GAGA ABOUT BEAUTY: HOW TO WEAR MAC CRANBERRY

Mac Cranberry is pretty much a cult shade in the beauty blogging world, but not the easiest to wear. Although it is absolutely gorgeous swatched, its reddy tones can wash you out quite easily if you're pale or make your eyes look super tired. After trying out quite a few combinations here are my top tips on how to wear this autumnul shade and look as fabulous as it does!

Firstly, I never wear it alone. This is not a one-sweep shadow. I always use a taupe-y shade in the crease as a transition shade before I apply so that I aren't blending the red up to the high heavens. Here I used Mac Omega. I then apply Cranberry all over the lid and blend slightly with a 217 brush. I then take a smudgey brush to line the bottom lashes with it too. 

At this stage I still look like I've been rubbing my eyes for about an hour, so I line the upper lash line with a very, very, very thin line of liquid eyeliner and also use a brown/black kohl on the lower lashline and blend this into the Cranberry. You can see this on the top picture. I think bringing the colour slightly underneath the eye keeps it really modern and also keeps detracts from eye bags! I also add a little Mac Smut into the outer eye to create a wing and darken up the look, but if you're not used to a dark smokey eye just the Omega would be enough.

Add lots of black mascara to open the eyes. If you need to, a nude liner on the waterline would also stop you from looking tired. 

The complexion is equally important too. I make sure to use lots of bronzer to warm me up and prevent me from looking like a zombie, plus a little of Mac Stereo Rose to add colour without overloading and ending up with a bad case of rainbow face. 

I stay lipstick free on this look and just wear a little balm as the eyes are quite colourful. You could always go for a 'Your Lips But Better' nude too which would look fab, or go all out plum with a berry lip if you have the guts!

I used all Mac products here from my quad but obviously they aren't the cheapest, you could always use other alternatives. I'd love to know a cheap Cranberry dupe if anyone knows of one!

How do you wear colourful shades? What do you think of this look?

Charlotte x

haulin, haulin : treating myself in mac

I seem to have been shopping like crazy lately! With the passing of some major uni deadlines and trips to both London and Amsterdam in the last week it's been treat-time every day and in too big quantities. Hauls = happy me, but not so happy purse!

My first haul was in MAC, ahh the joys! I've always liked MAC but it is rather expensive and so I don't get to splurge beyond a lipstick very often. However, all my amazing friends bought me a makeover and vouchers to spend at the counter in Harvey Nichols in Leeds, and boy did I enjoy it. 

Firstly I was after a foundation, something I've never tried from Mac but everyone raves about. As their offerings are usually quite heavy, and this was a treat buy, I wanted a base for special occasions and nights out so I went for the full coverage studio fix, in both NC30 and NC15  (the lighter one for during the day). Overall I'm really impressed, it really does cover all but it's actually not as heavy as I expected, and it really stays put too. The colour range is what stands out most, these really match my normal skintone and tanned version perfectly, plus the finish is a really nice matte that lasts as well. A big thumbs up for studio fix!

Next I created myself a new quad. Although Mac shadows don't come close to urban decay offerings for me, I do love the wide range of colours and finishes they offer, plus I was looking for some new matte browns. These three, omega, mystery and charcoal brown (from lightest to darkest), were just what I wanted. The pink shade, yoghurt, was one that I would never usually go for but was used during my makeover as part of a smoky eye and I've been hooked ever since. These quads don't come in cheap at £46, but seen as I had vouchers it didn't hurt so much. Not sure I'd use my own pennies at that price though. 

Finally I picked up the much hyped Mineralise Skinfinish in Stereo Rose, a big blogger favourite. A lot of people have been dissapointed in this latest release of it, and I'm a bit on the fence to be honest. The product in general I absolutely love, and at first gave amazing pigmentation and a shimmery pink/coral colour that would suit most. I find it works best as a blush/higlights used sparingly on the uppermost parts of the cheekbones, rather than the apples. If using a contour and bronzer, it really ties the whole look together and makes it more natural. However, as other have expressed, depending on the amount of gold running through it (the line parts), you can get an amazing or a little dissapointing result. At first I loved it, now I'm a little deflated. I'm hoping with a bit more usage the gold tones will return. Fingers crossed. I think this is a case of luck as each compact is slightly different, I'd advise to check in store before you buy. 

And that was my first Mac haul....

More posts coming very soon on my huge shopping sprees in London and also a little lifestyle on what I got up to.

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As always, I love to hear from you....

Love Charlotte

xxx