My first set of MAC Products

Note: This is an old entry reposted from my old blog called Boudoir Angel on Tumblr. I'm reposting all of these old entries because I plan to delete my old blog and consolidate everything to this one. Some posts may have its text updated and/or reformatted slightly according to the platform change.

My first set of M.A.C. make-up, a gift from an aunt who'd just come in to visit from the U.S.

I first fell in love with M.A.C. because of Lauren Luke's YouTube tutorials as panacea81. I later tried them at the store counter and thought they were fantastic. They're quite pricey, to be honest, but well worth it.

This is the bag the products came in. Imagine my mad giggling when this was handed to me. A little note to self that I made though was that it's better for me to make my M.A.C. purchases here since it's really just the same price unless you can buy it duty free.

I didn't know until it was too late that there's an alternate version to the Strobe Cream and that, for oily skin like mine, it would actually be better to use that instead of this one.

Despite that though, I've been able to make it work by applying it sparingly and only in areas where I tend to dry up so that's usually my cheeks and then a bit on my nose for under powder highlight. It took a bit of trial and error to get to that point where I figured I knew what I was doing and you'll see me experimenting with that in later reblogs.

Admittedly, I didn't and still don't know all that much about make-up and make-up application but I'm learning both by experimenting and from studying make-up artist friends and YouTube tutorials. It's not something I want to be a pro at,  just good enough so I can give myself a little pick-me-up on down days. For really formal occasions, definitely going to a real pro. These two ladies are my favourites: Rae Venturanza and Ara Fernando.

At the time I asked for this particular colour I had no idea that my skin tone could actually change quite radically depending on how much sunlight I get and how hot it is outside. (Direct sunlight is not the only way your skin can bake, ladies.) This is actually too light for me to wear during the summer but perfect for the rest of the year. This one is the NC42 but during the summer months I'm more of an NC43.


What I love about  the compact is that the puff has its own little nook underneath the powder itself. The bad news is that you don't get refills for these things; you have to buy a new compact each time. It's kind of okay though since they have a Back to M.A.C. program where empty product containers and packaging are returned to the store and they recycle it all for you.

I can't say I'm fond of the puff that comes with the compact though. I find it a bit rough on my skin so I had to hunt for a replacement puff.

When I looked at the site and tried it at the counter, for some reason, it appeared just perfectly fine to me, but actually, it's not and I consider this the deadliest weapon in my make-up arsenal, considering I can very quickly go from pale to lobster given enough heat exposure or even just body heat increase in general. This is the main reason why I don't normally use powder blushes or any other kind of blusher. But I fell in love with this one because I thought it was a cute reddish pink.

Girls, if you do not have the appropriately dark skin tone for Frankly Scarlet, just don't. Hahaha! I learned this the hard way. But applied very sparingly, I can actually still get it to look quite natural on me. Applied heavily, I can use it as a kind of character mode type thing or maybe even turn myself into some kind of nightmare dolly or something similar.

Thankfully powders like this one, stored properly, can last a good deal of time so it's not money wasted.

 

These two have found quite a bit of use to them since I received them but I feel like I'm still such a long way away from finishing either one off. Why? PIGMENT. I think this is part of why a lot of  YouTube make-up tutorial people choose M.A.C. Such strong pigments with so little effort.

On the left is the Velvet Eye Shadow in Sable, and on the right, Lustre Eye Shadow in Aquadisiac. On my skin, I need to put a base under Aquadisiac so that it stands out better but Sable blends so well with my skin that it almost looks natural.

I have fond memories of a certain little girl I met years ago and the lipstick on the left, the Amplified Creme Lipstick in Craving. It's my favourite go-to lip colour if I want something brighter than nude. The Matte Lipstick in Diva, on the other hand, is my favourite drama lipstick. The only thing I hate about it is the effort it takes to get the red pigment to stay put but the effort is worth it once you see the results of all the hard work.

Originally posted as Boudoir Angel on Tumblr, 4 May 2010