Lipstick Diaries, Round Three: MAC More Than a Woman and Besame Red Velvet

We're welcoming back the Lipstick Diaries with the shades from my most recent makeup bag: MAC More Than a Woman and Besame Red Velvet. While they look very similar in these pictures, they are absolutely different shades, I swear.

MAC More Than a Woman is an amplified cream from the recent Aaliyah collection. It's definitely a purple shade, which I normally shy away from, but this one has a lot of pink in it, which is probably why I'm able to wear it without looking like a total idiot. It also has the glossy finish amplified creams are known for. Paired with Sephora Deep Aubergine liner, I can see this being one of my favorites this winter. (Note: if you're wondering why this photo is so much darker than the other one, it's because it was a rare cloudy day on the great plains and I'm still figuring out my lighting. Please bear with me.)

Besame Red Velvet continues to be one of my favorite shades, and with good reason! It's a neutral, slightly deeper red that I think flatters almost everybody. This is one of Besame's "Classic Colour" lipsticks, so it has a more satin but-not-flat-matte finish. Red Velvet always nets me compliments, especially at work. My tube is in the special edition Agent Carter packaging, so you'll basically have to take it off of my dead body.

My Favorite Red Lip Pencil

Before I wised up to the racket that is "free shipping when you spend X!", I would toss things I didn't really want or need in to my shopping cart to hit that shipping minimum. When it came to MAC's website, I usually picked another tube of Strobe Cream or a new lipstick. On one occasion, I decided a red eyeliner seemed like a good idea...probably because the pencils were on sale or something of that ilk. I'd tested the MAC Chromagraphic Pencils in the nude shades before and found them to be pigmented and creamy, so I figured I'd have the same luck with Basic Red.

It turns out red eyeliner isn't exactly the best look for a professor. I wore scarlet wings to class once, received a snippy comment from a higher-up, and retired the pencil to the back of my collection. And at the time, I had such a huge collection that this one pencil was quickly lost in the mix.

I've since downsized my collection dramatically, all the while becoming more and more aware of what I do and don't need to achieve certain looks. Only two red pencils have stuck with me: NYX Auburn, which I've owned for far too many years but refuse to quit because it works so well with deep bordeauxs and bold crimsons, and MAC Basic Red.

Top: Besame 1941 Victory Red and 1920 Besame Red. Middle: MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in Basic Red. Bottom: MAC Scarlet Ibis and Besame 1931 Carmine.

Basic Red is the cleanest, most neutral red lip liner I've ever found. Some people say it leans a little warm, but honestly, I think it depends on which lipstick you pair it with. I wear it with all four of the shades above: the cool toned and saturated Victory Red, the more muted Besame Red (which appears outright purple-ish here because it's so muted in comparison to other three shades, but is clearly a soft, slightly blue red on the lips), the slightly warm Scarlet Ibis, and the orange-red Carmine. In every case, lining my lips with MAC Basic Red, then bringing the lipstick right to that pencil line always gives me the sharpest, fullest look I can get sans lip brush.

I've also worn Basic Red on its own with just a hint of balm or gloss on top, as in my Best of 2016 video. The formula is smooth enough to apply evenly to the lips and feel comfortable, but waxy enough to stay put. (The standard MAC lipliners, I find, are a bit too dry and flaky to be worn all over the lips.)

This truly versatile pencil deserves far more hype than it gets. That said, I'm not so much encouraging you to rush out and buy it as I am encouraging you to think very carefully about the products you already have. It's the stuff we tend to reach for automatically, without fanfare or fuss, that's truly deserving of "Holy Grail" status.

Some Products I've Used for Almost a Decade

The beauty industry produces new formulas, shades, and applicators at a rapid pace, guided by the twin forces of scientific discovery and savvy marketing. Realizing we can put film formers in makeup and make it last for a full day, for example, lines up perfectly with trends that favor long-wearing products, matte textures, and minimal fuss. The huge variety of products is already a strong lure for beauty addicts like me, but I'm also an American, and we have easy access to most brands. So like many bloggers, I buy and try a ton of products.

Despite the fact that I'm always testing something, I've managed to collect a small assortment of makeup that is, to my mind, irreplaceable. And no matter how much I try other foundations, brow pencils, and eyeliners, I always come back to the staples that have stuck with me since college. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it highlights some of the all-time favorites I've gladly spent my money on many times over.

Wearing MAC Face & Body foundation and Rebel lipstick, Milani Liquid Eyes eyeliner, Shu Uemura Hard Formula pencil in Seal Brown, Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer, and Wet n' Wild Brulee eyeshadow.

MAC Face & Body foundation -- Ah, yes, the product everybody is sick of hearing me talk about! I'm sorry, but no matter how many foundations I try (and I sample a ton), I always come back to Face & Body. The buildable light coverage and slightly dewy finish give me the my-skin-but-better look I adore, it feels weightless on the skin, and it lasts a surprisingly long time for something that isn't uber-matte. Any time I ask my mother what she thinks of the new foundation I'm testing, she always says, "It's _______, but I like the MAC one you wear the best." What mom says is law, my friends.

Shu Uemura Hard Formula Pencil in Seal Brown -- I often hesitate to recommend this brow pencil because it's so hard to get in the states now, but if you wanted to know the absolute queen of brow products? Yeah, it's this one. No matter how many other pencils, powders, and gels I try, I always come back to this one. Beyond the fact that a single Hard Formula pencil will last you for a freaking decade or more, this is the most versatile formula I've ever used. Supposedly, the oil from your brow hairs is needed for the pigment to show up, which means it's hard to overdo. You can absolutely use it for a heavier brow look, though, if you just keep applying it. And Seal Brown is the sort of cool taupe shade I always look for from other brands.

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer -- I decided to experiment with this product and have been using the Ivory shade lately, but really, my heart belongs to Radiant, the salmon-colored corrector. Blending a bit of this sheer, luminous formula with whatever concealer I'm using keeps my undereyes from looking dry and cakey. It also helps to bounce back a lot of light. As an added bonus, this is another lightweight product; my mom hates makeup she can feel on her face, but she wears the Medium shade without complaining.

Milani Liquid Eyes pencil -- I'm no longer as in to eye makeup as I was in college, but I still like to wear eyeliner, and the Milani Liquid Eyes pencils have been my go-tos for tightlining for at least a decade. I mean, I was buying these things when they were still called the Liquifeye pencils! They're incredibly smooth and richly pigmented, yet they also stick to the water line fairly well, meaning I get minimal smearing. No high end pencil liner has ever compared to this $5 beauty. The only downside? The formula is super soft, so you'll have to sharpen the pencil after every 2-3 uses.

MAC Strobe Cream -- How many tubes of this stuff have I actually gone through? It has to be at least three. I can kill a one ounce tub of this stuff annually because I use it for so many things: as a natural cheek highlight, as a glow-boosting moisturizer under my foundation, and as extra shimmer to mix in to my body lotion. MAC recently came out with a range of shades for this product, making it wearable for a variety of skintones.

MAC Lipsticks -- Let's be clear: MAC hasn't made my absolute favorite lipstick formula for about a year now. They've been usurped by Besame, because their lipstick formula is w389hvn2o3unrlasdjf AMAZING. That said, I still love MAC's Matte, Satin, and Amplified lipsticks, and their color selection is hard to beat. Also, it's always fun to get a free lipstick when you return 6 empty plastic products for the Back2MAC program; that's how I got Rebel! Which I...don't think really flatters me, but hey, I love the formula and it was free!

Wet n' Wild Color Icon eyeshadow in Brulee -- I'm on at least my second pan of this $2 eyeshadow, which is the perfect "nude lid" shade for me. The formula is quite soft, so it'll smash out of the pan easily, but that's a minor quibble. I like to use this when I'm wearing no other eye makeup to mask the blue veins on my lids and give me a more "finished" look. On the rare occasions when I wear stronger eye makeup, this is one of the only browbone shades I'll wear. I think Wet n' Wild has stopped making a lot of their eyeshadow singles, which is kind of a bummer, but this perfect pan is still readily available.

Becca Beach Tints -- The Beach Tints are my reference point for all other liquid blushes. If you can't compare to the Beach Tints even a bit? You're not worth my time. What always shocks me about this formula is how liquidy and blendable it is, and yet how much pigment you can get from the tiniest drop. They're great on bare skin or over foundation, which natural looks or more glamorous makeup. Watermelon is probably my most-used shade, since it's a medium pink that mirrors my natural flush, and I've actually used up a full tube of it.

Return of the Lipstick Diairies #6: Lime Crime Red Velvet and MAC Creme Cup

There was a time when Makeup Alley was hoppin' and people posted on its boards non-stop. I was one of those people, and I regularly put up my FotD pictures. I became known as someone who loved and wore a lot of red lipsticks, and it's obvious why: red has long been my go-to "I want to feel fierce" color. But I'm starting to realize that I have some unusual preferences when it comes to reds. Lime Crime Red Velvet is a liquid matte red lipstick with blue undertones. It looks just fine, but honestly? I think I look better in warmer reds. If I'm going to wear a cool red, I seem to prefer something deeper, like NARS Charlotte. I've had this in my "consider purging" box for a month and I haven't reached for it, so I think it's time to say goodbye.

I have similar feelings about MAC Creme Cup (which reads a bit peachier here than it does in real life). I remember having a tumultuous relationship with this lipstick: I finished a full tube when I was a teenager, I tried it again in graduate school and couldn't recall why I'd liked it so much, and now I have a mini-tube and it's "meh" to me. I think it's because of the Cremesheen formula, which is very glossy, only somewhat opaque, and not long lasting in the least. Creme Cup also has a bit of shimmer in it, which I usually dislike in my lipsticks. I think I'll finish this small tube and move on to greener pastures.

Return of the Lipstick Diaries #5: Glossier Jam and MAC Whirl

Man, it's starting to look like I go for themes when I do these posts. I really don't--I didn't realize Whirl was going to be so purple-y on me.

Speaking of purple: that's what Glossier Jam is, a sheer matte purple lipstick you can apply lightly over balm for an "I just ate a grape popsicle" look (as seen here), or that you can layer up for a deeper, plummier stain. I think Crush is a more flattering shade on me, to be honest, but for whatever reason, Jam remains my favorite Generation G. I assume it's because it's so flexible. And while I hesitate to recommend the Generation G lipsticks to most people for a variety of reasons, I have to admit that I do really enjoy them, especially since they've updated the formula and packaging. This stained look is my current go-to; I blame Kim Min-Hee's fantastic performance and watercolor-esque lipsticks in The Handmaiden:

MAC Whirl, on the other hand, was a complete let-down. I actually wasn't interested in this color much and only tried it because it came with a set of mini MAC lipsticks I got as a gift. (Yes, I know, Whirl is sort of an "it girl" color lately thanks to one of the Jenner sisters, but I'm horrible and I don't pay much attention to the Kardashians/Jenners.) I expected a matte brown, sort of a more neutral version of Besame Chocolate Kiss. What I got was as very cool-toned mix of brown, plum, and gray. I don't think it looks good on me in the slightest, and I removed it immediately after taking these pictures.

I'm starting to think I look better in, or at least tend to favor the look of, neutral and warm lipsticks over cool-toned lipsticks. What do we think?

Return of the Lipstick Diaries #4: Glossier Crush and MAC Nouvelle Vogue

 I prefer to space these posts out, but I'm still fighting the final vestiges of that sinus infection, so I'm not yet ready to do photographs for my next review. (Hint: it's on some more Milk Makeup stuff.) Instead, I'm going through my RotLD archives and bumping this one up a few days.

These lipsticks look strangely similar in this picture, but they're very different in real life. Glossier Generation G in Crush is a sheer raspberry pink shade with a matte finish. I think this is my current favorite Generation G; it's very brightening and easy to wear. This photo shows about 2 layers of the product--you can apply a bit more if you want a more saturated shade. Glossier did update the packaging and formula of their Generation G range, so now the tubes are sturdier and the actual lipstick is a bit smoother. I currently keep Crush in my work bag.

MAC Nouvelle Vogue was not as much of a success for me. It looks a hair warmer in this photo than it actually is; in real life, it's a very cool-toned pink. For whatever reason, this sort of matte, mid-tone, blue-based pink washes me out and makes me look rather lifeless. I will say that the formula of the MAC matte lipsticks has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years, and Nouvelle Vogue is no exception. It applied very smoothly and didn't dry out my lips too much. Unfortunately, this shade just isn't for me.

Return of the Lipstick Diaries #3 - Besame Chocolate Kiss and MAC Kinda Sexy

I was apparently in a very brown-beige-nude sort of mood this January, huh? But these are two very different colors. The first one is Besame Chocolate Kiss, a duplicate of a 1970s lipstick shade. It's a rich brown shade with a lot of red tones in it. Normally I don't go for brown shades because they just look weird on my skintone, but the warmth in Chocolate Kiss saves it for me. I'm glad I only have a mini, though, because I know this is a shade I'll enjoy when I wear it, but won't wear often. As a side note, this lipstick normally has a tad more shine to it--I blotted it because I was reminiscing about my 90s childhood. Man, I loved raiding my best friend's sister's makeup and seeing all of the dark plums and matte browns!

Annnnyway. I've got another nude peach shade here (WTF is my problem lately?), MAC Kinda Sexy. I've been wanting to try this shade for a long time, so I was beyond thrilled to get it in a pack of 4 mini lipsticks I received as a gift. I actually really like this color on me: it's got just the right balance of peach and brown, and it's not as dark and muddy or as pastel as some other peachy nudes. I've noticed that I've acquired a few of these types of lipsticks in the past year, though, so I'll have to do some careful comparisons in a few months to pick the ones that perform the best.

If you're looking forward to more Lipstick Diaries and a dozen new shots of my super sexy default head tilt, let me know!

VIDEO: Who Should Try This?, episode 1

I'm back to posting a bit earlier than I thought I'd be, but it'll still be sporadic for a couple of weeks, so please bear with me! I thought I'd try out this new series where I go over products I've been wearing and give you some idea as to who might like them and who should pass. Any full reviews I've done will be linked as they come up. :)

(NOTE: To watch full-screen, start playing, then click the YouTube button at the bottom right.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint -- 1:05

Glossier Generation G Lipsticks -- 4:10

Histoires de Parfums Discovery Set -- 8:55

Face Stockholm Creme Blush -- 13:05

MAC Full Coverage Foundation -- 16:00

Colourpop Brow Pencil -- 19:05

Try This: Tint Your Highlighter

Being on a low buy or a no buy can be very tough, especially when you have direct deposit set up. The money hits your account, a Valentine's Day sale springs to your attention, and all you can think is, "Yeah, I have $50 extra to spend right now." This happened to me this past week with a product that has been tempting me for about a year now, the Becca Beach Tint Shimmer Souffles. These little pots swatch beautifully and look amazing in others bloggers' photographs; they look like the most perfect, glowy blush-highlighter hybrids.

I managed to resist by reminding myself that I have tons of products already, most of them are liquids and creams (which mix easily), and I used to play Makeup Mixologist on the back of my hand all the time. So let's just go back to my roots and save $27!

Daylight on left, flash on right.

Here are two of the combinations I really fell in love with. The first is equal parts MAC Strobe Cream and Becca Beach Tint in Dragonfruit; it creates a glowing coral shade that looks--surprise surprise--a lot like the swatches I've seen of Becca's Lychee/Opal mix, just less golden. If you wanted to create more of a soft pink highlighter, you could easily add a far smaller amount of the Beach Tint to your white highlighter for that effect.

I also wanted to see if I could add a smaller amount of highlighter to a cream blush to make it softer and more dewy. The BBIA Downy Cheek blushes are already quite creamy, but if you want a more pastel shade with even more glow, you can add a dab of MAC Strobe Cream, blend the two, and get the effect.

If you really want to add a powder to a highlighter and see the results, you can, but one of the products should still be a cream or liquid, and loose powders are obviously easier to use. Also, you don't have to use flat white highlighters; other shades can work.

Here's an example using Kismet Cosmetics Toasty highlighter (top left) mixed with MAC Jardin Aires pigment (top right--squint to see it). Mixing the two makes the highlighter more golden and reflective. The bottom left shows the mixture swatched heavily, which I think would make a gorgeous eye color, and the bottom right shows the mixture sheered out, which is a slightly lighter, more glowing, and more golden cheek or brow highlight than Toasty is on its own.

Obviously, you can still apply your blush, then top it with a bit of highlighter. That's a stand-by routine that I'll probably use for most of my makeup wearing days. But mixing the two products together, than applying, really can give you a different effect and provide you with a wider range of colors to choose from. As an added bonus, if you really enjoy a mixture you make, you can pre-mix it and save it in an airtight container from a store like TKBTrading.com.

Lipstick Diaries #10: MAC Scarlet Ibis and ELF Gotta Glow Lip Tint

It's the last entry in the Lipstick Diaries! Thank you, lovely people, for taking this journey with me. :)

Let's start with the "I dunno what to doooooo!" item: MAC Scarlet Ibis. This is a limited edition matte lipstick from the Iris Apfel collection. Contrary to popular opinion, I do find this shade to be slightly different from Lady Danger: Scarlet Ibis is less orange and has an overall softer quality to it. That being said, I love love love Scarlet Ibis, but looking at this picture makes me wonder if it's truly flattering for me. What do you guys think? Am I crazy, or is this less attractive on me than, say, Stila Beso or MAC Ruby Woo?!

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have a glossy, sheer, morphs-to-suit-you product: the ELF Gotta Glow Lip Tint. The bottom of the tube says "Perfect Pink," but as of right now, this is the only shade available. In the tube, this product appears to be a super-soft, pastel, baby pink. When you apply it to your lips, however, it responds to your body heat and warms up to a bright, sheer pink color. Obviously, this a newer version of the "mood lipsticks" of the 90s, but...I kinda like it. It's the kind of easy-to-wear color that works well with simple beautifying looks. As a note, this color will look a little different on everybody: my face heats up easily and my lips are naturally a sheer red color, so the ELF tint turns a sheer fuchsia on me; I've seen it look much softer on other people.

Lipstick Diaries #6: Lipstick Queen Jean Queen and MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

I look kinda drunk in both of these pictures. Oops?

Anyway! We're halfway through the Lipstick Diaries, and I think it's really giving me perspective on what does and doesn't work for me. Guys: I like pink. Pink works with my skintone. I need to just admit it.

Also, sorry there have been so many lipstick-centric posts as of late. I swear I'm working on other stuff!

Lipstick Queen Jean Queen is one of the lipsticks that I think really just "does it" for me. It looks a little brighter in this photo than it actually is, but the general color is close: a slightly warm, glossy watermelon pink that works on almost everybody. Seriously, my mom wore this to my sister's wedding and she has a completely different skin tone. It's such a perfect slap-it-on-and-go color, great for casual wear or days at work. Maybe we'll get lucky and LQ will produce a version with SPF...they could call it "Cut Off Jeans" or something like that. *nerd*

MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus is another personal favorite of mine--I love it enough that I bought another tube for a giveaway. It's the perfect saturated, cool-ish fuchsia pink. This one has an Amplified formula, so it's very pigmented and creamy. Also, if you apply-blot-reapply, you'll get tons of wear out of it even without a lip liner. I get tons of compliments when I wear VG Miley! (They're apparently coming out with another Miley Cyrus shade and it's going to be orange...? I think? Somebody keep me posted!)

Duping Too Faced Melted Peony

Truth time: I love a lot of lipstick formulas that other people hate. This is partially because I am willing to exfoliate my lips daily and deal with a more drying formula in exchange for a matte finish and an apocalypse-proof wear time. I always try to make this clear in my reviews.

But even I stumble on to products that are just too damn wrong for my lips. Meet Too Faced Melted Peony: the most perfect sorta-nude-lip for me, with a great balance of peach and pink. The color is gorgeous...the formula is atrocious. Seriously, I have never put anything so drying or finicky on my lips before--and I wear Ruby Woo on the regular!

And so I went on a long and arduous quest to find a dupe. Most supposed dupes were way too pale and beige, or bubblegum pink with no peach, or in yet another formula I hate with a burning passion. Finally, somebody mentioned Bite Beauty's High Pigment Pencil in Bouquet. Great! I love the Bite formula! After searching numerous swap and sale threads for an on-the-cheap tube, I managed to obtain Bouquet via swap.

Annnnnd I love it.

Daylight on top, flash on bottom.

Here are ze swatches. As you can hopefully see, Melted Peony and Bouquet aren't exactly alike, but they're super similar: Melted Peony is a bit paler and more peach, Bouquet has more pink and is brighter.

I swatched a few other shades in the same-ish color family for comparison. Bite Velvet is brighter, cooler, and more pink than Melted Peony. MAC Faux is actually a muted neutral pink on me, but because it has more brown in it than these other shades, it looks crazy dark in these swatch photos.

Here's how Bite Bouquet looks on my lips. Again, it's definitely a bit brighter than Melted Peony, and it reads more as a peach-pink than a nude. But I think it's a pretty damn good replacement. In a sense, any time I could wear Melted Peony, I can now wear Boquet.

I'll continue to try nude lipsticks because I'm a lipstick fanatic and I love to try ALL TEH THINGS, but for now, I'm oh so happy with Bite Bouquet!

Oh, and yeah, I'm wearing a shit ton of glitter on my eyes. God bless you, Lit Cosmetics Clearly Liquid Base! (The actual glitter in this picture is a limited edition Wet n' Wild product...which may or may not be eye safe. Oops. Do your research--check for it around Halloween!)

Lipstick Diaries #5: MAC Candy Yum Yum and Ruby Woo

More MAC lipsticks, and they're both mattes! (Sorry, guys; I swear I'm trying to diversify my collection!) First up is Candy Yum Yum, which I have a love-hate relationship with. It can make even the most moisturized and exfoliated lips look meh, and it definitely dominates my face. But it's just so freaking cool! If I'm going out and I want a statement lip, CYY is a dumb reach. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it or not...thoughts?

There's no question about Ruby Woo, though: I love it. Yes, it's also a matte, but I find it more forgiving (and flattering) than Candy Yum Yum. Ruby Woo is neither warm nor cool, just very balanced. This makes it a great choice for a wide variety of skintones--I remember seeing it on Jennifer Hudson recently and thinking she looked gorgeous. My tube is a pathetic little nubbin' these days. My only complaint about this one is that it's difficult to alter the color and opacity: the formula is so powdery and dense that it blocks out most lip liners and won't sheer out with balm.

[CLOSED] GIVEAWAY! MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus Lipstick

This is the first giveaway that's open to both the US and *Canada!

 
I'm a huge fan of charity. One of my favorite charitable organizations is the MAC AIDS Fund. According to MAC, every penny from the selling price of MAC Viva Glam lipsticks goes to this fund, which supports organizations that help people living with HIV/AIDS and promote educational programs worldwide. As an added bonus, your donation earns you a lipstick, and every shade in the Viva Glam range is exceptional.


The open tube in this photo is actually mine. Yours is the one that's brand new and in the box. :)



Entering is, as always, super-simple: comment on this blog and tell me about your favorite charity. It can be a local charity, a fun run, a major organization...just tell me who you love to support! Make sure your name is on the comment, because that's how I'll announce the winner. (I don't recommend just typing up your e-mail; you're asking for spam.)



Please be aware that there are some rules for this contest:

• You must be at least 18 years old and located in the US or *Canada to enter.
• You must be prepared to provide me with your full name and address if you win.
• You may only enter once.
• Entries will be finalized on September 27th, 2015 at 11:59pm EST. I will use Random.com to pick a winner.
• You do NOT have to be subscribed to this blog to enter, but I will announce the winner in a blog post, so it might help to bookmark BOGL for the next two months if you've entered. If you do not respond to that blog post within a week, I will draw a new winner.

Also, I want to remind everyone that I pay for these giveaways out of my own pocket. That's not me trying to guilt you, that's just me saying that I have to have the money available to send the products out. Hence, it may take me a week or two to get the goodies sent to you after you win. But they will be sent! :)

 
Best of luck, and thank you for supporting Bad Outfit, Great Lipstick!


* I've had trouble with Customs when I've shipped to Canada in the past...but I'm going to brave it all and try again!

Lipstick Diaries #4: MAC Saint Germain and Faux

For Lipstick Diaries #4, I decided to try two very different MAC pinks: Saint Germain and Faux.

Saint Germain is the definition of pastel pink. It's an Amplified finish, so it's very creamy, pigmented, and comfortable. However, the white base makes it a bit trickier to apply than most Amplifieds. You'll definitely need to exfoliate and moisturize your lips before applying. Saint Germain is a strange color, but I've seen it look good on some people, particularly light-skinned folks with already striking faces. I personally find that it works best as a co-star: over top of a darker lip liner, blended with a nude to make it more pink, and so on and so forth. Wearing it solo for this photo was odd!

Faux is relatively new to me, despite the fact that it's apparently a best-seller and is commonly used to achieve the "Kylie Jenner lip." (I didn't find out about the Kylie Jenner thing until I googled "MAC Faux" after getting it, so don't judge me too harshly!) This is what I wanted Lipstick Queen Pinky Nude Sinner to be: more creamy than shiny, and with an overall softer, paler look to it. My mother is obsessed with this color on me, and I honestly love it. As a side note, Faux is much creamier than the average MAC Satin finish lipstick

Try This: Lipliner as Lipstick

After numerous purges and "shrink that stash" missions, I've somehow managed to get rid of every blue-based red lipstick I own. I'm going to guess that this happened because warm reds are just so damn appealing (MAC Lady Danger, c'mon) and because most of my cool-toned reds were in formulas that didn't wow me. Regardless, I've been in a bit of a tizzy this past month, fretting over whether or not I should spend my non-existent money on ye olde favorite MAC Dubonnet.

I decided that, before I pulled the trigger, I should get re-acquainted with the lipliner I always used with Dubonnet, NYX Auburn. I swatched it on my hand, and wow, how did I forget how damn pretty that color is? So I smeared it all over my lips. Boom! Instant blue-based red lipstick!

"Use your lipliner like lipstick" is old hat, but we often forget to try it. I think it's because lipliner can be very polarizing, especially in this era of Apocalypse-proof liquid lipsticks and tattooed makeup. We think of it as an unnecessary "extra step." It's the stuff of the 90s. It's too "obvious."

The truth is that lipliner isn't necessary, especially if you like a super-natural or slap-dash look. But no makeup is necessary. And if you want something that'll make your lipstick last longer or your gloss look bolder? You can't beat lipliner. No lip primer I've tried has ever compared to liner's tenacity.

Using lipliner all over your lips instead of a "traditional" lip color has several advantages:

1. It's cheap-ish. Most companies are aware that lipliners don't inspire awe in the average consumer, so they rarely pop up in limited edition collections and don't receive the same coverage as lipstick or eyeshadow. It's also kind of hard to make a pencil's packaging attractive. Hence, lipliners are often some of the cheapest color cosmetics companies produce. It doesn't always hold true--MAC charges the same for a lipstick and a lipliner because they know they can--but I know I can get 2 NYX lip pencils for the price of 1 NYX matte lipstick.

2. They're generally travel-friendly. I've been lucky enough to dodge most makeup quibbles, but I have had a few lipstick caps pop off in my purse, and I've definitely experienced a gloss tube leaking/breaking at inopportune moments. Lids come off of pencils, too, but for the most part, I find that their caps stick a little better. I think it may be because most lip pencils are made of wood, and that has more texture than a metal lipstick tube. (PSEUDO-SCIENCE!) Lip pencils are also light, thin, and don't count as a liquid during air travel. Last, but not least, most pencils have a harder formula that makes them less prone to melting than a traditional lipstick.

3. It's easy to alter the finish. Applied straight to your lips, most pencils will have a matte finish. You can apply them over a thin layer of balm for a more satin finish. If I want a glossy finish, I dab some of my trusty Elizabeth Arden Crystal Clear Gloss on top. Voila!

4. Care is easy. To get that precise point back, just refridgerate your pencils for 10-15 minutes, then sharpen them. (If the pencil is very soft, strive for 30 minutes in the fridge.) Sharpening pencils helps to sanitize them as well.

5. You can get a precise lip line with little effort. MAC lipliners are especially good for this because they have a hard formula. If you prefer a softer line, you can put a bit of balm on your fingertip and use that to blend a harder liner out. Or, you can use a softer lipliner, like Colourpop's offerings. I prefer a formula that's in the middle: hard enough to sharpen to a good point and get a great line, but not too terribly difficult to smear out. Call in the NYX pencils!

Lipstick Diaries #1: MAC Lady Danger and Hourglass Canvas

In my current quest to reduce my stash to stuff I well and truly love and will use on a regular basis, I am going to attempt to go through my lipsticks, one by one, and photograph them to figure out what flatters me. I'm not 100% sure if I'll have the willpower or the wherewithall to do that, but here's hoping!

First up, MAC Lady Danger. It's obvious why this shade is a cult classic: I haven't found too many other matte warm reds that compare in terms of sheer oomph. At the risk of sounding like a beauty magazine ("Spend an hour doing your hair and another hour messing it up, cause that's chic!"), this is one of the most modern, uber-cool shades of lipstick I own. But the thing is...I don't think it flatters me that much, at least in pictures. When I wear it, I can't stop staring at it, and it's an absolute attention-getter. Here, though? Not so sure. Comment and let me know, aight?

Next, Hourglass Canvas. This is one of the Opaque Rogue Liquid Lipsticks, which I really enjoy for their longevity and pigmentation.  It's also one of the very few nudes I own. My mom loves this one every time because it's not bright, but it's also clearly there; it's not non-existent the way some neutrals are. However, Canvas self-eliminated itself from my collection: my tube is almost empty and I can't get any more out. D: While I really enjoy this lipstick, I can't help thinking that I need something a shade or two lighter and the slightest bit softer to truly flatter my skintone.

NOTE: I'll be traveling throughout the rest of June and most of July. Several posts have been queued up to fill my absence, but I may be slow answering comments and emails.

Bury Me With My Highlighters

As I've aged and gone deeper and deeper in to Holy Shit My Skin is Dry territory, I've developed a slight obsession with highlighters. More specifically, I'm on a never-ending quest to find the best cream-and-liquid highlighters for my stupidly pale skin. And trust me: I've tried dozens. You name it, there's a good chance I've tried it (or immediately written it off because the shade was too dark or sparkly). I like to pretend that I'm absolutely satisfied with what I have, but why lie? I'm always looking for something even better!

I've got 6 highlighters rotating in my current arsenal. All of them have distinct positives and negatives, which I'll outline in this post. I'm also going to provide some suggestions for similar products/shades if your skin is not as stupidly pale as mine, but you want a similar look.

ON POWDER HIGHLIGHTERS: I don't wear them anymore, but Shiseido High Beam White and Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Powder in Candlelight are two of the best options for pale/light skin on the market. If you want something more glittery, try The Balm Mary Lou-Manizer, but use a very light hand.

ON DRUGSTORE OPTIONS: There are no drugstore options on this list for two reasons:

1. There are very few cream/liquid highlighters available at the drugstore.
2. Most of what is available at the drugstore (Hard Candy Living Doll, Revlon Skin Lights) is too dark for my skin.

Practically Pure White Shades

Dim daylight on top, flash on bottom. From left to right: Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl, MAC Cream Colour Base in Luna, MAC Strobe Cream.

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl, $41 for 1.7oz 

THE RAVE -- This is the most expensive-per-unit highlighter on this list, but it's also the most cost-effective if you look at it critically. A small amount of this super-glowy, slightly-shimmery creamy liquid will go a VERY long way. The packaging is a sturdy, clear, plastic bottle (so you can gauge how much you have left) with a pump that's easy to control. Makeup artist Lisa Eldridge helped boost this product's popularity, yes, but it's so gorgeous and buildable that it was destined for cult classic status regardless. Becca Pearl is my go-to highlighter for photography and nights on the town.

THE DOWNSIDES -- The Becca SSP liquids contain avobenzone, a sunscreen that may cause irritation or breakouts in some skin types. I haven't had any problems with flashback, but I'm incredibly pale; people with darker skin tones will want to really test this sucker out in flash photography if they're interested in wearing it for, say, a wedding. A lot of people advocate using this all over your face and/or mixing it in to your foundation, but I think the slight shimmer makes this a less than optimal choice.

IF YOU'RE NOT SUPER PALE -- Becca has many SSP shades. Opal is the go-to for people with medium/tan skintones, and if you're darker skinned, you've got two great options: Rose Gold and Topaz. I think the Rose Gold shade is limited edition...if it is, they need to make it permanent, because there's nothing else quite like it.

MAC Cream Colour Base in Luna, $21 for 0.12oz

THE RAVE -- One of the newest additions to my collection, Luna is the culmination of years of lust and waffling. I've owned other CCB shades before (namely Pearl and Hush), but sent them off to better homes in favor of paler pastures. Luna, however, is straight up white and glowy. It is one of the best options for the palest of pale skins. Luna is very buildable: you can use a small amount for a natural glow (one of my male friends does this, and it's virtually undetectable on his skin), or you can layer it for a stronger shine. I also find it incredibly long-lasting, in part because of the slightly sticky texture. As a bonus, the small pot = travel friendly.

THE DOWNSIDES -- That sticky formula will get on some people's nerves, particularly if you're an oily-skinned person. It can also feel a bit heavy on the skin if you apply too much. If you're easily squicked by pot packaging, this is definitely not the product for you.

IF YOU'RE NOT SUPER PALE -- Again, the MAC CCBs come in many shades; Hush and Shell are nice options for light to medium skintones. If you're very dark skinned, you'll want to look to another cream product, like Illamasqua's Gleam Cream in Supernatural.

MAC Strobe Cream, $10 for 1oz

THE RAVE -- This is the cheapest and most versatile product on this list. While it's most often used as a highlighter, it's technically a moisturizer, and a decently formulated one at that. This stuff works great under foundation for a little "boost," if you're dry and dehydrated like I am this winter. The super-thin formula makes Strobe Cream just about impossible to overdo. It's my go-to for work because it looks so seamless and natural. I like to mix some of this in to my body lotion before a special event to give a little extra glow to my skin.

THE DOWNSIDES -- The full-sized bottle is a bit of a trap: you pay more per ounce than you do for the travel-sized bottle. Strobe Cream tends to dry and cake up around the opening of the tube, leaving a disgusting gummy residue; I have to wipe it with a baby wipe about once a month. Because this is a moisturizer, it might eat away at some of the foundation underneath, particularly if you're oily skinned.

IF YOU'RE NOT SUPER PALE -- MAC occasionally releases limited edition "bronze" versions of Strobe Cream, usually with the summer collections. Burberry Fresh Glow has a very similar effect and comes in two different shades.

Slightly Tinted

Dim daylight on top, flash on the bottom. From left to right: Makeup Forever Uplight #11, RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, Benefit High Beam

Makeup Forever Uplight #11, $29 for 0.55oz

THE RAVE -- Any time somebody asks for a highlighter that's dewy rather than sparkly, I give MUFE a shout out. The Uplights are some of the best and most underrated highlighters on the market today. The gel formula is incredibly light and blendable, and like the Becca SSP, a little goes a long way. I find that few highlighters look quite as luminous and "lit from within" (whatever that means) as MUFE Uplight #11. This shade has a definite pink tinge to it.

THE DOWNSIDES -- The packaging for this stuff is HORRENDOUS: the pump is always getting clogged with dried-out product, and it's difficult to control how much is dispensed. This gel formula dries quickly, so you have to work fast.

IF YOU'RE NOT SUPER PALE -- Unfortunately, Makeup Forever only makes two Uplight shades in the "dewy" finish: #11, seen here, and #12, a soft yellow. They may go ashy on dark skin tones. If you really want the dewy effect, but you're worried about how such pale shades will sit on your skin, try getting a sample and mixing a small amount of the Uplight with your foundation.

RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, $38 for 0.17oz

THE RAVE -- If you have dry skin and your highlighter loves to settle in to your fine lines, this may be the product for you. The RMS Beauty Living Luminizer is always slightly see-through, even when you layer on tons of product, which means you'll always see your skin through the product and it'll never look heavy. It has an incredible glow to it and, although it's slightly sparkly up close, it tends to look quite natural and gorgeous in photographs. I let my mom borrow this on the rare occasions when she wears makeup, and it always looks beautiful on her. Although it looks close to white in the swatch photo, there's a slightly yellow-gold pearl in here that warms the product up.

THE DOWNSIDES -- This product is basically mica and a few other ingredients in coconut oil, so it's not the best option for people who are oily skinned, live in humid climates, or are allergic to coconut oil. The brand's creator and namesake, Rose Marie Swift, apparently thinks makeup that lasts all day is a bit unnatural, so this is not a luminizer that's designed to last all day in extreme conditions.

IF YOU'RE NOT SUPER PALE -- RMS Beauty's Buriti Bronzer is basically the same product with a different coloration. The warm, bronzey tone is fantastic for accentuating dark skin. As an added bonus, it's less expensive than the Living Luminizer.

Benefit Moon Beam, discontinued

THE RAVE -- The shade of this highlighter is like no other. Depending on the light, it can be a soft, glowing peach, a luminous pink, or a sparkly fuchsia. It's INCREDIBLY frosty and noticeably shimmery, so it's not for people who like a natural look. I personally wear it on my rare "heavy makeup" days, or when I'm spending the night in a dark drag bar. It looks absolutely incredibly in low light and photographs like a dream.

THE DOWNSIDES -- The most obvious downside is that Benefit discontinued this product because they hate us and want us to be unhappy for reasons. Benefit's other highlighters--High Beam and Sun Beam--are pretty, but not as unique as this one. Also, the infamous Benefit packaging sucks bigtime: you apply the product with a brush akin to a nail polish applicator, and it feels weird and makes it difficult to dot the stuff on evenly.

IF YOU'RE NOT SUPER PALE -- You should still be okay with products like Moon Beam, since it's not exactly designed to look "natural." I haven't found anything quite like it yet (somebody, help me dupe this!), but if duochrome is your thing, try some of your satin-finish eyeshadows on your cheeks.

New Favorite Equation: MAC Party Parrot + Viva Glam Nicki

I've never been huge on mixing lipsticks. It's for a kind of silly reason, actually: when you apply the second lipstick over the first, the colors mix on the end of your lipstick tube. It's only in the past few months that I've admitted that you can just wipe the lipstick off on the back of your hand, and the small amount you waste in the process is Not the End of the World.

How did I reach this conclusion? I found a great combination: MAC Party Parrot lipstick with Viva Glam Nicki on top, concentrated primarily in the center of my lips.

Party Parrot, Viva Glam Nicki, Party Parrot + VG Nicki

The colors combine to create a beautiful pink coral, very similar to MAC Impassioned. And actually, VG Nicki is a great layering lipstick in general; it looks amazing on top of dark fuchsia lipliners and under soft pink glosses.

Admittedly, I look a little zonked in the header image. (I throw my makeup on at 6am several times a week, and it shows.) But I think you can see how much dimension and pop this combination has!

FOTD: MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

Let's get this out of the way: I don't really care that much about Miley Cyrus. Her music doesn't impress me, and I'm not particularly bothered by her attempts to cut away at her wholesome "Disney star" image. We all do stupid stuff when we're growing up. I do find her awkward appropriation of minority cultures more than a little discomforting, and thankfully, I'm not the only one. That being said, I bought this lipstick for two reasons that have fuck all to do with Miley Cyrus:

1. It's a Viva Glam lipstick, so every cent I paid goes towards helping people who are living with HIV/AIDS, and
2. It's a color I like in a formula I like.

Viva Glam Miley Cyrus is an Amplified finish lipstick. The color is a mid-tone fuchsia with some faint iridescence; however, it never looks sparkly. I think it leans more warm than cool, but depending on the lighting, it can pull warm or cool in photos. This was an unusually slick, glossy lipstick for an Amplified, but I still found it pigmented, creamy, and comfortable to wear.

BASE: MAC Face & Body in N1 + White, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly + Maybelline Dream Lumi concealer in Radiant, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in Sx01

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EYES: Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Wet n' Wild Brulee eyeshadow, Wet n' Wild liquid eyeliner in Black, Milani Liquid Eyes pencil in Black, MAC False Lashes mascara, Darkness K-ma1 false lashes (cut in half) applied with Duo lash glue, Shu Uemura Hard Formula brow pencil in Seal Brown, Anastasia clear brow gel

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CHEEKS: Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Moist Glow in Isadore, Benefit Moon Beam [D/C]

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LIPS: MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus lipstick [L/E]