It seems that this week My Beautopia has been unintentionally dedicated to pink. Normally its not the first make up shade I reach for. But I think the rose gold and pink tones of my new Urban Decay Naked Palette 3 (see my photos HERE) have sent me experimenting in more of a pink direction. This week I have experimented with cool toned pink blusher (HERE), lusted after a warm light pink lipstick (HERE) and bagged a fantastic lip and nail diego dalla palma sale bargain - in pale pink of course (HERE)!
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| MAC Cranberry Eyeshadow |
So for MAC Monday this week there really could only be one theme - Pink!! I mentioned in my Naked Palette 3 post that I had only one criticism and that was it lacked a shade like MAC's Cranberry eyeshadow. I had been thinking about picking up Cranberry for a while and last week just decided to take the plunge. Having rummaged through my hefty shadow collection looking for something similar (and failing) in the end I decided just to pick up the original.
I would never normally choose a shade like this as I am usually trying to eradicate all hints of red and pink from my complexion. My natural pink tones clash with pink or red toned colours I try to wear. I often use Smashbox's green toned Colour Correcting Primer (HERE) to neutralise my skin tone. That said, I feel that if I manage to neutralise my complexion then I can start to introduce colours I would normally avoid. This is where MAC's Cranberry eyeshadow comes in.
Cranberry has a frost finish and is a warm pinky red with coppery tones. It is a really versatile shade that you can use all over the lid with a dark crease and outer corner - making it a touch of colour in a bold smokey eye. Or for a more everyday look you can use it as a crease colour with a neutral lid to subtly give some depth. I have blue eyes and it really brings out their colour if you do this. It is really pigmented but you can go as bold or as subtle as you like. But you will need your trusty blending brush to hand for the best results!
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| MAC Pro Palette Eyeshadow System |
I love MAC eyeshadows, the pigmentation is good, they apply and blend well and they really last all day. I tend to buy them in the Pro Palette format, so they come in the cardboard sleeve. If you aren't familiar with these - the round pan then sits into one of the MAC Pro Palettes via a magnet. I have a 15 shade palette which is now full, so I also bought a 4 shade palette just to put a couple of eyeshadows in if I was travelling. I calculated that the total value of a full 15 pan palette was £165-ish, so unless you need to transport all of those shades with you, a smaller palette is a safer idea. You can of course buy each shade in an individual pot for a couple of pounds more.
To wear MAC Cranberry but avoid looking like I have pink eye or have been sobbing, I like to use it as a crease colour. To create the look in the pictures below I used MAC Orb - a pale matte pinky-nude all over the lid and socket. To warm up the lid I used Toasted from Urban Decay's first Naked Palette. Toasted is a pinky toned brown shimmer, but you could use other similar colours such as MAC's Sable.
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| Urban Decay's Toasted Eyeshadow swatch and the trusty MAC 217 Blending Brush |
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| MAC's Cranberry eyeshadow used as a subtle crease colour |
Then I applied MAC Cranberry to the crease and used the MAC 217 Blending Brush to blend it in and soften the edges. I used a MAC 210 Precise Eyeliner Brush to apply a thin line of brown gel eyeliner and then to finish it off - black mascara on the top lashes only. Voila! A lovely every day look.
I really love MAC Cranberry used like this and finished off with pink blusher and dusty pink lipstick it is a great pink themed look. Who would've thought that this former pink-phobic would be converted!
Have you tried MAC Cranberry? I'd love to see your pictures and tutorials - so do send your links over.
If you want to try it for yourself MAC Cranberry and other shades are available as Pro-Palette eyeshadows for £10 HERE or as individual eyeshadows for £12.50 HERE.
The Pro-Palette is £6.50 for 4 shadows HERE or for 2 shadows HERE.
The MAC 217 Blending Brush is £18 HERE. MAC 210 Precise Eyeliner Brush is £16.50 HERE.
Don't forget it you are doing a MAC post on a Monday, join #MACMonday - send me your link and I will link to it from here! Last week's post about MAC's Huggable Lipcolours (HERE) was the most read post of the week so I know you all love a good MAC-fest!
In which case take a look a other recent MAC Monday posts:
MAC Brick-O-La Lipstick HERE
MAC Divine Night Fluidline in Deliciously Rich HERE
MAC Huggable Lip Colours in Fresh and Frisky HERE
