The Makeup Box

Classic Pin-Up Look in Rose Tones (MAC Rose Light pigment with Rebel Lipstick)

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Step 1: Apply a soft bronze/brown along the outer half of the socket line (along the hollows), and along the outer half of the lower lashes. I used a medium brown from The Body Shop, but this is such a generic shade you can use one from anywhere.

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Step 2: Apply a soft sparkly pink on the lids. I used MAC Rose Light from the Strawberry Patch Crushed Metallic Pigment stack (Vera Collection). You can use MAC Swish or Da Bling for a similar shade in a less sparkly finish.

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Step 3: Use a black gel liner and draw in the outer flick parallel to the curve/angle of  your lower lash line.

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Step 4: Pull the liner from outside in diagonally, in an almost straight line until you hit the center of your lids. Then continue along the curve of your lash line to the inner corners.

Then apply a beige, yellow or white liner along the water line. This is a useful trick when wearing pink/peach/red tones on the lids, as it will minimize the “red-eye” effect and make your eyes look brighter. I used NARS Rue Bonaparte pencil.

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Step 5: I applied a very soft pink blush to the cheeks (MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder in Sunday Afternoon; use Well Dressed or any other soft pink if you don’t have access to this. I just happen to love it.)

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Step 6: Apply a deep purple/magenta liner (I used NYX Purple Rain pencil) very light to lips and fill in to get a sheer purplish base. Then fill in with a deep burgundy-rose lipstick like MAC Rebel.

MAC “Vera” Collection Haul: My Top Picks and Swatches!

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All items swatched on bare skin without a base.

I had some gift vouchers (yay) so what better than to blow them on the MAC “Vera” 2012 collection?

I’d been waiting for this since I saw the images on MAC’s site a few weeks ago, but didn’t know it would hit our shelves this soon. So when I walked past a MAC counter this evening on my way to a movie, my eyes lighted on a small colorful display, and I might have shrieked a little before I made a beeline right for it. 

The item I had really wanted from the collection was actually only the Crushed Metallic Pigment stack “Butterfly Party”, but I decided to swatch everything on a whim and feel in love with 2 other items I had not thought would be nice. So I ended up getting:

Crushed Metallic Pigment Stack “Butterfly Party”

• Rain Drop: Metallic Teal (if you have Teal pigment, you don’t need this.)
• Moss Garden: Sparkly Seafoam-Silver (unexpectedly pretty and quite unique)
• Butterfly Party: Rich Purple Pearl (nice but not a must to have)
• Desert Cloud: Metallic Indigo Violet (lovely blue-violet; a darker, more purple version of Cornflower pigment)

Crushed Metallic Pigment Stack “Strawberry Patch”

• Star Crystal: Metallic champagne-ash (If you missed out Metal X Palladium, this is a lovely pearl-beige shade that isn’t too stark white)
• Rose Light: Frosted Pastel Pink (80’s pink - in a good way)
• Strawberry Patch: Glittery mauve (pretty, but my least favorite of the bunch because it’s so sparkly that it’s hard to wear for day, and needs a good base to work)
• Moon Rose: Metallic burgundy with fuchsia sheen (the reason I picked up this stack. The images don’t do this justice so you’ll have to swatch this yourself before it’s sold out!)

MAC Pearlmatte Face Powder in Sunday Afternoon

I thought the 2 pearlmatte face powders were blushes until I swatched one of them on and got the surprise of my life. These are like a cross between beauty powders and Mineralize Skinfinishes, with an interesting texture that’s matte but luminous at the same time. 

It’s a little like my beloved MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Porcelain Pink, which gives a soft pink glow but is not outright shiny like other MAC MSFs, except this is better if you are afraid of looking oily.

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I did not get any of the lip glasses or liners from the Vera collection.

It’s not that they aren’t nice; in fact the glitter liners are beautiful. But I don’t find the glitters in pencils obviously enough to make much of a difference from regular metallic pencils, so I didn’t see any point buying them at MAC prices. 

As for the glosses, well, I’m not a lip gloss girl so I gave all of them a miss. You’ll have to check them out yourselves at the counter and judge for yourself if you like them!