OFF TO LOCARNO WITH MAC

IMG_2431

Here I am, posting this article, taking my little suitcase and heading to the train station … In a few hours only Charles and i will be on the other side of Switzerland, on the Italian side, in Locarno where the annual Film Festival is about to begin. It would be useless to explain how deeply excited I am right now, not only because I’ll watch a movie presentation for the first time during an international festival, but also because I’m going to experience this event with one of my favorite makeup brand: MAC.

To mark the occasion, I decided to dedicate an article to four of MAC’s classics I’m obsessed with, ready?

UPWARD LASH MASCARA

After being seduced by MAC’s Haute&Naughty mascara I thought I’d never fall in love anymore. But it happened. And it happened pretty fast because I got this Upward Lash to test about two weeks after my previous review. As it happens, Upward Lash has an incredible precision for both top and bottom lashes – the secret lies in the moulded brush with a hollow centre that retains a large reservoir of mascara for instant loading onto fringe. At the same time, its mini shape reaches the base of even the littlest lash in a single stroke, pushing to most horizontal hairs up from the roots for aerial-view eyes. I couldn’t say which one between Upward Lash and Haute&Naughty is better as they are both very different, but this Upward Lash is definitely to try!

“BY SPECIAL ORDER” AMPLIFIED CREME LIPSTICK

A classic with a twist. “By special order” has a fancy name and the kind of fancy shade we either love or hate – as you have guessed, I’m rather a fan. The shade is a bold reddened fuchsia whose pigmentation is exquisite. But it is truly the texture that makes this lipstick one of my favorites: creamy and really opaque – just as I like my lipsticks to be. Like all the MAC lipsticks from this line, the holding is very good (lasted several hours on my lips, and once I removed it with a tissue, it left a lovely pinkish shade).

PREP+PRIME LIP BASE

I don’t know exactly how many different lipsticks I had in my life, but I know for sure how many I had lip bases: one, and it always was this one. MAC’s Prep+Prime is a colour-free lipstick base that adds light moisture to the lips and keeps the color for a longer time. I either use it before my creme lipsticks, to avoid feathering, or over my matte lipsticks (or lip pencils) to keep lips moisturized (because we have all experienced those extra-dry lips after a night out with a matte lipstick).

“SHE’S A MODEL” EYE SHADOW PALETTE

I fell for the interesting mix of colors present in this palette: seven neutrals and two rather colorful shades: a bright yellow and a shimmery dark blue. The nine eye-shadows are miniature sized and thus perfect for travels. Let’s have a closer look to the shades:

Fresh Blade is a pale, yellowed gold with warm undertones and a soft, frosted finish. Being a bit too light for me, I started using it as a brow highlighter and it’s doing pretty good.
Gilded Lids is a bright yellow with warm undertones and a satiny sheen. While the color looks pretty in the palette, the payoff is quite so-so, I definitely advise to use it over a primer for a better (and flashy) result.
Sample Sized is a medium-dark gold with warm olive undertones and a pearly sheen. I emptied this one while in Greece – it looked kind of crazy fantastic on tanned skin.
Fab Accent is a matte beige with neutral-to-warm undertones. Quite light and difficult to blend, so same as for Gilded Lids – must be used over a primer to get the right color.
Cool Complement is a medium-dark taupe with neutral-to-warm undertones and a matte finish. I have this thing with taupes, they never fails me and this one is no exception! This shade applies very well and blends out without much work. A real gem.
Dance in the Dark is a matte dark, taupe-brown. The pigmentation is impressive, you really “get what you see”.
Big Attitude is a sort of taupe-brown with a frosted sheen. The coverage is semi-opaque and I’m usually using it as a medium shade for my blown smokey makeup.
Not Basic Black is a dark, taupe-brown shade with neutral-to-warm undertones and a very little satin shimmer. One of these classics we never get enough of – this one is my must for smokey eyes as well.
She’s a Model is a blackened, bluish-teal with fine blue shimmer over a mostly matte finish. Giving it’s name to the palette, this shade is of course the key one of the range. I applied it once (because obviously my life is not disco every day) and even if it’s a shimmery shade, the holding was very good and lasted the whole night. Definitely will experimenting with it more.


Picture : Charles Legrand