120 replies to this topic

[rush25]

Yeah I could definitely unMACify it. And perhaps we could come up with suggestions for products. Like instead of saying "MAC Blot Powder" for translucent powder, we could say "Use a translucent powder like MAC Blot Powder, Revlon whatever, and another product" just so people know where to start. I know that I've told customers to get a loose powder to set foundation, and they had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. It's a lot easier to say "get some Blot Powder or Select Sheer Powder" so they know exactly what to get. And if we give people examples of the products we're talking about, people can look them up for references. Just my two cents.

[Treasure]

A bronze smoky eye is 100 times sexier than a traditional black and gray smoky eye. Best bronze smoky eye products: Vanilla eye shadow (highlight), Honesty eye shadow (crease), Bronze eye shadow (lid), Naked Lunch (tear duct), Smolder Eye Kohl eyeliner, and two coats of mascara.

I totally agree with this. But... I dont know about you, but with Honesty... dont you find that it doesnt work very well? I mean... I seem to have that problem with most of the lustre eyeshadows?! It looks beautiful in the pan, but when you apply it... it just doesnt show up? Even if I use urban decay's pp.

What is your take on lustres?

I also reckon, Mulch is a fantastic colour for bronzy smokey eyes.

A subtle wash of color is sometimes prettier than constantly wearing dark shadows. Try wearing Vex eye shadow on your lid, Beautiful Iris eye shadow in the crease, and Vanilla eye shadow to highlight.

Word.

Your brows are sisters, not twins! They don't have to be identical, just similar.

ROFL

Mulch eye shadow + Blue Herizon Liquidlast Liner = HOT. Trust me.

I havent tried Blue Herizon liquidlast... but mulch eyeshadow =
I sometimes use mulch as a liner. Such a versetile eyeshadow.

Avoid the overuse of shimmery and frost-finish eye shadows. Use at least one matte or satin eye shadow in your everyday look.

Word!

Use Fix+ to set makeup.
(MAC Fix+ is a water based spritz of vitamin and minerals, infused with a calm-the-skin blend of green tea, chamomile, and cucumber, topped off with the fresh, natural, energizing scent of Sugi. Adds radiance, finishes makeup)

I have mixed views on Fix+. I think I have a love/ hate relationship with it
I love the fact that it gets rid of that powdery look if you're wearing a compact foundation/minerals. But if I use it with say.. a tinted moisturiser (topped with blot powder), it makes me look all shiny/sticky.

I like mixing pigments with it though.

I dont know.... it feels like I'm paying £10 for expensive water

Do you think I'm using it wrong?

After picking up eye shadow with a brush, spritz some Fix+ onto the brush before you apply the shadow. Really intensifies the eye shadow color!

word.

Mix Strobe Cream with your foundation.

One thing I'm worried about.... could this give you a "greasy look" ?

[rush25]

I totally agree with this. But... I dont know about you, but with Honesty... dont you find that it doesnt work very well? I mean... I seem to have that problem with most of the lustre eyeshadows?! It looks beautiful in the pan, but when you apply it... it just doesnt show up? Even if I use urban decay's pp.

What is your take on lustres?

I also reckon, Mulch is a fantastic colour for bronzy smokey eyes.

I used to hate lustre formulations. I almost refused to use them altogether just because of the texture....I couldn't get them to stick to the lid and I'd get a lot of glittery fall-out below my eye. But then I started using lustres with Shadesticks, and now I really love Honesty, Idol Eyes, Greensmoke, and especially Botanical and Taupeless (both LE). I just put Shadestick where ever I'm going to use the lustre shadow, then swirl my MAC 224 brush into the lustre shadow to sort of break it up, then apply. And I like them now. Well, those I named. Here are the Shadesticks I use with lustres:
Honesty wth Shimmersand or Corn Shadesticks.
Idol Eyes with Silverbleu or Pink Coutour.
Greensmoke with Sharkskin or Lucky Jade.
Botanical and Taupeless with Beige-ing.

Mulch is a great color for a bronze smoky eye. But I find myself rarely reaching for Mulch, probably because it's right next to Bronze my in palette. Bronze eye shadow is more pigmented and blends like you would not believe. It blends much better than Mulch. And you should substitute Soba for Honesty.

Fix+ should not make you look shiny. Not at all. Are you using a lot? Perhaps you just should not use it over a tinted moisturizer...although I do all the time and I've never had a problem.

Strobe Cream won't give you a greasy look. It is in a lotion formula, but it is by no means a moisturizer and should definitely not replace a moisturizer. Strobe Cream is not shimmery like most people think of shimmery...you can hardly notice it. It is very subtle. I know a lot of my co-workers actually apply it on top of their foundation. It doesn't make me look greasy and I have the world's oiliest skin.

If you like using Mulch as a liner, you should check out Teddy Eye Kohl if you don't have it already. I go through an entire stick of Teddy every two months. I freaking love that stuff. It is gorgeous.

[Treasure]

I used to hate lustre formulations. I almost refused to use them altogether just because of the texture....I couldn't get them to stick to the lid and I'd get a lot of glittery fall-out below my eye. But then I started using lustres with Shadesticks, and now I really love Honesty, Idol Eyes, Greensmoke, and especially Botanical and Taupeless (both LE). I just put Shadestick where ever I'm going to use the lustre shadow, then swirl my MAC 224 brush into the lustre shadow to sort of break it up, then apply. And I like them now. Well, those I named. Here are the Shadesticks I use with lustres:
Honesty wth Shimmersand or Corn Shadesticks.
Idol Eyes with Silverbleu or Pink Coutour.
Greensmoke with Sharkskin or Lucky Jade.
Botanical and Taupeless with Beige-ing.

This sounds exactly like me!
It just bugged me so much, I really did try with them, as well cos I adored some of those lustres in the pan, but I could never get them to work
I've still got a couple of lustres lurking around in my traincase, so I might have to dig them out again, and try them using a shadestick. I'll give Taupeless with beige-ing a try. Cheers for that tip

Mulch is a great color for a bronze smoky eye. But I find myself rarely reaching for Mulch, probably because it's right next to Bronze my in palette. Bronze eye shadow is more pigmented and blends like you would not believe. It blends much better than Mulch. And you should substitute Soba for Honesty.

I dont have bronze... so that might be why
What I adore about Mulch is that it's a velvet and i really do LOVE the velvet textures and the satins

Fix+ should not make you look shiny. Not at all. Are you using a lot? Perhaps you just should not use it over a tinted moisturizer...although I do all the time and I've never had a problem.

Nah... i only spray it once on my face & let it set. I dont know... I just find that it works better with powder type foundations, like studio fix, than when for instance if I wear a tinted moisturiser. Maybe it's just me?!

Strobe Cream won't give you a greasy look. It is in a lotion formula, but it is by no means a moisturizer and should definitely not replace a moisturizer. Strobe Cream is not shimmery like most people think of shimmery...you can hardly notice it. It is very subtle. I know a lot of my co-workers actually apply it on top of their foundation. It doesn't make me look greasy and I have the world's oiliest skin.

Cheers for the info. I guess I'm just suspescious of it. I've wanted to try it for a long time, but I'm scared it'll look like the prep and prime primer with all the glitters.

If you like using Mulch as a liner, you should check out Teddy Eye Kohl if you don't have it already. I go through an entire stick of Teddy every two months. I freaking love that stuff. It is gorgeous.

Not tried Teddy... I'll give that a go. I also love using club or sumptuous olive as a liner, lol.

[rush25]

I LOVE Club. Probably one of my favorite MAC shadows.

I wish I would have picked up an extra Taupeless. I didn't think I'd love it as much as I do. Come to think of it, Lingerie was one of the best colorstories of the last two years.

Try Teddy. I can't recommend that one enough.

[spottydotty]

Just had to add that Teddy eye kohl was definately one of my first MAC purchases and it is SOOO worth it I got it along with honesty, mulch, a blush duo (the hot pink/gold one) and some hyper real foundation....and then like 15 minutes later i went back for plum and swish eyeshadows as well as play it soft lipstick hehe

[rush25]

Oh Swish....that was one of my first eye shadows I got from MAC when I was like 15.

Teddy is pure love. I could talk about Teddy's lovely goodness all day.

[spottydotty]

yeah it was fun when i first got it, i was actually eyeing pink freeze but the guy at the counter talked me into this one but now i barely ever reach for it. Hey Rush, just out of curiousity what kind of coverage, in your opinion, is the studio fix powder capable of? I need atleast moderate and was looking into the studio fix and a concealer pot. I haven't been super impressed by the few MAC foundations that were suggested for me (i've tried hyper real which is a smidge too dark, but looks very fresh and glowy if applied lightly, but i think it might be breaking me out a bit...and studio tech which just smeared off my skin : / and I was "matched" like an NC25 but that just seemed all wrong..too dark and orange...) Thanks in advance!

[rush25]

yeah it was fun when i first got it, i was actually eyeing pink freeze but the guy at the counter talked me into this one but now i barely ever reach for it. Hey Rush, just out of curiousity what kind of coverage, in your opinion, is the studio fix powder capable of? I need atleast moderate and was looking into the studio fix and a concealer pot. I haven't been super impressed by the few MAC foundations that were suggested for me (i've tried hyper real which is a smidge too dark, but looks very fresh and glowy if applied lightly, but i think it might be breaking me out a bit...and studio tech which just smeared off my skin : / and I was "matched" like an NC25 but that just seemed all wrong..too dark and orange...) Thanks in advance!

I hate Hyper Real because of the color system...not the same as the other foundations. And Studio Tech is good for dry skin. I say good as loosely as possible because I seriously hate that foundation. It is a emollient and water combination base, which makes it super thick...and it just feels like slime to me.
Studio Fix has excellent coverage, medium at the least, and it's definitely buildable. I really recommend a duo fiber brush for this (like MAC 187), I swear to you, your skin will look airbrushed with this brush. Studio Fix is a creamy compact that dries to a powder finish. For a concealer, look into Studio Finish with the MAC 194 brush.

If your foundation is looking too orange for you, you might actually be an NW.

[spottydotty]

Thanks for all the advice dear. I always did wonder about that wierd NC match due to the amount of pink undertones i have...I guess I just need to hight tail it down to the counters again soon and see if someone can get me a good match the powder.

[lu lu belle]

this is awesome! thank you so much for posting rush!

[ayla]

Excellent! Thanks Rush!

[rush25]

You're welcome

And everyone feel free to add to the list. I love hearing new tips...

[scoobydoobydoo]

yes! thank you rush!!!!
those tips are awesome!!!
here is a personal favorite of mine:
apply a white glimmery eyeshadow to the inner corner/tear duct area and then a dark matte shadow to the exterior corner, blending upwards towards the exterior crease. lightily dab at the middle of your eye where the 2 colors converge to create to create a "wash" effect.

note: the dark matte color should be suited to your eyes. ex: brown eyes-dark chocolate color
blue eyes-dark gray or navy blue, green eyes-dark grey

oh! another:
take a dark matte color that suits your eyes and apply very lightly to your entire lid, blending upwards towards the exterior crease.
then dip a tiny brush in water, dab into the same eyeshadow until pigment is absorbed and use it as an eyeliner. this looks beautiful!

[lu lu belle]

setting everything with mac fix+. since using it, i don't know how i would go without.

hmm.... let's see for other make-up tips. this really isn't a method and may sound a bit cheesy, but don't be afraid to be creative and try new things; you can always wash it off if you don't like it.

[sephora28]

Don't mix foundations with conflicting undertones (one yellow and one pink) to try to create a neutral base. It will come out with an orange cast. Yellow+pink=pale orange.

Well, that's my tip.

[rush25]

Don't mix foundations with conflicting undertones (one yellow and one pink) to try to create a neutral base. It will come out with an orange cast. Yellow+pink=pale orange.

Well, that's my tip.

That's a good tip.

Use a foundation pigment to lighten or darken the tone of a foundation. Expensive little bitches though.

[sephora28]

another one: remember to apply concealer to your eyelids also, it looks weird to have covered up undereye circles and still have purple lids.

[Lexica]

another one: remember to apply concealer to your eyelids also, it looks weird to have covered up undereye circles and still have purple lids.

Also apply it to the skin at the corners of the eyes (inner corner, at the bridge of the nose, and outer corner, by the temple) - it's remarkable how much more rested and alert you look when those darker areas are concealed.

[Jai]

yes! thank you rush!!!!
those tips are awesome!!!
here is a personal favorite of mine:
apply a white glimmery eyeshadow to the inner corner/tear duct area and then a dark matte shadow to the exterior corner, blending upwards towards the exterior crease. lightily dab at the middle of your eye where the 2 colors converge to create to create a "wash" effect.

note: the dark matte color should be suited to your eyes. ex: brown eyes-dark chocolate color
blue eyes-dark gray or navy blue, green eyes-dark grey

oh! another:
take a dark matte color that suits your eyes and apply very lightly to your entire lid, blending upwards towards the exterior crease.
then dip a tiny brush in water, dab into the same eyeshadow until pigment is absorbed and use it as an eyeliner. this looks beautiful!

brown shadow does amazing things for blue eyes as well. a bronze shade is a good one for hazel eyes too.

i use the eyeshadow as pigment trick and i love it. it blends very easily.

just my 2 cents.....