MAC x Carine Roitfeld (Fall 2012) - Page 13

Nudes are SO SO SO personal - when they don't work, it's ground zero in Yuck City. 'Same with reds - so unforgiving. Heck, I skipped Ruffian because I didn't want to pay for a nude or a red I couldn't try in person first. Every darn shade in Naturally was blech on me and none of the new cremesheen lipsticks did anything for me either, but that freaky looking Salute! looks fantastic. Go figure.

CoD is what I'd call a really futuristic lipstick, because its all about the texture, while the color is way in the background. We're going to keep seeing more things like this, due to the general trend of going back to a "no makeup" makeup look.

I honestly have mixed feelings about this trend, since I feel like it comes from the runway designers who are dealing with beautiful young girls who don't need any darn makeup anyways. In some ways, it's just as unrealistic a trend as crazy colorful eyes/lips/cheeks overload, but mostly because it's a very fine line between understated/barely there and just saying "why bother?" and walking out the door with nothing on. I definitely love deconstructed makeup and go out with looks where I skip eye makeup/foundation/blush/or obvious lip color for an effect, but I feel lucky that I can get away with that sort of thing. For a different type of makeup philosophy, it's sort of forcing women to accept a style that's against their principles of wanting colorful fun or needing coverage to camouflage perceived imperfections. Sure, if the person can accept it, it can be very liberating, but in the long run, it's just as arbitrary a choice as whether you like bronzer or smokey eyes or not - it's still a look that's being decreed from the fashion world, not the 10 Commandments of Makeup Moses.

I'm in your camp on this one, but I'm fortunate in the great skin department, so getting into that look is easy for me. I think it's a trend that's a hard sell for some girls and women, who have been made very self-conscious about skin issues to the point of creating stress and struggle and shame. I've got quite a few friends who are beautiful, but are either terrified to use makeup because they have ups and downs with their skin or feel ugly if they don't cover up in lots of makeup, the less natural, the better.

I've helped a few of them drastically improve their skin health, but you know how it goes - old habits die hard, even once the original issue is gone. It takes a long time to feel re-empowered and try something new. You can lead a horse to water, etc. Hey, look how poorly Big Bounce was received. It just broke too many "rules". It's just that I can't help getting a little political about the all-natural trend, because I see how close it hits to that common modern female insecurity propaganda about not being perfect "enough". Beautiful, young skin should be an inspiration, but it can sadly turn into a stressful, unattainable ideal for a person burdened with insecurity about their looks.  Best thing is to keep setting a positive example - getting the message out there is half the battle.

I will say that I'm old enough to remember a few cycles where the totally natural no-makeup look was the main style, and the only beef I had about it then was it just got BORING! Why do you think us punk gals wore drastic makeup, hehe. It was all about scandalizing the drab style we felt buried in. I go out to concerts now and see all these gals who have no makeup and boring clothes, like we're back in 1975 again, and I want to shake them and say "where's the fantasy? where's the creativity??" 'Good thing there's a counter-trend with the bright lips and strong blush nowadays. We sure have more options than before!

yes it is, but i feel like I can dupe it.  I also like the jungle one, but those gold and bronze, I know i can dupe it.  But I am so hooked on the portablility of the packagin.   Hopefully it will be at a CCO soon.

I don't care how elegant/nice/sophisticated the packaging is.....I'm not paying $16 for what is essentially lip balm. I have no problem paying for a quality lipstick (my Chanel stash and credit card bills will prove that) but not something that isn't going to add any color to my already colorless lips. You can call it nude, sheer, translucent, 'hint of color', barely there, whatever....it's ridiculous that Mac even included this in the collection. Yes, I know it's CR's look but I  would have rather them leave out the lipstick altogether since it looks like your not wearing it anyway.

Allura, thank you always for your collection reviews and swatches! I really appreciate it! 

Originally Posted by lilinah 

I must confess i haven't used many different brands, though. Back in the 70s and 80s most mascaras hurt my eyes, so i until recently i only bought Clinique, which didn't hurt. Seems formulae have changed, since i have a passel of mascara samplers from sephora, and none make my eyes burn. I've liked a few, but they've only come in black, and i prefer dark brown.

I did pick up the violet and purple mascaras from MAC Beth Ditto, but haven't used them yet. We have a performance at the end of Sept. and i might use the purple/burgundy then - we changed our performance costumes from purple kebaya to burgundy ones.

Those old mascara formulas were awful! I remember I could never find one that didn't smudge all over my face like a raccoon. 

You should try the burgundy beth ditto zoomlash with Dark Diversion - they're an almost perfect match.  I'll use DD on upper lid and smudged close to the lower waterline with that mascara and it creates a beautiful glowing effect. The color shows up quite well and is magnified by the liner. It's a great combo you can use all sorts of shadows with too.

 Ditto!  I love these two together!  I love that mascara too. It is one of my favorite colored mascaras.

I REALLY liked the colored Opulashes from Wonder Woman, just because that formula and brush work really well for me - I backed them all up! You know the color really shows up on the eyes when men ask you if you have "blue on your eyelashes".  I wish they'd bring those back, but the colored Zoomlash is fine. I loved that grey one from last year!!

question - how long do you wait to throw out a coloured mascara? i tend to not buy coloured mascaras because i often end up not using them very often, and then start to question their expiry date....

I tried to prolong the life of my Opulash colored ones by using a separate wand, not the one in the tube. They're still OK, except for the blue one, which started to feel stinging after a year. I got through most of the tube before that happened though. I used it a ton, too, so it didn't go to waste (plus I have BUs). Yeah I know you're supposed to toss mascaras after 6 months, but I think that's if you're applying it straight from the tube daily and double dipping into the tube on each application. I'd load up a wand I could wash after and only use what was on it, rather than putting it back into the tube before a wash. I'd also never carry it around with me, just kept it stored in a cool dark place.

If you want to be careful, though, toss everything after 6 months and don't listen to me. If you're worried you wouldn't get a lot of use, personally I think it's a wasted day to wear plain old black on sunny spring and summer days, so I basically use them every day for months, while the black just gets used here and there.

are there any drugstore lines that make color mascara?

Be careful with BUs of mascaras, I had a couple of deluxe samples (+ a full size) and I had to throw them away! They were so dry when I opened them to use them, only one year later. They were sealed and in a cool dark place.

maybelline just launched a colletion. they have a green, blue, purple ones there's one more color but i cant remember. i saw them at my rite aid but all the money i had went to the color tattoo shadows.

I have not tried any listed below, so i cannot vouch for their quality.

Almay "intense i-color with light interplay technology" has:

black emerald for hazel eyes

black flash for brown eyes

black steel for blue eyes

chocolate quartz for green eyes

The samples on the Almay website look dark and only subtly colored.

Maybelline makes Great Lash Washable Mascara in Royal Blue, but no other colors i can find.

Earlier this summer Maybelline came out with Limited Edition Great Lash Colored Mascaras. I don't know if these are sold out yet:

Go Go Green

Totally Teal

Blink of Blue

Pop of Purple

L'Oreal "Double Extend Eye Illuminator Mascara" has:

Black Crystal for all eyes

Black Bronze for green eyes

Black Quartz for brown eyes

Black Copper for blue eyes

This is a two step mascara. Supposedly the black mascara has a hint of color in it, the color varying with which one; then there's a second section with its own wand to apply the "illuminating top coat infused with light-reflecting pearls highlights your eye color with our exclusive sphere tip brush."

Physicians Formula makes Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Mascara Duo. It's another two step: black mascara with a separate section for the color:

Green Eyes - green

Blue Eyes - blue

Brown Eyes - violet (bluer than purple)

Hazel Eyes - purple (redder than violet)

Again, i have not tried any of these. I'd check with other Specktralites as well as the reviews on makeupalley.com before buying.