Your beauty bible for MAC cosmetics lipsticks!

Picking out a MAC lipstick can be a daunting task for many people, there are just so many colours & so many finishes. 

Think of this post as your MAC lipstick bible! In this post I want to clarify the differences between all the different finishes MAC offer & my favourite finishes. So next time when you enter into a MAC store you'll have no bother knowing the exact lipstick you need!

Okay so lets start with the classics.. 

The most iconic & well known MAC lipsticks has to be their signature black with sliver detailing.  

This is the lipstick you will receive free, if you bring back any six empty mac products. Within these classic lipsticks are 9 different finishes. 

(1) Matte:

Definitely the most long wearing of all of the classic MAC lipsticks. These colours last all day & are completely matte with full colour impact. The only downside is because they are so matte they can tend to go a bit choppy/flaky during the day so I always recommend using them on perfectly polished pouts, just make sure to prep the lips by exfoliating & moisturising before hand. 

The are highly pigmented & have a fab range of colours which makes up for the dryness which they can leave on the lips. Also for a matte lipstick they aren't to hard to apply to the lips most matte lipsticks do tend to drag onto the lips just because of how dry they are but these are great.
Examples: So chaud, Diva & Candy yum yum.

(2)Retro matte:

Ruby woo lipstick.

So similar to the regular matte texture, but this formula feels even more matte on the lips I find. It is slightly more drying the just the regular matte lipsticks, & a little but harder to apply. I love love love my ruby woo shade in this texture however. It doesn't budge! Again so important to prep the lips. There is also less shades in the Retro matte finish only around 8-9 I think which are very beautiful, bright & vibrant. With any matte lipsticks your going to get dryness so I cant be mad at MAC.

Examples: Dangerous, Ruby woo & All fired up.

(3)Cremesheen:

These lipsticks are so creamy & feel amazing on the lips. The colour is buildable but more on the sheer side. I love this texture in nude shades themed with a lip liner. Most of the shades in this texture tend to be a nude or a pink making them really wearable for everyday.  They give a beautiful shine to the lips without any stickiness. The only wear for 2-3 so definitely one to keep in your hand bag for tops ups. So beautiful all the same, one of my favourite formulas. 

Examples: Peach blossom, Nude beige & Creme D'nude. 

(4)Amplified/ Amplified creme:

These lipsticks textures are both very similar but I find the amplified creme just slightly creamier than the regular amplified lipsticks. Both are highly pigmented with a slight shine. They are very opaque giving just as much colour as the matte ones with less of that drying finish. The formula of the amplified lipsticks are just brilliant. There are only like 26 shades with this texture.

Examples: Half 'N half, Blankety & Dark Side.

(5)Glaze:
This lipstick is very sheer, it just gives the lips a wash of colour with lots of shine. Great for no makeup days or for a very natural look. I don't own any of this type personally. There are very fewer shades in this formula type than the other formulas.

Examples: Hue, Frou & Pervette.

(6)Lustre:

These lipsticks have a more buildable colour than the glaze ones. Like the glaze you get gorgeous shine from these. Still a gorgeous one for no makeup looks but gives the lips some nice pigment & lots of hydration.

Examples: Syrup, Pretty please & Fresh brew.

(7)Frost:

These lipsticks are very shimmery & quite sheer. Again these lipsticks would be one you are more incline to top up during the day. I own none of this texture to be honest I never seen any of this type which stood out to me, maybe someday though! 

Examples: Angel, Bronze shimmer & meltdown.

(8)Satin:

Peachstock lipstick 

Are very opaque similar colour pay off & long wearing like the matte formula but doesn't dry the lips out. There is a very very subtle shine to this lipstick formula. This formula is definitely the most popular of all the finishes MAC offer. 

Examples: Brave, Twig & Peachstock. 

Viva Glam Lipsticks

Then there is the Viva Glam range, which looks similar to the classics but the colour of the packaging is different as shown below.

With these lipsticks every cent of the €20 euro you spend goes to the MAC aids fund. These lipsticks where launched in 1994 with the first and original Viva glam which was a rich red colour. Since then they have added five more to the range. Many celebs collaborate with MAC & create limited edition Viva glam shades. Celebs such as Nicki Minaj , Lady Gaga & Miley Cyrus. 

Mineralize rich lipstick

Another range of MAC lipsticks are their Mineralize rich ones. 

I actually don't have any of these lipsticks. But I do know that they are nourishing on the lips having tested them out in the past. The colour is buildable depending on what way you like to wear it, with a medium shine. MAC have 20 different shades in these lipsticks.

Examples: Lady at play, Style surge & Everyday diva.

I hope you found this post informative. 

Happy shopping & lots of love, Jessica x

Nima Brush: five piece detail eye set!

Nima brush is hands down my favorite Irish brush brand. On a global level Nima brush & Sigma brushes have to absolute favorites. I can't sing Nima brushes praise enough. I adore the brush brand and everything about it! The price point, the quality, the packaging & style is all spot on in my opinion! What makes it even better is the lovely niamh who is the creator of nima brush. I met her recently at the beauty show in the RDS and she is such a lovely and down to earth girl.

My first purchase from the Nima range was there four piece kabuki contour face brush set which I have a blog post on too. Ever since then its been love. I have got all my friends and family loving the brand too. 

 Nima brush really gets what people need from the brush sets. Rather than just putting one good brush in a set and trowing together the rest, I can tell they take the time and actually think about what their putting into their sets and in turn what people can achieve from them.

 So I just had to venture out and try their eye brushes. So I picked up their five piece detail eye set. 

The pointed liner brush:

 Hands down this is my favorite brush out of the set. I always struggled with my winged liner. I loved the Inglot 77 liner to do my wing but I found it hard to consistantly do my liner prefect when using a angled liner brush. My tutor in Vanity x makeup accademy told me to try out a pointed liner brush as she found it helped her. 

So when I seen Nima brush had one I had to get it, and I was shocked. It is the best thing I have ever done. It makes winged liner so easy everytime! Everything about this brush is prefect! The angle of it brush is bent allowing you to get right into the inner corner and ease. The brush is thin and desnse enough to get a prefect point on the wing but still fluffy and soft enough to help you gilled across you lids. Amazing! I would give 30 euro for this brush alone never mind get four other amazing brushes with it. I wouldn't feel confident doing my winged liner on myself or anyone else without it! 

It is a must have if you want prefect wigned liner!

Small Shader brush:

This brush is so mulitpurpose for me. It is the right amount of fluffy and dense. It is prefect to pack on colour on the lid, Highlight the brow bone or smoke out a lower lash liner.

Angled brush:

Can you ever have too many angled brushes? There are so many used for an angled brush, plus this one is synthetic which means you can use it for creams/gels or powders. I liked to use this brush to fill in my brows. I also love using it with concealer to highlight and conceal any mistake made under my browbone after filling in my brows. It is also a great way of applying shadows to the lower lash liner before smoking them out with a fluffier brush.

Crease blender brush:

This brush is the many reason I felt I needed to buy this brush set. I had never seen a fluffy blender brush which tapered to such a prefect point. I love the shape of this brush! It really does all the blending for you. It doesn't make the shadow choppy it just blends out the product prefectly. The pointed tip makes it prefect for the crease. Its one of my favorite eye blender brushes that I own.

 Larger shader brush:

This brush is brillant. It is simillar to the small shader brush but much bigger covering more space. I like to apply a primer or eyeshadow base on the lid then use this brush with a bone or white colour shadow to set this primer give you shadow a much smoother application. This brush is just a handy one to have in your collection.

Who is this brush set for?

I think this brush set would be ideal for everyone and anyone wether you just want to have the prefect eye brush set for yourself or starting out in makeup like me. It is full of all the essentials you need to create so many different eye looks. I think this set is for anyone from a beginner standard right up to professional. I think this would make an amazing christmas gift espeically with their beautiful duck egg blue hard case which comes with it. I have found the case such a life saver for my kit. It keeps all your brushes safe and clean, prefect for storage and when I'm doing clients makeup. I like to keep one side for my clean brushes and the other for my dirty so I know which ones I have to spot clean for the next client.

Prices:

The brush set is €30.00 

It is €45.00 with the cylinder.

Shop the set here: http://www.nimabrush.com/product/5-piece-eye-detail-set/