FOTD: Happy Saint Patrick’s Day featuring Urban Decay 24/7 in Stash, Mildew, NARS Paramaribo, MAC Humid, & Wet n’ Wild Comfort Zone

Hey everybody, happy Saint Patrick’s! I know by the time this goes up it’ll be past midnight here, but for the majority of you it’s still Saint Patrick’s, so let’s pretend it’s all OK :p

To create my Saint Patrick’s Day look, I used Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Pencil in Stash as base, blended out with my finger. I then put the lighter shade of NARS Paramaribo on the inner half, and then MAC Humid on the outer half. My inner corners are highlighted with the browbone shade on the left column of Wet n’ Wild Comfort Zone. I lined my upper lash line with Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel liner, and my lower lash line with Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Pencil in Mildew. I smudged both out with the crease shade on the right column of Comfort Zone.

I used Cargo Rome on my cheeks, Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess to contour. On my lips I had MAC Butterfly Dream layered on top of MAC Sweetie.

Here are some more pictures so you can see everything from different angles. Do excuse the huge pimple I didn’t manage to cover up on my chin. It has actually been majorly improved compared with how it was a couple of days ago!

For someone who would wear green eyeshadows on any given day, Saint Patrick’s Day is like a happy free-for-all! In retrospect I could have blended everything higher for more drama, but it was actually the first time that I layered eyeshadows on top of a liner, so I still have to practice some more!

Did you guys wear green for Saint Patrick’s Day? Do you have a favorite green eyeshadow? Or is green a color you haven’t found the courage to wear?

I hope you’re having a nice weekend! I’ll be working on the Katy Perry false eyelashes post tomorrow, so you can keep your eyes peeled for that 🙂

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx

Swatch & Review: Rekindling the Fire with MAC Sweetie (Lustre Lipstick)

MAC Sweetie and I, we go way back. Long before I discovered the joy of lipsticks, or any lip products for that matter, one day I felt like I should own one. My lips are naturally pretty pigmented. Back at the time I couldn’t get used to seeing myself with a bolder lip color, but sheer colors never do much for me. However, at that point I thought it might not be a bad idea to start trying, so I went to the MAC store for help.

I asked for a “my lips but better” shade, and the sales assistant pulled out three. To be honest, my first impression on Sweetie wasn’t all that positive. For someone who never wore any lip colors, even Sweetie looked pretty intimidating. When the super pale and cool-toned sales assistant swatched this on the back of his hand, I was appalled: it looked scarily bright! However, he managed to convince me that it wouldn’t look quite as bright on me, so I agreed to try. I’m glad I did, because it gives me credible healthy-looking lips instead of something that screams “I’ve got lipstick on y’all!” It’s juicy and not over-the-top shimmery, not fake or Barbie-looking at all. I was pleased enough to take it home with me.

As you can see, Sweetie is semi-sheer medium pink. Application is very easy. It glides on smoothly without pulling or tugging. Even if I do it without a mirror I don’t risk making myself look ridiculous. Sweetie has a lustre finish, which means the formula has quite a bit of slip, and it lasts an average of 2 hours on me. However, it doesn’t dry my lips out, cling onto the dry bits, or sink into lines. The hint of plumminess in Sweetie makes it great to pair with purple and green eyeshadows, which happen to be the two colors I love the most! What’s more, I wouldn’t say this lipstick is too warm or too cool, which makes it workable whatever your undertone is.

With all the new lip shades I got, I have to admit Sweetie was left under-lover somewhere in my makeup drawer for a while. However, when I remember to pull it out, I always get compliments from sweet people. I have also recently discovered it makes a GREAT pair with MAC Butterfly Dream Plushglass, as you can see here:

Bottom line: If you want a beginner lipstick, or one that works with just about everything and everyone, Sweetie is a good bet. It’s easy to wear, and the only flaw is it doesn’t last too long. If you don’t mind reapplying, it might just become your new best friend!

What do you think? Have you tried Sweetie? What’s the Miss Congeniality in your lipstick stash?

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx

Swatch & Review: MAC Vera Sunday Afternoon Pearlmatte Face Powder & Butterfly Dream Plushglass

Hey everybody, I hope you’re enjoying your Sunday!

As I promised yesterday, I’m here to show you two pieces of the MAC Vera collection, namely Sunday Afternoon Pearlmatte Face Powder and Butterfly Dream Plushglass.

Up until I was holding Sunday Afternoon in my hand, I had no idea how much bigger Pearlmatte Face Powder is compared with regular MAC blushes (12 versus 6 grams). It contains 3 colors: a semi-matte blue-based pink, a raspberry with a sheen, and a shimmery (slightly frosty) whitish pink. Together, the shades make a cooler-tone shimmery pink.

As you can see, the first color barely shows up on me, and that’s after a lot of scratching and building up. I didn’t get the raspberry-colored ladybug part though. In that case the raspberry makes it pigmented and show up much better. The Raspberry is my favorite part of this powder. As you can see in the swatch, a little silver got mixed in it (it’s a thin stripe, so even when I was very careful some got mixed in). The silver is apparently only a thin layer of overspray though, so it won’t be there to stay. The shimmery pink is the most pigmented shade of the three. I do enjoy the texture of this powder, because it is finely-milled and not powdery at all. What I don’t really like, is the fact that it’s a tad too shimmery for my taste. It’s not glittery, because the shimmer in the whitish pink shade is fine enough. However, it is not what I would call a subtle glow either.

This is how it looks on me. I would suggest you be careful with the third shade if you don’t want it to turn out too shimmery. I think it is also possible to use the first two colors as a blush and the third one as a highlighter.

Butterfly Dream Plushglass looks shockingly purple in tube, but don’t be intimidated! It’s actually a sheer pinkish lilac with blue and silver shimmer, like what you can see in the swatch picture.

Worn alone, it doesn’t change my lip color much, but the pretty shimmer is there:

Paired with MAC Sweetie however, it amps the lipstick up very well!

Plushglass is supposed to tingle and plump your lips up. Worn alone, it does tingle quite a bit for about 10 minutes. It is ever-so-slightly uncomfortable, but after 10 minutes the tingling stops. Worn on top of a lipstick, it almost doesn’t tingle. It just feels minty and cool. I don’t find it particularly plumping however, or at least not more plumping than a regular lipgloss would make my lips look. The smell is more or less in line with the vanilla of MAC lipsticks, but it has a mint twist as well. It lasts well for at least two hours on me. For a non-sticky gloss, I wouldn’t expect it to wear too much longer.

Bottom line: If you like shimmer in your blush, or think you can wear the non-shimmery part as blush and the shimmery part for highlight, Sunday Afternoon might be your thing. I would also take a chance to say if you are lighter than I am (I’m NC30) and have cool-toned skin, this would work even better for you. The texture of this one excels, and for a 12-gram blush, it is a very good deal! If you want a non-sticky gloss that gives a little oomph to your lipstick, then definitely look into Plushglasses. I personally really enjoy wearing Butterfly Dream over Sweetie, and I think I’ll have a lot of fun with these two in the near future (do expect an FOTD or two)!

Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx

PS: MAC Vera is now available in MAC stores in Belgium. The Pearlmatte Face Powder retails for 24 euros, and Plushglass 21.

Disclaimer: these products were provided by the PR. All opinions are honest and my own.

FOTD with MAC Woodwinked, Urban Decay Mildew & Smog

Hey everyone! How’s your weekend so far? Today I went to Brussels to check out the MAC Shop MAC, Cook MAC collection. I realized there are still some shadows that I swatched but never showed in FOTDs for you, so I decided to incorporate Urban Decay Mildew eyeshadow into the look.

Despite the fact that Mildew is such a stunning shade, if I am not a bit more careful with it, it could darken my eyes. I started by tentatively patting it on my lids today, but was smart enough to leave the inner third free. I was right, if I had gone all the way in, it wouldn’t have been very flattering. Now, I probably could have used any gold in my collection for the inner third or even a peachy champagne shade, but since MAC Woodwinked is the only one in the same palette, I took the easy way. Some Smog and blending later, I’ve got myself some gold, green, and coppery eyes! I lined my lower lash line with Urban Decay Whiskey, and then smudged out with Darkhorse.

I used Tarte Exposed and Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Bronze for my cheeks, MAC Harmony to contour, and MAC Sweetie on my lips.

Some more pictures so you can see my eyes more clearly:

I took the pictures after I got home (at about 5:30. Daylight was fading fast), but I only had to blot my T-zone and reapply lipstick. Can you notice any differences in these pictures? Like the amazingly clean-looking background? I stumbled across the beauty blogging series written by the top-notch blogger Rae from theNotice. Her Tips for beauty bloggers: surfaces and backgrounds gives extremely useful pointers about picture-taking in general. So today, I hid behind the curtain of my living room for the FOTDs. What do you guys think? The images are definitely cleaner (makes me want to go back and delete all the FOTDs I’ve done so far)! Special thanks to Rae! I still have sooo much to learn!

I hope you like the look, and I’ll see you again soon!

Sunny xx

PS: I swear I’ll include NARS Mexican Rose in my FOTD very soon!

FOTD: Happy Chinese New Year Gold and Purple with MAC Woodwinked and Satellite Dreams

Hello everybody! Happy Chinese New Year for those who celebrate it! I invited some friends over for homemade dumplings, caramel apple cake, and tiramisu. I had a great time (and the food was apparently good)! Now that the guests are gone, I’m going to share the look I did for the occasion with you.

Since I didn’t have to leave the comfort of my home, I could wear a dress that I normally can’t in this weather. It’s purple with yellow, fuchsia, teal, and tangerine leaves, and I thought I’d do a bold look to match it color-wise.

Products I used:
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 53 Light Beige
Tarte Smooth Operator finishing powder
Bobbi Brown Sable on eyebrows
I primed my eyelids with UDPP (unless otherwise stated, I systematically use UDPP) before putting MAC Woodwinked on the inner half of my lids. For the outer half, I used Satellite Dreams. I used a bit of Urban Decay Purple Haze for my outer v. The lightest shade of NYX Rock and Roll was used for my inner corners, and Bobbi Brown Bone for my brow bones.
I applied Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black on my upper lash line.
Urban Decay Zero was used for my lower lash line, smudged out with Satellite Dreams.
Maybelline Magnum Volum’ Express Black (waterproof)
Tarte Peaceful on cheeks.
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess (swatch and review coming soon)
MAC Sweetie on lips

Here are some closeup pictures so you can see my eye makeup better:

It is probably not a very work-friendly everyday look, but I like how it turned out! Satellite Dreams looks a bit pink when sheered out. The real color is closer to how it looks on my lower lash line. A recent post by Beautezine shares a quick tip of pulling pink-based eyeshadows off without looking like you have an eye infection: in short, go all out with your eyeliner! The black helps separate the whites of your eyes from the eyeshadows, so you don’t look like a bunny rabbit! I have seldom combined two non-neutral colors together, but this experiment has encouraged me to explore more 🙂

More pictures from different angles so you see everything better:

That’s it for today! Thanks for reading, everyone! Don’t forget to follow me with Bloglovin’ or Twitter if you like the look 🙂

Sunny xx