The MAC Lipstick Collection

April 21, 2015 in Makeup

So I know MAC lipstick collection posts are usually written about much larger collections, but I really wanted to show you mine even though I only have eight. If you want to hear about and see swatches (on my lips!) of all of them, keep reading.

Starting with the most “nude” of the bunch, we have Patisserie, a Lustre formula. This is one of my favorites and perfect to throw on with any look. It’s the most perfect nude for me because it gives just enough pink that I don’t look dead - in fact, this one is so perfect that up until a couple weeks ago it was the only true nude I owned.

Next I’ve got another Lustre formula, Viva Glam V. This could also be classified as a nude I guess, but it’s got much more brown in it, making it appear a tad deeper on the lips. This was one of the first MAC lipsticks I bought (along with Russian Red) and one I should really dust off and wear more often.

Yet another Lustre formula (my favorite formula of theirs it seems) is Syrup. If I just had to choose one favorite, this would be it. It’s the perfect everyday pink, and the subtle purple tone to it really complements and brightens my skin.

Next is a Satin finish and a new(er) addition to me, Brave. This is one of those now super famous Kylie Jenner shades, along with Velvet Teddy (which is next in the list). I love the pinky-mauve shade of this one, and I’ve been loving it in spring makeup looks paired with rosy shadows on the eyes like from my Naked3 Palette. This pairs really nicely with the Soar lipliner from MAC and is very similar to the NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anita (see swatches of both here).

Velvet Teddy, a matte finish, is probably one of the hardest MAC lipsticks to get a hold of at the moment. It’s that perfect 90s nude, but it’s still super flattering on many skintones. Despite being matte it really adds a fullness to the lips. This is one I’ll break out more in the fall, but I’ve really been loving pairing it with an eye look from the Naked2 Palette. It pairs perfectly with MAC’s Whirl lipliner.

The last of the neutrals/nudes/MLBB’s (my favorite kinds of shades) is Creme in Your Coffee, a cremesheen finish. This is really similar to the more popular Twig, just creamier - if you don’t care for MAC’s satin finish you should try this instead. I think this one might be the most flattering on me, and it’s a close second behind Syrup as my favorite. It gives a lovely flush of neutral color to the lips that stands out without being too in-your-face bold.

I don’t go for bolds much, but the first MAC lipstick I ever bought was Russian Red. Everyone needs at least one red in their collection, and this one is perfect for me. It’s quite cool-toned, so it works perfectly with the undertones of my skin and makes my teeth look whiter. Despite being a matte finish, it applies really creamily and isn’t drying.

Lastly, I have Rebel, a satin finish. It’s a super bold berry purple shade that I really wish I had the guts to wear more often. It’s the most perfect shade for fall, but I’ve been wearing it quite often as a stain (how I usually like to wear my bold lipsticks, see my Lived-In Lip post here). It stains the lips a lovely bright pink that really brings life to the complexion and will not budge (seriously, luckily I swatched Rebel last because it took scrubbing with olive oil and then a lip scrub to finally get the stain to come off).

Are there any MAC lipsticks you think I need to add? What’s your favorite?

How I Edit My Blog Photos

April 18, 2015 in Blogging

I've been wanting to share this post for awhile because I always get lovely comments complimenting my photography on the blog. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with a camera (though I am trying to learn so I can manually adjust the settings on my camera instead of just using the auto setting), but I do sort of know my way around Photoshop, so I thought it would be useful to see what I do to enhance my photos. For reference, I have a Canon PowerShot SX40 HS and despite not being a DSLR it really works for me!

As you can see, the original photo (my birthday haul, for those of you wondering - I didn't end up writing the post to go with the picture but figured this would suffice for those of you who requested the post) isn't too dark, but it's not that bright, white, airy look that I quite like and prefer. Since I'm not too good with my camera (and it always appears brighter in the camera's viewfinder than it does once I import them), I opt for brightening my photos with Photoshop (I have CS5.1 but any version will do).

The first thing I do is roughly adjust the brightness & contrast by going to Image>Adjustments>Brightness & Contrast. I generally raise the brightness to somewhere between 30-50 (in the summer I'll keep it around 30, but in the winter it's definitely necessary to raise it all the way to 50). I love using the contrast adjustment to really make the colors of the photo stand out, but I usually keep it in the 10-15 range, never setting it above 20.

Sometimes I'll mess with the Levels (Image>Adjustments>Levels), mostly to lighten up the midtones a bit (moving the middle slider to the left) but usually I move right on to curves (Image>Adjustments>Curves). I only do slight adjustments here, because most of what I've wanted to do has been done with the brightness & contrast sliders. I usually lower the left section of the curve slightly (to deepen the darker tones) and raise the right section (to brighten the whites).

The last adjustment I make is that I always play with the color balance (Image>Adjustments>Color Balance - notice a theme here?). I like my photos to have a subtle pink tint, so I usually increase the red slider to about +7 or +8, slide the magenta slider to somewhere slightly lower, like -5 or -6, and increase the blue ever so slightly to +2 or +3.

One last thing I'll do is crop the photo - a lot of times I'll crop it a little to begin with, but after editing I can really see what I want in the frame and what can be excluded. The last thing I do is save it to my folder of edited blog photos with a name that better describes the content than the default "IMG000.jpg" name.

And that's it! Not too difficult, and definitely something you can do in other editing programs - when I edit my Instagram photos in Afterlight I usually follow these same kinds of steps! I hope this was helpful.

What are your best photo-editing tips?

Top 3: Single Eyeshadows

April 16, 2015 in Makeup

For today’s post I thought I’d do another installment of my “Top 3” series. My last post in the series was about my Top 3 Blushes, and today I’m bringing you my Top 3 Single Eyeshadows.

Two out of the three are MAC eyeshadows - as I mentioned in my post dedicated to my small MAC eyeshadow collection, I've been bitten by the MAC eyeshadow bug and have been trying to collect more ever since. MAC has a great eyeshadow formula - amazingly pigmented, smooth, and blendable. The one I’ve been reaching for most often is All That Glitters. My sister got it for me for my birthday (but gave it to me a week early), and I’ve been wearing it as a wash of color over my eyelids almost every day. It’s just the perfect shade for it - a shimmery peachy-pink that really brightens the eyes.

My next MAC eyeshadow pick is Sable, a frost formula. This was my first MAC eyeshadow, so it’ll always be my favorite. It’s a lovely warm burgundy/purple/bronze (one of those hard-to-pinpoint colors) that looks beautiful especially in the fall, but I’ll definitely be wearing it throughout the summer as well. This looks great packed onto the lid and blended out in the crease - it does that whole color-changing thing that makes it look like you’re wearing two different eyeshadows and put in a whole lot more effort than you really did. And if you do want to put more effort in, it pairs really nicely with All That Glitters - I wore them together for my birthday makeup.

My last favorite is the newest of the three - I picked it out on the little shopping spree my boyfriend took me on for my birthday. It’s the NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadow in Himalia. I’d always been tempted to try these shadows, and with one swatch I was completely sold. The formula is so soft and buttery with perfect pigmentation. I haven’t tried using it wet yet, but I expect it would be an amazing look for a night out. I love using it as a wash over the eye using the Real Techniques Bold Metals Oval Shadow Brush - the soft taupe color adds a polished look to the eyes, and when used dry the shimmer is perfect for an everyday look and isn’t too over-the-top. With only a week and a half of use, I can already tell I’ve got a holy grail item on my hands.

What are your favorite single eyeshadows?