Revisiting Old Favorites

When it comes to my personal makeup, I have always been a bit cautious of the number of products I own and keep. I hate hoarding. I prefer owning a few options of each thing. For example, 2-3 eyeshadow palettes, a couple of blushes and bronzers and maybe 2 mascaras at a time. However, every once in a while I like to add something I don't need, but really want! And so with the 'treat yo'self' attitude, I gravitated back to some of my favorite products for ages now!

NARS Blushes.
I have never been much of a blush girl. At one point I owned several that I never used and ended up giving away to people, mostly because I like a more bronzed complexion over a fresh, blushing face. Despite all these issues, I still find myself in love with most NARS Blushes. NARS as a brand could sell me bottled cat pee and I'd probably buy it, just because of the man and genius behind the brand, but I digress. I've owned Taj Mahal, Exhibit A and Desire before. All extremely bright and pigmented colours I used to love, but not so much anymore. So recently, when my friend was getting me some makeup as a wedding gift (thanks Sums!) I asked for NARS Sin among several other things. Unlike my previous NARS Blushes, this one is a muted berry with find gold shimmer running through it. It's almost bronzey, and works really well with my general, no makeup-makeup look I like to sport on a daily basis. It's extremely flattering and works really well with pretty much any complexion. It maybe nondescript, but if you get a chance to try this, do it! I swear you won't regret it!

Laura Mericier Baked Highlighter.
When I first read the product description, it said 'baked matte highlighter' which did not seem possible to me, how does one be matte and highlight? But once I used my sample (which I got with one Sephora's Favorite's Kits) I understood exactly what this meant. It's a matte silky semi sheer powder, with the most undetectable micro shimmer running through it. The shimmer is so fine, that it manages to highlight by blending into the skin and 'highlighting' said area. Infact, if you use this with a really fluffy brush under your eyes to brighten the area, it really works! But you need the smallest amount! I love this so much, I used it for all my wedding-related events as it didn't leave visible shimmer on my cheek or emphasise texture!

MAC Paintpots.
Remember when MAC Paintpots were all the rage? It makes me feel so old to think I was a teenager when they were doing the rounds and everybody collected them. Indianwood was my go-to favorite. And over the years I've used several (Groundwork, Rubenesque, Bare Study) of them both in my kit and in my personal collection. But again, if you like that wash of colour on your lids, without much effort, but still makes you look a little grungy - the almost editorial style slept in makeup, try Constructivist. This gorgeous brown with red pearl is perfect for an everyday eyeshadow. And I've been wearing it non stop since I got it.

Do you have any old favorites you have recently been obsessed with? What are they?
And would anyone like a wedding makeup breakdown? :)

My Lips in a Tube - MAC Twig!

You probably know the drill by now, I don't post often enough, i apologize and promise to be more regular - when I do post, I get all sad because there aren't any comments and sigh like a loser. But I'll stop. Because really, I write this blog for me and to share my love of makeup with other people.

Today's post isn't all that new or original, but it's a new find I'm in love with. I've been into the whole nude lip trend offlate - I'm all about 'em sultry bronzey eyes and nude lips (pretty much my staple makeup).. so imagine my surprise when I realized I only had one nudeish colour. Off to MAC I went, hoping to pick up Mehr, which seemed like the kind of pinkey nude I would like... but along the way, I met MAC's Twig... and it was love at first swatch.
MAC describes it as a "soft muted brownish-pink" which is pretty spot on in my opinion. It is literally the colour of my lips. So when I wear this, they look all even and pretty. Being a Satin Finish, it's comfortable to wear, but I like to put on my lipstick, blot it, put it on again, blot it and repeat a few times to it really settles and forms a nice little stain. It lasts about 3 hours on me and an extra 3 as a stain.

FYI, It costs INR 1495 (Yes, my wallet cries)

What do you think?

Sick Days - A Little Makeup Pick-Me-Up

So, I've spent the last few days sick and confined to my bed... first it was a cold and a cough, then it just got worse and worse and worse. Today however, I was sick of the coughing and looking like death, so I took matters into my capable hands (shamlessplug).
To start with, I decided to pamper my skin. Yes, I've been hydrating like a mad person over the last few days, but my skin still looked dull and lifeless. The Body Shop Vitamin E Sink-In Moisture Mask came to my rescue. Dabbed a generous amount of this stuff to my face and rinsed it off after 20 minutes and my skin looked SO MUCH better.
After a nice hot shower, I decided to put on some makeup, for the first time this week (It's Friday today, so in my world, big deal). I find that when I'm sick, my eyes get all dull, and thanks to the coughing and the lack of sleep, my undereyes looked a bit like Edward Scissorhands... to fix that I used the MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NW 35 to correct the purple undertones, and topped it off with my MAC Prolongwear Concealer in NC 42, pretty much all over the centre of my face... sheered out to the edges to give me that highlighted effect. After quickly setting everything in place.. I decided to finally sort the lifeless zombie face situation with a little blush (fun fact - haven't used blush in a good 3 - 4 months). Instantly, the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful bought some much needed life back into my face.
To brighten my eyes, I went for some shadow, but the real star of the show are my Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers that lift up lashes and make me eyes appear larger and brighter and more awake. After some lashings of mascara, I felt entirely human again - until I started coughing... But I look so much better, which makes me feel better.

So there yah go. These are my little pick me ups for days when I'm deathly ill. What are yours?

The Foundation that isn't.

This is probably the base product I forget about most easily. For some reason, MAC Face and Body never really is my first choice on myself because it requires me to conceal a lot more than a fuller coverage foundation, but if you want your foundation to look more skin like, and you don't have too much to conceal, this is the answer to your prayers.

Firstly, it is more on the dewy side - so those of you looking for a matte foundation may want to skip this one (unless you powder the crap out of it). It gives you a very light coverage that is build able, and tends to stay put. A little note - it also happens to be water proof.
However, the application with this foundation is what can make or break it.
If you buff it on with a brush, chances are it won't really do much to your skin, probably won't stay put either.
If you use a sponge, since it is water based - the sponge will soak up most of the product.
I would suggest using your fingers in circular motions, once it becomes slightly paste like, give it a moment and let it set. Once it does that, it will not budge.
I've used this on the face and the body and it gives the most luminescent complexion, giving the skin the illusion of being healthy and plump.

I would say it is better for dry skins because of how water based it is, but you never know, it could work on some oily skins as well. Makeup totally depends on the person, not the product.

FYI, I use a C3 around the centre of my face and a C5 around the perimeters to give myself a very highlighted base... followed by a shit ton of concealer.

All in all, I would say if you're a makeup lover, Face and Body should definitely be a part of your collection.

Do you own this? What are your thoughts?

That Effortless Foundation

Do you find liquid foundations to be a bit of a pain? Not worth the effort it takes to buff in into the skin? Don't like the feeling? Not easy for on-the-go?
Whatever your gripe maybe with regular liquid foundations, this product is basically the answer to them all!
I completely forgot I even owned it until my recent Project 10 Pan - but once I started using I wondered what made me forget about it to begin with. Its everything you need for a quick 'sweep and go', also, you chuck it into your bags and you've got touch ups throughout the day covered.
The MAC Studio Fix Powder + Foundation is finely milled and silky soft with a matte finish, but after about 10 minutes your natural skin does come through. I use it with an Illuminating Primer or my Strobe Cream, and with both, it works wonderfully. It works really well on people with oily skin, because it stays put. And on someone with Dehydrated Combination Skin like myself, it manages to glide over my dry patches without emphasizing them or getting stuck around them.
Its a medium coverage if you use it with a buffing brush - like I do. But it can also be sweeped on with a fluffy brush for just a veil of matte and hardly any coverage at all. If I build it up, it easily goes upto full coverage. Oddly enough, no matter how much I layer - it never looks too matte of cakey or even like I'm wearing full coverage. There's just something about the formula.
The one pictured is NC43.5 which is too dark for me, but I can make it work. I have repurchased it already in NC42 which matches me perfectly. Oh, and for the record, it currently costs INR 1990. (Ugh, stupid price increases)

Do you own this? What are your thoughts?

The Eyeshadow that always works.

You know those products that never let you down? No matter what your frame of mind or how bad of a mood you're in, how ugly you feel, when you put it on it just makes you happy. Never fails to make you feel like you "woke up like this". Pretty, happy, glowy, all of that! MAC's Sable Eyeshadow is one such product.
MAC calls it a "gold-plum with bronze pearl" in a Velvet finish. But its so much more than that. Its seriously sheeny, and instantly brightens my whole face. It comes off almost purple-taupe on me in some lights, but also shows up as a golden purple. It goes with pretty much any lip, when its a bright lip, it adds to it, never drawing the attention away from the lip. But when I wear it with just lip balm (like in the picture) or maybe a nude lip, it takes all the required attention without looking OTT.
Its my best eyeshadow friend. Wearable, but beautiful.

I will tell anyone, no matter what skintone, eye color, undertone to go out and buy this. Trust me. You'll be thanking me. :)

MAC Must Have's - Eyes

Going to a store like MAC can be really over whelming. Since its easily accessible in a place like India, and I've tried loads of their products over the last few years, I thought I would narrow down my favorite eye products for you. I did a similar post for base products, which you can find here.

Eyeshadow Quad
If I were starting out all over again, I probably wouldn't jump right in and start with the larger palettes, I'd say start small and work your way up. A quad should have everything you need for your eye makeup, in my opinion, so that would include an eyebrow/eyeliner shade, a crease/transition colour and 2 lid colours or 1 highlight and 1 lid colour (which is how most premade quads work). For Indian skin, I find Brown Down to be a really good eyebrow shade as it's pretty neutral toned. Its a veluxe matte finish, which makes it really easy to work with. If you're a fan of subtle eyeliners, this works really well for that purpose as well.
Texture (Peachy brown with shimmer) is a Velvet formula. Though the description says it has shimmer, which is noticeable in the pan, it doesn't translate on the eye, no matter what your skintone, this one makes an excellent crease colour which you can blend out your lid shade with.
When it comes to the other two its a personal choice really, I'd say everybody needs to own Woodwinked (Warm Antique Gold), veluxe pearl finish. It brightens your eye like no other, and compliments just about every skintone I've used it on. If you're more on the tan side of the spectrum, it also works great as an inner corner highlight.
For the last one, you could get yourself a brow bone highlight - which I'm personally not a huge fan off, but something like Ricepaper or Shroom is perfect for that. But I'd just choose a slightly darker lid shade, like Bronze (Gold-Brown with Golden Bronze Shimmer) which is a nice frosty shade. It works great on the outer half of the lid with Woodwinked, or even on its own with some smudgey liner and tons of mascara.

Pro Longwear Paintpot
If you're someone who needs a good stickey base, I'd say, BUY A PAINTPOT. I use Groundwork on myself, but Soft Ochre/Painterly works better if you have lighter skin. For tan skins, I find that Groundwork works best, even though its pretty cool toned. They make very good bases, but also work really well on their own. Another favorite of mine is Indianwood, which is just the most beautiful flattering shade of bronze/gold. I've been meaning to get Constructivist too, because y'all know how much I love my red-browns.

Brushes
I'll be the first to say that MAC Brushes are a bit on the scratchey side of the spectrum. But you just cannot beat the shapes. And as much as I love synthetic brushes for both price point and the insanely soft bristles, you have to give real hair brushes props for lasting ability. My older 217 is over 3-4 years old and still works and looks like it did when I bought it. As far as eyebrushes go, I'd say skin the 239, the Sigma version is just as good. But get the 217, because no matter what your eyeshape, it just works. Another brush which is newer to my MAC Brush Lineup is the 224, which is a fluffier bigger brush. I use this to mainly soften harsh lines. Now, I would normally have added the 219 too, but your fingers do a better job, if you ask me.

I know this list doesn't contain a lot of cult products like their Eye Kohls (Rimmel ScandalEyes are better/cheaper) or the very coveted Blacktrack Fluidline (Maybelline Gel Liner is better, cheaper and doesn't dry out as fast) but that's because the alternatives are waay better.

What do you guys think? Agree? What would you add?
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MAC Must Have's - Face.

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the delay in todays post. I seem to have lost track of time and royally killed my schedule. But atleast I'm able to rectify this error now.
Secondly, this is sort of a series I'm starting, and this post is just to test out the waters. Let me know what you think.
When you think about a brand like MAC, with its overwhelming array of choices, a first timer can't help but think "uh oh". This was infact my first thought when I went into the shop. I had no idea where to start, and hence ended up picking up (over the years) so many things that just did not work. Somehow though, I've managed to find a few products that work for various skin tones, textures and types - something freelancing has taught me. So here you have it, my three "base" picks from MAC's extensive offering.

MAC Face and Body Foundation
I think its clear how much I love this stuff, but let me just tell you once more. Its water based, making it light, it feels like you have nothing on, the coverage is very sheer - but can be built up to medium/full if you take your time. It lasts all day long, if you know how to use it. Now, Face and Body is not a foundation you just throw on with a brush, in my opinion. I've realized that you need to use your fingers with this and really work it into your skin, it forms an almost past like consistency, which once it sets, does. not. budge.
Its also surprisingly forgiving when it comes to dry patches (probably the water base) and the dewy finish it gives in unparalleled. If you're a matte skin person, hold your breath till product 3. For more coverage..

MAC Prolongwear Concealer
See, now, I've talked about this before too (full review here). But once again, the important features - medium/full coverage which deals with everything from acne scars to terrible undereye circles. Its refreshingly light and does not emphasis my many very apparent dry patches. Of ALL the MAC concealers (yes, I've tried all except the mineralize one) I'd pick this.

MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation
I've tried the loose powders, which as you might know by now I'm partial too, but it isn't as good as the Chanel offering. As far as powders go, this is my favorite MAC powder. Yes, its meant to be a foundation, but this over Face and Body, and you've got yourself a winner. You could use a fluffy brush to really sheer this out, or you could use a buffing brush and add this over a bit of Strobe Cream there by eliminating the need for concealer. Its a really good product. And the coverage is just.. amazeballs.
If you're looking for a good powder/compact before you invest in foundation and concealer and all that fun stuff, I'd say without a doubt, pick this.

So there you have it. What are your thoughts? :)

Rekindled Love - Woodwinked

Lets all just take a moment here and admit. No one does eyeshadows like MAC does. Sure, Bobbi Brown and NARS have amazing quality, Makeup Geek does brilliant Mattes, Urban Decay makes awesome palettes, but NO other brand has the extensive shade and finish range as MAC.
My love for MAC eyeshadows dates back to my first dabble with makeup - which ofcourse was an eyeshadow - Goldmine. How I loved and cherished it... okay, now that we're over the trip down memory lane. Lets get back to the topic at hand. Woodwinked. *insert angles singing*
Described as a "warm antique gold", its a Veluxe Pearl finish which is every lazy persons dream. Woodwinked seems to have some kind of orangey-duochrome-thing. When you pat it on the lid, it comes off golden, but as you blend it in the crease, it turns a subtle shade of orange - lid colour and crease definition all in one. WIN.
I love it. You need it. Everyone needs this. I'd go so far as to saying - if there was one eyeshadow from MAC every girl should own, its this one. Heck, if I could only have one MAC eyeshadow, I'd say this one.

What do you think?

Faking the Glow - MAC Strobe Cream

MAC's Strobe Cream is one of those products that have been around for ages, with almost always positive reviews, but its something most people seem to overlook as its a part of MAC's permanent line - belonging to the skincare section. I first spoke about it here as more of a first impression on the product. After two months of constant use I have fallen in love to the point where there is no turning back.
There are some products that I would repurchase till the end of time (Chanel Vita Lumier Aqua, Chanel Pondre Universelle Libre, NARS Casino Bronzer.. I think I'll post about this) and the Strobe Cream recently made it into that list. Applause all around.
Strobe cream is essentially a moisturizer, which has a pearly pink-lilac sheen to it. Now, don't let that scare you, when it meets skin it blends in beautifully giving you that very natural "glowing from within" kind of glow. Once you put on your foundation, concealer and powder over it, this still manages to come through and make the skin look really healthy. Every skin related compliment that I've gotten recently (and those are few and far inbetween normally) have been when I've been wearing this. Coincidence? I think not.
This product does have skincare benefits also, so thats one more excuse for you to buy/want/need this - all in the name of it being good for your skin.
I typically wear it over a moisturizer as my skin is pretty dehydrated, but I have worn it on its own during warmer days and it is decently hydrating skin. I reckon if you have normal skin, you can get away with just this, if you have oily skin and find this too heavy, MAC has a Strobe Lotion I think? Which is a lighter version of this.
Quick fact - it costs INR 1950 for 50ml, but I think they have a smaller size.

Next on the glow inducing wishlist? Le Blanc De Chanel (always out of stock - which makes me want it more)

The Do-It-All Concealer

How often do you see individual product reviews on Colliding Interests? What's that? Never? Well, not never, but very very VERY rarely. When I love a product it will be mentioned time and again (Chanel VA, Armani LSF, Anastasia DipBrow, y'know the drill). But when its a really cannot-live-without-it product or a major disappointment (MUFE HD Primer) I review it individually.

SO, lets talk concealer - its something I would prefer not to have to live without. I have tons of pesky acne scars and under eyes that have seen better days; safe to say, I need concealer.
In my quest to find the perfect concealer I have gone through MAC's Moisture Cover Concealer, MAC Select Cover Concealer, Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer (2 of these) and MUFE's Full Cover. :rantstart: Let me just say that I have been matched to the wrong shade in ALL of the above concealers by instore MUA's. Even a couple of months back, when I was trying the ProLongwar Concealer, the MUA tried to match me to NC45, seriously? DO I LOOK LIKE A 45?! :rantover: 

Apart from the shade being wrong, I would never repurchase any of them - except the MUFE Full Cover which is brilliant, I just need a darker shade. The texture was just off (MAC Moisture Cover), the longevity was crap (MAC Select Cover), it clung to dry patches (Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer [ironic, I know])
and over all just wasn't great.
The MAC Pro Longwear Concealer is one that I have been reading/watching rave reviews off - but for some reason never thought to buy it - when I finally made up my mind, it was out of stock. EVERYWHERE. I went back to the store repeatedly, waiting for them to get stock of it - but alas, it was not meant to be. About a month ago when I went for probably the 8th time, the MUA (who I know pretty well, considering how often I go to MAC) offered to give me some to use until they get stock - which is what you see in the above pot. For reference, I am NC42 in MAC. Which is still a tad too yellow, but nothing I can't work with. So for the last month, I have used only this (except the Bobbi Brown Corrector) every single day.
Firstly, a little goes a very long way. Secondly, it covers all my acne scars without looking cakey. It doesn't cling to my dry patches, and stays on pretty darn long (8 hours on last count - without primer).  I can get away with using just this under my eyes - but I prefer using a light layer over my Bobbi Brown Corrector. I have also used this as a foundation, and it performs just as well, if not better - Especially on particularly sweaty days. With the exception of it being a bit too yellow (hardly noticeable to anyone without a magnifying mirror), and the pump (which sucks - but I just pump it into the pot [that's what she said] and use it from there) I cannot find a single fault with this concealer.
This really is the do-it-all concealer. I don't have any product that I would consider "Holy Grail" (the most over used phrase in the Beauty World), but this is probably as close as it gets.

I will be repurchasing this product possibly till the end of time. Its THAT good.
For reference, it costs INR 1500. (WHY MAC WHY WOULD YOU INCREASE YOUR PRICES?!?!)

Have you used this concealer? What do you think?

P.S. Did you notice the Pages and the Social Media Icons that are new to my blog? I actually learnt basic coding for some of it. Check 'em out?

Rewind - Lipsticks

If you could start over  with lipsticks, what colours would you choose?
I'm not a huge lipstick lover, I'm a balm person through and through - but once in a while, some lipstick didn't hurt anyone.
If I had to start over with my lipstick buys, I would have probably skip the revlon lip butters/balm stains (easy to use - but last less than 2 hours on me) and gone straight for my these three MAC Lipsticks. Velvet Teddy (nude), Ruby Woo (intense red) and Rebel (purple-plum). They last a good 4 hours and leave back a light stain. And most importantly they're matte/satin - the only two lipstick finishes that I like. Between the three of them they cover all seasons, makeup looks and possible events - if I had to buy more, I would probably stick to something alone these lines - NARS Lip Pencils in Cruella and Dragon Girl, I'm looking at you.

Honestly though, the best part about these three? All Back-to-MAC freebies.

Your choices?

The Perfect Quad

Eyeshadow was my first ever venture into Makeup. I remember when I first went to a MAC store over 5 years ago now.. I bought myself Goldmine. I cherished it considering it was the only makeup I would own for the next 2 years. Once I fully emerged myself into everything Makeup, obviously the MAC Palette was an obsession. I bought myself the palette with 15 inserts.. and it was all I could do - fill it up. I asked for shadows for my birthday - festivals - anything. It contained - highlight colours - lid colours - crease colours - everything one needed for a night out. Because, back then thats the only time I used makeup, when I went out. As I grew older; gone were the days where a smokey eye was all I thought about, I needed colours that would work for both day and night, on their own and paired with others.  

Now, my MAC palette consists of several MAC and Inglot shadows - colours  and my depotted Naked Palette - this way it covers my need for neutrals and colours. 

Recently, after much thought - I decided to place my 4 most used shadows into a quad. (more out of need because once the UD Naked made its way into my palette, I needed to move 4 shades out)

It consists of MAC's Woodwinked, Amber Lights, Club and Inglot's 421 Pearl (Dupe for MAC's Antiqued)

Creating this Quad is probably the most useful thing I've done with my makeup - I can use them alone - as they're four stand out shades, as well as with eachother. It gives me the best choice of everyday colours which can really be amped up for an evening out. It is the perfect quad. Bonus - oh so travel friendly.

What does your perfect quad consist of?

An ode to glow - Luster Drops

So today, I'm going to be telling you about my luscious friend in a little bottle.

MAC's Lusture Drops in Sun Rush.

I have oily skin, and tend to look naturally glowy - er, oily. But once you've powdered and contoured, a lot of the oilyness is replaced with semi matte skin.

Enter highlighters.
I don't like powder highlighters much, as I find they're a bit too white/silver for me? Or maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places.

I first came across these luster drops in a youtube video, not sure which one, I think it was Beautycrush? She was talking about Pink Rebel, which is the other shade. 

MAC says "A Bronzer that applies like liquid sun, Water-based, beautifully smooth to apply with added pearlized luster. Provides sheer, natureal-looking highlights with a luminous, shimmery finish."

Sun Rush is decribed as a "peachy bronze with gold pearl".

To me, it just looks like liquid gold.
It doesn't really look like I've thrown a bunch of highlighter on my face, instead it catches the light in just the right way, giving my face a nice natural looking sheen and well, glow.

I use it on the tops of my cheekbones, under my eyebrow and in my tear duct area. 

It can also be mixed with your foundation, if you prefer.

It's just so beautiful. 

Now, I am woefully unaware of how much it costs here, because it was a gift from my parents when they came back from Europe last year, but I shall try and find out. 

All in all, I really think its an under hyped highlighter.

So tell me, would you purchase this?

Addicted to Brights - Blush

I must admit that I have a problem.

I am addicted to bright blush. When I see bright blushes, no matter what the colour, I kinda go into a mild pokemon - gotta catch 'em all - phase.

Is this normal?

Yes? Good.

Onto the blushes. This post is just me rambling about bright blush, how good it looks on tanned skin, how much I love, how I want to own them all, etc. 

I currently own 4 bright blushes, I owned 5, but my mother stole one. 

I have Taj Mahal and Exhibit A from Nars, Frankly Scarlet and Sakura(LE) from MAC.

Exhibit A is a beautiful matte orange red, it looks scary bright and a light hand and blending skills are definite must with this blush.

Taj Mahal is an orange with old shimmer, it highlights beautifully, and catches the light in all the right places. This has got to be the best blush I will ever own. And so will you. So own it.

Frankly Scarlet is a Scarlet red - pink colour, and again its a matte. I feel I don't use this as much as I would like too, because when I think of a bright matte blush, I instantly reach for Exhibit A. Note to self - use this more.

Sakura is a Mineralize Blush and the only thing I own from that range.. Its a lavender blush with an almost magenta heart in the centre, and when you mix the two you get this very flattering mix of the two shades. which give you a blush and highlight all in one.
It's very cool toned, but sometimes, I think this really works for my skintone. Especially with a plum lip.


In other news, I couldn't resist adding these two pictures of Qoco (My adorable black persian cat). She's as much of a girl as I am, and jumped onto my bed the second I laid these out to photograph them. It took a good 30 minutes to get her off my bed and onto hers.
But I got these gems.

Excuse my cat lady tendencies, BUT LOOK AT THAT FACE. 

Anyway, are you fond of bright blush?

Let me know!

Ruby Woo.

I love red lips. I've always loved red lips. I think there's something so effortlessly classy about red lips. Okay, moving on. 

My mom and I share the same passion/obsession for Make up, and MAC in particular. So between the two of us, we have a fair amount of products. In my case, I own a ton of gel liners and paint pots, and my mom owns half their lipsticks, powders etc. We also tend to finish these rather fast. (Especially since I use their gel liner every single day). ANYWAY. We had enough stuff to Back to MAC again (Second time, first time around, I got this pinkish lipstick which she stole), since I chose last time, she said it was her turn.

We initially went to get Brick O La, but ofcourse, as fate had it, it was out of stock, which meant, it was all mine. I either wanted Russian Red or Ruby Woo. Russian red seemed to pink toned to me, so as the title suggests, I got Ruby Woo.

Oh boy, best. decision. ever.

Now, MAC describes it as a Very Matte Vivid Blue Red. Its called a retro matte.
I think this is one of those colours that will suit you no matter what your skin tone is. 

I personally, LOVE that its a matte. There's nothing I hate more than shimmery lips - on me. So satins and mattes are my favorite finishes. 

Since I have dry lips, I most definitely need to wear lip balm under it.
Oh, and it lasted a good 5 - 6 hours on me, without eating, ofcourse. 

I love love LOVE this shade, do you?

Lady At Play

So recently, MAC came out with their new Mineralize Rich Range of lipsticks, which I believe is now a part of their permanent range of lipsticks.

When I went into the store and realized that these lipsticks were out, I went straight to Style Surge, because I'm obsessed with Temptalia's blog, and I saw it there.
But then my eyes fell on Lady at Play, now, this was one hell of a bright, for me, someone a) barely wears lip products, and b) usually sticks to the plums and the browns.

MAC describes this colour as a "Mid-tonal cool tangerine". It seems to pink undertones, in my opinion which I usually shy away from, but this. This colour is worth it. 

The texture is creamy and moisturizing, but it does tend to flake a little on me, but then, I have very dry lips (which is odd, considering my oily skin), so I need to wear lip balm underneath this, to avoid said flaking, and lasts a good 3 - 4 hours.

It dries to an almost matte like satin finish, which looks lovely and goes opaque with just one coat. Tick, tick and tick.

I wore it for my fashion show, and it made a statement alright!
I'm so glad I got this, I highly doubt I can live without this lipstick now.

The onlllyyy downside for me is the price. INR 1650 is ridonculous!
But I suppose its worth it. But only in this case.

Have you tried anything from this range? What do you think?