Preview: Marc Jacobs Beauty

Hi folks!

Yes, I know I’ve been gone for a looonnnggg time (and an even longer story) but I’m back and guess what I’ve brought with me? Not just a preview, but some nice picspam of the new Marc Jacobs Beauty collection that premiered at Sephora on August 9th!

Marc Jacobs Beauty coming to Sephora on 9 August 2013!

Marc Jacobs Beauty has come to Sephora as of 9 August 2013!

Sephora addicts, I mean, VIB’s got the chance to purchase from a select few items for 48 hours and the two products I chose were the Magic Marc’er eyeliner and Lust for Lacquer lip vinyl in ‘Stolen Kisses’.

Standard Disclaimer > I own stock in LVMH which is the parent company of Marc Jacobs Beauty.

‘Stolen Kisses’ Lip Vinyl by Marc Jacobs Beauty – $28

Close-up of ‘Stolen Kisses’ Lip Vinyl from Marc Jacobs Beauty. Does my new digital SLR camera take great pics or what?

Me being the lip gloss junkie that I am, I picked up Stolen Kisses–a lovely deep raspberry with shimmer and a sheer finish. Reminds me of a Wet & Wild lipgloss I could barely afford when I was a high school student in the 80’s (yes, dating myself here). Wore a really nice few hours (about three) through Wawa coffee, a glass of water and tea. I reapplied it after a few hours purely because I love the tingly feel. It just feels good to put on!

However, at the $28 price tag I was a bit torn about purchasing another. My gold standard in lipgloss, Illamasqua intense lip gloss, comes in at around $20 and has more staying power and intense color. But in Marc Jacobs’ favor his lip vinyls have a little ‘paddle’ foot applicator (Illamasqua’s has a small brush) which is wonderful for gals like me who have very full lips. Now I did get a chance to see the entire lip vinyl collection in person and was pleased to find out that unlike Stolen Kisses, there are more opaque lip vinyls that literally were packed with color. Truth Or Dare and Boom Boom! are tops on my list for my next haul.

Magic Marc’er in ‘Blacquer’ – $30

Picked this calligraphy-style eyeliner pen in Blacquer. Love,love, LOVE how balanced this felt-tipped eyeliner feels in my hand to produce such a precisely lined eye it’s to die for. When I say ‘balanced’, I mean the design makes it easier to concentrate on where you want to exactly line your eyes and it is very easy to use whether you are a novice or an expert. The black is very black. One of my biggest pet peeves about black eyeliner is that most of the ones on the market are ‘off black’. This one is anything but.

If I had to buy just *one* item from the Marc Jacobs Beauty collection it would be this eyeliner. The fact this eyeliner is manufactured in Japan is not to be overlooked. Once you hold in in your hands, and see how easy it is to line your eyes, you’ll wonder what you ever did without this. On a side note, you could tuck this baby in with your folio alongside of another pen and who would know the difference but you?

Main Picture One (Magic Marc’er lining eyes, Stolen Kisses Lip Vinyl on lips)

For more Marc Jacobs Beauty items that have caught my eye, and some ‘in the wild’ pics I took of the collection at Sephora, beam on over to my Pinterest board. To purchase, head on over to Sephora.com, MarcJacobs.com or your freestanding Sephora store.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Nail Polishes — Love the bottle design and the colors.

Love the photography on this campaign! Also, the Vamp eyeshadow palette (erroneously labeled as The Lolita) is my favorite for Fall. I wish the case wasn’t plastic though.

Lip Glosses and Nail Polishes by Marc Jacobs Beauty.

More nail polishes, blushes and face powders by Marc Jacobs Beauty

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Makeup Intelligence: Pro Finish Foundation from Make Up For Ever

Looks like Make Up For Ever has a brand new foundation out and in a wide range of shades!

New for Spring 2013: Pro Finish Foundation from Make Up For Ever. FYI: The brown girl in this photo is wearing Shade #177.

Make Up For Ever’s new Pro Finish foundation looks to be direct competitor to MAC’s ubiquitous Studio Fix foundation. Available in a range of twenty-five (25) shades, it can be applied wet for a sheer finish or dry for a matte and full coverage finish. I’ve never been quite pleased with the existing powder foundation from MUFE so it is very exciting to see this new product and formula.

MUFE Pro Finish foundation on display at Sephora. And yeah, the Rouge Artiste lipsticks are great too!

I tried applying this to my bare skin in Sephora using the new tapered foundation kabuki brush. The foundation went on flawlessly and the tapered brush expertly laid the foundation down in those challenging areas of the nose bridge and eye sockets. It was very easy to blend when dry and the resulting finish was nice and matte. I believe a sponge applicator is included with the compact but if you are prone to breakouts as I am, toss the sponge and go with the foundation brush. Even with all of the swatches I’ve shown here, my ideal shade is #175. Why this color was not included in the Deep skintone sample card is beyond me. Interesting how I am #75 in the Velvet Matte formula and #175 in Pro Finish.

MUFE Pro Finish Foundation deep shades on sample card (available for free at Sephora)

Swatches on NW43 skin of MUFE’s new Pro Finish Powder Foundation (w/o flash)

Definitely check out the foundation Kabuki brush. I am beyond impressed with how well it applies and blends this foundation. The bristles are soft and deliver practically mistake-proof application. This is definitely on the list to be reviewed/Florida Tested when I head to Disney World in July.

Make Up For Ever’s new Pro Finish Powder foundation is now available exclusively at Sephora stores and Sephora.com.

NEW! MUFE Pro Finish Foundation. All swatches are on bare MAC NW43/MUFE Velvet Mat+ #75/NARS New Guinea skin.

Swatches on NW43 skin of MUFE’s new Pro Finish Powder Foundation (w/ flash)

MUFE Pro Finish ingredient list. Why is there NO sunscreen in this? ::sigh::

MUFE Pro Finish foundation can be applied either wet (for sheer coverage) or dry (matte full coverage)

MUFE’s Pro Finish Foundation for Deep Skin (free card from Sephora, w/ flash)

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Preview: Champagne Too Faced Shadow Insurance

If there was ever one eye makeup product my oil-slick eyelids could never go without, it would be Too Faced Shadow Insurance. And when I spotted this new Champagne shade I had to have it!

NEW for Spring 2013: Too Faced’s Shadow Insurance in Champange. Bottoms up!

Too Faced Shadow Insurance (TFSI) is a waterproof, sweat proof, Florida Hot-proof eye shadow primer that has always kept my eye makeup flawless all day at the office and all day slugging through the parks at Disney World. It is truly one of those indispensible products I cannot live without. Well, I could but my eye shadow makeup would look a hot mess and I’d be stuck using just eyeliner again.

This awesome eye shadow primer is described by Too Faced as a ‘nude shimmer’ eye shadow primer. As compared to Candlelight TFSI, it is more beige. Lemon Drop TFSI is matte and slightly yellow in contrast to Champagne TFSI. Frankly I believe every oily-eyelid gal should own every incarnation of TFSI, and brown girls *especially* need this new Champagne shade.

I picked mine up from Ulta but it is available at TooFaced.com and should be available shortly at Sephora.com and freestanding stores. Look for a review of this product in conjunction with my review of Urban Decay’s Naked 2 Palette coming later this month.

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Makeup Intelligence: MAC Archie’s Girls for Spring 2013

Were you an Archie’s Comics fan back in the day like I was? If so, and you love makeup, check this out:

MAC Archie’s Girls for Spring 2013: Does this bring back memories or what?!?

The collection is broken up into two parts. There is Betty (Cooper), consisting of lighter shades and Veronica (Lodge) made up of the traditional in-your-face dramatic colors. The collection is huge and as such will be this post but trust me, it’s worth it. If you don’t want to read my blather but see some live-and-in-color pics, check out this post on Specktra.com.

Nothing like a love triangle to remind you of Valentine’s Day like Veronica, Betty and Archie…

Lipglasses. A Brown Girl MAC Addict’s Holy Grail 😉

Betty Collection: MAC Archie’s Girls

Lipsticks

Girl Next Door Vivid blue pink (Lustre)
Betty Bright Light vibrant peach (Satin)
Oh, Oh, Oh Sheer brown plum (Lustre) (Repromote)

BIGA Intel says: Lustres and satins are not my favorite finishes, especially in lighter colors such as these. If you didn’t get your hands on Watch Me Simmer, Betty Bright would hold you over until a repromote happens.

Lipglass

Summer Sweetheart Light peach
Stay Sweet Light lavender pink
Kiss & Don’t Tell Bright coral

BIGA Intel says: Lipglasses are more often than not a good value. If you have very pigmented lips, I would go straight for Kiss & Don’t Tell. If you already own Strange Potion from the MAC Disney Villains collection or Tour de Fabulous from Stylepacked, this shade is probably a skip for you.

PearlGlide Eye Liner

Lord It Up Bronze with pearl
Black Swan Black with gold pearl

BIGA Intel says: Pearlglide eyeliners are very long-wearing, go on smooth and sparkly and look amazing. Lord it Up would look best on light to medium skintones while Black Swan will compliment all skintones.

Pigment

Cheers My Dear Light lavender (Frost)
Lucky in Love Shimmering light blue green (Frost)

BIGA Intel says: Frankly I haven’t been too pleased with the quality of MAC pigments of late. If you own any of the mineralize eye shadows close to light lavender or light blue green, best to go with those. Should you choose to go with these pigments, be sure to pick up some Mixing Medium from MACCosmetics.com. You’ll thank me later.

Powder Blush

Cream Soda Light neutral coral (Satin)

BIGA Intel says: This should be a nice color for light to medium skintones. I can’t see this one working on darker skintones very well. From the promo photos it looks a lot like NARS Gilda but performance could be another story.

Pearlmatte Face Powder

Flatter Me Golden peach base (Shell Pearl Beauty Powder) with coral hearts (Foolish Me Powder Blush)

BIGA Intel says: This is the first time I’ve seen this type of product. A ‘beauty powder’ with blush ‘built in’. Beauty powders such as these seem to work best as an all-over face color for light to medium skintones, and as a nice highlighter for dark skintones. I will caution that if you have a dark skintone (NW/NC 45+) it’s best to try this in person to see if you like it.

Caramel Sundae Eyeshadow Palette

Caramel Sundae Mid-tone warm tan (Satin)
Cheryl Chic Light coral pink (Frost)
Dreammaker Pale frosty yellow (Frost)
Showstopper Dark, cool-toned brown (Matte) (Repromote)

BIGA Intel says: A nice collection of neutral shades. If you have very oily lids and/or have a dark skin tone, be sure to prep your lids with a paint pot like Painterly or Soft Ochre before applying to eyelids.

Nail Lacquer

Pep Pep Pep Light peach nude
Comic Cute Bright coral

BIGA Intel says: I am not a huge fan of MAC’s nail polishes as I feel the price point is too high and the performance is no where near the level of Illamasqua or NARS. Check these lines for comparable dupes.

Veronica Collection: MAC Archie’s Girls

This is me when I have to yell at tech support who has no clue I’m an engineer…

Lipstick

Daddy’s Little Girl Mid-tone pink violet (Satin)
Ronnie Red Bright red (Matte)
Boyfriend Stealer Deep blackened plum (Cremesheen)

BIGA Intel says: While it’s in the satin finish I loathe, Daddy’s Little Girl seems to have such a high color saturation I still want it. Ronnie Red looks to finally be the bright blue-red I’ve been waiting for MAC to produce in forever (Ruby Woo looks like crap on me as does MAC Red and Russian Red). Boyfriend Stealer should be a hit with brown girls because of the deep, dark color. I will say that if you do not own Yung Rapunxnel (amplified finish), make sure to haul that color first before Boyfriend Stealer.

Lipglass

Mall Madness Mid-tone pink violet
Strawberry Malt Bright red
Feelin’ So Good Deep blackened plum

BIGA Intel says: All of these look super-color-saturated the way true MAC addicts love their liplasses. Strawberry Malt will look amazing on dark skin over Ronnie Red, and Feelin’ So Good looks a lot like Wrong Spell from MAC Venomous Villains.

PearlGlide Eye Liner

Petrol Blue Deep navy with pearl
Designer Purple Violet with pearl

BIGA Intel says: Forget Designer Purple and go straight for Petrol Blue. Why? Not only does Petrol Blue look intensely amazing, it goes on smooth without issue. Designer Purple isn’t as vibrant nor goes on as smooth as Petrol Blue. Unless MAC has changed the formula recently, I don’t see myself getting another Designer Purple. But Petrol Blue? You can never have too many.

Pigment

Black Poodle Blackened pink (Frost)
Magic Spells Blackened teal (Frost)

BIGA Intel says: From swatches I’ve seen, Black Poodle doesn’t look too impressive on and frankly it looks like MAC’s Beauty Marked (Velvet) eyeshadow. If you were lucky enough to get Moonlight Night pigment from MAC’s A Tartan Tale collection, you can skip Magic Spells.

Powder Blush

Prom Princess Mid-tone violet pink (Satin)

BIGA Intel says: Its violet pink, Veronica is on it. Get it.

Pearlmatte Face Powder

Veronica’s Blush Silvery pink base (Play it Proper beauty powder) with deep pink hearts (Frankly Scarlet blush)

BIGA Intel says: I passed on Play it Proper beauty powder and as I already own ‘Too Chic’ and MAC’s Salsarose blush (MAC Pro), I’m passing on this.

Spoiled Rich Eyeshadow Palette

Spoiled Rich Rich purple (Frost)
Ron Ron Run Deep navy (Satin)
Pin-Up Purple Mid-tone orchid (Frost)
Gravel Charcoal (Matte)

BIGA Intel says: The compact looks pretty, and the colors look nice, but check your stash first and check it twice. These four colors look a lot like MAC Stars & Rockets, Atlantic Blue, Parfait Amour and some other dark charcoal grey color eyeshadow MAC has out. My first instinct is that these colors are dupeable but the palette is more about convenience than the colors included.

Nail Lacquer

Past Curfew Deep berry
Double Trouble Deep navy

BIGA Intel says: See my notes under Betty. Intel is still the same.

Veronica items from the MAC Archie’s Girls Collection for Spring 2013. So cool, so Veronica…and so *me*.

My being a huge fan of the Archie comics, and of course totally on Team Veronica, I am very excited about this collection! So much so that I found this bonus ‘cheat sheet’ you MUST print out and circle to note what you want. The collection is rumored to launch on MACCosmetics.com on January 30th but you probably want to start stalking the site before then.

Still here? It’s like you’re looking for that ‘bonus scene’ at the end of the movie credits. Well, here ya go!

MAC Archie’s Girls Accessories–gotta have that tote bag!!

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Preview: NARS Spring 2013

My goodies from NARS for Spring 2013 have arrived!

Clockwise from top: NARS Sangria blush, Persia eye shadow, Cythere lip gloss pencil

As I hinted in my makeup intelligence post on NARS Spring 2013, I picked up the blush in Sangria, matte eye shadow in Persia and the lip gloss in Cythere. I was most excited about getting Sangria but in the back of my mind I knew I had to get Persia. And I am so glad that I did!

Full face look feat. NARS Persia eye shadow (Mekong in crease, Kilimanjaro on browbown), Sangria blush (over Luster and Super Orgasm) and Cythere lip pencil over MUFE #10C lip pencil.

I’m currently testing these products but I can definitely say all three are worth purchasing, especially the Persia eye shadow. If you are a medium to dark and darker brown girl, you need Persia in your life! And even if you have strong red undertones as I do, blending this color with NARS Mekong (or any other cool toned dark shadow) will make it work. An added bonus about this color (which is insanely pigmented by the way) is that it makes that Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadow in ‘Fierce and Tangy’ orange worth using again. NARS Persia looks stunning on top of Maybelline’s Fierce and Tangy.

NARS Spring 2013 collection is available now at NARSCosmetics.com and coming to Sephora.com and NARS counters in upscale department stores in February.