My Wedding FOTD

Hi ladies!
Hope y'all had a good weekend.
Mine was pretty good as it featured tonnes of sunbathing and dressing up for my friend Dove's wedding on Saturday. I love dressing up. At first I was going to play it low key with just a blouse and knee-length skirt but then I remembered that it was a Trini wedding and Trini people love to do it up. It was an extravaganza of sequins, chiffon, and taffeta I tell you. I was glad I went with the dress I did.


Anyway. this was the second wedding I went to this summer and I did my hair & makeup the same both times so I thought I would share it with you as I believe I've found the perfect look for summer occasions when I want to look pretty but not overly done up. And since I actually remember what I used, I thought I'd do my very first FOTD for you. Let me know what you think:




This is what I used:

Face:
Maybelline Pure Makeup in Caramel mixed with MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC50
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC50

(I patted the concealer under my eyes and buffed it on my cheeks and upper lip using Scandalous Beauty's awesome method)

Set with MAC Blot Powder in Dark (applied very lightly with a brush - I find it looks ashy if I use a puff)

Lorac Hot Flash (just the bronzer) on my cheeks, chin, top of forehead, and bridge of nose.

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion (of course)

Filled in my brows with dark brown eyeliner and then blended it out with a MAC angle brush and set with Tweezerman Brow Gel

Too Faced Caribbean in a Compact in Snow Bunny as a highlighter on my brow bones (mine broke and all the colours blended together to create a beautiful champagne-y colour that makes me look candlelit)

MAC Antiqued in the crease
MAC Expensive Pink on the lid
MAC Shroom in the inner corners.

I lined the insides of my upper lids only with some Rimmel eyeliner in black (the double-ended one that's black on one side and white on the other)

Ardell Brow & Lash Accelerator Treatment Gel as a mascara primer

Lancôme Hypnôse mascara (never leave home without it)

Cheeks:
MAC Sheertone Shimmer blush in Breezy
(I learned from Sephora's blog how to apply blush properly - who knew?)
I layered this very sheerly over the bronzer so that I would get that lovely pinky-broze flush. I liked it at the time but looking at the picture I'm a little disappointed because you can hardly see it.

Lips:
Well in the picture I didn't have lipstick on but I wore MAC Love Nectar lip glass over HIP Lip Pigment in Coy #458.

What do you guys think???

Product Review: MAC Matte

Hello pretties!
I'm sorry I've been away from you so long, it was a bit of a hectic week at work and my B12 shot is starting to wear off so I'm a bit more tired than usual.

Sidebar: B12 shots are the greatest invention ever for those ladies that are a little less than energetic. Get your bloodwork done if you find yourself dragging ass a little too often.

So today we're talking skincare and no beauty blog would be complete without a MAC post so...

Without further ado, today's topic is: MAC Matte

MAC's website describes Matte as "A matte-ifying cream that acts like a powder Matte adds a sheer, no-shine matte texture in one smooth layer" Well as some people say, they ain't never lied. I have extremely oily skin and this is a great product for helping to control shine. Let me just reiterate it: it helps to control shine. It does not completely eliminate it.

I apply a thin layer of matte over my moisturizer (This week I used LaRoche-Posay's Effaclar) and under my foundation (MAC StudioFix Liquid). I've heard talk on MUA that some people noticed their pores were a lot less visible after applying Matte. That didn't happen for me, but then again I don't pay a whole lot of attention to whether I can see my pores on a daily basis.

Update: Yeah clearly I don't pay attention when I do things, because the other day I actually looked at my face while I was applying this, and my suitcase-sized pores were disappearing before my eyes. So yes it does make pores less visible.

Anyway, after applying it my skin felt silky and was noticeably less shiny. It also makes my foundation go one more easily and I find I even use less now. (One pump and a foundation brush is more than enough for my whole face). I set it with Blot Powder applied with a brush and my skin looks great until lunchtime. That's about 5 hours.

I can't lie: I do need to apply powder to my nose a couple of times throughout my workday, but overall this product really helps to keep me look fresh through the end of my day. Prior to this, I would get home and look at myself and all my foundation and concealer would be worn off and my face would just be a big ole shiny greaseball mess. Now. I may be glowing a little bit when I get home but I still look like a presentable human being.

Another thing I love about this product is that it just feels natural on my face. I've used other oil control products that have helped to control shine, but by the end of the day my skin literally felt like it was choking on all the oil it was not allowed to produce. It was a very creepy feeling that I just did not enjoy at all.

So the wiwfm verdict is yes...depending on your objectives. If you want something to stop your face from producing oil whatsoever, this is not going to work for you. Is there even a product out there that does that? I don't know. Anyway, if your objective is to find something to help you fight the battle against shine, this will do it.

Sidebar #2 - the website also says "apply M·A·C Matte to eyelids before applying Eye Shadow or Paints to help increase the longevity of the makeup and reduce creasing". I can't comment on this claim because even though this does get on my eyelids when I apply it to my whole face, I use Urban Decay Primer Potion as my main primer. But give it a try ladies and let me know how it works for you.