When it comes to beauty brands, I am extremely open minded. One of my favourite lipsticks comes courtesy of Tesco's old makeup line, Vivo. (Let's all go to Tesco's where Elle buys her best clothes...) I quite literally rejoice when I find a drugstore dupe to a much more expensive alternative. (#TightArseSays) However, on the other hand, I will also quite easily part with money on a high end product if I really, really love it. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs... but I do buy a shit load a lot of makeup.
Everybody's gotta have their vice, right? (She says, binge-watching Keeping up with the Kardashians whilst polishing off chocolate and chips with clearly more than just one vice!)
So I love beauty, and I regularly add to my - laughably large - collection, which means that sometimes, the holy grail, go-to, unsung heroes, [insert your own choice of equally ridiculous word when referring to makeup favourites, here] can be forgotten. So today I decided to mention some of my all time favourite products - which coincidentally all come from MAC - that I reach for when I'm running late, when I'm too unorganised and in a rush, when I haven't managed to get my shit together when I have no clue what to wear, and need to make up my face in a matter of minutes.
The Go-to's, the unsung heroes, the - *puts on my best Justin Timberlake/Jay Z voice* - Holy grails...
Let's start with lips!
First up is the first ever Mac lipstick I ever purchased, and the only lipstick that I've ever repurchased not once, but 3 times. Mac Angel. Did I buy it because years ago Kim Kardashian wore it? Yes I did. Am I massively judging myself for that now/Kinda' want to punch myself in the face for it? Yes I do. But that doesn't take away from the fact that it is the most perfect medium pink, that's not too nude that it makes you look sick, but is nude enough to wear every day. It's a frost finish but isn't frosty at all, it lasts well but also makes your lips look hydrated. My lipstick love!
Mac Faux - If you have followed my blog for a while, you will be sick to death of me raving about this lipstick. It's a more plummy nude pink (because you can never have enough pink lipsticks... although your boyfriend, mum, whoever you drag round shopping with you will beg to differ) with a slightly more matte/velvet texture than Angel. (It's a satin formulation FYI) And just in case anyone out there is still digging that Kylie Jenner lip thing... It kinda' has a bit of that going on. Swatch it and prepare to fall in love ;)
Mac Honeylove - Another Kylie-esque colour and another lipstick that I've had - and loved - for years. It's a straight up brown nude with a very slight hint of a pink undertone. It's matte, but actually quite moisturising in comparison to some of their other matte colours (Ruby Woo, I'm looking at you!) It's just a great "non-concealer lips", brown nude that is so neutral and is perfect for day and night.
Eyeshadows
Woodwinked - Woodwinked is easily my most worn/well-loved eye shadow in my entire collection. When I really have no idea what eye to go for, whether it be a day event or night occasion, this will always be my go-to. It is just the most incredible warm gold/bronze shade that somehow manages to to look two-toned when buffed into the crease (it looks darker, like a crease colour, compared to the lighter finish on the lid) It has the most buttery formulation... it is just perfection. That is all!
Patina - Another perfect, day time neutral eye shadow is Patina. This is definitely the more unique of my picks as it's a warm/cool almost olive toned gold. It is simply stunning and I genuinely think it is un-dupable (because that's totally a "real" word in the beauty community, right?) Like Woodwinked, it has a beautiful, blendable, buttery formula. As with most mac products, this has been raved about in the blogging/vlogging community, and, Nic from Pixiwoo wore it on her wedding day, which is definitely something bride to be's should be noting down :)
All that glitters - Jesus christ, my new years resolution (which, if it goes the same way as any that I've ever set in the past, will not be followed through!) for 2016 will be to branch out and wear non-neutral eye colours. Another neutral, perfect every day shadow that suits all skin tones and any make up look. It's a gorgeous champagne, gold colour... in the same family as woodwinked, but a few shades lighter. (So therefore, totally necessary) This looks beautiful as a lid colour with your favourite crease colour... well, in the crease. I know, I know, I'm a genius... ;)
Blushes
Warm Soul - Warm Soul is the newest of my Mac Blushers (although still nearly 3 years old which shows just how long my Mac obsession has lasted for) but probably the most versatile. It is a stunning golden, bronze, peachy, pink - Erm, is there a blush colour that I haven't mentioned there? - with a golden pearl shimmer running through it. Completely impossible to describe, it just has a bit of everything. My very pale skinned friend loves this for the porcelain, flawless skin look. As well as a friend of mine with much darker skin who finds it perfect for the sun kissed look, it really does work for everyone.
Well Dressed - Oh lord, this is one of those "sentimental" makeup products so expect a slight ramble, emotional word vomit on this one ;) Well dressed is the first blusher I ever purchased from Mac. I got it around 6 years ago, when Laura - Buy now blog later, previously Lollipop 26 (if you remember that Youtube channel then you are a girl after my own heart) - loved and raved about it so therefore, so did the entire blogging community. Which was probably less than a tenth of what it is now, christ I feel old! Back to the blush, it's quite a pale, bubblegum pink colour blush with a silver shimmer running through it. If you have pale skin, you need this blusher, it is the perfect doll-like blusher for the pale skinned but also works beautifully to perk up the face of those with medium/olive skin tones. A stunning colour that I always return to when I go out to an event and want to feel polished*
*Polished for me = less "dragged through a hedge - kicking and screaming - backwards!"
Melba - When I purchased Melba, I hadn't seen a single review of it, or heard of any blogger hype, but it has since come to my attention that it is quite a hit in the blogging world and I can totally see why. A straight up matte peach blusher that really does lift and illuminate the face - which is an absolute result considering I look like a corpse for the majority of the time, pre-makeup! - as well as acting as a light bronzer for the fairer skinned ladies out there. A good, velvety, non-chalky peach that I'd also say is a great starter blush for anyone starting out in makeup/looking to expand their limited collection.
Mac Patina, Mac Angel and Mac Warm Soul (clearly barely visible, but it's there) worn above. One of my favourite combinations of the gorgeous products mentioned in the post.
Annnnnd breathe. Firstly I'd like to apologise for the lack of alternative adjectives to the words "stunning", "beautiful" and "lovely". I hereby pledge to pick up a thesaurus and stop being such a boring, illiterate bitch and expand my vocabulary ;) Second of all, as you will no doubt be able to tell, these products are extremely old and therefore completely not picture perfect so 1) please excuse the state of them and 2) we all agree that it's time I stocked up on some newbies to add to the collection, right?
All recommendations on a postcard*
*Or for anyone that doesn't dig "cute blogger/total tit" talk, please leave your favourite Mac products in the comments below ;)
As always, thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post!
xx
Labels: Beauty, Eye makeup remover, MAC, Make up, Makeup, Matte lip, Nude lip, Review
