Rucksana’s…Top 5 MAC products

Rucksana’s Top 5 MAC products…

I have a love/hate relationship with MAC, I find it awfully hard parting with my money to buy something from MAC  but then there are some things from MAC that I know are of very high quality and i have no problem in investing in.

I think my problems with MAC are, the Sales Assistants, they are always very pushy, they never leave you alone and most of the times I just want to be left to my own devices and peruse the makeup counter at my own pace. I don’t need to be constantly followed around. Another problem I have with MAC is that some of the products cost too much but the quality is debatable. However there are some products I have from MAC that i absolutely love and will buy again and again and again…

MAC Face and Body Foundation.

I have never had any success with MAC foundations before buying F&B. Face and Body is  very light textured foundation tint, it isn’t quite a tinted moisturiser but Face and Body doesn’t offer much in the way of coverage. Now personally i much prefer light coverage foundation, just to even out my skin a bit and Face and Body does just that. It is very fluid and needs a good shake before use, but you apply this to the face it almost thickens and sets. I love how it makes my skin look very natural and is a very good base for the application. Face and Body is water body so does need a good shake but once on the skin it sets which for me makes it a winner in the summer months, as it is rather  light so, can hardly feel it but also because it sets there is no risk of getting a melted face… :s

The finish of Face and Body is dewy, it contains no SPF and as the name suggests can be used on the body too.

I have had my bottle for a year and there hasn’t been a week in the year I’ve had that I’ve not reached for it, I love this stuff.

MAC Face and Body retails are £26.50 for 120 ml.

MAC Painterly Paintpot.. Ahhh Painterly will always have a special place in my heart, it was my very first MAC purchase…however it wasn’t always a firm favourite…in fact when I first got this, I, well I hated it. I initially had gone to buy Bare Study, but it was out of stock and the Sales Assistant managed to sell Painterly to me, but I hated it as soon as I walked away from the MAC counter.  I did use it a few times and hated it more, in my opinion it was to matte and cakey and truth be told I had wanted Bare Study so much I wasn’t prepared to give it a chance to prove itself. I then went got Bare Study and Painterly was relegated to the back of my MAC drawer and forgotten about. I then remember Bare Study creasing on my lids and I never touched it again. It wasn’t until Cami from CamilovesKiwi, mentioned Painterly in one of her videos that something in my brain started ticking and I went and gave Painterly another chance and fell in love with it. I used it under my Bourjois intense eyeshadow and was so pleasantly surprised, it grabbed hold on the shadow giving maximum amount of pigmentation possible and it lasted for hours. Suffice to say, since this occurrence I have used Painterly every day, it is now my preferred choice of eyeshadow primer and has not disappointed me since. MAC Paintpots Retail at £14.50 for 5g

 

MAC  Fluidline

Are you looking for a gel eyeliner that is, very black, long lasting and pretty cost effective? Than MAC’s Blacktrack Fluidline is your answer. I have had this for over a year and I absolutely love it. I purchased this after using up the Maybelline gel liner but not wanting to repurchase due to its dodgy packaging I decided to try  and I am very glad I did.  is very easy to apply, it doesn’t drag and you do get a few seconds to play around with it once it sets. Once it has set it doesn’t budge and lasts for many hours. It sits well on just bare eyelids or on top of eyeshadow. I find that it doesn’t smudge or flake or crack like some gel liners can tend to do. I have also used this on my waterline and as it sets last for a good portion of the day and doesn’t irritate the eyelids or cause them to water. However a while ago, I forgot to screw put the lid back and it wasn’t until 2 days later I remembered, however in that time my  had not dried out and remained nice and emollient. Very very impressive. MAC Fluidlines retail at £14.00 for 3g

MAC Old Gold Pigment

I got this at Christmas and I must admit I love it. Now MAC pigments are very hit and miss, some are very chunky and others very powdery, this is neither. This is a very smooth, finely milled pigment that has a very metallic finish and applies beautifully. Old Gold is gold with a green duo chrome, it is the colour that old gold tends to turn to, a tarnished gold colour. It is a very pretty colour, I love anything with a green undertone or a duo chrome as it really is flattering on brown eyes and this conforms to all of my expectations. MAC Pigments retail for 316.50 for 4.5g

MAC Girl About Town Lipstick

Saving the best till last, if I had to choose only one product from MAC I do suspect that this lipstick would be it. A very blue toned fuchsia it is almost magenta, this lipstick takes no prisoners. It is a very vibrant and bold lipstick, if you are into bright lips than this is one that you really need to have in your collection if on the other hand you are intimidated by colour than stay away from this because if I had to use one word to describe GAT it would be intimidating. But I like that. It is an amplified cream, it applies to the lips beautifully and isn’t drying on the lips nor does it sink into lines, cracks or cling to dry skin. GAT is enough to offset any makeup and is best paired with a black flick and let it do the talking, its not the kind to play nicely with heavy eyes. There are many replicas of GAT available on the market and I do have a lot of fuchsia lipsticks, however none of them are an exact dupe for the infamous Girl About Town.MAC Lipsticks retail for £14.00 for 3g.

So, these are my top picks from MAC cosmetics, I envisage using these for many years to come.

What are your favourite MAC picks..?

R xxx

Rucksana Reviews…Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

Rimmel’s latest foundation offering in the new and innovative “wake me up” foundation. Now contrary to the name, it doesn’t wake you up every morning like an alarm clock, but wouldn’t that be a great start to any dull day being awoken by a makeup product..? anyway enough digression, the premise behind WMU is giving the illusion of having had 10 hours sleep and waking up looking refreshed and ready to start the day, when in reality we have struggled to get a goodnight sleep and are surviving on a mere 4 or so hours and look anything but fresh and serene.

WMU contains properties that give a lit from within radiant glow and cause an anti fatigue effect. It makes the skin look fresh and polished as well as containing moisturising complexes that allow a plump supple feel. Once on the skin it sits in synergy with the skin and blends in rather effortlessly, it gives the “my skin but better” illusion. The aim of this foundation isn’t to cover up imperfections and blemishes but rather to give a feel of having healthy glowing and well rested skin. This foundation offers a light a sheer coverage which I prefer. If you have problematic skin then this isn’t the foundation for you, containing an SPF of 15, this is perfectly formulated for spring and summer, when you don’t want to be wearing a lot of makeup but want glowing skin. Due to the addition of SPF this foundation would not be suitable for occasions with flash photography due to the risk of flashback.

The foundation can be applied in whatever way you find works best for you. Personally I use the ELF powder brush and buff this into the skin. WMU blends effortlessly, once buffed in it is hard to tell whether there is any foundation on the skin as it buff right in. It looks very natural.

My skin is dry and I have no problem in foundations lasting a good 10-12 hours on my skin without the use of a primer without needing to touch ups, however with the WMU I struggle to get 6 hours out of this before I need to wash it off. For reasons unbeknown to me, at around the 4 hour mark this foundation makes me shiny which I can live with, a bit of shine isn’t going to kill anyone, but at around the 6 hour mark it becomes unbearable , I can feel it on my skin and when I touch my face I can actually feel it with my hands that there is foundation on my face, feels a bit like greasy sweat, it is a horrible and rather uncomfortable sensation and as soon as I begin to feel it, I need to wash my face ASAP. I can’t help but think that it is due to the added moisturising complex that is causing WMU to behave in this fashion or something else in the ingredients that isn’t quiet agreeing with my skin.

I really like the packaging, I think it’s really cute and something different. It comes in a square glass bottle with Rimmel embossed on the outside, it makes a change from the majority of the cylindrical bottles that majority of foundations come in and are little boring. This has an orange pump and lid, the combination of both makes this easily recognisable, especially if you have a lot of foundations.

Rimmel Wake Me Up is available from most places that stock Rimmel and Online.

Despite the obvious flaw in this foundation, I cant help but still really like this foundation. It blends onto the skin effortlessly without leaving any visible signs of foundation, due to its light texture it pretty hard to get the “caked in makeup”, it looks natural and leaves the skin looking fresh and healthy. However due to the problems I have encountered with this foundation, it is not one I could on rely on to last a whole day. Nevertheless I have no qualms on using this to go out shopping or to meet with friends, somewhere where I won’t be spending a lot of time, i wouldn’t reach for this foundation for a special occasion or a day at work.

I award Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation 6/10

R xxx

Rucksana’s Top 12 of 2012 – Number 9

Taking us into single figures is the No.7 stay Perfect Foundation. I purchased this earlier this year when I went to test out the “Match Made Service”

No.7 has come up with the new innovative way of colour matching foundation to skin tone and hopefully answering every girls foundation woes.

How many times have we got ourselves colour matched to a foundation that has looked perfect under the bright artificial lights only to discover that in fact the foundation is no way near the actual colour of our skin.

Well No.7 took those concerns and have become the first British brand to introduce their new colour matching system. The Match Made service.

Through use of a nifty little device you can be colour matched to the correct colour of foundation in a matter of moments, all you have to do is go along to your local counter, ask to be colour matched and within a matter of moments you will be matched to the perfect shade and it free.

I must admit I was a little sceptical  about it at first, really an inanimate object was able to tell me what foundation matched my skin?? Hmm if was not convinced. However I was  pleasantly surprised at how accurate the little device was.

I was matched to the shade Honey which is only available in the Stay Perfect range. This is something which disappointed me, No. 7 have 7 different foundations however the shade Honey is only available in the Stay Perfect Range, which luckily for me is suitable for my skin type but that might not be the case for everyone that might be matched to this shade. Some people may require more or less coverage. Personally I wanted a foundation with a fuller coverage.

The Stay Perfect foundation is a long wearing foundation offering light coverage. It is a light runny formula. Once on the skin it sits beautifully in total harmony with the skin and doesn’t look like you are wearing foundation. It isn’t matte or overly dewy, it strikes the right balance between the two. It doesn’t sit on the skin, cake or cling to any dry patches. It melts into the skin seamlessly, like chocolates melts into a ganache. It imparts a lit from within glow, regardless of how you’re felling and its especially perfect if you’re having a bad skin day. It is light a light coverage foundation though, so if you would require more coverage than you would need to use a concealer or use an alternative foundation, as there is only so far you can go with this foundation.

 I find this so easy to use, it blends effortlessly and as the shade is pretty spot on to my skin I don’t have to worry about getting any visible tide marks or an obvious foundation which I loathe. On my skin I find this lasts all day and doesn’t need retouching or powdering throughout the day, however I do have dry skin and this might not be the case if you have oily skin.

The packaging is really sleek and exudes elegance, it’s the most elegant bottle of foundation I own and I have a lot of foundation!!! It is enclosed within a glass bottle which I prefer as I feel I stays “fresher” for longer it has a pump  which makes it easy to dispense and is less messy and you waste less too.

 

 

The Stay perfect foundation is available from most No.7 counters and Boots online retailing at £14.00, however Boots very often have the promotional £5 off vouchers, so you could get this foundation and save a fiver!

 

Since buying this foundation, I have used this an awful lot and it has become one of my go to foundations especially if I am pushed for time in the morning as it allows me to be as laborious as I like. It is everything I want in a foundation, it is light, offers enough coverage for me, lasts a good amount of time. I have simply fallen in love with this foundation, it is near perfect, so is very aptly named. I think I’ll be using this foundation for a very long time to come and it is well on the way to becoming my favourite foundation. The one thing for me that lets it down is the addition of SPF 15, foundations that contain SPF are notorious for the ghostly flashback in flash photography and due to this I wouldn’t wear this foundation to a special occasion/event where I will be photographed because I do not want to look like Morticia Aadams. I do think Makeup brands need to stop including SPF in foundation.

I award the No. 7 Stay Perfect Foundation 9/10.

R xxx