The Makeup Box

Majolica Majorca Humming Book I (Swatches, Review, 2 Easy Looks and how to DUPE it with Cheaper Products!)

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I think Majolica Majorca has fabulously silky and pigmented eyeshadows. But I’m not a fan of palettes where there are a mixture of cream and powder products. Creams have different shelf lives from powders and the lip cream is most likely going to go bad before the other stuff. Also, when powder gets into cream and vice versa, everything gets ruined. 

BUT, when I saw this charming little “song book” in their latest limited edition collection and tested the 3 shadows (1 cream base and 2 shadows) alone and over one another, I concluded it was so brilliant I had to pick one up.

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Concept:

The collection is centered around a dreamy, lyrical flower garden, and the combination of shades gives you exactly that sort of look. Now you CAN possibly use each of the colors alone, but I personally wouldn’t do that. 

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Cloudy Pink-and-Mauve Eye (using MAC Shadows)

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I haven’t done a girly, soft, easy-to-apply eye for quite awhile, and this is a slight variation of a previous look (Napolitan Ice-Cream look), with shimmery shades replacing the matte ones, and an overall plummy tone.

The colors are flattering for most skins, but you might want to adjust the shades and make them stronger and deeper if you have a very deep skin tone.

The 3 shades I used were from MAC:

• MAC Vex - a soft grey-beige with a pink sheen; I don’t really know of a dupe for this as it’s a very unique color. If you need, just look for a soft beige shade.
• MAC Da Bling - Pearly Barbie-esque pastel pink; a similar but cheaper shade would be NYX’s Pink Oleander.
• MAC Shale - Deep smoky brownish plum that’s actually neutral enough as a soft smoky lid shade for school and work. Try NYX Eggplant but use a light hand as that’s a more intense shade than Shale.

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Step 1: This step is actually optional. If you want the overall look to be softer and subtler, you don’t need to use a plum base. I just like the intensity for a tutorial. I filled in my entire lid with a plum colored pencil from Rimmel called 220 Perfect Plum. You don’t have to use a pencil if you’ve got a cream shadow in a similar shade.

I applied it to the lower lash line as well. Make sure you smudge out the edges with your fingers after you’re done, so there are no harsh lines.

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Step 2: Take the soft pearly grey-beige and apply that to the inner half of the lids. Then on the outer half, apply the smoky plum.

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Step 3: To add the finishing touch, apply a soft pearl-pink down the center of the lids. (As you can tell this is my favorite trick for adding definition to the eye and also more dimension to your eye shadow shades.)

Just make sure not to blend it out too much as you want to keep most of the color in the center.

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Step 4: Finish with black mascara or false lashes!

Simple Foiled Silver Eye (How to work with gritty shadows like MAC Lustres)

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I was going through my stash of shadows the other day and rediscovered a few MAC Lustre shadows, which I seldom use because the texture is SO hard to work with. These are some of the least popular shadows from MAC (with the exception of a few shades like Tempting) because they look so gorgeous in the pan but give you TONS of fall-out.

Lustres are made up of lots of large gritty chunks of reflective pigments, very much like glitter but not as shiny. This means the little bits tend to flake or dust off, instead of sticking to your skin as well as finely-milled pigments. (Some of the MAC Mineralize shadows are also very much like these.)

So since I was such a sucker back then and snapped up a few shades before I realised how difficult they were to work with, I figure there might be others who love how they look but don’t know how to work with them. 

You can use either a flat shadow brush or a regular blending brush, but the trick is to always apply them damp. If you are using water, you can just dampen your brush (damp, not soaked!) and dip directly into the pot to pick up shadow. If you’re using Fix+ or any sealant or mixing medium, then you HAVE to pick up the shadow on your brush first, and then spray or dampen your brush before applying.

(If you use anything other than water, do not re-dip your brush back into pot.)

Your shadow will go on a lot stronger and stay on a lot longer.

NOTE: In general, most shadows should work go back to normal when dry (except for some poorer formulas so be mindful). Also, make sure your brush is really clean. Any oils or residue on it might transfer and seal over your shadows when dampened.

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Step 1: I wanted a little dimension and depth to the eye look so I applied a little rich, plum cream shadow to my lids. (Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Stiletto). I picked purple because the shadow I’m using (MAC Idol Eyes) has a slight lavender tone which I wanted to bring out.

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Step 2: Using a brush dampened with water, I picked up a generous amount of MAC Idol Eyes (silvery-lavender flakes with a soft gold highlight), and smoothed that onto the lids. If you want to get a really foiled effect like I did here, firmly brush in a single direction, then go back and repeat. Don’t rub back and forth in multiple directions. This helps the little flakes of pigments to sit lay flat and really shine.

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Step 3: For definition and a twist on the typical grey/silver eye, I am using the same purple base to line. Just use a flat synthetic brush (you can get plenty at the art store for very little money btw) to pick up a little color and then gently rub it along the lash line section by section.

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Step 4: To finish, I merely curled lashes and applied black mascara. (NARS Larger Than Life, which I happen to have on hand. Any black mascara will work.)

Dark Golden-Eggplant Shadow

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Step 1: Lay down a base with an eggplant/plum metallic pencil, such as Rimmel Exaggerate in 220 Perfect Plum. Apply it thickly along the top and bottom lash lines, and then fill in the rest of the lids. Fnish by smudging out the top edges so it fades into the socket line.

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Step 2: Apply a dark plum or eggplant purple to the outer and inner corners diagonally, slanting up and out. I used MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Rich Core, but you can use any shimmery dark purple or plum. 

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Step 3: In the center of the lid where the diagonal gap is, pack on a pale champagne gold shimmer. I used Sephora Prisma Chrome shadow in Moon Beam. (I was one of those who got the mis-named/re-named batch of Moon Beams that is a pale gold instead of a pale ivory pink duochrome.) Choose any pale golden-beige shade.

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Step 4: Finish with a touch of gold along the inner corners of the lower lash line as well, then proceed to apply lots of mascara.

MAC Star Violet vs Coastal Scents Hot Pot in Raisin Berry (Burgundy metallic shadows)

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Burgundy (reddened purple) is to me a more fun shade to wear because it has a lot more cool red tones in it than a pure plum (more of a brown-purple), though the colors are close. 

Two of my favorites are: 

• MAC Star Violet (Veluxe Pearl) Shadow $15.00
• Coastal Scents Hot Pot in ME15 Raisin Berry $1.99 (yes!)

If you have to get one, of COURSE get the Coastal Scents. The quality is very good, the shadow is extremely pigmented and very metallic. In fact, this is one of the hot pots where the texture is similar to an Urban Decay shadow, which is always a great thing.

Star Violet is a softer burgundy with a brighter pink-brown shine. Because this is a Veluxe Pearl, it has that super fine-grained, almost-molten sheen, which is gorgeous. Raisin Berry is a deeper wine-burgundy, and equally metallic and rich. This also comes on a lot stronger than the MAC shadow, so take note if you prefer lighter pigmentation. 

Both shades are absolutely beautiful, and work with just about all eye colors. They especially make blue-green eyes stand out, and would look fantastic over dark skins as well. 

Perfect with a nude or pale pink mouth!

Red Lids Mauve Lips: MAC Strawberry Patch Crushed Metallic Pigment Tutorial

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I didn’t want to do the typical look using the new MAC Vera products I got, so since it’s been quite a while since I did any red eyeshadow, I decided it was the best chance to showcase Moon Rose pigment (cool-toned burgundy red with a soft fuchsia sheen).

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Step 1: Apply MAC Shale or any smoky plum/brown to both corners of the eye, and run along the socket as in an arc as well.

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Step 2: Spray a flat brush with Fix+ to dampen, and then pack on a rich fuchsia-red pigment like MAC  Moon Rose from the Strawberry Patch Crushed Metallic Pigment stack.

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Step 3: Reapply the plum shade along the socket line.

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Step 4: Dust a pale champagne/ash shimmer along the inner corners. I used  Star Crystal pigment from the same Crushed Metallic Pigment stack, but you can use any pale beige or champagne.

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Step 5: Finish with a plum liner along the upper lash line and water line (Rimmel Exaggerate Pencil in 220 Perfect Plum), and then apply mascara.

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Step 6: After applying a soft pink blush, I applied a matte pale mauve on the lips (Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout) and then pressed on a light layer of a sparkly, glittery mauve pigment (MAC Strawberry Patch pigment).