Breaking Beauty Rules: Concealer application for flawless joy

Hi there.

Sorry for my recent silence. Heartbreak has been getting the better of me again, but the best way to get over that is jumping back on the rambling about cosmetics horse. So here I am.

This is a post that I hope will be of some interest to people. Now, my skin, it's not the worst skin on gods earth, but I really don't like my face at all. This probably has something to do with my endless pouring over fashion magazines where all the girls have skin like pink velvet and eyes that gleam like sunshine. I have mentioned before I am extremely pale, but I have uneven skintone, large pores, and areas of redness that rage through foundation and it's IRRITATING.

So, what's this post about? Well, generally you always hear the rule with base application, that you apply foundation, then apply concealer. Fair enough, makes sense. However, after many years of experimentation with various products and finishes, I have discovered that sometimes, the reverse is true.

Firstly, after my serum and moisturiser, I always, ALWAYS prime. Some people don't see the point in primer, but I can tell you first hand, there have been three occasions i've forgotten primer on my face, and I regretted it BIG time. My make up slid around my face, it was horrendous, I felt sad. BAM. Lesson learned. This below product is my hero in every way...

Mac Natural Radiance Primer - £29.00

It controls oil, evens skintone, gives a slight radiance, and keeps your foundation on. I have many many primers, including the Smashbox one, which was a disaster for me. I'll do a mega primer review post soon. You'll be disgusted at how many I own.

After my primer, I let it sink in for a minute, and then I grab my Mac Pro Longwear Concealer (£15.50) and a flat topped concealer or foundation brush, and buff it under my eyes, around my nose, along my jawline, and any other red areas. It applies in a very thin layer, sticks like glue and is virtually undetectable. 

Mac Pro Longwear Concealer (£15.50)

After this, I put a TINY amount of foundation onto the back of my hand and buff it into the skin with a Real Techniques Buffing Foundation Brush, and voila! Flawless skin that lasts all day! 

Stila Stay All Day Foundation (£29.50)

Hope this was helpful to some. Honestly, I used to end up building and building foundation, but if you find a high coverage, long lasting concealer, you can use much less product and look ten times better! WINNER!

When Favourite Brands Disappoint : Dear MAC. Stop pissing me off please.

As i've mentioned before in a previous post, I have had quite a love/hate relationship with MAC over the past year or so. Having been on of my most beloved and favoured brands since I first fell in love with make up, I have obsessed about nearly every limited edition drop, every new formula, every visual, the LOT. I have poured much of my money into MAC, and therefore, now and then, just maybe, I expect a little joy back.

My recent joy was found in the Retro Matte collection release, something that was, as I mentioned in the post referenced above, was WAY overdue, just as the brow collection was. These things had been trending for a few years, so why they are releasing collections AFTER the drugstore brands is beyond me, yet chucking out 1000000 collections a year, ALL containing the carbon eyeshadow (probably) over and over. FIX UP MAC. FIX THE HELL UP. (sorry capitals, I'm still heartbroken so prone to inappropriately placed anger).

So why am I pissed off again. I went to MAC a few days back. I was feeling particularly low, had had one of those walking and crying in public sessions and I thought the shiny joy of a freshly stocked MAC counter would suffice to lift the darkness a little. Clearly I was mistaken.

I walked in, and when i'd bought the Pro Longwear liners the week before, i'd actually picked up neither of the ones that i'd previously intended, which were Trust in Redd, and Dynamo. I looked at the Retro Matte display stand, an example of which is below...

MAC Retro Matte Stand 2013

Now above is what it SHOULD have looked like. Now, bearing in mind that Clapham MAC has been opened two weeks in total, you would expect it to be vaguely close to perfect. Unfortunately the lipsticks that were stocked (not their fault if they're sold out, don't get me wrong) were a mucky rancid mess, and the lipliners apart from two, weren't even pro longwear, they were just the Magenta regular wear liner, which I already own two of, although I'm totally fine with the hard sell of it, it's a nice colour, but you never need six on one display surely!?

So what the hell is my problem then? Well, I located a member of staff who'd been merrily ignoring me for a while, and I asked for the Pro Longwear liner in the shade Dynamo and Trust in Red. It wasn't a big ask really, I just wanted to be an easy customer. Get me stuff and i'll pay, y'know, not really a big issue for anyone particularly. Anyway, she asks me what colour the liners are, and I say Dynamo is bright-ish pink, and Trust in Red is, well, RED. She went back to the draws of new products, couldn't find them, so went back to the stand and picked up one of the Magenta liners and asked if it was that. 'No' I said, 'I own that, it's a regular liner, I want the longwear ones, they're great!' she looked at me like I was asking her to wipe my bottom with her face, and then said 'You can only get them in the MAC pro stores, like carnaby'. I looked confused, and i'm pretty short of tolerance right now as it is. 'Erm, no, it's not a pro release, it's a permanent release, i'm sure'. 'No' she replied, it's not, you can't get it any more, you'll have to go to a pro store'. I frowned at her again. 'NO' I reaffirmed. 'That isn't the case, despite having that stand, they are nearly ALL permanent except a couple of the lipsticks'. 

Then she really started to PISS ME OFF.

She looked at me like I was really stupid 'You can ask around, anyone will tell you the same, you're not going to get them'. She then turned around to notice another customer, turned again to another member of staff and said 'deal with her, I'll deal with this other customer'. 

And with that, she just walked off.

BRILLS!

The member of staff was much more agreeable to say the least. She asked what I needed, and I explained again, and she replied that she was visiting from Guildford store to lend a hand, and yes, the items I wanted WERE permanent, and she in fact had a ton in her store as they'd been restocked a couple of times, and they just hadn't come into Clapham yet but they should do soon, so I could either order online or just come back. She also apologised for the dickhead I had been talking to, which was nice.

So I implore you, the workers of MAC, and the employers, if you're going to deploy girls to talk to other human beings in your store, please make sure they have a basic idea of products, and if not, try not to treat customers like total MORONS, and just ASK someone who does know. It's not a good look when someone is struggling with their love for you already, and had, before this point, actually always raved about your customer service, despite the rest of the blogging world disagreeing BIG TIME. 

Phew. And thus, my rant is over. 

Twat.

REVIEW: Mac Retro Matte Lipsticks - Ruby Woo, All Fired Up, Flat Out Fabulous - Swatches

Mac Retro Matte 2013

So as promised in my previous post about my achy breaky heart, I broke my reclusive ways and bound to the brand new local Mac to buy as many as I could afford, which was three, and even then it killed my bank account, and two of the pro longwear lip pencils too. It would have been churlish not to frankly!

Go on then Mac, wax me right lyrical yeah?

"M•A•C introduces new bold shades in its Retro Matte finish. Eye-catching colours like Dangerous and All Fired Up create a look that's fiercely feminine. M•A•C also premieres Pro Longwear Lip Pencils in a vibrant colour palette, giving this long-lasting and transfer-proof lip pencil an exhilarating makeover."

L-R All Fired Up, Flat Out Fabulous, Ruby Woo

Top to bottom - More to love, Kiss Me Quick

So, I really really wanted Dynamo, which is a furious pink colour, but the bastard thing was sold out everywhere, so i've made do with these two for now. 

L-R Trust in Red, More to Love - All Fire Up, Ruby Woo, Flat Out Fabulous

Firstly, the pencils.

They're great. You can't fault them. They go on matte, take about thirty seconds to set, and thats it, they're there for the duration. I AM NOT EFFING KIDDING. I put these two on my hand to swatch in the store, and for three days they stuck about, not budging an inch. You can't really complain at that level of longevity can you?

Now for the lipsticks. Well, they don't claim to be budge or smudgeproof, and they're not, which I found out to my dismay after a particularly 'lubricated' dinner, which left me with Ruby Woo all over my chin, nose and a bit under my eye (?). Thus, I would recommend you do the good old pencil, blot, powder, apply, blot, powder, apply, blot, and if you want to go bulletproof for kissing, which I don't, as I have no one I want to kiss right now (weep!) slap on a little lipcote. The formula doesn't dry me out, not that I care, but make sure you give your lips a little exfoliate, firstly by rubbing your lips with a flannel when you're cleansing, then pop on a little moisture in the form of, perhaps, Boots No7 Protect and Perfect Lip Care, then another exfoliate, if you're going hardcore, with something like Body Shop Lipscuff. Then just apply in whatever way you fancy, and go and look effing FABULOUS all day/night.

Btw, I've been reading quite a bit of bullshit about women worrying about men hating red lipstick recently, and with Ruby Woo being the ICONIC pink up red colour, I say this.

Who gives a flying cuntox?

Seriously? If you're that weak around your man or that needy for attention that you'll imagine he'll run screaming from you because you're wearing a bit of lippy, then get yourself a bit of self confidence lady, and stop worrying! I mean, I don't care what boys think obvs, and my ex LOVED my red lips (I think, given that I also was pretty sure she LOVED me and there's scant evidence of that now) but yeah, if you look hot with it, wear it.