THE DRUGSTORE DIVA TAG

Hahahaha girls I just came up with this, I'm actually laughing as I'm typing!!!

The other day I did The Princess Tag about my favourite high-end / luxury products here The Princess Tag, and now I really want to do its drugstore / high-street version!

Ok all kinds of tags about drugstore products have been going around for ever, but instead of searching for past tags I just thought I'd create my own, The Drugstore Diva!!! Should I trade-mark it??? hahaha :-D

And hey, no princess ain't got nothin on The Drugstore Diva hahahaha!!!! :-D

So yeah, same categories, let's get back into it!!

FOUNDATION

My one and only L'Oreal Lumi Magique - True Match Lumi in the US. I use it in the shade W3/D3 Gold Linen, both a little darker and more yellow-toned than my natural skin, which gives me exactly the final result I'm going for.

I fake tan my face all the time anyway - except for when I am sick in bed with flu for a week or something! -, and Gold Linen perfectly matches my fake tanned skin.

And it's not a drugstore product, but I my holy grail self tanner is Dior Bronze Auto-Bronzant in Natural Glow.

First one ever tried years ago, loved it, never wished to look for alternatives.

CONCEALER

I really like the Garnier BB Cream Eye Roll On. And please note that for my undereye area I am so picky that this is the ONLY drugstore concealer I have.

POWDER

Like I already said in the Princess Tag, I never powder my face.

I really don't need it because I have dry skin, and I don't like how it looks on me anyway.

BRONZER

Summer Eclipse Bronzing and Shimmery Powder in shade Moonlight / Light Bronzer. I just really love this shade.
And I don't know about the other shades because I haven't tried them, but this one is sure not shimmery at all. Matter of fact, I also use it for contouring, and it gives my skin the most beautiful satin finish.
I was wearing it in this look Mac All Fired Up lipstick

BLUSH

Kiko blushes in the baked formula, because I love my cheeks to have a satin finish.
My all-time favourite is beautiful Celebrity Rose, a mauvy pink with golden veins *_*
It is unfortunately a limited edition from an old collection :'-(

HIGHLIGHTER

L'Oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadow in 002 Hourglass Beige (called 888 Iced Latte in the US), a beautiful true champagne shade.

Yes it is an eyeshadow, but I use it as the travel version of Mac Soft and Gentle :-)

Like all L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows it comes is a small sturdy pot, so it's perfect to fit into your make up bag, and dare I say, pretty much unbreakable.

In this look In The Sky With Glitter - Victoria's Secret inspired I am wearing it both as highlighter and eyeshadow :-)

EYESHADOW

Kiko Colour Sphere eyeshadows, a beautiful line of eyeshadows in the baked formula.
Shade 26 - shimmering grey infused with multicolour microglitter - was my first purchase ever from Kiko many years ago, and is still to this day my all-time favourite eyeshadow <3

Kiko Color Sphere Eyeshadow 26

Their baked eyeshadow quads, which they release / repromote from time to time, are my second top favourite eyeshadows.
My favourite quad is Unexpected Rosy Taupe eyeshadow palette.
This is like my guardian angel, it is with me in my handbag AT ALL TIMES. Even when I'm not wearing any make up at all, or when I am wearing totally different shades, I will take this quad with me as mirror.
It is currently in store in the Bad Girl collection and it's called Color Fever eyeshadow palette 100.

I used this quad for New Year's Eve in one of my favourite looks and most special to me My New Year's Eve make up

Really, I couldn't love Kiko eyeshadows more.

EYELINER
Essence I Love Rock Gloss eye pencil. It is a very intense black, very pigmented, almost too creamy, it smudges very easily, and easily bleeds from the waterline - and it is ridiculously inexpensive.

Now for me, all of this gives me EXACTLY the look I'm going for, because I love the kind of smudgy smokey eyes like Kate Moss or Brigitte Bardot.
But for the same exact reasons, this might not be the right product for everyone.

MASCARA

All L'Oreal mascaras. My very first mascara was their Voluminous X4 :-) <3
Then over the years I must have tried all of them. You name it, I have it / have had it.

Ok, all except one, and as irrational as it sounds it must have been because I don't like the celebrity who was the first "face" of that mascara.
So when L'Oreal ads offered me the opportunity to achieve even only the look of her lashes I was like "Hmm, no thanks" hahahaha!!!! ^_^

And a special mention goes to Multi Action mascara from Essence.
It was given to me as a gift with a purchase, and I really had no expectations when even the actual retail price is around 3 euros, so I left it in the back of my drawer for a while.
Then one day I tried it and :-OOOOO Really black, volumizing, it separates your lashes, the brush has the perfect size to fit both your upper and lower lashes, honestly just WOW!!
An amazingly performing ridiculously inexpensive product, I don't know how Essence did it!!!

LIPSTICK

I really really had to think a lot about this one. I mean, looking for your favourite lipstick in a drugstore is worse than looking for a needle in a haystack!!
But in the end I made my decision, and I choose 2 lipsticks.
This choice is based both on the product AND on the surprise factor of the brand, because they're two small little known brands, where you wouldn't really expect to find an all-time favourite product.

So the first is a lipstick called Belle, from the Mirror Shine line of brand 17 or SEVENTEEN, available in Boots, UK.
It is a gorgeous intense dusty pink, but the intensity of the colour is toned down by the sheer and glossy formula. Result: your lips but juicier and poutier.
So GORGEOUS, such a great find! :-D

The other one is lipstick R05 from Flormar, from their Revolution Lipstick line.
This is an intense deep pink, very pigmented, very opaque, with an almost matte finish.
I would describe it like - Brigitte Bardot and Lana Del Rey wear more apricot tones, but if they wore pink, they would wear this pink.

LIP LINER
I don't use lip pencils that often, unless there's a specific look I am going for, or unless I am wearing a very opaque matte lipstick and the lip contour has to be flawless.
My favourite lip pencils are by Catrice, shades 030 Lost In The Rose Wood (intense but very natural dusty pink) and 010 Choc'aholic (pale beige).
See in this look what I mean when I put a lipliner on hahaha Mac Reflects Antique Gold - New Year's Eve

LIPGLOSS

L'Oreal Glam Shine line. I love their formula that feels thick and soft.  

BROW PRODUCT

Like I said in the Princess Tag, I'm not a big fan of brows. I would say I only fill them in and reshape them a little when I'm creating a dramatic-borderlining-theatrical look like in Neon Glam make up look, hahaha if you know what I mean!
And in that look I used my favourite eyebrow product I was going to mention: Collection (formerly Collection 2000) Eyebrow Definer in shade 3 Blonde, very cold and ashy, even with a touch of olive.

NAIL POLISH

Essie. They're creamy, super shiny and crazy longlasting.
Their pastels are divine, they make you happy just by looking at them!!

My favourite shades are Lady Like (mauvy pink, you can see it here Nude nail polishes), Liquorice (black), Marshmallow (sheer white), Madison Ave Hue (fuchsia with shimmer), Smokin' Hot (grey-ish brown), and I am broken hearted I missed out on Bond With Whomever (pinky lilac) :'-((((

And OPI. Top quality too, and they have an incredible selection of reds.
My favourite shades are Lincoln Park After Dark (blackened plum, you can see it here Plum nail polishes) and Big Hair Big Nails (a sorbet watermelon red)

So ladies, this was my Drugstore Diva tag! :-D
And now I am going to tag my lovely girls

BeautyAddict29

Annika

Anoushka

Emily

Rachel (YouTube video Not Two Normal - Drugstore Diva Tag)

Marta (Nowoczesna Dama - The Drugstore Diva Tag)

Lottie Mayy (Lottie Mayy Loves - The Drugstore Diva Tag!)

to do my tag too, so please go check out their blogs to see their answers and have a look at their other posts!!

Everybody else who's reading this is invited to join in!
So please if you do this tag leave me the link to your blog post or video in a comment, and I'll be sure to come see you ^_^

Take care xx

Love

MJ

HOW TO MAKE ORANGE LIPSTICK WORK FOR PALE BLONDES / IGGY AZALEA INSPIRED MAKE UP

Orange lipstick - Kiko Rock Idol lipstick 03 + Mac Cherry lip pencil - Iggy Azalea inspired make up

Ladies let's face it, for those of you who are naturally blonde, fair skinned AND pink toned like me, orange is not the most flattering shade of lipstick.
Orange is a red with a lot of yellow in it, and this yellow is what will clash with the pink in our skin.

My first attempt at wearing an orange lipstick was a couple of years ago, after seeing a picture of Kourtney Kardashian rocking a bold orange lip.
At the time I somehow failed to find relevant the fact that Kourtney Kardashian has dark brown hair and a dark olive skin, basically the opposite of me.

So when I went to a make up store, and super-excited grabbed their strongest orange lipstick and tried it on, what I then saw in the mirror was something that haunted me for months.
No. I mean, seriously, NO. All kinds of wrong. Like a clown from a horror movie gone wrong.

That put me off trying ever again.

But I have recently come across some pictures of stunning Iggy Azalea, and in most of them she was wearing a beautiful orange lipstick.
Her make up artist is celebrity make up artist Priscilla Ono.
And with the most angelic fair complexion and her platinum blonde hair, Iggy was looking just perfection with that orange!
That's when I thought - Ok, then there has to be a way for us poorly melanin-ed to wear orange too!! :-D

Also, celebrity make up artist and make up divinity Lisa Eldridge recently posted on her YouTube channel a very interesting - as always - video about orange lipsticks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg6GZisIOYs), so I felt finally ready to leave behind the clown in the mirror, and try orange lips again ^_^

I hadn't self-tanned in a week, so I was starting off with my natural skintone.
The first step for us cool-toned/pink-toned is to try and counteract, or at least neutralize, the pink, so that the yellow-rich orange won't clash too badly with it.
A neutral or yellow(warm)/toned foundation can do that.

My everyday foundation and all-time favourite L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) in DW3 Gold Linen is yellow-toned AND slightly darker that my natural complexion, so it did the job perfectly.
My all-time favourite foundation brush, the Real Techniques stippling brush, was key for a flawless and seamless application, especially in this case where the foundation shade did NOT match exactly my skin colour.

Then we need to make sure we conceal to perfection any other undesired colour on our face, like blue in the undereye area, or red on the cheeks or from blemishes.
For this I used Clinique All About Eyes concealer in 01 Light neutral, both under the eyes and on the rest of my face where needed.

Now that we have a canvas as blank as possible, we can start putting colours back into it :-)

Iggy Azalea has beautifully sculpted cheeks, so I first contoured my cheeks and temples with Mac Harmony blush, a matte taupy colour, and then warmed them up with Nars Laguna bronzer.
I also used Harmony to define the crease of my eyes and my lower lashline.

Then using L'Oreal HIP Cream Eyeliner I drew a thick and elongated line along my top lashes, like Iggy Azalea does.
I put my Dior Diorshow Black Out mascara on top and bottom lashes, and filled in my brows with Catrice Eyebrow Stylist pencil in 020 Date with Ash-ton.

I finished off my face with Nars Albatross highlighter to give the top of my cheekbones, the inner corners of my eyes and my browbones an ivory-golden sheen.

And now the lips!! :-D
I first lined them with Mac Cherry lip pencil, which is red, but I don't have an orange lip pencil ^_^
Then I filled them in with Kiko Rock Idol lipstick 03, a bright orange from their new Rock Boulevard collection, making sure I was blending Cherry into it perfectly.

And that was it! Me and my orange lip look!!!! - and 2 little moles to try and recreate Iggy Azalea's look as accurately as I can :-)

Now, what do you guys think????? :-O

To see another full on orange lip look , please go to Orange Sunset in Athens OOTD & MOTD

And if you would like to see more celebrity inspired looks I created, please go to
The 90s - Supermodels and Madonna inspired or
Beyoncé - Why Don't You Love Me music video inspired or
In The Sky With Glitter - Victoria's Secret inspired

I would also like to thank my lovely Annika from HoSt - Home of Style for recommending me on her Instagram page @annipr13 to see how orange looks on blonde girls <3
She has brown hair and the most unreal turquoise eyes, and wears all coral and peach shades like N O O N E else!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my blog and comment,

Love
MJ

Kiko Rock Idol lipstick 03

MY NEW YEAR'S EVE MAKE UP

My New Year's Eve make up

Hello girls!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope you had a great New Year's Eve night!!

I would like to share my look from last night!
I have to say it was particularly dramatic, as I realized when I caught the sight of my own face from one inch away in the elevator mirror :-O

But you know, photography takes away a lot of intensity, so sometimes you have to face the choice whether to look good in real life for a few hours, or in a picture that will stay forever.

I had already fake-tanned darker than usual, so for my base I used my everyday foundation L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) in a darker shade, DW5 Gold Sand.
After applying it with my with my Real Techniques stippling brush as always, I did the extra step of blending it in with my fingers to maximize the seamless final result.

I used Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30 on my face where needed, and Pupa Magic Concealer in shade 12 - light and brightening, with very good coverage while not drying - on my undereye area.
I applied the brightening Pupa concealer under my eyes in an area wider than usual, and also down my nose, on the lower centre of my forehead and on my Cupid's bow, as a first step of the dramatic Kim-Kardashian-worthy face contouring I meant to achieve.

I created a very intense and elongated black eye with Kiko Colour Sphere eyeshadow 28, a beautiful glittery black.
I also applied Essence Black Mania eye pencil on my waterline, and finished off with Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base + Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Black mascara.

I filled in my eyebrows with Catrice Eyebrow Stylist pencil in shade 020 Date With Ash-ton, a step I otherwise skip on a daily basis.

As a bronzer I chose my Laura Mercier Golden Bronze.
It is a very warm bronzer with a golden shimmer. It's usually too dark and too orange for my complexion, but this time it was just what I needed to complement my tropical (fake-)tanned skin!!!
I first applied the bronzer with circular motions on my cheeks, my temples and the top of my forehead - the areas that sunlight would naturally hit first -, and along my jawline to give my face more dimension.

Then with straight brush strokes I emphasized the hollows of my cheeks, to create the illusion of sunken in cheeks which would by contrast bring out the cheekbones.

It's always best to use matte shades for contouring, as contouring gives dimension by creating shadows, and the presence of shimmer in the product used would counteract the shadows.
In my case this bronzer still served the purpose supremely because being so dark for my skin tone it still created shadows :-)

I highlighted the top of my cheekbones with Mac Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish, my favourite powder highlighter.

Now that the rest of my face was complete, fully contoured and highlighted, I went back to the eyes to reasses their intensity.
I picked up my top favourite eyeshadow palette Kiko Color Fever Shadow Palette in Unexpected Rosy Taupe and used its darkest shade, a very pigmented blackened plum with red and violet microscopical glitter, to darken along the top and bottom lashline the glittery black eyeshadow I had previously applied.

On top of this, I smoked it all out to ultimate lethal effect by blending the Laura Mercier Golden Bronze into and above my crease and below the lower lashline.

Last but not least I contoured my lips with Pupa True Lips lip pencil 13, a deep mauve shade, and filled them in with gorgeous pinky nude Mac Syrup lipstick.

Phew this was a long post!! We almost made it to Easter haha!!! :-D
What was your look last night girls?
Please tag me in your Instagram pictures @mjintheskywithglitter or write me here in a comment the link to your blog post!!

If you would like to see other New Year's Eve themed looks you can check out Mac Reflects Antique Gold - New Year's Eve and Winter Angel make up look :-)

Happy New Year once more,

stay beautiful

<3 MJ :-*

WINTER ANGEL make up look / VICTORIA'S SECRET INSPIRED / NEW YEAR'S EVE

Mac Let's Skate Paintpot + Mac Reflects Pearl 

Hello girls, I think I'm still in time to share another glitter look before New Year's Eve night!!

This look is very quick and easy to achieve, and will also be very pretty for younger girls :-)

My base was L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) foundation in DW3 Gold Linen applied with my Real Technique stippling brush.

On my eyelid I first applied Mac Let's Skate paintpot as a base. It's a beautiful sheer baby pink infused with pearly and gold microglitter *_* <3

I blended it in my crease and in the outer corner of my eye using Catrice Starlight Expresso (350) eyeshadow, a delicate matte taupe shade, which I also applied along my lower lashline.
Contouring your eyes with a matte taupe/brown shade will naturally give them more depth and dimension.

And here comes the fun part!! I took Mac Reflects Pearl glitter, a magical silvery/pearly white glitter, and I patted it on the inner 2/thirds of my eyelid and on the inner corner of my eyes.
I can't even describe. Even if you don't purchase it, this is one of those products that you have to try at least once in your life :-)

*Mac website and glitter packagings state "Glitter is not eye safe and is not recommended for use on this area of the face", because some glitter particles might fall into the eyes and hurt them.
So if you apply glitter on your eyes, please just be careful :-)

For my cheeks I used L'Oreal Studio Secrets Sculpting Blush Duo in number 70 Light Skin.
One half is a sheer strongly blue toned pink blush, the other half is a matte bronzer.
This is probably the most natural shade of bronzer I can think of, and it could easily be my favourite if only its pigmentation wasn't so poor :-(
Its intensity is still buildable, but it's still not what I would expect from a product from one of my top favourite brands L'Oreal.

Finish off with your favourite pink gloss and your Winter Angel look will be complete!!

I hope you liked this look, and also check out my other glitter looks! Smokey and dramatic Mac Reflects Antique Gold - New Year's Eve, and a neon bright Turquoise Stardust make up look

Once again, Happy New Year lovelies, and thank you for being here :-* <3

Love
MJ

Mac Let's Skate Paintpot + Mac Reflects Pearl

MAC REFLECTS ANTIQUE GOLD - NEW YEAR'S EVE make up look

Mac Reflects Antique Gold

I'm excited to share this look created around 2 of my favourite and most unique Mac products, Reflects Antique Gold glitter and Genuine Treasure paintpot.

Mac Reflects Antique Gold glitter and Mac Genuine Treasure paintpot

Reflects Antique Gold is an antique - meaning darkened/brassy - gold glitter and is a permanent Pro product.
If you have Mac pigment Christmas sets in your collection, go have a look. You might find a small vial of Reflects Antique Gold in one of them :-)

*Mac website and glitter packagings state "Glitter is not eye safe and is not recommended for use on this area of the face", because some glitter particles might fall into the eyes and hurt them.

So if you apply glitter on your eyes, please just be careful :-)

Genuine Treasure is the paintpot version of Reflects Antique Gold. It is exactly the same shade.
Disgracefully, Genuine Treasure is a limited edition product and is currently not on sale :(
So far it has only been released once, as part of the Posh Paradise collection in 2011.
It was so popular and sold out so fast that I'm sure it will be re-released soon. I'm actually surprised they haven't done it yet! :-/

As an alternative base to Genuine Treasure I suggest Mac Antique Diamond paintpot, which is a permanent product.
Antique Diamond is more of a platinum gold, and compared to Genuine Treasure is lighter and more greeny/grey, but will still complement Reflects Antique Gold beautifully.

If you don't have any of these don't panic, just use whatever neutral base you have, and the glitter on top will still do most of the job ;-)

I finished off my eyes by blending a matte brown shade in my crease and in my lower lashline.
I actually used Bahama Mama from The Balm, the bronzer I used on my face too, but an eyeshadow will be exactly the same.
You can go blending the brown as wide as you like in both directions, depending on how dramatic you want the final result to be.
It goes without saying that I went very high above my crease and very low under my lower lashline, I mean, I would blend my eyeshadow down to my chin if only I could.

And many generous coats of black mascara are a must!! I used Dior Diorshow Blackout on top of Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base!!

Now let's break down the rest of the look:

I believe that bronzy looks are enhanced by a tanned skin, so I previously self-tanned my face with my only facial self-tanner, Dior Bronze Auto-Bronzant in Natural Glow.
It's the first I tried years ago, and I've always been so happy with it that I honestly never looked for alternatives.

On my face I used L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) foundation in W3/D3 Gold Linen, applied with my Real Techniques stippling brush, and Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30.
I concealed and brightened my undereye area with Clinique Line Smoothing concealer in 02 Light.

I intensified my tan and contoured my cheekbones with Bahama Mama from The Balm, a fantastic matte non-orange powder bronzer with the most buttery texture and a very subtle and flattering satiny sheen to it.

I applied Sleek Makeup blush in Pixie Pink, a Barbie pink, on the apples of my cheeks with my Real Techniques Contour Brush, a oval shaped brush with dense medium length bristles to have more control on where I was placing the colour.
I then blended it with iconic blush Nars Orgasm, which enhanced the pink with a peachy golden sheen.

On my lips I went for a soft-but-not-too-much neutral nude.
I first erased most natural pigmentation and neutralized them with some concealer.
I slightly overdrew them with Catrice Precision Lip Liner in 010 Choc'aholic, a pale beige shade, and then filled them in with 01 Nude Beige, a pinky beige, the ultimate luxury-made-lipstick from the Rouge Volupté series by YSL Yves Saint Laurent.

What will be your New Year's Eve make up look ladies??
Please tag me in your pictures on Instagram @mjintheskywithglitter, or leave the link to your blogpost in a comment .

If you want to see it, this is another look I created with glitter, breathtaking Mac Reflects Turquatic 
TURQUOISE STARDUST make up look

Thank you so much for reading and making my blog happen, HAPPY NEW YEAR with love and health and happiness for you and your family!!

Love <3
MJ

NIGHT DRIVE IN MOSCOW make up look

Night Drive In Moscow

This look was inspired by the song Night Drive In Moscow by 5 Reasons feat. Patrick Baker [Satin Jackets Remix] (https://soundcloud.com/shinydiscoclub/night-drive-in-moscow-satin-jackets). I love this song, I can listen to it in a loop for hours!

For the base I used L'Oreal Lumi Magique (True Match Lumi) foundation in W3/D3 Gold Linen, applied with my Real Techniques stippling brush, and Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30 where needed.
I brightened up my inner eye and undereye area with Diorskin Sculpt concealer, and I highlighted my cheekbones with Nars Orgasm Illuminator.

On my eyes I went for the flattest pitchest blackest smokey look ever possible with Blackout eyeshadow (matte carbon black) from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette and Blackmania eye pencil from Essence into my upper and lower lashline and on my waterline.

Then I applied a thick coat of Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base + Dior Diorshow Black Out mascara.

For bronzer I used Nars Laguna from my Nars Blush/Bronzer Trio, one of the most luxurious and pricey pieces of my makeup collection!!
And then I let my gorgeous brand new Nars Orgasm Multiple paint my cheeks with its beautiful goddess-like rosy glow.

I overdrew my lips slightly with Lost in the Rose Wood lip pencil from Catrice, and I filled them in with Choco Cream (715) lipstick from Maybelline, a creamy beige nude.

The stunning hairband I am wearing is from Accessorize.
It's called Autumn Leaf Metal Bando and is a chain of gold leaves with an elastic band in the back, something like flower child meets beauty queen. I love it!! *_*

I hope you guys liked this look! Please leave me a comment if you did!

And this is another look I created with a hairband Halloween Queen :-)

Thank you so much for reading and for your lovely comments <3

Love

MJ



MAC DUPES - NUDE LIPSTICKS

I love reading posts about dupes, so I thought it was about time I'd write one myself!

Now, my theory is that nothing can ever look the same unless it's the same exact product.
Shade, finish, pigmentation, longevity - so many variables make a make up product that it's pretty unlikely to find identical dupes.
Which is why I have multiple drawers full of cosmetics that only at a first, superficial glance might appear SIMILAR to one another. But they're oh so different, and we can create oh so many different looks with each one of them!! ;-)

That said, at half the price than the "original" - if not less -, some products are really more than worthy alternatives!!

So here are some dupes of nude Mac lipsticks I have in my make up collection - they are all European brands so my apologies in advance to anyone who can't get hold of them :(

Left: Mac Blankety - Right: Rimmel Airy Fairy

Mac Blankety - Rimmel 070 Airy Fairy
Airy Fairy is a little more pink and has more of a sheen to it. Pigmentation is very similar.

L: Mac Bare Again - R: Kiko Desert Rose

Mac Bare Again Sheen Supreme - Kiko 403 Desert Rose Crystal Sheer lipstick
Desert Rose is a little darker and more sheer.

L: Mac Peach Blossom - R: Catrice The Nuder The Better

Mac Peach Blossom (limited edition) - Catrice Ultimate Colour 190 The Nuder The Better
The Nuder The Better is more opaque, but the shade is very comparable.

L: Mac Syrup - R: Kiko Inspiration Rosewood

Mac Syrup - Kiko 01 Inspiration Rosewood Virtual Dream Lipstick (limited edition, latest collection Digital Emotion now in store!)
Inspiration Rosewood is more opaque.
(see me wear Syrup in My New Year's Eve make up)

L: Mac Feed The Senses - R: Catrice Gentle Nude Is Back 

Mac Feed The Senses (limited edition) - Catrice Ultimate Shine 190 Gentle Nude Is Back
Gentle Nude Is Back is a little brighter and has more of a sheen to it.
(see me wear Feed The Senses in Mac Feed The Senses)

Ladies I hope this was helpful!! Please let me know if you have more dupes for these!!
I hope you're having a great day,
love ^_^ :-*

NEON GLAM make up look

PRODUCTS USED

L'Oreal Lumi Magique foundation in W3/D3 Gold Linen applied with my Real Techniques stippling brush

Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30 on my face where I needed extra coverage

Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer in 02 Light on my undereye area

Dior Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen in 001 to brighten up even more the inner corner of my eyes and my inner undereye area.
It is basically the same product as YSL Touche Eclat, only I find it a little more pigmented. I still wouldn’t use it as a concealer on its own

Mac For Effect paintpot, a beautiful BEAUTIFUL glittery dark grey. In the pot the microglitters look mostly green and fuchsia, once applied on the eye it looks more like a tradional white/silvery glitter

Kiko Colour Sphere Eyeshadow 42, a satin black, pigmented enough to make my eyes as black as I wanted them to be, while still letting all the glitter from Mac For Effect Paintpot glisten through

Kiko Eyeshadow 121, a light cold taupe as a transition colour to blend the black into my skin

Pupa True Kohl eyepencil 01 (black)

Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base

Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Black mascara

Collection (formerly Collection 2000) Eyebrow Definer in 3 Blonde, a very ashy almost olive-y shade, I love it! This is my favourite eyebrow pencil both because of its colour - I HATE red toned eyebrow pencils -, and because it is creamy and pigmented and has a very nice and smooth application, but at the same time it is very longlasting

Kiko Eyebrow Designer brow gel, a clear brow gel

Catrice Precision Lip Liner in 040 Berry & Sally, a shade in between berry and burgundy

YSL Rouge Volupté lipstick in 22, a very creamy and luxurious burgundy shade

Kiko 01 Mat Tan, a dark matte bronzer

Mac Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish, my favourite powder highlighter

And in this look there’s a special guest that can’t not be mentioned: my beautiful H&M necklace!

It is a wide triangular dark silver chain covered in big blue gemstones and smaller crystal, silver and black beads.

I bought it last February. I usually have love at first sight with everything I buy, but with this necklace it was even more than love at first sight. It was more a case of this-will-be-one-of-the-most-beautiful-things-I-will-ever-own at first sight! :-D

 This is the picture I took with Instagram right after buying it :-D

This same necklace was later made with pearls on a golden chain, and turquoises also on a gold chain. I got the one with turquoises :-)

Thank you for taking the time to read :-)

Love
MJ :-*

GOLDEN SAPPHIRE make up look

PRODUCTS USED

L'Oreal Lumi Magique foundation in W3/D3 Gold Linen - this is my perfect holy grail all time favourite foundation in my all time favourite shade. This shade is slightly darker and warmer than my natural skin tone, so it improves my complexion while still looking completely natural.
I always apply it with my Real Techniques stippling brush, my all-time favourite foundation brush :-)

Mac Pro Longwear concealer in NC30 - again, my perfect holy grail all time favourite concealer for the face, and again, slightly darker and warmer than my natural skin tone. It matches perfectly my L'Oreal foundation

Diorskin Sculpt concealer in 001 - on the undereye area

Mac Pure Creation paintpot - a surefire eyeshadow base in the perfect shade for the eyeshadow I was going to put on top of it

Pupa Luminys Extra Pearl eyeshadow in 04 - one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, I could spend hours just looking at it. Sadly, it was part of the limited edition Sunset Glam collection in 2010 :-(

Catrice Starlight Expresso (350) eyeshadow - it is a little powdery, but it is so inexpensive that for the purpose of blending other colours into the crease it works just right

Essence Black Mania glossy eye pencil - a little too creamy and with a tendency to bleed, but very intensely pigmented, and again, very inexpensive

Helena Rubinstein Spider Eyes mascara base - a MUST for me before wearing any other mascara

Dior Diorshow Black Out mascara on my top lashes

Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara on my bottom lashes - I find its skinny stiff brush ideal for the bottom lashes

Kiko Eyebrow Designer brow gel - it's a clear brow gel and I have had it for a few years, the top of the cap has come off and made it even more make-up-bag-friendly!

Bourjois Delice de Poudre bronzing powder in 51 (fair skin) - matte non orange bronzer I used both for bronzing and contouring

Mac Definitely Defined Extra Dimension Skinfinish highlighter - the next best thing after Mac Soft and Gentle.
Soft and Gentle is more gold and is in the uber-popular Mac Mineralize Skinfinish formula. Definitely Defined is more pink, it has a creamier texture and a more metallic finish.
Here I chose to use Definitely Defined because I felt like a pink highlighter would sculpt more the cheekbones by contrast with the overall golden complexion

L'Oreal Shine Caresse lipgloss in 101 Lolita - I have to say I was at first a little skeptical about this new texture in between stain and gloss, to the point that I didn't even care to try them for a long time. But when I finally did, after seeing my Beyonce-lookalike best friend rocking the mauve shade, I immediately fell in love with them.
The moment you put them on, they feel strangely liquidy and wet, but if you rub your lips they somehow become soft and creamy. And they are longlasting too.
It is really an innovative product, I didn't have anything like this in my make up collection!
Also, I know you shouldn't judge a product by its packaging but seriously, this is the most beautiful packaging I have ever seen!

I hope you liked this look, thank you for taking the time to check out my blog :-)

Love
MJ