Neutral Brown Look using MAC

Hey glamour girls!!

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately, I've been under a lot of stress. There's a lot going on in my life right now. I don't know if I'll be able to post as often as I did before, but I will certainly try. I start work tomorrow and I start school on Wednesday, both fulltime. That means I won't have a lot of time to myself. I really want to try to put out 2 posts a week. I'll aim for that right now, and I'll change it later according to how it goes.

So as I've mentioned previously, I got a ton of stuff at MAC and Sephora. This past week, Sephora was giving 4X the points for VIB Rouge members (me!) so I racked up quite a lot of points. They are also giving out a bag with 9 samples. I should be getting mine in the mail soon as I made an online purchase. I finally got the VIB Rouge card. You basically get a cute little box and inside it you get 2 cards, one of them is your VIB Rouge membership card and the other card is your free makeover card that you show them anytime you want a free makeover. VIB Rouges get free makeovers anytime they want.

Today's look is slightly more natural than my usual bright and bold looks. This is a great school or work makeup look. I can say that I will probably wear something similar tomorrow, but since we don't really have a dress code when it comes to makeup, I like to change up my look everyday. Sometimes I'll do my makeup bold and smokey, other times it'll be pastels, and if I'm feeling very studious I'll go with neutrals. I guess it just depends on my mood that day.

Today I'm wearing light neutral browns on my eyes with grey eyeliner. I kept the contouring soft but still visible. The blush is a light pink that livens up the face but isn't overbearing and I used MAC Shroom eyeshadow as a luminizer on my face as an experiment. And it really looks nice. I'm not just saying that, Shroom makes a GREAT luminizer. I've always wanted to try Too Faced Candlelight but this definitely works fantastic in the mean time. On my lips I'm wearing a yellow-pink to complete the look and to add a little bit of "oomph" to the whole look. It's called Pink Pearl Pop (by MAC) and the color kind of reminds me of Too Faced Marshmallow Bunny La Creme Lipstick. I'm really liking this lipstick. It caught my attention out of nowhere and it's the perfect color to match with my blush.

I tried out the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and I gotta say, I like it. It added volume to my lashes and made them look dramatic. It also made them look longer but most decent mascaras do that. Overall, I think it was a great mascara. It's up there with their Lashgasm Mascara, though Lashgasm is still my #1 mascara pick. If you're looking for a new mascara or you just really want to try this one, I would recommend this mascara. While I don't think it is actually better than sex, it is a damn good mascara.

Another thing I tried out is brushes. Specifically, MAC Brushes 130 and 168. The 130 is the Short Duo Fibre Brush. I use this brush for cream blushes and it is perfect for that. I use the brush in a stippling motion on my cheek and that allows me to control the amount of product that I'm putting on my face. I also use less product this way. The brush is very precise and it allows you to put the blush exactly where you want. It also gives an amazing finish, so it doesn't end up looking like you schlepped the cream blush and foundation together. It also allows you to blend out the color so you don't get any harsh lines. I really love this brush. The other brush I got is the 168, which is the Large Angled Contour Brush. Don't be afraid of its name (I know I was), it isn't actually large at all. It's fairly small in fact. It fits perfectly into my cheekbone so I'm able to get a flawless contour line. It's also great for getting the temples and the perimeter of the face. It's also good to blend out the contour color and getting rid of any lines. It makes contouring so easy and so fun! Finally the contour on my forehead looks like a gradation instead of a line. I also use it to put bronzer on the sides of my nose. If you go over the sides ever so lightly you can get it to contour wonderfully. I honestly really love this brush and how the hell did I live without it. I definitely definitely recommend both of these brushes. They are both truly amazing and they serve their purpose like no other brush I've ever had!!


Neutral Brown Look using MAC

Prime your eyes using Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer. Take a medium shadow brush (Sephora PRO Medium Shadow Brush) and apply MAC Quarry to your eyelid. Next take a crease or blending brush (MAC 217 Blending Brush) and apply MAC Satin Taupe to your crease and outer V. Next take another blending brush and apply MAC Naked Lunch anywhere where this isn't already color, like above your crease. Blend out the browns using Naked Lunch. Reapply color to your crease if necessary. Next take a grey liner like Urban Decay Smoke. Apply it to your top and bottom lash lines. Then take a black liner like Urban Decay Zero and fill in your top and bottom waterlines. Lastly, apply a mascara like Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. Fill in your brows using Benefit Instant Brow Pencil. The eyes are done, let's finish off the rest of the look!

Apply a face primer like Too Faced Primed and Poreless. Conceal any under eye circles using MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer and by using a concealer brush (Sephora PRO Concealer Brush) to get into little spaces. Then apply MUFE HD Foundation using a stippling brush (Sephora PRO Stippling Brush) onto your entire face. If there is any redness or acne still showing through, use MAC Studio Finish Concealer to cover it. Next apply a setting powder like MUFE HD Powder to set your foundation and concealer. Use a kabuki brush (MUFE HD Kabuki Brush) for this and lightly tap it onto your face. To contour, use Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless and apply it using a contour brush (MAC 168 Large Angled Contour Brush). You want to suck in your cheeks and fill the line starting from the top of your ears all the way down towards the corner of your upper lip. You also want to contour your temples, perimeter of the face, and down the sides of the nose. Next you want to apply a light pink blush like MAC Cremeblend Blush in So Sweet, So Easy using an appropriate brush (MAC 130 Short Duo Fibre Brush), stipple it onto your cheeks. Then take MAC Eyeshadow in Shroom and a crease brush (Sephora PRO Crease Brush) and using it as a highlighter, apply it to the tops of your cheek bone and make a "C" shape around your outer eyes. Also go down your  nose, your forehead, chin, and cupid's bow. The last step is to apply a yellow-pink lipstick, MAC Lipstick in Pink Pearl Pop. This is the stand-out color of the look. Now the look is complete, so enjoy it :)

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
MAC Eyeshadow in Quarry
MAC Eyeshadow in Satin Taupe
MAC Eyeshadow in Naked Lunch
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Smoke
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Brows

Benefit Instant Brow Pencil in Medium

Face:

Too Faced Primed and Poreless
MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer in NW20
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW20
MUFE HD Foundation in 110
MUFE HD Powder
MAC Eyeshadow in Shroom (as luminizer)
MAC Cremeblend Blush in So Sweet, So Easy
Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless

Lips:

MAC Lipstick in Pink Pearl Pop

Products Used:

MAC Eyeshadows (12$CAD for pro palette refill) in:
Naked Lunch
Quarry
Satin Taupe

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Smoke - mini shown, fullsize is 23$CAD

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero - mini shown, fullsize is 23$CAD

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - 30$CAD

Benefit Instant Brow Pencil in Medium - 25$CAD

MAC Cremeblend Blush in So Sweet, So Easy

MAC Cremeblend Blush in So Sweet, So Easy - 25$CAD

Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless

Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless - 38$CAD

MAC Lipstick in Pink Pearl Pop - 18$CAD

Swatches from left to right:
MAC Eyeshadow in Naked Lunch
MAC Eyeshadow in Quarry
MAC Eyeshadow in Satin Taupe
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Smoke
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero
MAC Eyeshadow in Shroom
MAC Cremeblend Blush in So Sweet, So Easy
Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless
MAC Lipstick in Pink Pearl Pop

Thanks for reading my blog. It means a lot to me. I hope that today's post was enjoyable. School and work starts this week so it means less time for this blog. I really want to put out at least 2 posts a week so I will try my very hardest to get it done. My next post is very likely to be a back to school/work makeup post and hopefully it'll give you some tips for the big day (if it hasn't already passed)! But til then, how did you like today's post? Did you ever think of matching MAC Quarry with MAC Satin Taupe? N do you like it? I think the 2 colors look great together! And what do you think of the dark grey eyeliner I used? I'm not too sure about it, only because I'm so used to using black all the time. Have you tried Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara? Did you think it was better than sex? Tell me about it :P  N lastly, which are your TOP5 MAC MAKEUP BRUSHES??? I don't even have 5 so I can't make a post about this yet hahaha. I look forward to hearing from you all  :]

Have a great first day back at school!!

Steph xo.

Shopping List #2

Hello lovelies!!

It's been a long time since I've done my Shopping List post. It's basically a wishlist post, me talking about all the cool new makeup products that I'd love to have but I might not necessarily buy each and every single one of them. I also talk about why I want a certain product, etc. I do accept fan mail and presents. Haha, just kidding. I'm not really into bright summer colors, which explains why I never did one for summer, but now that fall is coming up, there are so many great products and sets that are coming out. The fall lines haven't been fully released for all the brands so I will definitely do another post on all the Fall Collection stuff that hasn't come out yet that I like. Fall is all about dark colors and I'm all about dark colors! Perfect match haha.

I'm going to do this by brand so it's easier to go through. These aren't all new products, there are also a few old things that I've just discovered or have just found an interest in.


Nails Inc

Bling It On Emerald (28$CAD)

I love the color green. I have to say that my favorite color, aside from black, is green. So I was really excited when Sephora and Pantone announced that Emerald was the color of the year! This Nails Inc product celebrates just that. The sparkles seem like a cool way to bling up your nails and I don't think it would get caught too badly on stuff. The nail polish is a really nice color that I would use alone. And the brush is just adorable. I would definitely want that brush in my makeup kit. I look at this product every time I'm at Sephora and I still want it.

Stila

Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Starry and Electric (29$CAD each)

Starry

Electric

The first time I discovered these things, holy cow I was impressed. I know that Starry is described as a gun-metal grey, but I actually thought that it went on the blackest and sparkliest and trust me, I've tried the 3 black looking eyeliners and I loved this one. Electric is a beautiful emerald green with sparkles. I would wear the green alone, it's that beautiful and it would stand out. Starry would look fabulous on a smokey eye. The texture is nice and it goes on even with the little brush. They look a little easier than the felt pens that Stila has.


Ciate

Speed Coat (17$CAD)

Speed Coat. It's what every girl and woman needs. Personally I've never used a fast drying top coat of any kind, but people tell me it's amazing. I have a ton of mini Ciate polishes from a Christmas set that my mom got, so I figured I'll get more stuff from Ciate, since I did like the polishes and the only other speed coat I've seen is Sally Hansen and I hate Sally Hansen. My manicures would literally peel off in the shower and I don't have that problem with other brands. So yeah, I need this Speed Coat.

Nail Tonic (17$CAD)

Here's something else that I think I could benefit from as well. Now that I've been doing my nails twice a week lately, they've gotten very brittle and yellow and just all-around damaged. I need a good nail strengthener to toughen up my nails. They are always breaking in the pink and I'm always scared it'll hook onto something and rip the whole goddamn nail off. So, nail tonic, I need you. I need you more than the Speed Coat.

Mattnificent (17$CAD)

Because every girl needs a top coat that turns your nail polish matte. Think of the endless possibilities. That is all I'm going to say about that.


Sephora Collection

I was going to put in the Sephora X Disney Ariel Palette, but it appears to be sold out. I actually liked it the most out of the 3.

Artist Color Box Makeup Palette (43$CAD)

I love it when Sephora comes out with palettes. Though they are not the best quality out there, they are wonderful for aspiring makeup artists to do some practise work without wasting the good stuff. I use my Sephora Collection palettes all the time to test out different colors and different looks, especially if I don't know if I'll like a certain color and don't want to buy a brand version only to find out that I hate it. I have enough Sephora Collection palettes to last a lifetime but I'll tell you why I like this current one. It's because it has a diverse range of color. You have your blacks and greys for a smokey look, your browns for either smokey or natural, your purple and pinks for a beautiful smokey look and your greens because green is awesome. You also get a good range of lipsticks/glosses too. The colors of the pencils are not the best picks in my opinion. If I had to choose, it would be black, brown, purple, green and white. Okay so that's almost the same but I'm thinking different shades. I would def get rid of that cyan color. So if you need a palette, this one looks like it has it all, or most of it.

Black Magic Palette (19$CAD)

This is what I'm talking about, Sephora! I didn't like the summer version of this palette, but the fall version looks great. You can make great smokey looks from this, browns, blacks and purple, oh my! Apparently you can make 4 different looks with the trio of shades that go with. You also get 2 blushes and they seem like they are universally flattering. If you are into smokey eyes, I would definitely pick up this palette.

IT Palette - Smoky (38$CAD)

Well, I have to be honest, I think the price of this one is a little steep, considering you can get that big Artist Color Box Makeup Palette two products up for 5$ more. This product is definitely for someone on the go who really loves shades of grey (not the pornographic novel) and purples. You get a black pencil eyeliner and a double ended brush which has a liner and an all-over shadow brush. I would personally skip it, as the price is a bit high for a brand that is known to not be so great.


Lorac

Pro Palette (55$CAD)

Yes folks, I know I'm a little late on the bandwagon. I don't own any Lorac products and my local Sephora store does not sell Lorac products. I keep seeing this palette pop up everywhere, everyone is using it. I'm starting to see it more so than the Urban Decay Naked palette, and I can understand why. This palette has such a nice range of colors! I can see this palette go from everyday looks to dramatic evening looks. This is something that I would want to try. The price is also very reasonable. I've also seen some girls do very nice and elegant looks using this palette, which is why I am now interested in it.

Pro To Go Eye/Cheek Palette (50$CAD)

I think the price is a little steep compared to how much the Pro Palette costs, to be honest. It seems like you get so much more in the Pro Palette than in this one. With that said, I do think that this palette would make an excellent everyday palette. I see it being used to do very natural looks in the day but also being able to smoke it out a bit for night. The blush colors also looks very nice and the bronzer doesn't look too dark. You also get two brushes and a little mirror. When I saw this palette, I actually thought that this would be great for my mom. She's always complaining that there are too many shimmer eyeshadows in palettes and this one has 3 matte and 3 shimmer, which is a better ratio than I've seen anywhere. I would steal this from her if she ever bought it.


Bobbi Brown

BBU Palette (280$US)

The old BBU palette

The new BBU palette

I first started seeing this palette when I was watching tutorials on youtube and I thought to myself "wow that is an amazing palette to have if you are a makeup artist or want to do makeup on other people". I only have concealer and foundation shades for myself so it is a bit hard to do people's makeup when that's all I have. This palette is excellent for someone that doesn't have a lot of concealers, correctors and foundations to begin with or for someone who is looking to have it all in one place and in one sleek palette. This palette has concealers and correctors on one side, and foundations on the other. There is also an insert in the middle with the names of the shades on both sides. There is a newer version of the palette as well. It's only available as a pro product and online only. It has a hefty price tag as well. If doing makeup ever got serious for me, I would definitely seriously look into buying this palette, but for now, this will remain on my wishlist. If anyone knows of any cheaper concealer and foundation palettes, please let me know.

Artist Palette for Lips (200$US)

The old Lip Palette

The new Lip Palette

This is another expensive pro palette, but for your lips. It contains 3 types of lip products from Bobbi Brown and I think it has such a good range of colors. You can even mix different shades together to get your own unique shade. Again, this product is great for a makeup artist or someone that needs to have a ton of different lipstick shades. I just think the palette is beautiful, it has almost every color that you would ever need to do someone's makeup. I'll just keep dreaming...


Too Faced

Brow Envy Shaping and Defining Kit (35$US)

Now I know that this is old news, but if you've been reading my blog then you know that I only got my eyebrows done for the first time a couple of weeks ago (that post still isn't done but I will do it!). I really really love my new eyebrows, they are bad ass!! Before that day I didn't even own a brow product. At all. But now that I'm getting into doing my brows I've been looking at eye brow kits and this one by Too Faced stands out to me. It has everything you need to do your brows. It's got stencils, wax, 2 shades of shadow, a highlighter, a pencil, a spoolie, a brush, and tweezers. I think they might be getting rid of this product though because it is sold out on Too Faced's website and Sephora's site doesn't even list it anymore. It's weird because this was still in stores a week ago. So if you want it, better get it before it's gone. I'm currently using Benefit's Brow Zings and Instant Brow Pencil and I love both products. This one by Too Faced seems like it has everything in one kit, which is useful for first time brow shoppers like me.

Better Than Sex Mascara (30$CAD)

I know what everyone's wondering. How can a mascara be better than sex? Well I wish I had that answer for you, but I don't. Not yet anyway. This mascara obviously has high expectations and I will hold it to that. Just waiting to get my hands on it. I have to say that there are very few mascaras that I actually like and I do like Too Faced's Lashgasm Mascara. I haven't tried their other mascaras, but I do want to. Now that this is coming out, I'm going to have to pick it up and see if it actually is better than sex.

Primed and Poreless Pressed Powder (38$CAD)

Holy pressed powder! Too Faced's Primed and Poreless products are really popular and now they've developed a pressed powder version of their Primed and Poreless Loose Powder. I'm a fan of their loose powder and of loose powder in general. I used to use pressed powder when I was younger because it was easy and convenient but I kept hearing about this amazing thing called loose powder. And I never went back. While this isn't a product that I would buy, it certainly is something that I will recommend to my mom, who is a huge fan of pressed powder. She didn't like the Laura Mercier Loose Powder that she got, but I'm pretty sure (like 100% positive) that she didn't like it because she doesn't know how to apply it properly. She also likes that with a pressed powder, you can just throw it in your purse and not worry about accidents. This is something I will make her try if she still doesn't like loose powder after I'm done teaching her how to apply it properly.

Lip Injection Color Bomb! Moisture Plumping Lip Tint (25$CAD)

Never Enough Nude

Candy Burst

Coral Pop

Of course Too Faced had to come up with their own lip pencil. It's just the most "in" thing right now. I hope you sensed the sarcasm in that. I'm actually really looking forward to trying these babies out. Obviously the darker colors are way too dark for white ol' little me but these lighter Lip Bombs are definitely more towards "my color". I love that their Glamour Glosses have a lip plumper, especially one that doesn't sting, so I'm actually looking forward to these lip pencils.

Pretty Rebel Eyeshadow Palette (54$CAD)

So last but never least is the Pretty Rebel Eyeshadow Palette. I've spoken about this before so I'll sum it up. This isn't a palette that I will be buying, because I feel like I already own a lot of extremely similar colors and the palette just doesn't wow me like others have in the past. I do think it is a lovely palette for someone that is a huge fan of those colors, for someone that wants to experiment with those colors, or for someone that doesn't have colors similar to these and wants to try them out. I will still swatch this palette in store and check it out because makeup products always look different online than they do in real life.

MAC

Eyeshadows (18$CAD each)

I have bought a lot of the eyeshadows that were on my very first Shopping List. These are the colors that I have left on that original list. I may not buy every single color, I'm going by what they look like online. I find that MAC's products look extremely different in real life compared to what they show online. I might like what it looks like online but not like how it is in real life, and vice versa. I've found wonderful colors that don't appear so great online. The main color families that I have left to buy are browns, purples, greens, and maybe some blues. If you would like to see my collection of MAC eyeshadows, let me know.

Soft Brown

Sable

Corduroy

Brun

Coquette

Embark

Shimmermoss

Fig. 1

Purple Haze

Vibrant Grape

Satellite Dreams

Idol Eyes

Crystal

Nocturnelle

Contrast

Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow in Greenluxe (48$CAD)

I already have the Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow in Smokeluxe and I like it. The other one that I liked is Greenluxe. I don't find that it was your average idea of 'green' but I sure did like the colors. The bottom one reminds me of Club and the one above it is like a darker olivey green with sparkles. There's just something about it that draws me to it. The other color palettes weren't bad either. I would try them all except the Pastelluxe because pastels aren't really my thing and I found it way too light for me.

Paint Pot in Bare Study (22$CAD)

I'm new to Paint Pots and only have one, Blackground. I'd like to try them as a base and this one closely resembles my skin tone and I like the pearl in it, it gives off a nice frosty look. I also liked the white one from the Baking Beauties collection but it's no longer available.

Mineralize Eyeshadow in Young Punk, Smutty Green (25$CAD)

Young Punk

Smutty Green

If you've ever used a Mineralize Eyeshadow, then you know that what you see online is nothing like the product itself. The eyeshadows are super shimmery and pigmented and are beautiful when applied. I already have Cinderfella, which is black with a bit of silver and comes on sparkly black. I loved the texture of it and I'd love to try different colors. I've swatched both the purple and green in store and I loved how they both looked. These are definitely on my wishlist. I think the Mineralize Eyeshadows are gorgeous.

Lipsticks (18$CAD)

Candy Yum-Yum

Pink Nouveau

Snob

There are quite a few lipsticks I want to try. I also want to find *the* red lipstick. Every girl needs a red lipstick. I didn't want to write any names because I really have to test them out to see what kind of red looks good on me. I do hear good things about Ruby Woo though so I'll have to try that one out. From my above choices, you can clearly see that I love a good pink lipstick. Pink is about the only color that looks really good on me. You can forget about oranges or really dark colors. I want to find a pink lipstick that isn't like what I already have. It's always a good idea to bring along your limited edition shades, you'd be surprised at how similar some shades between the permanent collection and LE shades are. I would also love to try out these lipsticks in Lipglass format.

So I've shown you a ton of products this time around! I'm surprised it ended up being this much, I just couldn't stop! Turns out there was more to list than I thought. There weren't many new items, I think I'll do another post once most of the Fall stuff is out. I tend to like Fall Collections more than than any other season because I like the darker colors. Let me know if you're interested in reading seasonal posts on the good products out there.

Thanks for reading and please let me know which products you are dying to have and why. And also which products do you already have and do you love them or not? Are there any other items that should be on this list? Let me know what you are dying to buy.

I also want to know what you think I should do for my first ever YouTube video. Write me your suggestions! You can also Like my Facebook Page, Steph Stud Makeup. You can follow me on twitter, @stephstudenny and use the hashtag #stephstudrequests to request a tutorial, makeup look, etc. Thanks for all your support!!

Steph xo.