The BEST Blackest Black Eyeliner Pencil is BACK! MAC Feline Relaunches!

Hey Beauties!

I'd be a bad Beauty Blogging Buddy if I failed to let you know that MAC Feline (limited edition) kohl power pencil has once again relaunched and is currently on sale at MAC right now!


I've had several people comment, email, text/bbm or @ me on Twitter over time asking for recommendations on black pencil eyeliner. I always tell them my hands down favorite pencil for my lower lash line/water line is MAC Feline but I often have to recommend a back up because Feline is a limited edition pencil and is often not available during the time of the year when I'm asked for recs. So beauties...go get it NOW.


If you're a fan of MAC Smolder pencil or the Stila kajal liner in black...you will LOVE this. It tops both, in my opinion. It is THEE blackest black pencil I've seen. Its very soft without being messy or too smudgy. The staying power is great. Very intense. LOVE!


Almost all of the Face of the Days (FOTD) that I've ever done on this site include MAC Feline. So. Run...don't walk...don't pass Go...to your nearest MAC store/counter/online and grab this. I'd actually suggest getting a back-up if you're able because once that pencil is gone you're gonna be sad when it's not immediately available for repurchase (trust me, I KNOW). ;)


I gotta give it to MAC, they do a good job of relaunching this pencil at least once or twice a year, yet they haven't made it a part of their permanent collection. SMH. Gotta love this whole marketing strategy thing.


This pencil relaunched on Dec. 26th as a part of MAC's Cham Pale collection and is $14.50.


Take care!


M.

Holiday Hair and My Favorite Hair Tools!

Hey Beauties!

So last weekend I went to my first holiday party of the season and I wanted to do something a lil different with my short hurr (translation: hair). So I decided to break out some of my favorite hair care tools and get to work! I wanted a cute crop of curlies so that's what I went for.

Check it out!

Ok. So here are the products I used to achieve my curlies, create shine and bounce and finally to hold that for the night. LOL



Hot Tools Ceramic Tourmaline Curling Iron-3/4" (for creating defined curls and waves) I sectioned my hair off into tiny portions and curled each one. Once it was all curled I went through with my fingers and "combed" and fluffed to my desire.

CHI 44 Iron Guard Thermal Protection Spray-heat protector spray for my hair. I spray this on each section before curling/flat ironing. I don't use it every time but when I'm doing a style that require a lot of heat, I will.

Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Edge Control-for smoothing edges. I love this stuff because it smells really good, its clean, it smooths down edges without being greasy/oily or leaving a residue.

Vonte Silk Effects Holding Spray-to hold the curlies. I don't usually like/use holding spray at all but for styles like this I wanted something that would keep my curls looking defined and fresh all night. Someone left this in my bathroom and I've had it for a while so I went for it. It worked great, my style lasted all night and the hold wasn't hard or "crunchy".

Nothing completes a style like a dab of shine serum for a glossy finish...

Biosilk Silk Therapy-a little bit goes a long way. I put a dab in my hand, rubbed my palms together and ran my hands through my hair a few times. Done.

That's it, beauties! Let me know what some of your favorite hair care products are.

Take care.

M.

Holiday Sparkle: Face of the Day

Hey Beauties,

So the holidays are in full swing now and I wanted to drop in and show you a "holiday look" i'm considering for one of the many parties I'm supposed to attend this season. I think the holidays are a great time to add more sparkle to your look whether it be in your eyeshadow or gloss. Here I did both. BUT my camera doesn't pick up the sparkle in the eyeshadow much at all (there are a few shots you can see some of it...lol...work with me people).

I do think grown women need to be...careful...when it comes to glitter shadow (or any such obvious sparkly things on the face...rhinestones as well :-/). It can easily have you looking quite ridiculous if you over do it (see pics of Phaedra-RHOA). Usually when I want some sparkle I'll go for a shadow that's more "shimmer" than "glittery". But for the holidays I take it up a notch by opting for shadows with finely milled glitter that gives you just enough sparkle to make it interesting without looking like (*insert teen girl that can pull off glitter bomb makeup here*) :D

Tip! When applying eyeshadow with sparkle make sure you do your "face" last so you can clean up any fall-out from the shadow application without messing the rest of your face up. Also, it is a good idea to apply an ample amount of loose powder under each eye before applying your sparkle shadow. The loose powder will "catch" the fall out and then when you're done with the eye you can sweep the loose powder and fall out away with your brush. Viola! All clear.

On a recent trip to Sephora (I feel like I say this a lot..."on a recent trip to....*somewhere I have no business being* lol) Urban Decay Stardust e/s in Diamond Dog caught my attention. So I grabbed it. Its the perfect example of what I was describing above....check it out:

This is a taupy brown shadow with silver sparkle/glitter. FINELY milled glitter. Its super pretty. And it doesn't apply like a glitter bomb to the eye (although I do wish my pics would have picked up SOME of the sparkle more...cuz its there...trust ya girl!)

I also added a sparkle gloss to this look. Here is the Tarte gloss I selected from the holiday gloss kit I wrote about HERE.

pretty huh? I loves it.

So here's the look I did...I cropped and zoomed in on the eye so you can see more of the sparkle.

Just enough sparkle and glitter to light up your face without looking crazy. Certain types of light will pick up the sparkle in your shadow and make it "pop" really pretty.



Product Run Down (MAC unless otherwise stated):

Face:
-Model Co. Face Base Skin Primer
-Studio Sculpt Concealer NC50
-Studio Fix Fluid NC50 (select areas...applied with Beauty Blender sponge)
-MSF Dark

Eyes:
-TFSI
-Estee Lauder Double Wear Shadow Cream in Silver Leaf (lid base)
-Quite Natural Paint Pot (crease and brow bone base)
-Urban Decay Stardust e/s in Diamond Dog (lid)
-Brown Down e/s (crease)
-Brown Script e/s (crease)
-Carbon e/s (outer v and lower lid to "smoke out" liner)
-Studio Finish Concealer NW40 (brow highlight)
-Mary Kay Cream Highlighter (brow highlight)
-Feline Kohl power (lower lid liner)
-Blacktrack fluidline (upper lid liner)
-L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes mascara (loves it)

Cheeks:
-Virgin Isle Cream Colour Base
-MSF Deep Dark

Lips:
-Cork lipliner
-Tarte lipgloss (see above)


So let me know what you think, beauties! And definitely try a sparkly shadow for the holidays if you haven't already ;)

Take care.

M.

Great Holiday Gifts for Beauty Girls!

Hey Beauties,

I wanted to stop in and highlight some of the great beauty kits I've been seeing here and there that I think would make wonderful gifts for makeup/beauty lovers!

So last week I received a $15 off coupon from Sephora so I went browsing over the weekend to check the latest and greatest. Now, I really need another lip gloss like I need a hole in my head but guess what?
That's exactly what I ended up getting with my coupon.....

Good As Gold Lipgloss Collection: $29

Yes. FIFTEEN new glosses! Really, Milan??! I know. I know.

Anyway, this kit is great. The glosses are beautiful (swatches below) and what girl doesn't need great wearable mini lip glosses that fit easily into small holiday clutch purses??? Right? This was my justification.

Lipgloss colors include bubblegum pink, vivid pink, true pink, warm berry, deep raspberry, nude, brown sugar, soft peach, coral, whisper pink, apricot, apple red, mauve, tawny brown, deep plum.

They are all formulated WITHOUT:
-Parabens
-Sulfates
-Synthetic Fragrances
-Synthetic Dyes
-Petrochemicals
-Phthalates

These babies are smooth and soft and they have a great fresh hint of berry scent to them as well as good color payoff. Sweet! They contain Jojoba seed oil and Tarte's signature T5 Super fruit complex which is a blend of: goji, acai, maracuja, acerola and pomegranate. Trust me your lips will love these. :-D

Here are swatches...unfortunately the names of the glosses are not on the tubes and I removed them from the box before I noted which was which...sorry!

I think this is the perfect holiday gift for any lip gloss lover! Even if they...like...have a ton of glosses already. O_O

Here are some other holiday/makeup kits that I'm digging as well:

Sephora by OPI 18 Piece Mini Nail Colour Set: $48

As a certified nail polish fanatic this kit had me at 'Hello'. Guaranteed to excite any beauty girl looking to ramp up her nail polish stash without breaking the bank. This contains 18 beautiful shades ranging from natural to edgy.


Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume III: $54

I am a huge fan of Urban Decay shadows. They apply like a dream, blend well and the colors are FAB. You really can't go wrong here. I saw this kit in store and it is SUPER nice. This kit contains 16 eyeshadows, two 24/7 Glide on Pencils (which are wonderful) and a Mini Eyeshadow Primer Potion. The pop-up artful/NY scene is also a nice touch. I love these Book of Shadows kits that UD puts out every year because they are a great way to gather a lot of shadows without paying a hefty price tag for just one. And most of you beauties know that rarely do you EVER finish even a full sized eyeshadow so these kits are pretty perfect for getting more bang for your buck. ;)

I would be remiss if I didn't add in some blush kits that I've been eyeing. I think these are great for adding wearable blushes to your collection and the price is right. The Triumph blush kit is great for a more subtle/warm glow while the Hark the Herald Face kit is great for a nice rosy pink flush. :D

MAC Tartan Tale Triumph Blush Face Kit: $38.00

*pic from Beauty Crazed

This kit contains:
Melba -  soft coral peach (powder blush)
Peachtwist - golden peach (sheertone shimmer)
Smooth Harmony - neutral mid tan (beauty powder)

*pic from Beauty Crazed

This kit contains:
Dame - blue/pink (powder blush)
Plum Foolery - dusty plum (sheertone shimmer)
Oh So Fair - pale pink (beauty powder)

Okay beauties, let me know if there are any holiday kits/sets that you have your eye on. There's so much out there to choose from! Happy Holidays.

M.