Green and Blue Eye Look Using MAC Rated R and Birds And Berries Eye Shadows

Here is a green and blue look featuring some of the MAC eyeshadows that I hardly use. Let's start with Rated "R" from the Love That Look collection. Honestly, I think this was my first time (!) to use this eyeshadow. I love it, though. It's a pretty light yellow green or lime green that looks great for summer. It's been released a year or two ago, but it's only now that I've come to use it. That's what you get when you have a bajillion eyeshadows, both pressed and mineral ones!



For the blue part of my look, I used MAC Birds and Berries eyeshadow from the Give Me Liberty of London collection. It's a beautiful deep teal/dark blue with shimmer. It's perfect as an outer lid color and I didn't know that it can actually work with a lime green on the lid.



Incidentally, another color from the Love That Look collection, Strike A Pose, is an almost-dupe for Birds and Berries.


I also used my beloved MAC greens in Greensmoke and Flourishing to lend some olive green tones to the look.

Here's a step-by-step. All products MAC unless otherwise stated.


Apply Urban Decay primer potion in Sin all over lid and browbone. Using a stiff shader brush like the 239, apply Rated "R" on the lid with patting motions.


Using the Sonia Kashuk blender/crease brush, apply Greensmoke on outer V.

Smokey Eyes Using MAC Smoke and Diamonds and Formal Black Smokey Eye Palette

I've always said that I haven't really used my MAC Smoke and Diamonds eyeshadow that much because I didn't like its color pay-off on my lid. I realized that I had to apply a cream shadow base of about the same shade underneath to make the beautiful color pop. I went to Sephora and just browsed through the products for a good one hour, and I eventually purchased this Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Skinny Jeans, a beautiful pewter color that turned out to be an excellent base for my Smoke and Diamonds. For the first time since I got Smoke and Diamonds, I really appreciated and loved the color on my lid. Skinny Jeans made Smoke and Diamonds' color truly vibrant on the lids, and made my smokey eye crease-free throughout the night. I wore this look at an all-girls night out watching comedian Gabriel Iglesias, and we waited for an hour and a half outside the theater during a hot summer night in Arizona in 90-degree heat. Nonetheless, my smokey eye remained intact and immaculate despite the heat. This is definitely HG material right here.



I also used my beautiful MAC Formal Black/Holiday Smoked Eye palette for this look. This is one of my favorite smokey eye palettes that MAC has ever come up with. The colors are gorgeous and classy/classic. The rest of the eyeshadows I used for this look came from this palette.


I also used my MAC mineralize blush in LoveJoy for this look.


On the lips, I used Blankety lipstick topped with Stop! Look! dazzleglass.

Here is a step-by-step, but the photos start on the third step as the pictures got corrupted in my memory card. All products MAC unless otherwise noted.


Apply Urban Decay primer potion all over lid, browbone and lower lashline. Using a fluffy eyeshadow brush, apply Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in Skinny Jeans on lid. Using the 239 brush, apply Smoke and Diamonds shadow in patting motions on the lid. Using Sonia Kashuk blender brush, apply Club on the outer V.


Using the Sonia Kashuk blender brush, apply Black Tied on the outer V.


Blend the colors together using the 224.

MAC Love That Look Swatches and Review Part II

NOTE: Lotusland, Top Hat and Mink & Sable are not part of the current Starflash release.

As I have stated in my previous entry, MAC Love That Look Initial Swatches and Review, I really like the Starflash formula as it glides silky and dreamlike on the skin, and unlike some formulas like lustre, it doesn't tug on the lids or create too-sheer washes. I've viewed and played with all colors, so here are my thoughts on them. The swatches below were taken without base under direct sunlight, so you can really see how the colors look like under natural light.

(Review and swatches after the jump)











Dreammaker is a lovely frosty yellow gold that would be great as either a wash color, highlighter on the browbone or the inner corners. I didn't get it as I have several near-dupes for this. It is a lovely color that could be a staple in every makeup kit, I believe.

Grand Entrance is a frosty neutral peach. This one is REALLY frosty, so if you don't like shimmer, skip this one. I've had it since last year, and I like to use it as an inner lid color to brighten up my eyes, paired with a darker matte crease or outer V color to balance the frostiness.

Ego is a light yellow pink that I got. This would be great to highlight for purples and pinks, or as a wash. I am such a girly-girl, so of course I've got to get Ego.

Fashion Groupie is a light blue violet that I said in the first review is similar to Satellite Dreams. This would be good to pair with purples, pinks, blues, even yellows or golds.

Unbasic White is a bright off-white that would be great as a highlighter. Such a bright color can't make me think of any use for this except to highlight. I can see this as an amazing highlighter for the tearducts to make the eyes look and appear brighter, fresher and more rested.

Glamour Check! is one of my favorite colors from this collection. It is a frosty reddish brown that reminds me of a lighter version of Twinks. Pretty for a fun neutral eye look.

One-Off is a mid-tone green with silver pearl, and one look at it reminded me of my limited edition Guacamole eyeshadow, so I skipped this. Lovely color, though, and if you like greens like me, go get this.

Rated "R" is a bright yellow green that is similar to Sharp from the Tempting quad of Cult of Cherry collection. I used it in THIS LOOK, and it reminded me of my Lucky Green eyeshadow. I used Greenstroke paint pot underneath, though, so the look might be a bit different without Greenstroke.

Style Snob is a dirty pink brown with gold pearl that is absolutely gorgeous. This is my most favorite of the bunch. This would be great as a wash or as a subtle crease color, and to blend gradient colors. This is similar to Twillery from the Inventive Eyes quad, and it also reminds me of Warming Trend from the Cool Heat collection, but they are not entirely dupes of each other.


Twillery and Warming Trend

Smoke & Diamonds, again, is the star of this collection. It is a frosty dirty taupe that I've had since last year, but I don't use it. I guess the reason is that it didn't look too good without a grey cream base underneath. I will get a grey eye primer and will post a look using this. I bet this would look fantastic once the color truly pops on my lid.

Strike A Pose - this caught my eye at the MAC store so I had to have it. It is a beautiful dirty/deep blue green that would be amazing as a summer color. I don't have a MAC eyeshadow that looks similar to this, so I know this would not languish in my 15-pan palette.

Fashion is a light grey green with gold pearl that I didn't really pay much attention to, but if I come back to the counter and see that this would make a great lid color, I would totally get this as well.

As always, the Pearlglide liners glide like butter, and the colors are lovely. Molasses is a dirty mid-tone brown with brown glitter that I am planning to get for those neutral looks that I always sport. Check my previous review for more swatches of these Pearlglides.

MAC Love That Look: Official Images and Product Description

NOTE: For initial swatches and review, CLICK HERE.

For a look featuring Rated "R" shadow, CLICK HERE. More swatches coming soon!

Love That Look brings back Starflash Eye Shadow, an astro-silky, creamy, cushion-like, pearl-finished shadow, in a fantasia of 12 frosted shades. This time, the colours are intensified and run across the spectrum. Pearlglide Eye Liners in four glittering shades, Zoomlash Mascara and two brushes, the 217 and the 239, help make sure eyes are covered.

Starflash Eye Shadow
Dreammaker Frosty yellow gold (frost)
Grand Entrance Frosty neutral peach beige
Smoke & Diamonds Frosty dirty taupe (frost)
Glamour Check! Frosty reddish brown
Strike A Pose Dirty/deep blue green
Ego Light yellow pink
Fashion Groupie Light Blue Violet
Unbasic White Bright off white
One-Off Mid-tone Green with Silver Pearl
Rated "R" Bright yellow pink
Style Snob Dirty pink brown with gold pearl
Fashion Light grey green with gold pearl
Suggested Retail Price: $14.50 U.S./$17.50 CDN

PEARLGLIDE EYE LINER
Rave Deep purple with purple glitter
Fly-By-Blu Light blue with blue glitter
Molasses Dirty brown mid-tone brown glitter
Black Russian Black with navy blue glitter
Suggestion Retail Price: $14.50 U.S./$17.50 CDN

Zoomlash
Zoomblack Rich Black
Suggested Retail Price: $13.00 U.S./$15.50 CDN

Available
North America July 30, 2009 at all M·A·C locations and www.maccosmetics.com
International August 2009 at at all M·A·C locations and www.maccosmetics.com

(NOTE: I saw this collection already out at my mall's Nordstrom MAC counter, so you might want to check this out at your own local stores.)

Greens and Olives Using MAC Love That Look Eyeshadow in Rated "R"

Here's my take on the Rated "R" eyeshadow from the MAC Love That Look collection. In my MAC Love That Look Initial Review and Swatches post, I'd mentioned that Rated "R" looks similar to Sharp from the Tempting Quad of the Cult of Cherry collection. When worn, however, it looks a lot like my limited edition eyeshadow in Lucky Green. It looks like this lime-moss green that is very pretty. The Starflash formula is, as always, amazing, and it was just a dream to apply.


I used Greensmoke and Humid to deepen the crease and outer V.


I also used the shadows from the Holiday Passions of Red Warm Eyes palette. I used Sweet Joy to highlight and my favorite dark green Grand Entrance on the crease.




I also used Improvise mineralize blush and Warm Blend MSF from the Colour Craft collection. Gah, I love these two! Improvise is a gorgeous color on the cheeks, and Warm Blend is amazing as a contour color/bronzer. These two products are definite keepers for me.

Here's a step-by-step illustration. All products MAC unless otherwise noted.


Apply Bare Canvas paint on lids and browbone and lower lashline. Smooth with finger. Using a fluffly shader brush, apply Greenstroke paint pot on lid.


Apply Rated "R" on the lid in quick patting motions using a stiff shader brush (Loew Cornell Maxine's Mop 3/8" or 239 brush).


Using a soft blender brush (I used a generic brand I found at Walgreens), apply Greensmoke on the crease going down to the outer V. Softly blend the colors using the 224 brush.

MAC Love That Look Initial Swatches and Review

Finally, it's almost that time of the year again for my favorite MAC eyeshadow formula - Starflash! Here is a preview of some of the new eyeshadows from the collection. It will be featuring repromotes from the Starflash collection of last year, as well as some new additions. Here are the descriptions of the products in the color story:

Starflash Eye Shadow
Dreammaker Frosty yellow gold (frost)
Grand Entrance Frosty neutral peach beige
Smoke & Diamonds Frosty dirty taupe (frost)
Glamour Check! Frosty reddish brown
Strike A Pose Dirty/deep blue green
Ego Light yellow pink
Fashion Groupie Light Blue Violet
Unbasic White Bright off white
One-Off Mid-tone Green with Silver Pearl
Rated "R" Bright yellow pink
Style Snob Dirty pink brown with gold pearl
Fashion Light grey green with gold pearl
Suggested Retail Price: $14.50 U.S./$17.50 CDN

PEARLGLIDE EYE LINER
Rave Deep purple with purple glitter
Fly-By-Blu Light blue with blue glitter
Molasses Dirty brown mid-tone brown glitter
Black Russian Black with navy blue glitter
Suggestion Retail Price: $14.50 U.S./$17.50 CDN

Zoomlash
Zoomblack Rich Black
Suggested Retail Price: $13.00 U.S./$15.50 CDN

Available
North America July 30, 2009 at all M·A·C locations and www.maccosmetics.com
International August 2009 at at all M·A·C locations and www.maccosmetics.com

I noticed that MAC eliminated those Starflash and Pearl Glide colors that really didn't sell well the last time, and those that were not repromoted ended up in cosmetic company outlets and were seen languishing there by yours truly. I kinda agree with MAC however on those that they decided to repromote, as they are decidedly the best of the bunch.

I really like the Starflash formula because these babies simply glide like butter on the lids, and the pigmentation and staying power are amazing. Here are some of the swatches I took of the Starflash collection eyeshadows released last year:




NOTE: Grand Entrance should read Dreammaker.

(See rest of review and swatches after the jump)

Here are the swatches of the new Starflash shadows. They are amazingly pigmented and they showed up vividly on my skin even without a base underneath. Is that cool or what?



Fashion Groupie is a very pretty blue violet that is very similar to Satellite Dreams. I compared and swatched them side-by-side, and they can be dupes for each other. The only difference is that I prefer the Starflash finish of Fashion Groupie (which is soft and glides like butter on the lids).

Rated "R" is the equivalent of Sharp (from the Tempting quad of Cult of Cherry) in the Starflash collection. It is a clean yellow green that would be great for summer colors like green, pink, and even neutrals and bronzes.

Style Snob- Oh my goodness. This is GORGEOUS. This is going to be I think my absolute favorite from this collection. It is a dirty pink brown that reminds me of Twillery from the Inventive Eyes quad, but better because of course of the formula. This would be a great everyday shadow, or even to brighten up a brooding smokey eye look. A definite must-have for me.

As for the pearlglide liners, they are amazingly smooth and pigmented, and also glide like a dream on the skin. Here are some swatches from last year's Suite Array collection:







It must be noted however that these are not recommended for the waterline as they have tiny glitters/shards that can irritate the sensitive lining of the eyes.

I can't wait for the official launch of the Love That Look collection at the end of the month. I'm interested in Ego and Unbasic White.

Stay tuned for additional reviews on this collection.