Overview: MAC Concealers! (MAC Studio Finish, MAC Select Cover Up, MAC Moisturecover & Studio Stick) Lots of Swatches!

I'm going to briefly go over MAC concealers and which are my favorites...

MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer - A luxurious, blendable moisturizing concealer in a tube with a doe-foot applicator. Has a natural satin-smooth, ultra-moisturizing finish. Layers for added coverage. Line-softening, Skin-perfecting.

MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer - Liquid camouflage for the skin. Texture-free, virtually invisible. Comes in a tube. Blends in. Brightens and lightens dark areas, erases spots, evens-out skin... Makes skin flaw-free. Use pre-foundation, or on its own. Don't reveal it, conceal it!

MAC Studio Finish Concealer - A lightweight, creamy, discreetly opaque concealer. Provides a smooth, long-wearing invisible coverage for all skin blemishes. Water-resistant, fragrance-free and non-acnegenic. This emollient-based, lightweight concealer is so concentrated that a tiny amount can provide opaque coverage of the skin's imperfections and discolourations. It effectively covers dark circles, blemishes, moles, tattoos and birthmarks. Enriched with antioxidants (derivatives of Vitamin A and Vitamin E), it also contains Silica to help adsorb the skin's oils. Concealer has an SPF of 35 and is available in a wide range of colours. It can be applied with a medium to firm fiber brush (try the 242 Brush), a latex sponge, or the fingertips.

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer - A creamy concealer that provides full coverage with a natural matte finish. Brushes on with enough blend time to conceal any size of blemish. Rich formulation allows you to use a micro-amount of product to even out skin. Water-resistant and long-wearing.

MAC Studio Stick Concealer - Discontinued.

MAC Studio Touch-Up Stick - Discontinued.

Overview: My favorite concealers from MAC remain to be MAC Select Cover-Up & MAC Studio Finish. MAC Select Cover-Up is your basic liquid concealer that gets the job done. It has a good medium coverage which you can build to almost full, and it conceals blemishes very well. It also lasts me throughout the day and doesn't seem to cake and settle in my fine lines. I've been using this concealer since 2006 and continue to repurchase it every time I'm out! MAC Studio Finish concealer is my favorite full coverage concealer. For a lighter coverage, I use my finger to apply it.. and for fuller coverage.. I like using a concealer brush and patting it under my eyes. I recommend moisturizing your under eyes before applying this so it's easier to spread. Despite the fact that this is a creme/cake concealer.. it's not too thick under my eyes and doesn't feel heavy. It's quite possibly my favorite concealer of all time. I like MAC Select Moisturecover, but I think the color is terrible and is probably the main reason I don't use it. I purchased a NW25, because it's my shade in all MAC concealers.. but in Moisturecover, it's very dark (darker than my skin) and very orange. I would like to try it in NW20 and see if I like it better. The coverage is a light/medium and has a nice radiant, satin finish. I don't find it to be long lasting though. MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer is an alright concealer.. The coverage is similar to Studio Finish, but the consistency is completely different. Studio Sculpt is much more creamier. But because of the creaminess.. when I build it to my desired coverage it tends to cake. MAC Studio Stick (discontinued anyway..) is an okay concealer.. I didn't find it to be anything special. I would compare it to any stick concealer you'd find at your local drugstore. You may be able to still find this at a CCO.

Swatches (indoors, flash)

From Left to Right: MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer NW25, MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer NW25, MAC Studio Stick Concealer NW25 and MAC Studio Finish Concealer NW25.

Moisturecover is definitely the darkest and most orange of the four, Select Cover-Up and Studio Stick are almost identical peachy toned and Studio Finish also comes very close to Select Cover-Up and Studio Stick except it's a touch more yellow.

Unfortunately, I misplaced my Studio Sculpt Concealer and is not included in the swatches.

I hope you found this post/swatches helpful!

Ben Nye Products!

I wanted to do a post today about one of my favorite brands - Ben Nye! I get questions regarding Ben Nye products fairly often as I use my Ben Nye Concealer & Neutral Set Powder in many of my FOTD's.

I don't own many Ben Nye products, and the main reason is because the only way I can get Ben Nye products is by ordering online and there aren't many reviews and swatches out there to really see what many of their products actually look like.

Throughout this post, I'm going to briefly go over the products I have and my thoughts about them.


Ben Nye Neutral Set Colorless Face Powder and Ben Nye Banana Visage Luxury Powder

 Neutral Set Translucent Powder is a great, cheap alternative to MAC Blot Powder. I would go thorough Blot Powder so quick, that I switched to this. I don't even go through a whole shaker bottle in one year. I use it under my eyes to set my concealer and then I use a fluffy powder brush and swipe or buff my face to keep the shine away. By the end of the day, I don't need to touch it up. It doesn't change the color of your makeup, it blends in perfectly. If you apply it too heavy though, you will have a temporary white cast. I like to put it thickly under my eyes to brighten the area up a bit.

Banana Luxury Powder is similar to Neutral Set as it's a setting powder with little pigment. It has a yellow/peach tone so it's great for my warm, yellow skintone. I like using it under my eyes to aid in counteracting my dark circles. The consistency is a little softer/finer milled than Neutral Set. I actually like mixing the two!

*TIP to save a mess and wasting product, put a piece of tape over the holes.. except for one or two of them. I do this with all of my powders!



Swatches of Banana Visage and Neutral Set (not blended)

I love Ben Nye's concealers. They are extremely pigmented and provide full coverage. Apparently, you can even cover tattoos with it. I would say they are comparable to MAC Studio Finish Concealer, but a little more creamy. They smell like Halloween/Costume makeup, which is pretty much expected as it is "theatrical" makeup.



Cover All Wheel in the shade SK-1. This is a concealer wheel that consists of 4 different shades: A medium beige, peach, olive yellow and a ruddy tan. This works really well for under the eyes as well as any blemishes or redness. I've even used it all over my face with a great result. You can make it look flawless, yet natural by applying with a damp sponge. The darkest color is a little useless for me, but I sometimes use it to contour.

Blue Neutralizer in the shade NB-2. This particular shade is almost identical to MAC Studio Finish in NW30. I don't have NW30 at the moment to compare, but below I swatched it next to MAC Studio Finish in NW25.



Cool Pink Blush is a vibrant pink, that surpringly isn't really cool. I would actually consider it a warm pink, as it doesn't pull blue or purple at all. It's a little reminiscent of MAC Dollymix (a matte version). When applied lightly, it gives a nice natural flush to the cheeks. What's a bit annoying with this blush though is the texture. It's very, very dry and any moisture will cause the surface to harden, so I'll have to scrape the top layer with a q-tip after I use it a few times. Very annoying and I'm not sure if I'd purchase any other Ben Nye blushes for that reason. Anyone else experience this?


Ben Nye Cool Pink


Swatch of Cool Pink

One of my favorite products that I always re-purchase is Final Seal. If you ever used Benefit Shelaq, its like Shelaq for your whole face (similar to Model in a Bottle). Once you apply your foundation, spritz this on your face and your makeup will stay put all day long. It will withstand heat and sweat. I will usually spritz it on my face after I applied my foundation and use my 187 brush and stipple the product across my face, then spritz it once more. It is alcohol based, so it smells kind of like hair spray. This will not leave your face sticky or stiff. HG product! I didn't take a picture of this, it goes on clear.



Lastly, another one of my favorite products is the Ben Nye Bronzing Tint. This stuff is amazing! I bought it on a complete whim. I first tried it and didn't like it.. had it sitting in my drawer for months and then I tried it again.. and finally figured out how to use it. This is a product I keep continuing to purchase. What it is, is a liquid bronze body tint. Have you ever applied self tanner to your body and your neck/chest isn't as dark as you wanted it to be? This happens to me a lot, so this stuff is my little bronze savior. If I'm going somewhere and I need to touch up on my tan and don't have time to let a new layer of self tanner develop, I use this. All I do is.. pour a little in the cap and dip a bronzer/blush brush and swipe it all over my neck and chest.. and then buff it. It's exactly like applying self tanner. You can control how dark you want to be. You can put a thin layer.. mix it with water or moisturizer.. or apply it thickly for a darker look. it blends great with no streaks. It looks exactly like vanilla extract and doesn't have much of a scent. Throughout the day, it doesn't budge. Its like a temporary dye for your skin! It washes off easily with soap and water.

Do you have any Ben Nye favorites?

Lazy day today.. I did my friends makeup!

For a Saturday.. today is so boring! >:( All I've been doing is lounging around the house with my friend. She asked me to do her hair and makeup because shes seeing a friend she hasn't seen in years.. and she really liked my makeup the other day (Kim K inspired) so, I used some of the same eye shadows. She wanted hers to be a little more on the natural side though.

I did her hair with my rounded 1" flat iron. She has really curly hair, so after it dried from the shower, I worked some leave in conditioner in her hair. I used GVP leave in treatment, and I sprayed a heat protector on her ends, and areas of her hair that are damaged. I used "Beyond the Zone Turn up the Heat flat Iron Protection". I took small sections of her hair and slowly flat ironed the strand all the way to the end, and when I got to the end I curled it in and held it for a couple moments. The heat protectant really makes it easy when you're curling your hair with a flat iron.. it makes the iron smoothly glide across your hair. She loved how it came out.

 

It's a cloudy day today.. so the room was a little dark.. I didn't get good pictures, she was in a hurry :( and she didn't have mascara on yet.. you can see its in her hand. lol

For her face.. she has perfect skin.. all she has is a little darkness under her eyes. So I used a little concealer under her eyes.. and put a little dab on the back of my hand with a little moisturizer and used my stipple brush and applied it all over her face to even out her skin tone. Then, I dusted her face with a powder to set it. Then I applied a blush to her cheeks and went over it with a highlight. Her skin looked flawless. :) Anyway, here's what I used:

FACE:
MAC Select Cover up in NC30
MAC Studio Fix Powder NC30
MAC "So Ceylon" MSF
MAC "New Vegas" MSF

EYES:
MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow in "Inter-view" (used the brown in her crease)
Sephora Colorful Eye Shadow in no. 5 (went over her crease with this)
MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow in "Love Connection" (filled in her lid)
Milani Eye Tech Black Liquid Liner pen (lined her lid)
L'Oreal Extra Intense Liquid Liner Black Pencil (on her waterline)
MAC "Plumage" Eye Shadow (lined under her lower lash line)
MAC "Rice Paper" Eye Shadow (highlight and in the corners of her eyes)
Maybelliene Great Lash Mascara in Black

LIPS:
Clear gloss (she was running late.. lol)

FOTD & MAC Light Over Dark Mineralize Blush!

I was on Kim K's blog today and saw her makeup looked amazing in her latest post! They were going for a more natural look. I love how bronzed and glowy this looked.. so I tried something like this out.. liquid winged liner on top, white on the waterline and plum smudged under my bottom lashes. My lash line is more on the purple side though.. because we all know how I love my purple!!

Kim's look...


Doesn't she look a little like J-lo now?

My look!



 

FACE:
Cinema Secrets Moisture Spray
Make Up Forever HD Foundation #150
MAC Studio Finish Concealer NW25
Ben Nye Neutral Set Translucent Powder (under my eyes)
MAC "So Ceylon" MSF
MAC "Dainty" Mineralize Blush

EYES:
MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow Trio (LE) in "Interview" (I used the brown in my crease)
Sephora colorful eyeshadow in strass no#5 (went over my crease with this)
MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in "Love Connection" (filled my lid with this)
MAC Folie & Top Hat eyeshadow (lower lash line)
Milani Eye Tech Liquid Liner
MAC White eye pencil
Maybelline XXL Extensions Mascara
Ardell Faux Lashes

LIPS:
MAC Hue Lipstick
Milani Lip Gloss (a pink pearly color.. the name rubbed off)

Moving on, here are is what MAC Light Over Dark looks like on my cheeks..


(Pictured left, I have nothing on my cheeks except High Beam. Pictured right, I have applied my MAC Light over Dark Mineralized Blush to my cheekbones, nose and forehead.)





How gorgeous is this color!? I think I applied a little too much. You can easily go over board with this so be careful! You only need a tad. It is super shimmery.