So I’ve finally gotten around to filming a requested makeup tutorial using the products I picked up from the MAC Magnetic Nudes collection. This is a very natural, everyday look and I absolutely love it. Hope you do, too!
Leave a comment below, thx for reading/watching!
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3
MAC has been busy lately, launching multiple collections the day after Christmas. My favorite is the Magnetic Nudes collection. This collection is all about looking very natural and glowy. My favorite!
This extra dimension collection consists of 3 mineralize skinfinishes, 3 blushes, 5 eyeshadows, 3 fluidlines, 4 lipsticks, and 5 lip glasses. I love the extra dimension formula as it gives a beautiful sheen without being glittery, chunky, or emphasizing skin texture to the extreme. I didn’t grab any glosses (I need a new gloss like I need a hole in the head, you know?), although steel kiss looked very unique. Overall I love this versatile collection. I get so much use out of these everyday, wearable colors. Below are descriptions and pictures of what I picked up (for reference, I am currently an NW22). If you are more into a bold look then you may want to check out Punk Couture which released the same day. It has dramatic, vampy lippies and bright, 80’s style pigments.
MSF’s
Superb (a repromote) is described as a peachy nude with multidimensional shimmer. To me it looks like a gorgeous champagne color that would suit just about anyone. It is very pigmented and long lasting. One swipe on the cheekbone with a fan brush and you’ll be glowing all day as if you just stepped off Mount Olympus. It’s beautiful, and if you like highlighters you will enjoy this product.
Fairly Precious is described as a peach with green pearl. It’s a true, warm peach highlight. This would best suit lighter skin tones in my opinion. Like Superb, it has a smooth texture. There was also Magnetic Appeal, which is a warm coppery color that would look beautiful on deeper skin tones.
Autoerotique is described as a dirty coral rose. This is a warm, easy to blend blush. As with all extra dimension blushers, the color payoff is subtle but can be built up. This is a very pretty and unique color.
At Dusk (repromote) is a stunning blush described as a dirty cool pink but does not look grey on the cheek. This is very flattering on lighter skin tones. Again, it gives a light wash of color but can be built up.
Amorous Alloy is described as a deep terracotta copper color with a metallic finish. I had not intended on purchasing any extra dimension eyeshadow from this collection, but the girl at the counter sold me on this unique color. It’s warm but not so warm that cool people can’t pull it off. This is another product that will look great on an array of skin tones and eye colors. The other eyeshadow colors were very pretty but seemed quite dupable to me.
It’s Physical is described as a brown with purple pearl. This has a lot of purple shimmer in it, more than you can see in the pot. I prefer using this all over the lid rather than as a liner. It’s a really lovely color that would suit many eye colors. The other fluidline that caught my eye was Our Secret, a metallic brown with red pearl. This is another beautiful color that I had set out to purchase, but once swatched it reminded me of Constructivist paint pot. I swatched them side by side at the counter and they looked identical on my arm so I did not buy it.
Morning Rose is described as a soft, cool rose creamsheen. This is a very wearable, everyday dusty rose shade (again, suitable for multiple skin tones). The rest of the lipsticks were mostly nudes, and since I don’t need any more nude lipsticks I did not purchase any.
Hello, Lovelies! I’m back with another makeup brand review. I previously reviewed E.L.F. Cosmetics (to read this review, click here). This time we are looking at Urban Decay and spotlighting some of their best and worst health rated products. As usual I use www.goodguide.com and www.ewg.org/skindeep to get these ratings. Below I have listed current ratings as of this writing. Don’t forget: product formulations are constantly changing so you may want to double check scores before purchasing. For Good Guide (gg), 10=no toxin, 5-9=low toxin, 3-4=moderate toxin, 0-2=high toxin so the higher the number the better. As for Skin Deep (sd), the ratings are opposite of Good Guide; 0=no toxin, 1-2=low toxin, 3-6=moderate toxin, 7-10=high toxin so the lower the number the better. I included prices if available, but don’t fret, ebay and amazon are always loaded with discontinued makeup. I included ratings on d/c’d products in case you have them in your stash. Let’s highlight some of their low-toxin products first. Urban Decay has quite a few low-toxin products.
The Best:
24/7 glide on lip pencils in all colors except Wicked (gg 7, sd 1 or 2); $19
Lip junkie lip glosses (gg5+); $19
Naked 2 eyeshadow palette of 12 shadows (all shades score well except for Blackout-gg 4; could not find score for Bootycall); $50
Most of their false lashes (gg 8); $15
Urbanglow cream highlight in the shades sin, wicked, and brown sugar (gg 8); $24
Cannonball ultra waterproof mascara (gg 8); $20
24/7 glide on eye pencils in the shades: zero, lust, perversion, ransom, rockstar, stash, demolition, underground, yayo, flipside, gunmetal, graffiti (gg 6+, sd 2); $19 (some shades are on sale on www.sephora.com for only $6!)
Eyelash primer potion (gg 8) $20
Meltdown Make-Up Remover (gg 8); $24
Lipsticks in the following shades: gravity, trainwreck, jilted, vinyl, voodoo, wanted, buzzkill, requiem, revolution, midnight cowboy, lovechild, hot pants, rush, sellout, naked, apocalypse, peroxide, confession, and gash (gg 6+); *note: these are the old lipsticks, not to be confused with the brand new Revolution lipsticks that, to my knowledge, have not yet been rated.
Ammo eyeshadow box/palette – 10 Shades (gg 7); $34
Eyeshadow singles in the following shades: buck, darkhorse, roach, woodstock, foxy, baked, virgin, zephyr, s and m, smog, loaded, lost, tease, naked, verve, evidence, asphyxia, toasted, freelove, rockstar, blunt, bust, mildew, x, ydk, peace, flash, pistol, fishnet, bender, scratch, snakebite, busted, vanilla, mushroom, gravity, shattered, bordello, height, secret service, half baked, swf, radium, sellout, kush, snatch, suspect, last call, abc gum, psychedelic sister, acdc, twice baked, gunmetal, sin, grifter, midnight cowgirl, chopper, oil slick, stray dog, polyester bride, midnight cowboy, rodeo, midnight cowboy rides again, and the stardust eyeshadows (gg 5+); $18. *Note the older formulations of these shadows have much worse scores
Eyeshadow Primer Potion in sheer nude, eden, and greed (gg 6+); $20 (greed is on sale right now at www.sephora.com for only $10)
De-slick, All Nighter, and Dew Me setting sprays (gg 6); $14-29 depending on size
Revolver fragrance Oil (gg 6)
Guardian angel spray moisturizer SPF 8 (gg 6)
Stardust sparkling lip glosses in andromeda and space cowboy (gg 6)
Midnight cowboy body shimmer lotion (gg 5)
Rollergirl eyeshadow palette of four shadows (gg 5)
Worst:
It would take too long to list all 500 or so poorly rated products, so I’ll highlight a few.
Naked 1 palette of 12 shadows (gg 0); $50
Urban brow styling brush and setting gel (gg 4); $20
Urbanglow Cream Highlight in the shade Moonshine (gg 4); $24
Many eyeshadow colors (too many to list), here’s an example of a few: cobra, blackout, chase, maui wowi (gg 0-4), $18
Big fatty waterproof mascaras (gg 2-4); $20
24/7 glide-on shadow pencils (gg 4); $20
The black palette (gg 4)
Loose pigments (gg 0)
Surreal skin mineral makeup and Surreal cream to powder foundations (gg 0, sd 3+); $31 and $35 respectively
De-slick mattifying face powder (sd 3); $32
Naked skin beauty balm (sd 5); $14-34 depending on size
Afterglow glide on cheek tint (gg 3-4); $24
24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner (gg 0); $19
Ultraglide lip glosses and xxx shine glosses (gg 0)
These bad scores are due to ingredients such as silica, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), propylene glycol, triethanolamine, and multiple parabens. These are linked to health concerns such as cancer, organ toxicity, hormone disruption, and cellular level changes. Overall, Urban Decay health product ratings are 2.8, their social responsibility rating is 3.2, and their environmental responsibility rating is also 3.2 (none too impressive).
So judge for yourself if Urban Decay is the right brand for you. Most of their low-toxin products, while costly, are highly pigmented, beautiful, and have great staying power. And remember that not all high-end makeup makes for good health quality products.
What are your thoughts on Urban Decay? Leave a comment below. As always, thanks for reading.
“Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the most high, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling for He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways.” Psalm 91:9-11
Marc Jacobs is launching his own beauty line, Marc Jacobs Beauty. When I got the e-mail from Sephora about this it piqued my interest. The collection preview on Sephora’s website consists of Style Eye-Con No. 7 Plush Shadow palettes (7 refers to the number of shadows), two Style Eye-Con No. 3 trios, the Lust for Lacquer Lip Vinyl Sheer lipgloss, the Magic Marc’er Precision Eye Pen liquid eye liner, and the Lip Lock Moisture Balm. The full collection will be available August 9 and will include 122 products. I opted for the shadows.
The No. 7 palettes are a better value. At $59 you get seven shadows in a range of finishes and .24 oz of product. This comes out to about $8.50/shadow; not a bad deal for a high-end eyeshadow. The No. 3 trios cost $42 for only three shades (though I am unsure of the product weight). For an additional $17 you get four more shades. Also, I was not in love with the choice of shades in the available trios. If you are going to spend money on a high end product, you better love it.
The seven shadow palettes preview come in two color ranges: #202 The Tease and #204 The Starlet. Tease is chock-full of with purples and pinky-tones: a purple sheen, matte grayish purple, matte pale pink, iridescent champagne sheen, metallic pastel pink w/gold shimmer, matte bright aubergine, and deep aubergine w/iridescent shimmer. Starlet has a larger range of shades: a metallic muted lilac, metallic champagne pink, metallic dark copper brown, metallic bright copper, metallic gold, metallic bluish silver, and metallic gunmetal gray. I purchased The Tease (see below for swatches and additional pics).
The packaging is very slender, glossy, and lightweight. This would be a great palette to travel with as it is much less bulky than, say, the Urban Decay Naked palettes. This can easily be stored in your purse and has a mirror inside. The downside is that, even though it comes with a fabric protective case, as soon as you touch it there are big time, noticeable fingerprints. This makes it look not so sleek and dirty in a hurry.
As for the shadows themselves, overall these are great. The colors are absolutely beautiful. Most of the shades are smooth and easy to blend; the shade #7 is the only one that is gritty. Some have better pigmentation than others. I find numbers 2,3, and 7 need to be built up a bit, but once they are they provide a gorgeous finish. I wish the palette would have included a matte mid-tone brown for blending, but it does offer a couple of matte shades so it is not all shimmer and sheen. These shadows have great staying power (I’m an oily girl, so that’s saying something!).
Is this palette worth picking up? If you are in the market for high-end eyeshadow and could use an easily-blended palette to spice up a neutral collection-sure. While not all high end makeup equals high quality, this definitely is (and it’s certainly more affordable than Dior). Plus purples look great on every eye color. It can be found here. If you already own plenty of decent shadows then I wouldn’t break the bank for it. Remember, at some point it’s just makeup. You don’t need it to be beautiful.
Have you purchased any of the Marc Jacobs Beauty products? Let me know what you got and how you like it in the comments below. Thanks for reading.
Something to Consider 