Brand Focus | MAC Cosmetics

This idea has been floating around in my blogger notepad for a while and now I’m finally getting round to do it! I thought I would choose a brand and let you know my favourites form their range and what to spend your money on- or what not to spend your money on. I thought I would start with MAC as I feel a lot of people don’t know what to purchase and through my own experiences there are a lot of MAC products I wished I never purchased.

 Lipsticks – Obviously these have to be number one! There are so many different shades and formulas to choose from so whether you like a bright pink or a plum and whether your into glossy lips or super matte there is something for you!

Fix + - This is a product that you’ll use up in no time because there are that many uses for it. This can be used to prep the skin, as a setting spray, a general face mist to freshen up your makeup or to wet your brush when dipping in a foiled shadow or glitter.

  MSF’s – The highlighters you need in your collection! These two are my favourites; Soft & Gentle for those of you who like a beautiful golden highlight and then Lightscapade for those that like the creamier natural highlight. Both of these are gorgeous and seem to last forever too!

   Strobe Cream – If you have dry skin or just like a glowy and dewy base then this is something that will be right up your street! This makes me look so awake and makes my makeup always look so flawless!

 Blushes – Melba is one of my favourite blushes ever, its so pigmented and just a beautiful colour. Just like the lipsticks there are many different shades and formulas to choose from so again there is something for everyone. I also love the Mineralised blushes too, they’re less pigmented but nevertheless they’re still beautiful.

Contour + Highlight Powders – These aren’t really talked about a lot and I'm not sure why! I love how these come in a pan so can just be put in a Z palette meaning you don’t have to carry around 2 bulky compacts. There also is a vary of shades for both highlight/ setting powders and contour powders so you can choose one that suits your skin tone. Both of these powders are so finely milled, aren’t chalky or cakey or muddy for that matter!

Did you like this post? Which other brands would you like me to focus on?

Paige, x

Products worth the hype

I buy so much make up and a lot of the time its products that have been heavily advertised and talked about in the beauty community, both on blog posts and YouTube. However there's nothing worse than when you pay a lot for something that's quite frankly rubbish.

Here are some of my favourite products that I genuinely do believe are worth the purchase.

Urban Decay Naked 2

I really love Urban Decay shadows and think they really are such a nice product to work with. The reason I think this palette is worth the hype is not only because of the amazing quality and pigmentation of the shaddows but also because you're really getting a lot for your money. These eyeshadows never seem to hit pan either, apart from that sneaky Booty call so your going to have this for quite some time. You can also create so many different looks and there is something for everyone with this. 

MAC Fix +

You can read my post I did about this here. This has so many purposes and can be used for any of your make up needs!

MAC Lipsticks

These are so worth the money; the colour selection is incredible and again has something for everyone. 

MAC Soft and Gentle Highlighter

Commonly in my monthly favourites this will always be a repurchase. The glitter is just enough and isn't chunky and can be used on the brow bone, inner eye corner or even as an eyeshadow! This is also a product that will last you forever.

Roller Lash Mascara

There's a reason as to why everyone uses this, it is amazing! You wouldn't be disappointed if you purchased this because it gives length and lift like no other mascara. Plus the packaging is just too cute!

Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighter

This is more of a champagne colour compared to the MAC one which is gold. I'm not saying you need both but this is just as stunning. You really only need the tiniest bit and this too can be used as eyeshaddow!

Dip Brow Pomade

An eyebrow game changer. This gives such a prominent sleek look and really makes your eyebrows on point! (Laughs) With this less is more hence why I've included a picture to show how much I've used over the many months I've been using this. 

MAC in comparison to Mary-Lou

Do you agree? Which products do you think are worth it?

Paige, x

MAC Lipstick Collection

MAC lipsticks are my weakness in life, I'm constantly watching videos and reading blog posts about other girls collections and making a list of everything I want. Once in a while I'll go down my list and make a purchase and its probably one of the most exciting things to do. I mainly own mauve/ pink shades and my favourite finish is either Satin or Matte. 

Flamingo - Lustre

This was bought on a whim as its something very different to what I usually go for. This is definitely more of a 'brave' shade and would only look acceptable in summer or on holiday I personally think! This is a light coral shade verging on orange and is very sheer however when trying to build the colour up it goes patchy and clings to any cracks in the lips.

Pure Zen - Cremesheen

This is a lovely light pink/ nude. It looks great with a brown toned lip liner to create that 90's lip. However like Flamingo this clings to any cracks or dry areas on the lips so cant really be layered. 

Brave - Satin

This is such a wearable shade for everyone, its like your lips but better and isn't too in your face. Although the swatch doesn't show it its actually a very muted pink. 

Faux - Satin

This is very similar to Brave however has a look more of Snob with that blue/ purple undertone. This is still such a lovely wearable shade and isn't too over powering like I find Snob is. 

Twig - Satin

Twig is more of a darker more berry toned pink, like your lips but darker. Its not as bold as a red lip but it still stands out. You can wear this either day or night and it won't look stupid or out of place.

Pink Plaid - Matte 

This has more of a bubblegum pink look, with lots of blue undertones. Pink Plaid is very similar to Snob but sadly this is way too dry for me and I've only worn it a handful of times. 

Whirl - Matte

Whirl is completely different to anything in my collection, it has sort of a brick red appearance yet on the lips its more brown toned. This is extremely wearable and doesn't stand out as much as you'd think making it perfect for everyday wear. 

Velvet Teddy - Matte

The iconic Kylie Jenner shade! This a nude with a hint of orange however it goes on slightly brown on the lips which is so in right now. Suits everyone and every skin colour.

Mehr - Matte

This is very similar to Twig but is more of a bold pink. Although even though this is bold it doesn't look to 'out there' or noticeable. 

Do you have any MAC lipstick recommendations?

Paige, x

August Favourites

I feel like I rarely do monthly favourites any more so here's what I've been loving in August!

Tangle Attack

I did a full blogpost on this (here) so you can give that a read for a proper review! What I've been loving so much about this is the fact its so much easier than using a brush, its travel friendly and does an amazing job at de-tangling my hair. I like to take this with my when I go swimming after the gym so I can brush through my hair straight away, just after I've done that I then apply my heat protect spray and leave in conditioner. After this routine I find that when I dry my hair that its super smooth and sleek looking.

Roller Lash Mascara

I'm surprised at myself that I haven't blogged about this until now but bare with me there will be a post solely dedicated to this soon. This is probably one of the best mascaras I have ever used. I was reluctant to try it at first thinking that nothing could beat the They're Real mascara however I was really surprised! The lift and curl this gives is amazing, this lengthens my eyelashes so much that people often ask me if I have falsies on.. its that good!

Bahama Mama Bronzer

I seem to be coming back to this bronzer the most out of everything in my collection, its such a gorgeous colour that isn't too muddy or too dark. On my skin tone I think this is great for generally just bronzing up but it even suits me to contour with. I think this is a perfect colour match to Benefits Hoola and this is cheaper too! I've even used this as a crease colour, very multi-purpose!

Whirl Lipstick

I still love the whole Kylie Jenner lip colour that's still going around so when I heard that MAC was releasing a new Matte collection and Whirl was now going to be an actual lipstick I knew I had to get it. Its a very mauve brown shade and looks gorgeous on the lips. If you follow me on snapchat (thefashionwayx) then you'll have seen me wearing it to death!

Stripdown Lip Liner

I've never tried a MAC lip liner before this so I thought I may as well get one while I'm getting a new lipstick and Stripdown to me looked like something I would use a lot. It's a nude/ brown shade with more of a chestnut tinge. This looks lovely on the lips and tones down a bit to give you that 'your lips but better' effect. I've worn this with nude lipsticks/ sheer lipsticks and even dark lipsticks like whirl and it makes the lips just look flawless. I can't wait to try more liners from MAC.

What were your monthly faves?

Paige, x

MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter

You will all know by now how much I love to highlight and contour so it was only a matter of time before one of these illuminating pens wondered its way into my collection. Honestly I'd heard about the YSL one but I didn't actually know MAC did anything like it until I seen Sabrina on YT use one. 

I picked up the shade light boost as I thought that would be able to give me the highlighted look I was going for. Its like a regular concealer shade but with more yellow in it and light reflecting glitters. With this I thought it would be matte however with it being glittery it goes on matte but then appears really oily and dewy and I constantly have to apply powder on throughout the day. In the areas I apply this it also makes them so dry which is such a disappointment. 

Another thing that disappoints me with this is how bad it creases under my eyes no matter how much powder there is, which isn't really a good look. I personally think there are much better products out there to highlight with and I will not be repurchasing this. 

Paige, x

Urban Decay Lipsticks

Urban Decay, for me is a brand that I love but I don't have many of their products. Actually thinking about it I've only tried the Naked 2 palette and their setting sprays! I'm not sure why I actually bought  these but I'm honestly so glad I did, they're amazing!

I firstly picked up the Sheer lipstick in the shade Liar which is a super glossy pinky nude colour. It's not sticky and just glides on the lips so smoothly. This doesn't stick to all the cracks in your lips either which I was sort of expecting it to do. This is such a me colour as its perfect for every day wear. It looks great on its own or paired with a lip liner. 

Seen as though I loved it so much I wanted to get another lipstick from Urban Decay, this time I opted for the regular Revolution Lipstick and I got the shade Naked. I didn't know what to expect with the formulation for this, whether it would be matte or more of a satin finish. Its quite similar to the Sheer lipstick but is just a little more pigmented. This colour is extremely similar to Faux from MAC and has that element of a bubblegum pink colour in it. This is still super glossy which I really like however this sadly does stick to the cracks on your lips but not too much so its not too noticeable.  

Lastly lets talk about the packaging and I absolutely love the packaging for these lipsticks! I like the shade of the actual lipstick and how its like the YSL ones. The only thing is I keep putting the lid on and accidental indenting the lipstick! I love how the different lipsticks come in different coloured packing- sheer being purple and the original revolution being gun mental grey. This makes it easy to tell them apart, especially if you had a wide collection of them. 

Have you ever tried Urban Decay lipsticks?

Paige, x