MAC COSMETICS
MAC regularly releases speciallimited edition collections and also creates some of the most popular cosmetics products around.
The posts below contain details of the latest (and upcoming!) MAC limited edition color collections as well as reviews on individual MAC makeup products.
HOW TO SPOT FAKE MAC COSMETICS PRODUCTS
If you are looking to save a bit of money on your MAC makeup addiction, you might be tempted to take advantage of some of the deals you can find online. While it is possible to find some good bargains on MAC on places like eBay, counterfeit MAC is becoming increasingly more common. Here are a few tips on how to identify counterfeit MAC Cosmetics and avoid buying fake MAC items.
First, trust your instincts. If a price sounds good to be true, you should look at the item with a very skeptical eye. It’s extremely difficult to find true bargains on MAC Cosmetics products these days. If it’s just a few dollars off of retail, it is more likely to be legitimate. If it’s a limited edition pigment from 1999 being sold for $2 new in box, you can rule it out right away.
In order to determine the validity of the item in question, you need to examine it closely. If buying online, you should request pictures from the seller of the item from several angles including the top, bottom, side view, inside of lid, and the box. You need to compare these with original items either from your own collection or using pictures found online. There are a lot of subtle differences thatfake MAC makeup products carry.The packaging is one area where fakes tend to stand out if you know what to look for. For example, many counterfeit MAC eyeshadows come in a pot that looks suspiciously like the real thing… until you notice the compartment with the mirror and applicator underneath. MAC pot shadows never come with applicators or mirrors yet somehow this is very common on fakes. Also, the lid on many fake MAC shadows has a higher dome and opens at a smaller angle than real MAC shadows.
The packaging can offer several clues as well. Often counterfeit MAC boxes will have a very convincing MAC logo but the font on the rest of the box is very different from that of legitimate MAC boxes. Because many of these fakes are manufactured in other countries, you can often spot misspellings on the packaging as well. In some cases, the dimensions of the boxes might be different than real boxes too. If you suspect an item is not real MAC, pore over it very carefully before committing to buy it. Compare the item in question with one that you know is real and scrutinize the size, shape, writing, color and finish of the lid, weight, and scent.
Another tip-off to potentially fake MAC items is the source. Legitimate MAC productscan be purchased from MAC counters, MAC stores, MAC’s official website, and Cosmetics Company Outlet stores. Sometimes individuals will sell their MAC items secondhand for extra cash online. eBay is a overrun with MAC items but the sad truth is that many of these are counterfeit. When shopping for MAC on eBay, look at the seller’s history. Check their feedback carefully for complaints of counterfeits. Look at the other items they are selling. If they have hundreds of new MAC items up for sale, especially without boxes, there is a good chance what they are selling isn’t MAC at all.
Unfortunately, you have to do a bit of detective work when you are buying MAC from unofficial sources. Counterfeit MAC makeup items are not just poor quality imitations of the real thing. Some of these items might even contain ingredients that can irritate your skin or eyes. Truly good deals on MAC are few and far between but if you look very carefully, you can still find a few bargains.
MAC: DARE TO WEAR COLLECTION
Join the brigade of loud-and-proud who daily dare to declare their own individuality. High-powered pigment and holographic pearl create a crazy-intense, shine-saturated gloss, combined with eye shadow shades as over-the-top as Lady G live! Not afraid to DARE TO WEAR? Bravo!
Dare to Wear is a fun new collection from MAC for early fall 2010. As the name implies, this collection features a lot of bright, bold colors. However, even the more conservative MAC fans can find a few shades they will feel comfortable wearing so it’s something everyone should check out.
Dare to Wear is pretty straightforward as far as MAC releases go in the sense that it consists only of eyeshadows and lipglasses. Most of the eyeshadows are matte shades with a heavy emphasis on blues and greens. Brown-eyed girls in particular can pull off these colors with ease. One of the loudest colors, the bright blue Zingy, is a limited release that is sure to make a statement. Those looking for a safer blue might want to check out Aqua Subdued, which is a softer turquoise color with enough gray mixed in to help tone down the brightness. MAC has also resurrected the popular Going Bananas shadow from the C-shock collection. This frosty canary yellow shade is surprisingly subtle on the eyes and looks great paired with the Rubenesque Paint Pot.
The Dare to Wear Lipglasses are perfect for days when you want to make a statement with your lips. Ban This! is a pearly true violet shade that is certainly bright but the more adventurous cool-toned girls out there will be able to pull it off, especially when paired with a black or navy blue eye look. So Bad is another vibrant shade but this is one of the more wearable colors in the collection. It’s a straight up coral with gold pearl that looks great on its own but could also be worn with a neutral shade underneath for a more natural look. Dare to Wear is a great way to say goodbye to summer makeup colors before fall sets in.
Lipglass
- Ban This! – Deep purple with multi-pearl (Limited Edition)
Bold & Brash – Bright red with multi-pearl (Limited Edition)
Dare to Dare – Light blue pink with multi-pearl (Limited Edition)
Gimme That! – Bright fuchsia pink with pink pearl (Limited Edition)
So Bad – Mid-tone coral orange with pink and gold pearl (Limited Edition)
Wind Me Up – Dirty bronze with pink and gold pearl (Limited Edition)
Eyeshadow
- Aqua – Subdued, pale greyed aqua (Matte) (Permanent, PRO)
Atlantic Blue – Bright violet blue (Matte) (Permanent)
Crazy Cool – Pale frosty lavender (Veluxe Pearl) (Limited Edition)
Free to Be – Bright true coral (Matte) (Permanent)
Going Bananas – Soft lemon yellow (Frost) (Limited Edition) (Repromote)
Lime – Lime green (Matte) (Permanent, PRO)
Louder – Please Bright fuchsia (Matte) (Limited Edition)
Sassy Grass – Bright grass green (Matte) (Limited Edition)
Shock-a-holic – Deep purple (Matte) (Limited Edition)
Sky Blue – Robin’s egg blue (Frost) (Permanent, PRO)
Winkle – Mid-tone cornflower blue (Satin) (Permanent)
Zingy – Bright sky blue (Matte) (Limited Edition)
HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN EYESHADOW PALETTE
For a lot of makeup fans, eyeshadows can be hard to resist. You might go to a cosmetics counter to pick up something else but while you’re standing there waiting for the sales associate to ring you up, there they are… dozens of pretty, fresh eyeshadows begging you to buy them. The next thing you know, you’re at home trying to find a place in your already-overflowing makeup drawer for your newest five shadows. If this sounds like you, it’s time to make your own eyeshadow palette.
Making your own eyeshadow palette makes sense for a lot of reasons. First of all, it’s very practical because it frees up space in your cosmetics drawers. Even if you end up using this newly empty space to justify future makeup purchases, you still have to admit it’s handy. If a lot of your eyeshadows are from MAC, this is also a good idea from an economic standpoint because once you take the eyeshadow pans out of the pots, you can return the empty pots to MAC and get a free lipstick as part of their recycling program.
Perhaps the best reason to make an eyeshadow palette is because this enables you to group colors that go together well all in one place so you can apply them more easily. It can actually take a fair amount of time to shuffle through your makeup drawers and dig out different colors to see if they look good together every day. When you make a palette, you do all the matching work beforehand and then you have everything laid out together for the future. This also helps you use up those colors that you always seem to forget about. Depending on the size of your collection, you could make a few palettes of different color families such as a warm, cool or neutral eyeshadow palette, a summer vs. winter eyeshadow palette, as well a few others like a neon, bright, shimmer, cream or matte eyeshadow palette.
This task will be easiest if most of your shadows are the same size. Many cosmetics brands sell empty palettes that their shadows can fit into. If your shadows are various sizes or from different manufacturers, or if you want to include blushes or other products, you can always make a homemade palette. This is also a great way to save some money. All you need is an empty CD case and some magnetic sheets, which you can pick up from craft or office stores for a few dollars. Take out the plastic piece that holds the CD (this is usually black) and trace it onto the magnetic sheet. Then cut out the piece of magnet and glue it into the CD case. Some eyeshadow pans will stick to the magnet on their own. If not, you will need to cut out some magnetic strips and stick them to the bottom of the shadow pans.
If the shadow comes in some type of compact or other packaging, it will be necessary to remove the shadow from the pot first. This can usually be accomplished by carefully melting the glue underneath the pan. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to de-pot eyeshadows by MAC and other brands. Alternatively, you can often buy shadows in simple pan format. Pan eye shadows are available from MAC on their main maccosmetics.com website as well as their macpro.com website.
It’s always a good idea to label your shadows when you make a palette. It might not seem important now but once you hit the pan and need to replace a shade, you may not be able to remember the name of the color. When you make your palette, create a color guide on a sheet of paper. Make swatches of each color in the same order that they appear in your eye palette and write the name of the shade underneath. Use a piece of paper the same size as a CD booklet and simply insert it into the cover of the CD case. Then close the CD case and there you have it: your very own homemade custom color eyeshadow palette!
No comments:
Post a Comment