violet (frost)
Temperature Rising
light warm tanned peach (lustre)
Beauty Marked
Charcoal black with red pearl (velvet)
SRP $44.00 US/$52.00 CDN

Powder Blush
Ripe For Love mid-tone peach (satin)
Hot Nights mid-tone berry pink (frost)
SRP $23.00 US/$27.50 CDN

Nail Lacquer
Scorching Haute super glitter
magenta (frost)
Tropical super glitter bronze (frost)
SRP $18.00 US/$21.00 CDN

Bronzing Powder
Soft Sand (repromote from the Hey Sailor collection)
golden bronze with fine gold pearl

Refined Golden (repromote from the Hey Sailor collection)
finely spun golden with soft pearl finish
SRP $25.00 US/$30.00 CDN

Pro Longwear Bronzer
Nude On Board 
bronzy yellow tone

Sun Dipped
dirty red tone
SRP $30.00 US/$36.00 CDN

Strobe Liquid
Golden Elixir
SRP $31.00 US/$40.00 CDN

Bronzing Oil
Man Rays
glowing tan with multidimensional golden shimmer
SRP $22.50 US/$27.00 CDN

Brush
167SE Face Blender
SRP $35.00 US/$42.00 CDN

Bag
Temperature Rising/Makeup Bag
SRP $34.00 US/$41.00 CDN

My wallet weeps cause I already know.  Aside from Beauty Marked eyeshadow and the 2 bronzers I didnt spot any items currently available from M·A·C or repromoted from another collection.  So yeah time to save those pennies!

Check out these gorgeous images:

EEK!!!!  I cannot wait!!!  See anything you like? 

Available in North America May 23, 2013 at all M·A·C locations, 1.800.588.0070 and www.maccosmetics.com

M·A·C Art of the Eye Collection Available May 2!

Fresh on the heels of collections that had their fans in a frenzy, M·A·C has released information about their next two collections.  Let's take a closer look as I spot a few familiar items...

With the Art of the Eye collection M·A·C invites us to focus on the windows to the soul.  Neutral beige and brown tones and smoky grey and blue serve as the base for the palettes while pops of color appear in the form of single shadows.  To complete the look M·A·C also brings us complimentary kohl liners and mascara.  For those loyal to the brand a lot of the shadows in the collection are familiar; staples such as Carbon, Shroom, and Soft Brown are some of the holy grail shades popular with longtime fans, and currently available on the site.  

The Palette being called - Masat Al Lail - contains 4 shadows that were first released in 2007 with the Smoke Signals collection. 

 So if you missed out on that palette here is your chance to snatch it up.

The Chromagraphic pencils, Feline Kohl liner and Boot Black liquid liner and Reflects Gold and Antique Gold glitter are all currently on the site as they too are part of the the permanent collection.

Parrot eyeshadow is a cult favorite that has appeared a few times so I know people, including myself, will be burning the midnight oil trying to get their hands on this one.  

Here are the specifics on the collection per M·A·C:

M·A·C unveils a luxurious colour collection where eyes are the fascinating focus. From exotic smoky looks to breathtaking, grand celebration statements that dazzle like ornate multicoloured jewels. Two Eye Shadow X 4 palettes in grey/blue and beige/brown blend beautifully in shades including Gentle Fume, Carbon, Shroom, Soft Brown and Najm el Lail. Small Eye Shadow singles add vibrant highlights in Parrot, Gameela, Farasha, Hajar Karim. Lining is legendary – dramatic black Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Feline sweeps into a wide wing and Liquid Eye Liner’s gel formula creates an elegant edge. Reflects Glitter gilds with golden shimmer. Opulash lavishes lashes with volume and curl.

EYE SHADOW x 4
Masat Al Lail
Rondelle platinum silver frost (matte)
Waft deep navy with pearl (matte)
Gentle Fume dirty concrete grey with
silver pearl (velvet)
Carbon intense black (matte)
SRP $40.00 US/$47.50 CDN

Rimal Dahabia
Shroom soft beige with shimmer (satin)
Soft Brown soft golden peachy brown
(matte)
Beauty Burst rich reddish brown (satin)
Najm el Lail blackened deep brown (matte)
SRP $40.00 US/$47.50 CDN

CHROMAGRAPHIC PENCIL
Process Magenta magenta
Hi-Def Cyan hi-def cyan
Landscape Green lush bright green
SRP $16.00 US/$19.00 CDN

KOHL POWER EYE PENCIL
Feline rich black
SRP $15.00 US/$18.00 CDN

LIQUID EYE LINER
Boot Black black
SRP $18.50 US/$22.00 CDN

OPULASH
Sama blue
Optimum Black Lash intense black
SRP $16.00 US/$19.00 CDN

EYE SHADOW
Farasha bright deep orange (matte)
Gameela deep pink magenta
Parrot deep aqua blue with bright green
and blue pearl (frost)
Hajar Karim clean warm green
Banafsaji deep purple blue (veluxe pearl)
SRP $15.00 US/$18.00 CDN

REFLECTS GLITTER
Reflects Gold white glitter that flashes gold
Reflects Antique Gold sparkling taupe
SRP $21.00 US/$25.00 CDN

FLUIDLINE BROW GELCREME
Deep Dark Brunette rich brunette
SRP $15.00 US/$18.00 CDN

LASH
4 Lash natural length, wispy
SRP $16.00 US/$19.00 CDN

 

Available North America May 2, 2013 at all M·A·C locations, 1.800.588.0070 and www.maccosmetics.com

Quality over Quantity

This post is in no way shape or form meant to embarrass or put anyone in front street but it def deserves to be said...

Reason for the post - a makeup bag was left in our car over a year ago.  I tried a number of times to return it to its rightful owner to no avail.  In the midst of doing my annual makeup purge I came across the bag again.  The beauty lover in me couldnt resist checking out the goodies inside...

At first I was thinking oh ok cool, mostly MAC products, nothing out of the ordinary there until I took a closer look and discovered that most of the products were merely masquerading as MAC products.  See below...

the bottom palette is the real MAC Hello Kitty palette

open palettes - the real one has only 4 shadows

after swatching the color stained my hand and took some scrubbing to get off

another look

a "mac" lipstick

and another

almost identical...

until you look at the bottom

again, could fool you if you are new to the brand

but always check the labels

and in the age of smart phones it is easy to do a search for swatches or product images of a particular shade - this is NOT 'coppering'  - further more, NO SINGLE SHADOWS CAME OUT WITH THE HELLO KITTY COLLECTION!!!

looks like She Zam...

but again the label confirms that it is not

THIS is She Zam - one of my fav Dazzleglass shades

the bottom of the real She Zam

Again this is NOT to embarass but to EDUCATE!  When I looked up MAC Hello Kitty collection there were so many images for faux MAC it was ridiculous.  Everyone cannot afford MAC, especially with the amount of collections they come out with, hell sometimes I pass up on things too and I am a pro member!  

If you really must have MAC then start with a few staples and build your collection as your pockets allow but in this day and age there are products that are more affordable that are comparable and sometimes even surpass what a name brand can offer.

Those looking to profit from the sale of these counterfeit items are only wanting to make a quick buck, they are definitely NOT concerned about your safety.  Now does it matter how beat down you feel your face is if you no longer have the eyesight to see it yourself because you put non-cosmetic grade, non eye-safe pigments on your eyes?  I think not.

Check out this search link for articles on counterfeit makeup and the dangers associated with purchasing them.  Not trying to scare you...nah eff that, I am; because it is just that serious.  Keep makeup fun, its really not that serious to lose an eye over...literally.

Have you ever mistakenly purchased counterfeit makeup or know someone who has?  Tell me about your experience.

I Wanna Be an MUA: The Ultimate Transformation - Creating Drag w.Romero Jennings *pic and info heavy*

tired and fighting getting sick but the show must go on!

Sometimes you just have to kick your self into gear lest you miss out on something no short of amazing.  Luckily I did just that this past Sunday when I had to drag myself out of bed to head to a MAC Masterclass being taught by none other than Romero Jennings.




Anyone worth their beauty lover weight knows who Jennings is but for entertainment purposes lets delve a bit into his background...fluent in Japanese and hailing from Jamaica (I know right?!) this Senior Artist for MAC has been creating beauty with the brand for 21 years and based on what I saw Sunday, he wont be slowing down anytime soon!

the work of Romero Jennings

What keeps Jennings with the brand is the importance that they place on "innovation of product" and he believes that we as artists should not take this lightly.  We tend to go in with blinders so to speak and have a mental list of the items that need to be re-upped in our kits but according to Jennings we should "always ask whats new."

new MAC palettes

Though a class dedicated to the art of transformation via drag, it is important to note that all makeup, especially now, contains elements of drag, especially when it comes to highlight and contour, Romero told us that it "is the basis to every makeup" as well as blending and "the difference between a good makeup artist and a great makeup artist is the ability to manipulate".  Now I don't know about you, but I am trying to be great out here, so lets get into the class shall we?

waiting to get our seats

Class highlights:

• Jennings made his own lashes out of paper specifically for use during class...it took him ten hours...the lashes are one time use only!  How giving of his artistic ability, he's the best right?
• SOBO fabric glue and metallic paper from Japan was used to make the lashes themselves but regular DUO lash glue was used to adhere the lashes for the final look 

  

  The paper lashes!

• He also made brows...no, not just colored the models brows in to match the wig color...he...made...brows...who does that???  for a class?  Like really...I love him!  The brows were created from the bang that he cut on the wig and placed on a piece of lace/mesh then glued down for the final look which you will see in the pics
• his entire kit is carried in two MAC carry all bags 

  

  Romero Jennings showing us his kit (foundation in Muji container)

• he uses mostly Matchmaster and Face + Body foundation which he places in the matte Muji containers. 
• he does not carry the entire line of foundation.  He has the darkest, the lightest and a a few shades in between (pink, yellow, beige), from that he can create what he needs
• he LOVES the prolongwear lip pencils because they last at LEAST 8 hours

new MAC palettes filled with cream color base and sculpting creams

MAC Products used during class:

• Prep + Prime powder (loose)
• Acryllic Paint-Orange
• Prep + Prime Moisture Infusion
• 109 brush (moisturizer and foundation application)
• 138 brush (studio fix powder)
• 286 brush (studio fix powder)
• Studio finish concealer
• Studio Finish powder
• Fascinating eye kohl (inner corner of eye, enhance highlight, flare the nostril)
• Frankly Scarlet blush
• Pink Swoon blush
• 222 brush (contour)
• 286 brush (contour)
• Cork shadow
• Brun shadow
• Carbon shadow (contour and on lips, yes on the lips!)
• Blue acryllic paint (shadow base)
• Studio fix NW40 
• Nylon shadow (highlight) *also suggested Amber Lights shadow for WOC*
• 227 brush & finger (highlight)
• Prolongwear pencil - In Anticipation
• Coffee liner (lips)
• Coffee Walnut Sculpting Cream
• #33 lashes on bottom
• Funtabulous Dazzleglass

class haul!

before pic of the model

did lashes first!

applying Prep + Prime loose powder to brows to set

getting the brows together with orange acryllic paint and matchmaster foundation

applied with a 109 brush, a gel moisturizer followed by foundation keeps client from feeling like they have too much makeup on

brows covered, base done, highlight applied

time to contour!

taking lots and lots of notes!

applying MSF Natural

perfecting the contour

adding depth

chiseled cheek!

halfway there...

applying coffee liner to the lips

time to apply bottom lashes

brows in place...

before and after

the look!

I didnt realize I took so many pictures but hopefully I conveyed what I took away from the class in a way that is helpful.  As always if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.  At some point this week I plan to update this post with a video showing what items I got from the class and explain why I picked the items that I did.