MAC Heroine review

I recently acquired Mac's newly permanent Heroine matte lipstick - a bright orchid purple, or violet leaning fuchsia, which I've speedily swatched next to other similarly coloured lipsticks I own:

Taken in indirect sunlight, as swatch photos should be!

• Top left: Maybelline Colour Elixir Lip Gloss in Vision in Violet
• Top right: Revlon Matte Balm Stain in Shameless
• Centre: MAC Heroine matte lipstick
• Bottom left: OCC Lip Tar in Hoochie liquid lipstick
• Bottom right: MAC Flat Out Fabulous retro matte lipstick

I'm not going to describe the differences between these varying shades of purple as the above photo gives an extremely accurate colour reference, but I will say that Heroine is not as opaque as I'd hoped and expected it to be. Since I'm insanely pale and without strongly pigmented lips it's rare that lipsticks allow my natural lip colour to peep though (unless of course they're a deliberately sheer formula) and to be honest Heroine is only slightly less than fully opaque - I just expect better from MAC.

Not going to lie - I can't wink, but neither am I going to let that stop me

Since I have no time in my life right now for neat on-the-mouth swatches in daylight (I live in the library during the hours the sun is out) I'm just going to leave you with some snaps of the makeup I did for an event I attended this weekend - as the photo was taken at night under my stupid eco-friendly energy saving lights the colours are naturally slightly off - suffice to say Heroine is the colour shown above on the swatches, not how it appears here on my mouth.

Overall I'd give Heroine a B+ - it was adequately opaque, applied well straight from the tube, was matte enough to be very long-wearing yet also comfortable without patchiness. It did however leave a significant bright pink stain which doesn't bother me in the slightest but is probably something to consider. I'd definitely re-buy it if I lost or finished it because it's such a gorgeous colour and easy to use, but hopefully there's something a little bit better out there!


FACE:

• NARS Oil Free Primer
• NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia foundation
• Illamasqua Hollow contour
• Illamasqua Delirium blush
• Illamasqua Concealer in 105 and 115
• Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

BROWS:

• Illamasqua Motto Brow Cake
• Sugarpill Bulletproof eyeshadow

EYES:

• NARS and Urban Decay eyeshadow primer (one on each eye - literally no difference)
• Laura Mercier Morning Dew eyeshadow
• Inglot 363 eyeshadow (my absolute favourite crease colour)
• Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
• Fyrinnae Serendipity and Rapunzel Had Extensions eyeshadow
• Sugarpill Bulletproof eyeshadow
• Urban Decay Perversion eyeliner
• Oh My Lash Lucille eyelashes
• Duo Lash Glue
• Misc rhinestones from Amazon

LIPS:

• MAC Prep+Prime Lips
• MAC Heroine lipstick

This feels invasively close

Also here's my other and all time favourite purple lipstick, also by MAC but sadly Limited Edition - Instigator:

Hair's still wet, no one to impress

All FACE and BROW products are exactly the same as above.

EYES:

• NARS Smudgeproof Shadow Base
• Laura Mercier Morning Dew
• Inglot 363 eyeshadow
• Sugarpill Bulletproof eyeshadow
• Urban Decay Pervesion eyeliner
• Red Cherry #48 eyelashes

LIPS:

• MAC Instigator

Hopefully soon I'll find time in my life to post more than just a few snaps of looks I've done for nights out, but until then I'll be living barefaced in the library.


Saskia X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com

Lipstick Swatches

Quick post with swatches of all of my lipsticks (disincluding my many OCC Lip Tars and a few I've relegated since upgrading them):

Neat swatching is not something I have time for

So, from left to right in a poor attempt at reading darkest to lightest:

• Illamasqua Pristine - supposed to be matte, is actually satin - C
• MAC Instigator (LE) - matte - A
• NARS Train Bleu (Discontinued?) - so matte it makes the sahara look damp - C
• MAC Instigator (LE) - matte - A
• MAC Dark Side - satin/'amplified' - A
• Rimmel Kate Moss Matte 107 - matte - B
• MAC Studded Kiss (LE) - matte - A
• Armani Rouge D'Armani 406 - cream-matte A++
• MAC Flat Out Fabulous - 'retro' matte A
• Soap & Glory Pom Pom - matte - A
• Soap & Glory Pink Blush - matte - A
• Soap & Glory - matte - Supernude - A

My grading is based on the formula alone - pigment density and evenness, comfort, longevity, feathering, smudging:

• A = excellent in all areas
• B = good in most areas
• C = workable but not ideal
• D = barely functional
• F = garbage

Pristine, Punk Couture, Train Bleu, Instigator, Dark Side, 107, Studded Kiss, 406

It's pretty obvious my preferences lie with vampy mattes and this reason is two fold: purple is my favourite colour and I'm lazy. Essentially if I'm going to wear lipstick I want it to damn well look like I'm wearing lipstick otherwise I just don't see the point, and if I'm going to bother to apply a lipstick it better damn well not need reapplication for at least 6 hours unless I decide to attack a big greasy hamburger.

My all-time favourites are MAC Instigator and Rouge D'Armani 406, Instigator is a great formula but it's the truly unique colour that I'm in love with and 406 has a absolutely magical formula and is my perfect classic red.

107, Studded Kiss, 406, Flat Out Fabulous, Pom Pom, Blush Pink, Supernude

 Flat Out Fabulous isn't as purple as I'd hoped it to be but is still a lovely bright spring/summer shade, and the S&G shades are my nod to natural lips - Pom Pom is a very wearable bold pink, Blush Pink is a muted plum 'My Lips But Better' and Supernude is just there on the off chance I ever want to wear a nude lip (although I'm a little put off by how warm it looks here since I really dislike anything orange).


Currently on my wish-list are:

• MAC Heroine (violet) - matte; pretty obvious why I want this
• MAC Up The Amp (muted medium toned lavender pink) - satin/'amplified'; a toned down everyday purple
• MAC Relentlessly Red (bright pinkish red with coral undertones) - 'retro' matte; about as far towards coral/orange as I'll go, I think this will look great with a tan over the summer
• Illamasqua Posture (greyed lavender) - matte; to be honest this will probably make me look a bit washed out and ill but... I want it
• Illamasqua Apocalips (dark teal green) - matte; green is my second favourite colour and I want to wear it on my face. That's all there is to it.
• Revlon Matte Balm Shameless (red based purple) - matte; obvious choice
• Maybelline Colour Elixir Lip Gloss Vision in Violet (violet) - gloss; because if anything is going to get me into lip-glosses/allow me to tolerate their stickiness it's going to be something bright purple, plus it's cheap.
• MAC Sin (burgundy) - matte; I probably don't need this as I have Studded Kiss

And a bonus of this week's manicure which is appropriately purple - Barry M nail polish in Cosmo Berry and a random Topshop glitter one.


Sas X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com

Back with a Gothic Vengeance

One of my MANY New Years resolutions is to get this blog going again!

Side-note: can I even say 'again' when I only had half a dozen posts to start with?

Anyway, to kick off here are some snaps of looks I've done over the Christmas holidays for various social events (or y'know just baking in my pyjamas).

I got some new vampy lipsticks (MAC Punk Couture collection and NARS Train Bleu) for various birth anniversaries (my own and Jesus') so decided to be all high fashion and wear dark lips with absolutely no eye makeup! Or rather, I was too lazy to do eye makeup, whichever.

Dark lips (MAC Studded Kiss and Currant lipliner), bold brows and contour

My mother then promptly dubbed this my 'gothic phase' - well if you insist...

I was going for 'Feminine Gothic' rather than 'I'm angry at the world Gothic'
NARS Train Bleu lipstick, MAC Currant lipliner, Stila MMFFE in Vintage Black Gold

Plus a snap I made for an Instagram 'Contouring 101' (yeah I have Instagram now #socialmedia #IhavenoideawhatI'mdoing #EmilyJones) add me/follow me/subscribe(?)... aiksasarual

MAC Instigator lipstick, MAC Currant lipliner, Illamasqua Hollow contour and Delirium blush

And for anyone who's interested in photography here's my setup:

Canon 60D body and 18-135 lens with the 430EXII Speedlite flash gun and Lumiquest 80/20 flash diffuser on the Induro Carbon 8X CT214 tripod and BHD1 ball head. Everything was shot on fully automatic (I'm lazy with selfies).

Also shout out to anyone who's here from reddit - you guys are awesome!

Saskia X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com

Essential Eyeshadow Brushes 2: The Collection

If you read my last post you'll have some background about the products I'm about to recommend and why, but if not don't worry!

So you want to do fabulous eyeshadow looks right? Well here're the tools I'd recommend based on what you want:

I want one eyeshadow brush that I can do it all (almost) with!

On a budget?

Get the Real Techniques eye shading brush:

Pros:
Inexpensive
Great quality (soft, no shedding)
Great for both packing on shadow and blending
Synthetic bristles (for you vegans)
Smaller head for precision/smaller lid space
Can handle some abuse without the bristles deforming (perfect for on-the-go)

Cons:
Too small for a quick 'all over lid' sweep coverage
Not great for use with cream eyeshadow

Overall verdict:
The superman of the brush world, better suited for getting your crease perfect than giving a smooth wash of all over colour. Great for a no-frills intermediate look, I love that I don't feel the need to baby it so it gets a lot more use. I often do full looks with just this brush. Buy it, you'll love it, and if you don't send it to me and I'll send some love right back.

Want a treat or are you building the below collection?

Get a Mac 239

Pros:
Baby soft
Amazing quality - sources say these babies can last 10+ years
Packs on colour like nobody's business
Great for a simple sweep of all over colour
Looks classy as F
You're one brush into the perfect 3 brush set!

Cons:
Natural bristles (sorry goat advocates/vegans)
A tad pricey
Doesn't handle precision particularly well as the head is rather large
White bristles stain easily (although this could be a pro for telling you when it needs a wash)

Mac runner up: 217

I know a lot of people would choose this as their 'one' brush but I find it far to imprecise for anything other than a general colour wash or blending.


I want a core collection I can conquer the eyeshadow world with!

Mac 239, 217 and 219 (purchased in that order if you're on a budget)

• Use the 239 to pack or sweep colour onto your lid
• Use 217 to blend the edges into a soft gradient
• Use 219 for precision detailing like lining and crease

These brushes all have the same overall pros and cons:

Pros:
Baby soft
Fantastic quality
Looks classy as F
Amazing technical ability

Cons:
Natural bristles (sorry goat advocates/vegans)
A tad pricey
White bristles stain easily (although this could be a pro for telling you when it needs a wash)
Bristle deformation (217 in particular has a tendency to splay out)

Minimal splaying, but this brush is only two weeks old and treated like a princess

And remember: wash your brushes often!

I wash powder product brushes once a week with a wipe down on tissue paper after every use (hence why my brushes are a little colourful - I do a weekend wash). Cream and liquid brushes get a wet wipe down after every use and a shampoo every other day. When I had acne I washed my foundation brush after every use to keep the inflammatory bacteria count down.

I recommend Johnson's baby shampoo as an effective but gentle cleanser (important for natural fibre brushes).


Saskia X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com

Essential Eye Makeup Brushes 1: Quality and Brands

Let's talk about eyeshadow brushes shall we? I used to think the result was 90% in the product (eyeshadow) but have since learned that tools can actually take about 50% of the credit! So let's get our tools basics down:

Yup, it looks like I'm picking my nose; nope, my camera refused to not focus on my face

I love good quality products and will nearly always advocate quality over quantity, but sometimes you have to weigh quality vs cost - this is normally my largest internal debate "is it worth it?". Here's a brief overview of different 'levels' of brushes going by price using the market dominating brands as an example:

A cheap brush (ELF/store brand) is about £3-4, an inexpensive ('low end' doesn't seem fitting somehow) brush (EcoTools/Real Techniques) is double that at £6-8, a mid end (MAC/Sigma) brush is again about double its previous counter part at £16-18 and a high end brush (Hakuhodo) is double that again at £32++. The regularity of this pattern pleases me!

Elf < Ecotools < Real Techniques < Sigma < Mac < Hakuhodo

Anyway, disclaimer: I know nothing about super high end brushes - I have literally never touched a Hakuuhodo brush, so I'm just going to skip those. I do however have some experience in Bobbi Brown brushes which are in the awkward price range of between mid and high end, so I'm going to use those as my bench mark 'high' end brushes: they're awful. Bobbi Brown make awful overpriced brushes, I dislike them so much I can't even be bothered to go into more depth than: I have a full eye set (as a gift) that I've touched exactly once and a foundation brush that is put to shame in every way by its EcoTools counterpart. For shame Bobbi, for shame.

Crap quality AND overpriced

So where do I draw the line between quality and cost? It's a toss between 'low' and mid end - it's not hard to justify the small price jump between a cheap brush and an inexpensive one (just a single Starbucks coffee) and because cheap brushes are well, cheap and tacky quality I tend to skip those entirely. And then the jump between mid and high end brushes is frankly absurd to me - maybe I could justify it for one brush one time, but to build a collection at that price point is so far out of a budget I would consider reasonable at any point in my life.

So let's focus on EcoTools/Real Techniques vs Mac/Sigma:

ET and RT both make nice synthetic bristled brushes that are soft, aesthetically pleasing and never shed. Overall, whatever (eyeshadow) brushes you get from either brand will be nice, soft, good quality brushes but without fantastic technical and specified abilities.

Unwashed RT eye shading brush from the front and side

M.A.C. is a brand created and targeted to makeup artists (Makeup Artists Cosmetics duh) thus their brushes are obviously better quality and are handmade in Japan - reports of brushes lasting 10+ years are common - and much more specified, thus this is where you want to go when you're itching to advance from that basic smokey eye. Mac brushes are a mix between natural (animal hair) and synthetic bristles, with the type of hair (horse, goat, badger etc) varying by type of brush.

Also unwashed Mac 239, 217 and 219 brushes

Sigma doesn't boast professional quality like Mac or as high a price tag. They also used to be rather shameless about creating Mac copies (even using the same number naming system), however their brushes are very highly reviewed particularly their 12 piece synthetic sets (which I have my eye on for Christmas), I can't personally recommend them but if you're looking for a one stop face and eye brush set that's better than drugstore but maybe not professional level check them out.

Mrs. Bunny Essential Kit - photo from SigmaBeauty.com

So what eyeshadow brushes do I use and love? These ones:

Their grubbiness is evidence of their recent use

I'll dissect what their different uses are and the various pros and ons of each in my next brush post.


Saskia X


PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com