Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Preview: MAC – MAC Me Over collection

Hey!



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Ok, I’ll admit, I’m a MAC addict! Everytime information about a new MAC collection pops up somewhere on the internet, I’m all over it to make up my wish list. I’m a loyal follower of Temptalia, who always posts great information, reviews, pictures and  swatches of pretty much everything is every single MAC collection. I’m sure you all know her :). Based on what she posts, I decide what I think is worth checking out in person when the collection releases in stores. I often don’t even look at the other stuff because I just end up getting even more stuff if I don’t eliminate certain items in advance. She always puts up the US and Canada launch date, and when it’s launched internationally. For the exact launch date for Belgium and The Netherlands I always check Beautyscene.nl or call my local MAC store (usually the first saturday of the month for big collections).

The MAC collection thats coming out next is “MAC Me Over”. For this collection, they had a contest last year of which they picked 6 winners who got a MAC makeover. This huge collection is devided into 3 parts: Basics, New Black and Icelandic Cool.

Basics:

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Things I want to check out:
- Moleskin eyeshadow: looks like a nice matte neutral brown, want to see how similar it is to Wedge.
- Mythical eyeshadow: looks really pretty but might be similar to other eyeshadows I have (Sexpectations maybe?), I love veluxe pearl eyeshadows.
- Carbonized eyeshadow: another veluxe pearl, supposed to be very similar to Center Stage (which I have) so probably gonna skip this.
- Equilibrium blush: neutral light brown-bronze.£
- Stunner blush: coral-pink, don’t have that many blushes from MAC and they both look really pretty and wearable.


New Black:

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Things I want to check out:
- Dark Diversion: dark plum, nice colour for green eyes.
- Dark Envy: dark green, I really like fluidlines!
- 211 brush: fine tapered liner brush, looks interesting.


Icelandic Cool:

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Things I want to check out:
- Lady Grey  eyeshadow quad: these look like very soft colours that would be great for a daytime look that’s just a little different from the usual neutral colours.
- 226 brush: I have the Sigma dupe of this brush but it’s not as tapered as I’d like, if the MAC one isn’t as tapered as I want, I’ll probably get the Louise Young 38A tapered brush.


If you wonder why I haven’t put any of the lip products on my wish list, that’s just because I personally rarely wear anything on my lips, so I’m not going to spend a lot of money on lip products.

If you want to see bigger pictures of all the items in this collection, including all the before and after pictures from all the makeovers, click HERE to go to Temptalia’s original post with official pictures. For a complete overview of the collection and swatches, go ahead and watch her video HERE. Lastly, if you want to know what her recommendations and comparisons are, and links to reviews of all the products, go HERE.

The MAC Me Over collection launches internationally September 2011, September 3rd for Belgium and The Netherlands. If you want to know when the collection will hit stores in your country, I suggest calling your local MAC store!

Are there any items from this collection that you really want to get?

Up next: my must have, can't live without eye brushes!

x
Tanja


Pictures source: Temptalia.com


NOTD: OPI Serena Glam Slam England: Grape…Set…Match & Servin’ Up Sparkle

Hi!


In my previous post I promised a sparkly NOTD, and that’s exactly what this is!

OPI has teamed up with tennisstar Serena Williams this year and they’re created a couple really cool duos for their collection. The collection consists of different smaller collections, England being one of them. The Glam Slam England collection includes two duos, the one I’m showing you today being one of them.
Out of all the sets, this is definitely my favorite one! I love purple and I love glitter, so how could it not be :).


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Grape…Set…Match is a beautiful shimmery purple. Different from any other shimmery purple in my collection because of its magenta and blue-purple duochrome shimmer. The base of this polish is kind of a dark purple/plum. Looks absolutely gorgeous! What I didn’t like so much about this polish is thatI found it quite difficult to get it opaque. Also, because of the shimmer, it’s kind of hard to remove, but then again it also didn’t chip on me as fast as some creme polishes do.

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  Pictures taken indoors, with natural light and flash.

Servin’ Up Sparkle has a clear base with small round and a little bigger hexagonal holographic glitters in it. I love holographic glitter in general and I like how this one has different size glitters. It’s super sparkly in bright light and especially in sun light (unfortunately,I failed to capture just how sparkly it is in the pictures). I was hoping the glitter would be a little more dense and that there would be a little more hexagonal glitter in it, but that problem is easily solved with an extra coat (= more sparklyness! :) )

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Pictures taken outside in sun light, one blurry one to show the holo sparkle :)


Not sure if this is still available in stores, but here’s a list of where to find it online!

Do you like this set and the combination of these two colours? Have you tried any of the other duos?


Up next: MAC – MAC Me Over collection overview!

x
Tanja

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Favorites: Makeup artist and beauty blogger, Linda Hallberg

Hello hello!

Today’s post is about one of my favorite blogs to look at when I need inspiration or when I just want tolook at beautiful makeup looks. The blog I’m talking about is the one from Linda Hallberg.

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I love this girl, she’s gorgeous! I love the looks she does and the way she does her makeup. She’s a 24 year old Swedish hair and makeup artist who works for Make Up Store.

She posts EOTD’s mostly and I love them for inspiration. She loves to use colours and knows how to combine them. She also writes about products she likes, clients she worked on, personal stuff,… She writes in Swedish, but I always use Google translate so I know what she’s talking about.

I’ll show you some of my favorite looks by her!
Some colourful looks:

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Smokey eyes:

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Creative looks:

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She does neutral looks too :) :

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And she’s great with hair as well!:

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So do you like her looks? Did you already know Linda Hallberg?
Definitely go check out her blog if you didn’t!!


Up next: a sparkly NOTD!

x
Tanja

Friday, August 19, 2011

EOTD: Sleek Makeup - Oh So Special palette

Hiya!

I have another EOTD for you all today! For this look I used the Oh So Special palette from Sleek Makeup. This palette was added to their permanent line not too long ago. I bought it together with the CuraƧao palette. I did a look with that palette here, and if you want to see my post on both palettes click here.

Sleek products can be purchased at SleekMakeup.com, or if you live close to the Netherlands, check out these online stores: Boozyshop.nl, Enchantra.eu, or Alicejohavesentials.nl.

On to the EOTD:

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The Oh So Special palette:



Products used:

- MAC Brun: to fill in my brows, with an angled bush (MAC 263).

- NYX Jumbo pencil in Milk: applied on the lid all the way up to the brow with my finger

- Sleek Bow: on the entire lid and inner corner and as a brow highlight, with a flat shader brush (MAC 239).

- Sleek The Mail: applied in the crease to make it easier to blend the darker colours, with a blending brush (MAC 217)

- Sleek Gift Basket: applied on the lid  with a flat shader brush (MAC 239)

- MAC Naked Lunch: in the inner corner, with a pencil brush (MAC 219)

- Sleek Boxed and Celebrate: mixed both and applied in the crease with a blending brush (MAC 217)

- Sleek Celebrate: to darken up the crease and outer corner, also applied on the lower lashline with a pencil brush (MAC 219)

- Sleek Noir: used with an angled brush (MAC 266) to line top and bottom lashline softly.

- Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero: to line lower waterline.

- False lashes from Claire's, with DUO Lash adhesive.

- Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara: few coats on the top lashes, one coat on bottom lashes.



Some more pictures:

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This palette is really nice if you like neutral colours. I like that it has matte and shimmery colours!

Thank you for stopping by!

Up next: one of my favorite blogs for inspiration.

x
Tanja

Thursday, August 18, 2011

NOTD: Blue My Mind & Disco Mix

Hello everyone!

It’s been a couple of days since my last post, because my laptop gave up on me a couple days ago. I’m currently on my brother’s laptop which will have to do for now.

In my last post I said my next one would be another NOTD with glitter. Since the pictures for that post are on my laptop, it’s gonna be a different post, but also one with glitter!


Last time I was at my local drugstore, I noticed all Rimmel products were half off. So I had to pick up some of their products. I got two nail polishes, one of them being 810 Blue My Mind.

I'm not quite sure how to describe this colour. It looks like what I would call a dark royal blue on the pictures, but in person it looks more purple. Either way, gorgeous colour!
The formula was nice, though I did need 3 coats to get it completely opaque. It's pretty shiny on it's own, but I did use my trusty Seche Vite.


 
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Here's a picture of the bottle in fluorescent light which shows how it can look more purple.

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I couldn't wear it more than one day without putting some glitter on top of it of course :)
I added Models Own - Disco Mix, which is a blue and magenta glitter, starting at the bottom, fading it diagonally.

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Here's a little picture I took with my old camera from a swatch I did when I first got Disco Mix.



I bought it during the 50% off sale that Models Own had on their website last year for getting 10 000 (it think it was) likes on Facebook. If you want to see all the polishes I got then, click here.
They're having another 50% off sale again this year as soon as they hit 50 000 likes. So go and like their Facebook page right now if you haven't already!


I hope my dad can recover my pictures from my laptop so that I can still post the pictures I wanted use for this post some other time.

Thank you for stopping by!

Up next: EOTD with Sleek's Oh So Special palette.


x
Tanja

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Makeover: Magali

Hello!


After I was finished doing Michelle’s makeup, it was Magali’s turn for a makeover!

Here’s the before picture:


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And here she is again, after makeup:


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Can’t forget the “Excuse-moi” mirror picture :) :


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Before and afte pictures together (different pictures than the previous ones):


Before & After 2


Did you see that sexy, smoldering look in the second picture? lol


Face:
- Revlon Colorstay for normal/dry skin in 110 Ivory and 180 Sand Beige
- MAC Select Cover-up in NW20
- MAC Blot Powder Pressed in Medium
- MAC Studio Careblend/Pressed in Gold-Go-Lightly (LE: Surf Baby collection)
- MAC Prim &Proper blush (LE: Give Me Liberty of London collection)
- ELF Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal



Lips:
- She put on a lipgloss she bought in Spain, don’t know what brand it is.


Eyes:


Magali Makeover



How I achieved this look:
- Urban Decay Primer Potion Original: applied on the lid all the way up to the brow with my finger
- MAC Brun: to fill in my brows, with an angled bush (MAC 268). (I didn’t use anything on her brows)
- MAC Vanilla: as a browbone highlight, applied with a flat shader brush (MAC 239)
- Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil in Perversion: smudges along the upper lashes, blended with a stiff pencil brush (MAC 219)
- MAC Woodwinked: all over the lid, applied with a flat shader brush (MAC 239) and blended up in to the crease with a blending brush (MAC 217).
- MAC Mulch: Applied in the crease and blended out with a blending brush (MAC 217).
- MAC Vainglorious (LE: Venomous Villains collection): smudged along the lower lashline with e pencil brush (MAC 219).
- MAC Ricepaper: In the inner corner, with a pencil brush (MAC 219)
- MAC Carbon: used to softly line the upper lashline, with an angled brush (MAC 268)

- Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara: few coats on the top lashes, one coat on bottom lashes.
- False Lashes from Claire's applied with DUO Lash Adhesive. (Didn’t use lashes on her because I forgot to pack them)


Who wants to be my next model? haha

Hope you liked it and thank you for reading!
Up next: another NOTD (with glitter, yay!)

x
Tanja



Friday, August 12, 2011

EOTD: Colourful look with the CuraƧao palette from Sleek Makeup

Hello beauties!

I have another EOTD for you all. For this look, I used the CuraƧao eyeshadow palette from Sleek Makeup that came out with the Caribbean collection. You can read my post about this palette and swatches here.
This palette has a lot of fun, bright colours in it which are great for summer. Even though we haven't seen the sun all that much yet here in Belgium, I decided to brighten up my day with these beautiful colours:





Here’s a list of all the products I used and how I used them:

- MAC Siahi Fluidline: as a base all over the lid up to the crease, applied and blended with fingers.

- MAC Blacktrack Fluidline: used to line top and bottom waterline, smudged between the lashes and lined upper lashline with a little wing, with a small liner brush (MAC 209).

- MAC Brun: to fill in my brows with an angled brush (MAC 263).

- MAC Vanilla eyeshadow: as a browbone highlight, applied with a flat shader brush (MAC 239)

- Sleek Green Iguana (from the CuraƧao palette) : on the inner corner and the inner half of the lower lashline and over the Siahi fluidline, so on the lid with a flat shader brush (MAC 239) and blended in to the crease (MAC 217).

- Sleek Purple Haze (from the CuraƧao palette)applied with a small pencil brush (MAC 219) and blended slightly upwards. Also applied on the outer half of the lower lashline, blended with the Iguana Green

- Sleek Singapore Sling (from the CuraƧao palette) : applied right above the Purple haze, blended together and upwards with a pencil brush (MAC 219) 

- Sleek Espresso Martini (from the CuraƧao palette): used to darken the outer corner, with e pencil brush (MAC 219).

Max Factor False Lash Effect mascarafew coats on the top lashes, one coat on bottom lashes.

- False Lashes from Claire's applied with DUO Lash Adhesive.



A couple more pictures from different angles.












Thank you for stopping by!


Up next: another makeover/before & after!

x
Tanja

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Favorites: Makeup artists Samantha & Nicola Chapman from Pixiwoo

Hey guys!


Today's post will be about one two of my favorite "beauty gurus" on Youtube.

I discovered the Youtube beauty community about 2 years ago. I set up an account and subscribed to a bunch of people. Right now I'm subscribed to 103 channels (not all are beauty-related though), but there are a couple people who's videos I always watch immediately when I see them in my subscriptions. One of the beauty channels' videos I always look forward to, are the ones from Pixiwoo!

This Youtube channel is run by 2 lovely sisters from the UK: Samantha and Nicola Chapman. Not only are they both awesome makeup artists and absolutely gorgeous, they also have great personalities and are very pleasant to watch. 

I've learned so much from them since I started watching their videos. It's like having your very own private teachers! They do both teach makeup and you can really tell they know what they're talking about when it comes to using and applying makeup. I love how they have videos that show you the basics, but also more creative looks which would be more for photo-shoots and fashion. They also do a lot of celebrity inspired look and they look stunning every single time! They've organized their videos in different playlists on their channel which is very helpful to find the video you're looking for.

I know most people probably already know Sam and Nic, but I wanted to make this post because I think that everyone should know about them because they're simply amazing!


Here are some of my favorite videos from their different playlists:


TREND




BASICS




CELEBRITY INSPIRED




CREATIVE




PRODUCT REVIEWS




PERIOD LOOKS




They also have a website: www.Pixiwoo.com.

Also, Samantha Chapman recently came out with her own brush line which I really really want to try because I've seen so many great reviews on the brushes! They're the Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman and are available at Ulta in the US, and Internationally on Love Makeup and VictoriaHealth.

So definitely check out their Youtube channel and Website if you haven't already! And if you have tried some of the Real Techniques brushes, let me know what you think of them!

Thanks for reading!


Up next: a colourful look with the Sleek CuraƧao palette

x
Tanja

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

NOTD: Funky Glitter Tips

Bonjour!

It's been a while since I've posted a NOTD (nail of the day) or anything related to nails really, but today I have a nail-art look for you guys! I was inspired by ThePoshPolish who did a funky french glitter manicure (you can have a look at her post here). I loved this idea so much that I wanted to give it a try. It's a great way to use glitter without it being too much and I love nail art that I can easily do on my right hand (using my non-dominant left hand).
Definitely check out her blog, she has gorgeous nails, posts really nice pictures and had great nail art ideas!

Here are my pictures:






I used China Glaze - Below Deck from the Anchors Away collection. This was limited edition but I'm sure you could find a dupe for it. It's very similar to OPI - Metro Chic, Essie - Merino Cool or Catrice - From Dusk To Dawn. The glitter I used is OPI - Show It And Glow It, from the Burlesque collection. 

I don't like it as much as I liked her combination. She used Essie - Master Plan and OPI - Mad As A Hatter (which I wish I owned :( !! ), but any combination you like is possible. 
Overall, I don't think this came out too bad for a first try.

Hope you like it too and until next time!


Up next: one of my favorite YouTube guru's!


x
Tanja

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Makeover: Michelle (part 2)

Hi!


I love playing around with makeup on myself but also on other! I enjoy just hanging out with friends and doing their makeup. Especially the ones that don't really wear a lot of makeup because the the transformation is a lot more noticeable. But most of all, I love making them feel beautiful (not that they aren't without makeup!).

Last week, I did another makeover on my friend Michelle. I did one last year which you can check out here.

Here is the before picture (and thank you Michelle for letting me post this ;) )





And here she is again, with makeup this time:





One more for fun :) :





Both pictures together:




What did I use?

Face:
- Revlon Colorstay for normal/dry skin in 180 Sand Beige
- MAC Select Cover-up in NW20
- MAC Blot Powder Pressed in Medium
- MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark
- MAC Dame blush
- ELF Shimmering Facial Whip in Golden Peach


Lips:
- NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in 141 Silver Plum


For the eyes, I recreated the look on myself so I could take a close-up picture (click picture for a larger view!):






I used:


- Urban Decay Primer Potion Original: applied on the lid all the way up to the brow with my finger
- MAC Brun: to fill in my brows, with an angled bush (MAC 268). (I mixed Wedge with a little bit of Groundcover for Michelle's brows, I need to buy Omega for blondes!)
- MAC Vanilla: as a browbone highlight, applied with a flat shader brush (MAC 239)
- MAC Vintage Selection paintpot (LE: Cham-Pale collection): applied on the lid and inner corner with a flat shader brush (MAC 239)
- MAC Quarry and Shale: mixed both and applied in the crease with a blending brush (MAC 217)
- MAC Sketch: smudged along the upper lashline and the outer 1/4th of the lower lashline with a pencil brush (MAC 219)
- L'Oreal Lineur Intense: made a winged liner on the upper lashline
Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara: few coats on the top lashes, one coat on bottom lashes.


We had fun and she liked the look so everyone was happy :).


Thanks for reading and until next time!


Up next: some glitter nail art!


x
Tanja

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Favorites: Top 10 MAC eyeshadows!






Hey everyone!

Today I'm sharing my 10 favorite MAC eyeshadows with you. These are my go-to colours that I reach for the most.

With each colour I'll put the finish, the colour description that's on the MAC website and why I love the eyeshadow as much as I do.


Here they are all together:


Swatches in daylight

Swatches with flash



1. Vanilla (Velvet): "Peachy-ivory with reflects"
I use this colour as a brow highlight with pretty much every eyelook. I like my hightlight to be matte and even though this eyeshadow has some reflects in it, they are barely noticeable. You can only really see them when bright light hits them. You can tell by the amount of pan showing how much I use this colour. 
I also use this as a inner corner highlight when I don't want it to be shimmery.

Vanilla (Flash, daylight)


2. Naked Lunch (Frost): "Minimal pink with shimmer"
This was one of the first eyeshadows I bought from MAC, and you can see I've gotten some good use out of it! I love this one as a inner corner highlight or all over the lid when I'm using lighter colours. I think this would be suitable for many different skin colours. Beautiful!

Naked Lunch


3. Wedge (Matte): "Soft muted beige taupe"
It's a nice warm brown that I always use as a transition colour in between the colour in my crease and my browbone highlight. It makes the transition much smoother and makes it a lot easier to blend. I only got this colour recently but I fell in love with it the first time I used it. 

Wedge


4. Quarry (Matte): "Soft muted plum brown"
I love this matte colour. It's very pigmented and easy to blend. I use it a lot in the crease or on the lid for a darker look. It shows up darker and more purple on my skin than it does in the pan which I like. Love this for a matte smokey eye!

Quarry


5. Shale (Satin): "Mauve plum with subtle shimmer"
This was the second colour I ever bought from MAC (after Beauty Marked). I love the shimmer in this. When applied sheer it's super wearable for any day time look, but you can really build it up to make the colour a lot darker for an evening look. Goes with neutrals and colours, especially with purples!

Shale


6. Satin Taupe (Frost): "Taupe with silver shimmer"
I know this is a favorite of many and I decided to get it cause it was mentioned so often. I love taupes in general and I love this one too! I like how it looks with my green eyes. I often use it in the crease with Naked Lunch on the lid. Also love wearing it on its own with some black along the lashes for a smokey look. (Click for a look I did with Satin Taupe)

Satin Taupe


7. Twinks (Veluxe Pearl): "Deep plum with pearl" (can you tell I love plums? :) )
Another one I only got a couple months ago. Great crease colour or smudged along the lashline. Compliments my green eyes because of the red undertones. Veluxe pearl is also my favorite finish by MAC. I love how they apply, blend and how pigmented they are.

Twinks


8. Brun (Satin) : "Muted blackish-brown"
Not necessarily a pretty colour, but I always use this one to fill in my eyebrows. It's a satin but looks matte, which is great for eyebrows. 

Brun


9. Club (Satin): "Red brown with green pearl"
This is the main colour I used in my previous post. I love how duochromes look like you applied more than one colour. When blended out you can see more of the red brown base colour. When it's packed on or applied over a dark base, the gorgeous green shimmer really makes it pop. It's like a toned down version of Blue Brown pigment.

Club


10. Sumptuous Olive (Veluxe Pearl): "Khaki with pearl"
I don't use it as often as I should but everytime I use it I remember why I love it so much. It's not really a duochrome but it's kind of in between a gold and a green with some brown in it. Also like using it on its own, like Satin Taupe. Great if you want to use some colour but in a subtle way. (Click for a look I did with Sumptuous Olive)

Sumptuous Olive






And that's all ten of them!


Before I go, here's an overview of the different finishes MAC eyeshadows come in and how MAC describes them (Source)

-  FROST
An iridescent shine that adds a highlight to any colour.

-  LUSTRE
Smoothly pearlized; intensely frosted with deluxe ultra-fine "conditioned" finish.

-  MATTE
Hi-colour pay-off in a no-shine matte finish.

-  SATIN
Pure colour in a satin-style finish. Provides a soft subtle non-frost, light-refractive sheen.

-  VELUXE
Superfine pigment rich and very luxe. Supple to apply. Provides silky smooth matte finish.

-  VELUXE PEARL
Vibrantly-toned. Velvety soft. Shimmeringly metallic. Veluxe eye shadow, now overlaid with high-shine pearl.

-  VELVET
Soft look finish with high-colour intensity. Has a plush velvety look and feel.


That's all folks!

Up next: Makeover on my friend Michelle + EOTD (did one previously here)


x
Tanja