MAC Pure Zen

MAC Pure Zen is amongst one of my latest MAC/lipstick purchases to join my collection, after the lovely Corrie recommended it to me quite a while back now.

Well and truly in my "safe" lipstick zone, Pure Zen is described as a Rosy Beige Nude in what I would describe as being in the same family as Hue- just a Peachier tone, which is why I just can't get enough.

Completely wearable, I find these kind of tones so "me" and I call them safe, because I can pretty much always rely on them. Whatever the occasion, whatever the make up- they work and for that, I will always have one to hand. 

Pure Zen is a Cremesheen finish, which in the past was never my favourite, but I've found I have grown to love it, maybe even more so than Satin. Creamy on application with a moisturising sheen, Pure Zen sits on the lips beautifully and has the ability to act as a sheer wash of colour, as well as a more built up semi-opaque colour on the lips, which is how I prefer to wear it.

Just like most MAC lipsticks, Pure Zen has decent longevity and stays on the lips a fair few hours before fading. 

Available from MAC stand alone stores and counters in the likes of House of Fraser and Selfridges, MAC lipsticks cost £15.50.

What do you think of Pure Zen? Is it the kind of shade that would suit you and your collection?

SHOP THE POST

Read more

MAC Twig

Go back a couple of years, and I'd have been your girl for all things MAC lipsticks, but after recently visiting a counter, it seems that I may have been out of the loop for longer than I thought, as there were a fair few shades that I'm ashamed to say, I'd never heard of.

My latest MAC addition, Twig, is a lovely tone for this time of year and perfect if you're looking for something with a 90's vibe, which seems to be very much the trend right now.

Perfectly easy to wear for both day and night, I imagine Twig would fall between the natural, slightly more mature "your lips but better" shades and those vampy tones that are always huge during Autumn. It's described by MAC as a soft muted Brownish Pink, and that's pretty much spot on.

It's probably not the best match for my skin tone, and if I'm completely honest, it doesn't do much in terms of complimenting the Whiteness of my teeth, but for days when I want to wear something a little out of my comfort zone of the usual Peachy hues, but don't want to rock anything too bold, this is a really great option.

If like myself, you're really into lipsticks, you'll know that Kylie Jenner lips are a huge thing at the moment and completely to my surprise, Mike actually commented "are you wearing a Kylie Jenner lip?" this afternoon, and do you know what? I guess I kind of am- unintentionally, I swear! It's very similar to the kinds of shades she's been wearing with her over lined look and if you're on the hunt for something similar but haven't quite found the right one for you, this could be worth trying.

Satin in formula, Twig is creamy on the lips and has great longevity. It's super pigmented and so doesn't need any building up and over the day, it fades to a nice natural tone on the lips, so it doesn't need too much attention.

Available from MAC and at counters in the likes of House of Fraser and Selfridges, Twig costs £15.50.

SHOP THE POST

Read more

MAC Coral Bliss

It's been a while since I posted about a MAC lipstick, which is surprising as they still sit at the front of my collection and are worn extremely regularly. 

Coral Bliss is one of my newest MAC additions and is a lipstick that I picked up in New York over Christmas time. 

A light Coral that I find extremely easy to wear, Coral Bliss falls into the Cremesheen category when it comes to finishes, which makes it pretty pigmented, whilst also having a sheer and slightly glossed finish. Buildable to a pretty opaque shade, which is how I personally like to wear it, Coral Bliss sits on the lips super complimentary for Spring Summer and feels moisturising, fading on the lips nicely throughout the day. 

MAC describe it to have a frosted finish, which put me off hugely before swatching in store as I'm not a fan of frosts, but fortunately, this isn't in any way shape or form correct and in my opinion is a highly incorrect deceiving description.

I'm rarely disappointed by MAC lipsticks and find that they're the perfect go to for shade variety and quality although I do think their price increase to £15 is pretty extreme. 

MAC is available online at at MAC freestanding stores as well as at counters in House of Fraser, Debenhams and Selfridges.

I'd love to know what you think of Coral Bliss, is it a lipstick you have in your collection?

Read more

MAC 15 Eyeshadow Warm Neutral & Cool Neutral Palettes

A recent MAC launch that had me extremely excited since I saw a photo posted on Instagram, is the launch of two pre-made 15 shade eyeshadow palettes. 

Offering 15 Warm Neutrals and 15 Cool Neutrals, the palettes have been beautifully put together and costing a lot less than they would singularly, make for the perfect buy if you're building up your make up kit or if like me, you simply just love a neutral tone.

Designed to complement any skin tone, each palette consists of frost, satin, velvet, matte, lustre and veluxe pearl finishes and although I'm sadly yet to get my hands on one of these, I particularly need the warm one in my collection and can imagine they're a dream.

MACs 15 shade Warm Neutral palette contains some dreamy shades that range from Peaches to Frosted Golds and consists of:

Hey- a metallic coral (veluxe pearl)

Warm Breeze- a pastel coral (satin)

Gingersnap- a deep rosy pink (frost)

Dark Brew- a deep chocolate with pink pearl (velvet) 

Dance In The Dark- a dark brown (matte)

Brulé- a soft creamy beige (satin)

Vanilla Extract- a soft warm yellow beige (frost) 

Honey Lust- a bronze-dipped peach (lustre)

Amber Lights- a peachy-brown with shimmer (frost) 

Saddle- a golden orange brown (matte)

Lemon Tart- a metallic gold (veluxe pearl) 

Butterfudge- a dirty mocha with gold pearl (satin) 

Creative Copper- a frosted gold (lustre)

Unwind- a dirty olive (veluxe pearl)

Divine Decadence- a soft bronze (velvet)

Whilst the 15 shade Cool Neutral palettes ranges from Burgundy to Chocolate Golds and deep Blue Greys:

Flounce- a chalky white pink (matte)

Sweet Allure- a soft light pink (satin)

Sun Tweaked- a soft frosty coral (frost)

Blackberry- a muted burgundy-plum brown (matte) 

After Dusk- a mid-tone rosy pink with pearl (veluxe pearl) 

Pick Me Up- a pale ivory (matte)

Crushed Clove- a dirty gold olive (frost)

Cozy Grey- a cool grey (matte)

Deception- a chocolate gold (frost)

Brun- a muted blackish brown (satin)

Silver Fog- a white with silver pearl (lustre) 

French Clay- a white-grey frost (frost) 

Cumulus- a dirty grey charcoal (frost)

                                          Pearled Earth- a deep blue-grey (veluxe pearl) 
                                              Black Tied- a black with silver sparkle (velvet) 

Available to buy now at MAC stores and counters, retailing at £65 each, buying your palettes this way means you're making a saving of £85 from buying the eyeshadow pans alone, without taking into consideration the cost of the palette or MAC single eyeshadow pots, which leaves a saving of at least£105.50 in total, which is incredible!

Currently in stock here in Debenhams.

I would love to know if the idea of buying a pre-made 15 shade MAC palette interests you or whether you'd prefer the extra expense for the fun of building up your own.

Read more

MAC Pigment in Copper Sparkle

Pigments are a product that up until recently, I hadn't used since way back in my teenage days when a dusting of Barry M Dazzle Dusts played a frequent part in my weekend makeup. 

Loose powder colour and highly pigmented, pigments can be used for both subtle and more dramatic looks and recently I have been absolutely loving wearing this MAC Pigment in Copper Sparkle*, blended into a smokey eye to add a further Copper toned dimension and shimmer.

Applied with a flat eyeshadow brush and blended out with a blending brush, I find I achieve a really nice soft effect that is incredibly wearable, although if I want to create something a little more intense, I find applying it with a brush that has been spritzed with a bit of MAC Fix + or applied with a little bit of MAC Mixing Medium* works fantastically well. 

Leaving the nicest true Copper tone underneath the high shimmer, I absolutely love this MAC Pigment in Copper Sparkle and think it's the perfect toned Autumnal product.

Available at MAC Stores and at counters in Selfridges, House of Fraser and Debenhams, MAC Pigments cost £17 for 4.5g of product.  

Are you a fan of MAC Pigments? Do you have any shade recommendations?

Read more

MAC Eyeshadow Quad- Nylon, Ricepaper, Wedge, Mulch

A while back I decided to put together a MAC palette of four easy to wear, day to night shades and whilst the MAC counter is extremely overwhelming when it comes to eyeshadows, I managed to pick out four shades with the help of some fellow bloggers.

Consisting of Nylon- a light Gold with a Frost finish, Ricepaper- a soft, warm Yellow Champagne with a Frost finish, Wedge- a Matte finish warm toned medium Brown and Mulch- a Red toned Bronze Brown with a Velvet finish, my quad is the perfect palette to pop in my makeup bag to achieve a day to night look.

Ricepaper washed all over the lower lid with Wedge run through the crease works perfectly for a subtle daytime look, whilst Mulch added into the outer corner and Nylon in the inner corner and along the brow bone as a highlight adds the perfect finish for a smokier night time look.

Perfectly pigmented and easy to wear, I'm really pleased with the four shades I picked out. What four MAC shades would make up your perfect day to night palette?

All permanent MAC shades, Nylon, Ricepaper, Wedge and Mulch can all be purchased for a singular price of £12.50 each with quad palettes costing £6.50 at MAC stores and counters in Selfridges, Debenhams and House of Fraser. 

Read more

RiRi Hearts MAC Collection- Her Cocoa Quad

MAC and Rihanna Collaborations have never really wowed me, but when I saw the shades in this palette, I just couldn't resist. Though it proved pretty hard to get hold of, selling out pretty quickly, I got lucky and managed to pick one up in duty free.

The Her Cocoa quad palette is made up of four new warm shades which as far as I am aware, don't have names. With the perfect looking palette costing of a bright Gold, a soft Peach, a warm antique Gold and a Chocolate Bronze, I really like it and with it holding a mixture of lustre (bright Gold and Chocolate Bronze), veluxe pearl (warm antique Gold)  and satin (soft Peach) finishes, I find the shades all perfectly wearable, covering all bases for both day and night. 

I don't have a favourite shade as I have been reaching for them all equally, but if I had to pick, I would probably choose between the warm antique Gold and the Chocolate Bronze, which is a dupe of one of my favourite MAC shades, Mulch.

Though I really do love this palette, the shallow packaging loving part of me can't quite come to terms with the limited edition Rose Gold packaging. The Rose Gold RiRi signature casing isn't really to my style and if I'm completely honest, in the future I might pop them into a standard MAC quad instead. 

Packaging aside, I'm really pleased I managed to get hold of Her Cocoa and if your local counter has them in stock, then I definitely recommend that you pick one up.

Costing £33, the RiRi MAC Collection is available to buy on MACs online store, at MAC stand alone stores and at at counters in Selfridges, Debenhams and House of Fraser. 

What do you think of the MAC and Rihanna collaboration? Do you like the the Her Cocoa quad?

Read more

How I Contour & Highlight- Video

If you've been a reader of Belles Boutique for a while now, then you may be aware that I have quite a thing for contouring and highlighting and throughout my never ending search for the perfect products to use, I've posted a fair few blog posts of my favourite finds.

I'm quite often asked how I go about my highlighting and contouring, and so recently decided to film a video, demonstrating the technique that I like to use for a heavier night time contour and highlighted look, using Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate and MAC Prep & Prime Highlighter in Light Boost. 

I hope you enjoy my video and please, if you haven't already I would absolutely love for you to subscribe to my channel.

Read more

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft & Gentle

I've really been into highlighters recently and my favourite product to add a subtle glow has been MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft & Gentle.

Described by MAC as a "Gilded Peach Bronze", Soft & Gentle offers a light frosted sheen that works as the perfect highlight for the tops of my cheekbones, down my nose and on my cupids bow. To the eye and before swatching it looks as if it would offer more of a Bronze tone, but it's definitely lighter and more Champagne once applied. 

Very soft to the touch, this feels really very light and lovely on the skin and with the right brush, applies an absolute dream and not overbearing on the shimmer front.

Surprisingly, I've never really been blown away with any MAC Mineralize Skin Finish products, but this one is most definitely a staple in my current make up bag and I can't get enough of the baked domed face powder.

 Available to buy now, this MAC MSF in Soft & Gentle costs £22 and can be purchased on the MAC online store, as well as in free standing stores and counters in House of Fraser, Debenhams and Selfridges.

Have you tried Soft & Gentle? What's your favourite MAC Mineralize Skin Finish? 

Read more