More Bright and Coloful Matte Makeup using MAC Pro

Hey glam babes!!

Wow so much going on!! Barely a month left before school starts and registration is next week. Hopefully I get the classes that I want. I have it all planned out. This is also the year that I'm doing university applications, so that's going to be mad stressful. I also have to make sure I've done all my graduation requirements so that I actually graduate this year. Since I'm in continuing education and I already have a previous DEC (Cegep Diploma), it kind of complicates things. Like what carries over from my previous DEC to this one, etc. I have to make sure I've got all my supplies. I actually quite like school supply shopping. I know, I'm weird. I'm like in love with all the different colors. I also have to bring my cat to the vet before school and work start. He needs to get all his booster shots and just a general check up. I'm scared that when we bring out the carrier he'll remember when we went on vacation for a week and left him at a place. We left him at a really good place, which calls themselves a pet hotel, but he freaked out. He has super intense separation anxiety. We haven't gone anywhere since. So hopefully he doesn't have a panic attack when we show him the carrier.

So yeah onto makeup, today's look is basically the same idea as yesterday's and using a lot of the same products as yesterday's. I wanted to play around with more of my new MAC Pro eyeshadows and I decided to do a look using Cobalt and Naval along with a non-pro shade, Seedy Pearl. It's more of a purple/blue look so I thought that my new Illamasqua lipstick and blush would go fantastic with this since they are both blue toned pinks. But not to be too repetitive, I used a MAC lipstick. Honestly, both lipsticks look fantastic with this look. So depending on what kind of finish you want, you can go with Illamasqua's Lipstick in Plunge for a matte lip, or MAC's Lipstick in St-Germain for a creamy finish. After I did this look, I found that it reminded me of the 80's. When girls used to wear neon colors and be super flashy. Well, these matte bright blue eyeshadows and bright pink lip definitely reminded me of those days. While this is something I would wear on a normal day, you can always wear this for an 80's theme party but make the cheeks more dramatic. You can even draw in a mole to look like Madonna. If you really want to be 80's, using a complimentary color like orange or yellow in addition to the blue eyeshadow. Make sure it's bright colors.

And if you haven't noticed, I got my hair cut a few days ago. I went for a totally different style than what I had before. I love it. I'm eventually going to do a post on my new hair and give some styling tips and I'll talk about a few styling products I love.

And I just found out that awesome colors are being discontinued by MAC  :(  Like Shimmermoss, Purple Haze, Bitter, Juxt, Digit, just to name a few. These were all colors I was interested in. Sucks balls. I only named eyeshadows but they have quite a bit of other stuff that's being discontinued and it's all listed on their site.


More Bright and Colorful Matte Makeup using MAC Pro

To start, prime your eyes using Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Using a medium eyeshadow brush (Sephora PRO Medium Shadow Brush), push MAC Pro Eyeshadow in Cobalt onto the eyelid, going slightly into the crease and leaving the outer lid blank. Then take a blending brush (MAC 217) and MAC Pro Eyeshadow in Naval and blend it into the crease. You want to go 2/3 towards your inner eye and blend it into Cobalt. Also apply Naval to the outer corner and smoke it up and outward. Take another blending brush (Sephora PRO Crease Brush) and MAC Eyeshadow in Seedy Pearl and blend out Cobalt and Naval. Also apply Seedy Pearl as a highlight color and bring it down to the inner corners of the eyes. After you finish blending Seedy Pearl, go back in and apply more Cobalt onto the lid by gently pressing it on. You want the color to pop. Also blend Naval so that the darkest color is in the crease and outer lid. I usually do my face routine before I do the bottom lid. Take an angled brush (Sephora PRO Angled Liner Brush) and Cobalt and apply it to the bottom lid. You want to take it from the inner corner all the way out, except the outermost lid. Put Naval in the outer part of the lid and blend it into the outer upper lid. Take MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved and line both top and bottom waterlines. Then take MAC Zoomlash in Zoomblack and apply 2 coats of mascara to your top lashes. Applying mascara to your bottom lashes is optional. Your eyes are done! Now, it's time to fill in your brows. Use Benefit Brow Zings and fill them in. Now it's time to move onto the rest of your face.

Prime your face using Too Faced Primed and Poreless. Cover up your under eye circles using MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer using a concealer brush (Sephora PRO Concealer Brush). Then apply a full coverage foundation, like MUFE HD Foundation with a stippling brush (Sephora PRO Stippling Brush) or your preferred method. If you have any acne or redness that you still see through the foundation, take a concealer like MAC Studio Finish and apply it with your fingers. When you're happy with it, apply a loose setting powder like MUFE HD Powder using a kabuki brush (MUFE HD Kabuki). Take a matte bronzer and contour your face using a contouring brush or a powder brush squished into a line (Sephora Collection Powder Brush). Contouring is done by sucking in your cheeks and using the line as a guideline. Go from the top of your ear in an angle down towards the corner of your mouth. Also apply bronzer to the temples, perimeter of the face, blend into the neck, and the sides of the nose. Next, apply a light blue-toned pink like Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph. Using a blush brush (Too Faced Powder Pouf), apply it to the apples of your cheeks and blend it outwards and also blend it down into your contour. Take a clean brush and blend the side close to your nose, so it looks natural. Then take Benefit High Beam and apply it to your cheekbones, chin, cupid's bow, brow arches, etc. Don't smudge it in, gently tap it in. Lastly, take a blue-toned lipstick and apply it. If you want a creamy lip, use MAC Lipstick in Raspberry Swirl (LE), or MAC Lipstick in St-Germain which is an exact dupe for this lipstick. I swear it's the exact same color. If you want a matte lip, go with Illamasqua Lipstick in Plunge. Now you're look is done and you're ready to go out and rock!

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
MAC Pro Eyeshadow in Cobalt
MAC Pro Eyeshadow in Naval
MAC Eyeshadow in Seedy Pearl
MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved
MAC Zoomlash in Zoomblack

Brows

Benefit Brow Zings in Light

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
Benefit High Beam
Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph
Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless

Lips:

MAC Lipstick in Raspberry Swirl (LE)
Exact Dupe: MAC Lipstick in St-Germain
For a Matte Lip: Illamasqua Lipstick in Plunge

Products Used:

MAC Eyeshadows are 14.50$CAD each:
MAC Eyeshadow in Seedy Pearl
MAC Pro Eyeshadow in Cobalt
MAC Pro Eyeshadow in Naval

MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved - 19$CAD

MAC Zoomlash in Zoomblack - mini shown, fullsize is 19$CAD

Benefit Brow Zings in Light

Benefit Brow Zings in Light - 36$CAD

Benefit High Beam - 32$CAD

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph - 26$CAD

Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless

Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless - 38$CAD

MAC Lipstick in Raspberry Swirl (LE) - 18$CAD

Illamasqua Lipstick in Plunge - 24$CAD

From left to right:
MAC Eyeshadow in Seedy Pearl
MAC Pro Eyeshadow in Cobalt
MAC Pro Eyeshadow in Naval
MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved
Benefit High Beam
Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph
Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless
MAC Lipstick in Raspberry Swirl (LE)
Illamasqua Lipstick in Plunge

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed today's post! I find that MAC's Pro Eyeshadow line has a lot of vibrant colors, and I just love it. It's a whole lot of fun doing these looks. While they might not be practical for everyday wear, they certainly are awesome if you're going somewhere or if you just want to have fun. I know I used similar products as the last post, but I did try to change it up a bit. And honestly, MAC Raspberry Swirl and MAC St-Germain lipsticks are exactly the same. I was going to buy St-Germain but then I thought of swatching them since I had Raspberry Swirl on me and it was the same exact thing! Even the MUA said that it was exactly the same. And when I swatched Raspberry Swirl against Illamasqua's Plunge, they were very very close. They have different finishes so it obviously won't be an exact match, but they do come darn close, which you can see in my swatches.

I don't know why but my camera was being weird so my side shots all ended up blurry :( Sorry! I'll fix this next time. 

So how did you find the look? Did you prefer this one or the last one I did with the green shadows (Kelly and Bottle Green)? What is your favorite MAC Pro Shadow? And what do you think of Illamasqua? Tell me what your favorite product is by them. And did you like the blush and lipstick I bought from them? I think they're beautiful! And one last thing, what do you think of my new hairstyle? Sexy or what??

Here's the other post: Bright and Colorful Matte Makeup using MAC Pro and Illamasqua

And if you want to see the rest of my MAC Pro Eyeshadow and Illamasqua Haul: Shopping Haul #4 - MAC PRO and Illamasqua

Steph xo.

Shopping Haul #4 - MAC PRO and Illamasqua

Hey glamarama girls

As I mentioned in my most recent post, I went to the MAC PRO Store and I had a freaking blast. I usually don't go to the Pro store because there isn't really much else to see in the area. I usually go to the boutique downtown because there's a bunch of stores that I like. But I really wanted to check out the Pro stuff, so I went. We're lucky we have a Pro store in my city. In Canada, we only have 3 Pro stores. They're in Vancouver, Toronto, and good old Montreal. And there aren't that many Pro stores in the world to begin with.

After all the MAC stuff is the Illamasqua stuff. Yay makeup!

MAC PRO Haul

I really wanted to pick up some Pro eyeshadows because they are really unique. They don't resemble anything that is in the permanent collection. They really are their own color. I saw a lot of shades that interested me. The MUA was really nice and he made me a swatch card of the shades I didn't buy. That way I'll know for next time which ones I want. I got 6 eyeshadows in all. The only non-Pro one I got was Brun. My neutral palette was missing one eyeshadow and I didn't have anything quite as dark as this so I felt it was necessary. All the rest are Pro colors. In the greens I got Kelly and Bottle Green. Kelly is such a beautiful color. It's matte and bold and omg love. Bottle Green is also matte and it's a darker green. I honestly can't wait to do a look with Kelly. The rest of my shadows are purples. I got Cobalt, Indian Ink, and Naval. Cobalt is a bright purple/blue and it looks beautiful. Indian Ink is a darker purple and reminds me of a permanent shade but I can't remember the name. Naval is a dark navy/purple color. Most, if not all, are matte shades. I really wanted to get colors that weren't similar to anything I already had in my palette and I totally succeeded in my mission. You really have to see the colors to understand how beautiful and unique they are.

The only other thing I got was a new double palette and one insert for 15 eyeshadows. I only got one insert because I'm not sure what I want to do with the other side. I'm not sure if I'll get even more eyeshadows or if I'll do blushes. Time will tell.

I also got some other Pro shadows swatched onto a paper so I can figure out what I'd like to purchase later. I'll show those too so you can see how pretty the shades are.

There were a few things that I forgot about that I really wanted to see. There's an eyeshadow called Vellum that's supposed to be a really beautiful white kinda color that reflects. Everyone goes bananas over this shade. I wouldn't have minded seeing more colors. They were phasing out one of the yellow shadows (I forget which one) which sucks because it was a really nice color. There's also a powder blush called Azalea that's Pro that looks beautiful online but I forgot to check out. I also swatched a lipsticked called Pink Pearl Pop and it's a really nice pink color. I have a swatch of it at the bottom. I'm going to have to try it on next time I'm at MAC. And finally, the Chromagraphic Pencils were pretty awesome. They came in a range of fun bright and bold colors. They went on the skin really well. I'm getting really into Pearlglide Liners since I bought Black Swan and I really like some of the color ones they have.

Okay so I'll stop rambling on and I'll show you the frikkin shadows already :P  Just have to say that it was hard to find good lighting to take these pics. I kept feeling like the light was distorting the true colors. And please let me know if you want me to swatch these!!!


All eyeshadows were 14.50$CAD for a pro palette refill, meaning they come like that, only in the pan.

MAC PRO Eyeshadows in:
Cobalt
Naval
Indian Ink

MAC PRO Eyeshadows in:
Kelly
Bottle Green

MAC Eyeshadow in:
Brun

These are my 2 Double Palettes. Right now I have 3 eyeshadow inserts in total and I'm not sure what I'm doing with the side I have left. If I feel like there aren't any more eyeshadows I want or need I might do a blush palette. I also have a quad in addition to this, which I call my Smokey Quad because it has all my shadows I use for a black smokey eye. If you want to know the names of the eyeshadows I have, please let me know. If you want a favorites list or a recommendation for a beginner palette and other stuff like that, do let me know!!

The MUA at the Pro store was really nice and he swatched the rest of the Pro Eyeshadows that I found. Unfortunately, they didn't have all of them and we couldn't find more. Sad face because I really wanted to see Vellum. Out of these I would like to eventually get Aqua, Biogreen and maybe Groundbrown. I would definitely like to see all the other Pro colors that I didn't get to see!

This is the lipstick that I thought was quite nice. I'm going to try it on next time I'm at MAC. Wasn't in the mood to try stuff on today. You can't really see the gloss behind the tape, the tape kind of makes it look matte. The name of this lipstick is Pink Pearl Pop if you're wondering and I believe it is not a Pro shade, meaning you can get it at a counter or stand alone store.

So I hope you enjoyed seeing the Pro Eyeshadows I got at MAC PRO. I had a lot of fun swatching all of them and swatching colors that were similar just to see how they look or relate to one another. I encourage you all to go to a Pro store and to ask the MUA to show you specifically Pro Only products so that way you can see everything and you won't miss anything either. Don't be shy!

And I'm curious to know what your favorite MAC PRO Eyeshadow is. So please let me know. And I also want to see your makeup looks using Pro colors. All the colors don't have to be pro, just one at the very least. I also want to know if you wanted me to say which shades I have in my palettes, or what my favorites are, or whatever else. If you want that, let me know.

Illamasqua Haul

And now it's Illamasqua time!! I mentioned previously that we have just just gotten an Illamasqua counter at the downtown The Bay store. They don't have an actual counter yet, because of construction it's not ready, so they have a tiny section right now. I can't wait for their grand opening on August 8 to see their full product line. I came back with my mom to buy a few things. I swatched quite a few things and their products seem to be consistently good quality with amazing pigmentation. I couldn't tell you for sure, because I don't own very much. I bought a blush, a lipstick, and a lipgloss. And it's funny because they're all the same color. Well not the same same, but close enough. I really have a think for pinks. Their packaging is really cute. The products come in shiny black cardboard boxes and most products have a cut-out so you can see the color of the product. The products themselves are in black containers, and I'll describe each product individually.

The lipstick I got is called Plunge and it's a blue toned light pink. It's matte. I think just about all of Illamasqua's lipsticks are matte shades. I've heard they're a bit drying, but let's be honest, ALL matte shades are drying. It's a beautiful color and it looks even better on the skin. It's very vibrant and stands out. Illamasqua is known for their rich colors and they're all about doing night time colors, so they have crazy lipstick colors like black, purple, etc. If you want a glossy lip, just add lipgloss like I did. The lipstick case is a sleep black box bullet. All their cases are boxes but with rounded in sides. The lipstick has slightly rounded in sides and one side has their name in white. The shade name is written at the bottom. When you open it it's your standard twist up lipstick.

The lipgloss I got is a Sheer Lipgloss in Electrify. It's similar to Plunge but it's a bit warmer. The "sheer" label scared me a bit at first but after I tried it I saw that it wasn't super sheer, which I was scared it would be. It has a color when it goes on. It isn't like NARS Turkish Delight which is an extremely pale pink color that looks really natural and light. Electrify has a nice pink color to it when it's applied. It has a brush applicator. The packaging is almost exactly the same as a NARS Lipgloss. It has a clear tube so you can see the color of the gloss and the top is black and says Illamasqua on one side. The name of the shade and the type (sheer or intense) is written on the side, so you can actually read it.

The last product I bought was a Powder Blush in Nymph. Again, this is a pale pink color that kind of reminds me of NARS Desire blush. I always look at that blush when I go shopping. Whether they're actually alike is a whole different story. The blush is so pigmented, oh em gee!!! You barely have to swipe your finger across and you get so much color. It goes on nicely as well. This is a matte shade if you were wondering and the pan is square. It doesn't contain as much as I thought it would, it comes in with only 4.5g / 0.15oz. The packaging is nice, it's in a black box and the edges are curved in. There's a plastic square in the middle, again edges curved in, so it shows you the blush color without you having to open it. That's a good idea. To open it you just lift the edge and it snaps shut. The shade is written in the back.

I really can't wait to use my new products. They will definitely be featured in an upcoming makeup look. My mom also bought the same thing as me though not in the same shades. Meaning she also bought a lipstick, a lipgloss, and a blush. She's more of a dark dusty pink and mauvey person. Peaches also look nice on her. We don't have the same tastes at all.

She bought a lipstick in Test, which looks like a dark rosey with brown color. It looked nice on her. It isn't a color she usually goes for (headstrong mauve woman right here) but it really looked good. It's also a matte shade. She wanted a glossy finish so she looked at lipglosses that could potentially pair up with it and the nicest one was a Sheer Lipgloss in Intimacy. Again, it's a dusty rose with brown. Out of all the lipglosses, this one looked the best with the lipstick and it was very nice on its own. I really like how it looked on her. She also got a Powder Blush, this one is called Naked Rose. It's a slightly lighter color than the lipstick and lipgloss. It's a dusty rose and there's no brown in this. She tried it on at the store and I really liked how it looked. It's hard for her to find a good blush color and she really liked this.

So here are the pictures of the stuff that we both bought. The pinks are mine obviously and the darker roses are hers. The prices weren't too bad either.

Illamasqua Lipstick in Plunge - 24$CAD

Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss in Electrify - 22$CAD

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph - 26$CAD

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph - 26$CAD

Illamasqua Lipstick in Test - 24$CAD

Illamasqua Sheer Lipgloss in Intimacy - 22$CAD

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Naked Rose - 26$CAD

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Naked Rose - 26$CAD

I hope you enjoyed reading about the Illamasqua stuff that we bought. If you're not familiar with their products, I really do urge you to check them out. Their products are high quality and have lots of pigmentation. They also offer very unique colors. Just because they show themselves as a night time brand doesn't mean that they don't have anything appropriate for day wear. Like come on, look at what I just bought. They have a lot of nice intense lip colors, eyeshadow palettes, blush and bronzer duo, etc. If you already shop there, tell me what your favorite product is and what your favorite shades of lipstick, lipgloss, and blush are. Thanks for reading! And if you want swatches of anything, let me know!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my MAC PRO and Illamasqua hauls! I'll be using these products in upcoming looks so don't miss out and keep in touch!

My next post is going to be a makeup look using both my new MAC PRO products and my new Illamasqua products so keep checking back! It has a bright color theme, almost neon, it looks amazingly hot.

If you want to "Like" my page on Facebook and keep up with all my updates and news, you can "Like" the gigantic box right below, or get on facebook and find Steph Stud Makeup. If you're on twitter you can follow me, @stephstudenny and if you want to request anything there use the hashtag #stephstudrequests so I can find it easily. Thanks for all the support and I'll see you soon with a makeup look using my new Pro shades!!!

Steph xo.