MAC Prêt-à-Papier Lipstick and Lipglass

I picked up two lip products from Prêt-à-Papier, Dressmaker Dressmaker lipglass and Fold and Tuck lipstick. Top photo taken indoors with flash, swatch taken indoors no flash, NC 35-40 skintone.

Top to bottom: Fold and Tuck and Dressmaker Dressmaker

Left to right: Dressmaker Dressmaker and Fold and Tuck

MAC Pret-A-Papier LE ($16.50 CAD/14.50 USD)

Fold and Tuck - a beautiful, pinked coral. This would be flattering on every skintone, it's pretty, soft and feminine. It is also a creme gloss, so no frost or sparkle which makes it both natural and sophisticated.

Dressmaker, Dressmaker - sheer and peachy. A little more yellow toned than Fold and Tuck. Again, a very pretty, feminine, wearable colour.

General Comments

I think these two shades would be a welcome addition to anyone's palette. They can give you that spring look without being pastel and chalky. Layered on top of each other yields a very beautiful effect. These would also be great paired with a smokey eye. Both products go very well with Instant Chic blush which is also part of this collection.

Anyone get lip products from this launch?

J

New! Maybelline Great Lash BIG

I read about Maybelline's newest mascara and was intrigued. Maybelline Great Lash is such a legendary staple - it's the first mascara I recommend to someone looking for a new one, since it's so inexpensive and good quality. It's a great place to start when you're trying to find one that suits you. Make-up artists keep it in their kits since it's inexpensive and a good basic mascara.

With that being said, Maybelline has decided to jump on the jumbo brush bandwagon that is a theme in drugstores these days (see CoverGirl LashBlast, Rimmel, etc). They've come out with Great Lash BIG which appears to be the regular Great Lash formula, just with a new brush. This intrigued me because while I do like Great Lash as a mascara, I am not a fan of the brush AT ALL (more on this later).

Great Lash BIG claims that it's washable, has a bigger brush, and promises bigger lashes and buildable volume. I gotta say, I wouldn't buy a mascara that wasn't washable, create bigger lashes or provide buildable volume. Isn't that the point of mascara? The brush, however, is certainly bigger.

Photos of the regular Maybelline Great Lash brush and Great Lash BIG below:

Maybelline Great Lash brush

Maybelline Great Lash BIG brush

Not only is the Great Lash BIG brush bigger, it's bushier. Where the regular brush is the typical spiral bristle shape, the BIG brush is more like a hair brush with less wand visible.

One thing I do not like about the Great Lash BIG is that the brush is too big for the wand. A longer wand would be MUCH easier to use and the BIG brush also appears to be a touch longer than the regular brush. They basically plugged a bigger brush on the regular Great Lash wand and put it together with the same mascara (from what I can tell). 

I almost always get blotches of mascara on my eyelids when I apply it. I tend to dislike big brushes for this reason as the more I work it onto my lashes, the more I get on my lids. I got quite a bit of mascara on my lids with Great Lash BIG. If it made my lashes spectacular, I wouldn't mind so much, but well....


As for the claims for bigger lashes, I wasn't bowled over at all. My lashes are certainly "bigger" than they are using the regular Great Lash but I like the biggest lashes I can get without applying fake ones! This is barely enough oomph for my regular day look. And I had to WORK to get them looking like this. They're basically a little longer and darker than my bare lashes (a photo of me without mascara can be found here.)


There are instructions for using this mascara on the back of the package. It tells you not to apply in coats, as most mascara application tips would suggest. It tells you in fact to not let it dry in between coats. I found this a little odd. What happens if you let the mascara dry and add more?

 

I have always disagreed with other best mascara picks and have come to the opinion that everyone had their own individual needs and wants. Everyone's lashes are different, so why would you opt to use something that works for someone else? Having said that, whenever I'm asked about mascara, I suggest Maybelline Great Lash as it's inexpensive and a decent mascara. If it works for you, great! If not, you have a better sense of what you don't like in a mascara, you're not too out-of-pocket and can try something higher-end/more expensive.

I was underwhelmed by Great Lash BIG, but my expectations for a mascara are high, perhaps higher than most. What do you think?

C.

Lady Gaga Helps Launch M·A·C's Viva Glam in Tokyo!

In late 2009, Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper were announced as the newest spokepeople for Viva Glam Gaga and Viva Glam Cyndi which were released in early 2010 in North America.

 

 Viva Glam spokespeople Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga

With her wallflower fashion sense and underplayed performance style, Lady Gaga launched Viva Glam in Tokyo last week. I'm kidding in the first half of that sentence, of course!

 M·A·C Viva Glam Spokesperson, Lady Gaga on the red carpet at Tabloid, Tokyo

Dressed in white and wearing her Viva Glam Gaga shade, Lady Gaga performed on a M·A·C Viva Glam inspired piano, specially designed and crafted by Canadian artist, Terence Koh. She performed 'Speechless', 'Allejandro' and 'Bad Romance' in a cascade of snowflakes and cherry blossoms.

M·A·C Viva Glam Spokesperson, Lady Gaga performs on stage at Tabloid for the M·A·C Aids Fund

Every cent of the selling price of Viva Glam lipsticks and lipglasses goes directly to the M·A·C Aids Fund and during the festivities, M·A·C AIDS Fund Japan donated 10,000,000 YEN ($110,000 USD) to UNICEF JAPAN. This donation will be will be directed to the M·A·C Global Partnership, a program dedicated the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission. 

C.

MAC Pret-A-Papier Chromagraphic Pencils

These pencils were a bit of a mystery to me when I first heard about them. Essentially the Chromagraphic pencil is a concealer coloured liner, or if you like a concealer in a eyeliner formula. The pencil is mainly designed for use along the waterline to brighten eyes. However, where I get excited about the potential of these is their use as portable concealer. Many of us suffer from the occasional pimple, and who hasn't checked their makeup at 3:00 pm to discover their concealer has worn off, thus exposing your pulsating red zit? If you had one of these in your make up bag you could easily and precisely camouflage your spot without messing with fingers, brushes, sticks or wands.

Chromagraphic Pencils LE ($17.50 CA/$14.50 US)

Photo taken indoors, no flash, NC 35-40 skin.

MAC Chromagraphic Pencil (top to bottom): NC15/NW20, NW25/NC30

MAC Chromagraphic Pencil (top to bottom): NC15/NW20, NW25/NC30

General Comments

This is an interesting product. The only drawback I can see to these is the limited shade range. While they will work as a liner on most waterlines, they won't be able to work as concealers on most. While I know they weren't designed with this purpose in mind - why not work it so they could be used for a multitude of needs?

J

MAC Art Supplies Pearlglide Intense Liners

MAC releases so many collections that often I can't remember when I got what, or what exactly I got. Case in point - the swatches of the Pearlglide Intense Liners I took a few weeks ago. I've been blogging less lately due to school, but now that the year's over (!) I can finish off my haul from...what collection were these from? I had to actually check MAC's website! So here's my final haul from Art Supplies.

Photo taken in natural light, NC 35-40 skin.

MAC Pearlglide Liners: Industrial, Petrol Blue, Almost Noir, Designer Purple

Undercurrent and Black Line

MAC Pearlglide Intense Liners LE ($17.50 CA/$ 14.50 US)

Industrial - a blue grey that flashes purple and blue. Incredibly pretty. To see it in action check out C's FOTD using this liner Industrial Eyes FOTD.

Petrol Blue  -  an indigo blue with blue shimmer. A great shade for counteracting bloodshot eyes.

Almost Noir - an odd name for a shade that is a gold flecked plum brown. This is an unusual shade that I think would look really interesting as a soft smokey eye.

Designer Purple - an iridescent grape with purple shimmer. Very purple.

Undercurrent - a bright teal with high shimmer.

Black Line - fantastic colour, a black base with gold and green shimmer. Smoking and versatile.

General Comments

I've loved Pearlglide liners from the first time they were released (Suite Array collection, fall 2008). I think they are a perfect, quick way to add a bit of bling to your daily look without risking looking like a club hopper. Out of the 6 shades, my favourites are Industrial and Black Line. I think Almost Noir may be a sleeper, and I'm thinking of using that one to do a soft, smokey plum eye. Pearlglide Intese Liners have very good staying power and set within 10-15 seconds of application.

MAC Prêt-à-Papier Collection - IN STORES NOW!

It's here! MAC's spring ode to neutrals and craft paper couture, the Prêt-à-Papier collection. Think beige, vellum, the sheen of paper with pops of coral. 

Scroll down for loads of product photos (click for larger images).

Chromagraphic Pencils L-R NC15/NW20 and NW25/NC30 ($14.50 US/$17.50 CDN)

These are described as highly pigmented wood-clenched pencils with a firm lead and silky soft application. They're for outlining, defining and drawing and they create an intense line that blends down for a softer, diffused effect. If you're familiar with MAC's base products (foundation, concealer, powder) these are fleshtoned pencils. I'm intrigued by these but I'm not sure how much I'd use them.

Eyeshadows Top L-R: Bamboo (Matte), Cut To Fit (Frost)

2nd Row L-R: Gazette Grey (Velvet), Memorabilia (Matte)

Bottom: Tissueweight (Frost)

 ($14.50 US/$17.50 CDN)

Impeccable Brow Pencils L-R: Dirty Blonde and Taupe ($15.00 US/$18.00 CDN)

LipGlass Top L-R: C-Thru and Fold and Tuck

Bottom: Pret-a-Papier

($14.00 US/$16.50 CDN)

Lipstick Top L-R: Archetype, Dressmaker

Bottom: Kraft, Made To Order

($14.00 US/$16.50 CDN)

Mineralize Blush: Light Over Dark

($23.00 US/$27.50 CDN)

Nail Lacquer L-R: Lifestyle, Originality

($12.00 US/$14.50 CDN)

Paint Pots L-R: Coral Crepe and Groundwork

($16.50 US/$20.00 CDN)

Sheertone Blush L-R: Garb, Instant Chic

($18.50 US/$22.00 CDN)

StudioFix Lash BlackFix

($13.00 US/$15.50 CDN)

Stuck for inspiration? Check out the looks MAC has created and go to a MAC counter or into a store for advice!

Is there anything you're dying to check out? Anything on your must-have list?

Happy Shopping!

C.

GOSH Bohemian Gypsy Eyeshadow Palette

GOSH is a Danish cosmetic line that's sold in Canada at Shopper's Drug Marts. I picked up a four-colour eyeshadow palette from their spring 2010 line recently because it was just so pretty and cool looking. As wary as I am of drugstore brands, I have a few products from Gosh that I've been impressed with so this was too much of a WANT to pass up.

Called the Bohemiam Gypsy Special Eye Shadow Quattro (their regular quattros are flat, round palettes with pressed eyeshadows), this palette contains two of those useless tiny sponge-tipped wands (I throw these out immediately), a good-sized mirror and four rounded eyeshadows.The eyeshadows look pebbled, like the loose balls of facial highlighter or bronzer you can find, only these are set in the palette. Funnily enough, the compartments for the shadows have little depressions on either side, almost as if they're meant to be lifted out with fingers. But they're not loose at all and really, it would be messy if they were.

There is another Special Eye Shadow Quattro available called Modern Gypsy and the colours in it are peacock-inspired (blue, orange, soft green). Those colours rarely call out to me, but the shimmery grey, purple, plum and coral of the Bohemian Gypsy palette definitely do.

Clockwise from top left, the cranberry shade.

The medium grey-silver shade.

The silvery-lavender shade.

The rusty-coral shade.

Swatched L-R: lavender-silver, plum, coral and grey.

I'm impressed by the pigmentation of these. So many drugstore-brand eyeshadows have very little pigmentation (and a lot of shimmer). These eyeshadows aren't as pigmented as higher-end but they're not bad. And the shimmer doesn't overwhelm the pigment like so many drugstore-brand shadows.

My favourite colours are the silver and the cranberry shades and all the colours are complimentary although I haven't worn all four together yet. Overall this is a really good palette to pick up if it strikes your fancy.

C.