Singapore Makeup and Beauty Haul ! :D

I just came back from a 3 week trip to Singapore. I absolutely loved the city. The city is so green and pretty, not to mention jam packed with shopping malls. The malls at Orchard road were just insane. I have never seen so many shopping malls on just one road. Even though most of the malls have similar set of stores it was a lot of fun shopping in different malls.

This is all the makeup and beauty related things that I got. I bought a lot of bags and clothes as well but I will do a separate post on that later. I got  a lot of skincare- especially from Laniege and Skinfood. The Sephora at Orchard Ion was just amazing. I really had to exercise a lot of self restraint. The prices at Sephora for some of the brands were really insane- Especially Benefit. I wanted to get a few things from Benefit but everything was around 50 Sing dollars or more.

4 Pan Pro Pallete , eyeshadow in Naked Lunch and Twinks, Sheen Supreme lipstick in Impressive , Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft And Gentle , MAC Brush 266

I got the MSF and the eyeshadows from the MAC store at the Changi Airport. The prices are cheaper compared to the the MAC stores in the city.

For soft kohl lined eyes ~ MAC Smut Eyeshadow MAC

MAC Smut Eyeshadow

MAC Smut eyeshadow

Finish-Velvet

Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot

Color – Dark grey brown with subtle purple shimmer

Good for – Smoking out eyeliner, Crease color, Grey smoky eyes

Shimmery Pink ~ MAC Pink Venus Eyeshadow

MAC Pink Venus Eyeshadow

Finish- Lustre

Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot

Color – Light Pink with Silver shimmer

Good for – Simple eye makeup  with subtle eyeshadow color

MAC Pink Venus Eyeshadow

MAC Eyeshadow love ~ My MAC Neutral eyeshadow palette

MAC Neutral Eyeshadow Palette

MAC eyeshadows are my most favorite makeup play things. What can be more fun than a myriad of pretty colors in different textures? Whenever I pass by a MAC store I feel like stopping by at least once to gaze at the beautiful eyeshadow display. If I ever win a lottery or something I will buy all MAC eyeshadows. They are just too pretty!!!

While I love brighter colors like Sushi Flower , Deep Truth et all , I love MAC neutral shades more. This is my MAC neutral eyeshadow palette. This is the pallete I reach out for every morning. Some colors like Girlie,  Satin Taupe and Shale are not exactly office appropriate colors. I will be swapping  them with some brown shades  when I get them. I am eyeing grain, soft brown, expresso and mystery. The obsession never stops!

I have another palette which has all my brighter eyeshadows.  I will do a post on that when its completely full.  I have an entire post on some of these shadows. I will add the links in this post.

Top Row (L-R) Girlie, All That glitters, Brule, Arena, Woodwinked

Middle Row (L-R) Shale, Tete-a-Tint, Texture, Mulch, Embark

Bottom Row( L-R) Sketch, Stain Taupe  Swish Chocolate, Smut, Carbon

Makeup in a jiffy ~ MAC Paintpot in Constructivist , Review , Photos and Swatches

MAC Paintpot in Constructivist

I play it super duper safe when it comes to office makeup. For me an adventurous makeup day at work is putting a dark brown shade of eyeshadow :P. But come weekends I don every thing from bright green to bright pink – quite alarming for the boy.

Today I had really little time to get ready but was in the mood for something “adventurous” – you know to beat the Tuesday blues. I never dread going to office on Mondays – Tuesdays and Thursdays are my feeling bugged about work days. Anyway I took out my MAC Constructivist paintpot with a flourish and lightly swept  the MAC 217 brush on it  and brushed it directly on my lids. A couple of seconds of blending and voila – what we have here is “my fun”  office makeup look.

The MAC 217 and the paintpots are a match made in eye makeup heaven , I tell ya! The big fluffy head deposits just enough color and blending is a breeze with this brush. Paintpots are very easy to layer on as well.  The constructivist paintpot is a gorgeous dark brown color with a metallic finish. It looks beautiful on its own  or paired with other eyeshadows like Sushi flower. It also forms a very good base for doing brown smoky looks. And if the word metallic is alarming you , don’t worry- its not frostly at all. Just the right amount of sheen.

MAC Haul and some jibber jabber

MAC Eyeshadow Haul

There can be nothing more mood uplifting then a makeup haul. Well, maybe travelling to exotic destinations comes first. Makeup haul, especially MAC haul definitely comes a very close second. The cute boy I am dating is also a smart boy and got into one of India’s best B schools this year. He moved about a week back and I have to say I am not handling the long distance thing well at all. I am whiling my time working super hard at office and moping about doing absolutely nothing at home. I hope it gets easier with time.

Today afternoon in a sudden moment of epiphany I realized I had spent the whole of Friday night and Saturday at one spot on my bed. I didn’t step out of my flat at all. And I usually can’t spend a moment at home on Fridays and Saturdays. I got up with a burst of energy and started clicking a lot of pictures for this blog.I have been ignoring writing for Makeup-Mantra  for a while now and its time to channelize some love here :) This week I have a lot of posts planned for you guys. Hope you have fun.:)

I had MAC vouchers for 3k and had gone shopping sometime this week for some retail therapy.I had so much fun at the MAC store. The girls at the MAC Koramangala store are super friendly and really patient. I love shopping there and inevitably end up spending  way more than I wanted to.

For smoky eyes ~ MAC Beauty Marked Eyeshadow

MAC Beauty Marked Eyeshadow

Swatch of MAC Beauty Marked eyeshadow

Finish-Velvet

Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot

Color – Matte Black with purple sparkles

Good for – Smoking out eyeliner , Outer Corner

Looks

• I like to mainly use this in the outer corner to smoke out my eyeshadows. This basically looks like a matte black eyeshadow on lids. The purple sparkles are not densely packed at all.
• Since this is almost matte black I like to use this for smudging out my eyeliners.

This is of the rare MAC eyeshadows which don’t look as good on lids as it does in the pan. The purple sparkles are hardly visible on the lids. Also I don’t find it as easy to blend.

Have you tried MAC Beauty Marked eyeshadow ? I am sure it would have caught your eye in the MAC store

For gorgeous Indian look ~ MAC Antiqued Eyeshadow

MAC Eyeshadow in Antiqued

MAC Eyeshadow in Antiqued

Finish-Veluxe Pearl

Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot

Color – Brown with orange undertones and golden shimmer.

Good for – Indian Looks

Swatch of MAC eyeshadow in Antiqued

Looks

I have used this only once on my friend’s wedding. I applied Groundwork paintpot on my lids. Then I took MAC 217 and lightly applied Antiqued eyeshadow all over my lids. This looks like a rusty orange color on my lids. Next I took the Chambor eye pencil in brown and applied all along my lower and upper lash lines. And any black kajal along the upper and lower water lines. Finally I took lots and lots of my favorite MAC eyeshadow in Sketch  with MAC 219 brush and smudged my liner and applied in the outer corner and outer crease.Antiqued really brings out the purple in Sketch. Used by itself Sketch looks more of a blackish purple but when used with Antiqued it looks like a very gorgeous vibrant purple.And to top it all lots of mascara..

This was of my favorite eye makeup looks I did. How do you like to use Antiqued? I would love to hear about some ideas to use this beautiful eyeshadow.

For our precious peepers ~ MAC Expensive Pink eyeshadow, Photos, Swatches

MAC Expensive Pink Eyeshadow

Finish- Veluxe Pearl

Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot

Color – Peachy Pink With golden shimmer

Good for – Neutral day looks, Sheer wash of color

MAC Expensive Pink Eyeshadow

Swatch of MAC Expensive Pink Eyeshadow

Looks

• Expensive pink looks amazing paired with browns. It is no surprise that I love using this with my favorite eye pencil of all time, the Chambor eye tattoo pencil. I put expensive pink all over my lids. Next I draw a thick line along my upper and lower lash line with this pencil. Then I smudge it out with the MAC 219 brush. Looks super pretty.

• Expensive Pink  on the lids and MAC Swish Chocolate or Embark eyeshadow in the outer corner and little it on the crease. This looks very nice as a brown smoky eye with a bit of pink. I use NYX Jumbo pencil in yogurt to highlight my brow bones and the inner corner of my eyes.

• This eyeshadow also works wonderfully for a no fuss look. Just this on the lids,Black/brown eye liner and mascara.

This is such an easy to wear color that it can go with a variety of looks and skintones.How do you like to wear Expensive Pink eyeshadow?

Invisibility cloak for blemishes~ MAC Studio Finish Concealer , Review, Photos

Don’t we all wish we could just utter some magic spell like Harry Potter and all our blemishes would vanish into thin air? Just a flick of a magic wand made of phoenix tail feather or unicorn hai and we would have perfectly smooth skin. Since we are just ordinary muggles and magic is still some years away ( I am an eternal hopeful) we have to resort to the usual concealer, foundation, powder routine to fake that flawless skin.

MAC Studio Finish Concealer

One such magic beauty product I have in my vanity is the MAC Studio Finish Concealer. This is a full coverage concealer and I think it is one of MAC’s best selling concealers. This is a cream concealer and it comes in a standard MAC eyeshadow pot. I have this in the color NC 45 which is just perfect for covering up blemishes. This is a bit too dark for the under eye circles. I feel it makes the area darker rather than even with the rest of the skin. I originally got this for my under eye circles. I hardly had any blemishes those days. The SA convinced me that NC 45 is the right match. When in doubt I say listen to your gut feeling. After all you know your skin tone the best. Anyway it worked out for me because suddenly I got a lot of acne which has left unsightly scars. This works very well for concealing my blemishes. Since this is creamy in consistency it is easy to pat on top of the blemish marks and they just disappear into my skin.

Brown Beauty ~ MAC Mulch Eyeshadow, Photos and Swatches

MAC Mulch Eyeshadow

MAC Mulch Eyeshadow

Finish- Velvet
Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot
Color - Red-Brown with bronze pearl(According to www.maccosmetics.com)       
              Medium brown with shimmer( On my skin)

Swatch of MAC Mulch Eyeshadow

Swatch of MAC Mulch Eyeshadow
Different lighting

Looks


1- I love to use Mulch for office eye makeup. Just a quick sweep of Mulch all over my lids and some liner and mascara. Simple polished eye makeup.
2- I love to use Mulch with Sushi Flower on the lid and Mulch in the crease.Brule or Naked lunch to highlight.
3- For a toned down brown smoky eyes I love to pair Mulch with Carbon. Mulch on the lids and carbon in the outer V.
4- Mulch goes amazingly with Texture as well. Texture on the lids and Mulch in the Crease and outer V.Sketch to Smudge my eyeliner. Again one of my favorite looks for office.


Mulch is one of my favorite colors. It might look uneventful in the pan but it is an amazingly versatile eyeshadow. Its one of my favorite eyeshadows to wear to office.
 How do you use Mulch ?

Sketching Smoky eyes ~ MAC Sketch Eyeshadow,Photos, Swatches

MAC Sketch Eyeshadow
With Flash

Finish-Velvet

Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot

Color – Deep plum with slight shimmer

Good for – Smoking out eyeliner, Crease color,Purple smoky looks

MAC Sketch Eyeshadow
Without Flash

Swatch of MAC Sketch Eyeshadow
Natural Light True Color

Looks

• ·         I love love love this eyeshadow for smudging my eyeliner. I use this every single time I smudge my liner. This looks so much better than smudging eye pencil with matte black shadow.
• ·         This is an amazing shadow for the outer V. It looks awesome with Texture or Sushi Flower in the lid.
• ·         I love to use this as an eyeliner. I wet a thin eyeshadow brush like the MAC 266 and dip the edge of the brush in Sketch. It looks gorgeous as an eyeliner.
• ·         This is great as a lid color for purple smoky eyes. Sketch on the Lids and Carbon or Beauty Marked in the Outer V.

Have you sketched with Sketch yet?

For smoky green eyes ~ MAC Greensmoke Eyeshadow,Photos ,Swatches

M.A.C Greensmoke Eyeshadow

Finish- Lustre

Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot

Color – Dark olive green with silver shimmer

Good for – Smoky green eyes,sheer wash of green

Swatch of MAC Greensmoke eyeshadow

Looks

• ·Smudged black thick eye pencil on upper line. And a light wash of Greensmoke all over the lids. This is my favorite way of wearing almost any eyeshadow. I put more color near the lash line and then take a fluffy brush (MAC 217) and blend upwards till the crease. The color gradually decreases in intensity.
• Greensmoke on the lids and MAC Carbon or any matte black eyeshadow in the outer corner. This looks amazing as a green smoky eye. I use NYX Jumbo pencil in yogurt to highlight my brow bones and the inner corner of my eyes.

This is one of my favorite green eyeshadows. Have you tried Greensmoke eyeshadow?

Luxe lips ~ MAC Lychee luxe lip gloss,Review and swatches

I love MAC. My pulse races with excitement when I am at a mac store . And fortunately or unfortunately a new MAC store opened a stone’s throw from my place. I really have to resist the urge to go in every other day. Every time in am in the store I feel like swatching each and every eye shadow and feel like going home with at least 5. But since MAC is quite expensive here in India that cant happen as often as I would like it too. Seriously I don’t understand the pricing policy  of higher end brands. Hike up the prices in a developing country and keep the prices low elsewhere? I had been lusting after the Clinique quick blush for a really long time. It retails for 22 dollars in US. And guess its price in India. 1800 rs!!!. The  mark up is quite ridiculous!!

MAC Lychee Luxe Lipglass

(After a few deep breaths). Ok lets continue talking about  MAC Lychee Luxe lipgloss. I had read rave reviews of this gloss in many many blogs and swatched it multiple number of times at the store but I always thought this looks too orange.Last week was the first time I tried it one on my lips. And oh my god this is such a beautiful color. This is one of those colors which is wearable on skin but looks scary in the packaging.This is a bright coral with lovely golden shimmer. You can layer it up for a bold coral lip or sheer it down for a peachy golden glow. I love it!

If its blue its true ~ MAC Deep Truth Eyeshadow,Photos and Swatches

M.A.C Deep Truth Eyeshadow

Finish- Frost

Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot

Color – Vibrant royal blue with silver shimmer.

Good for – Smoky blue eyes, Liner, Dupe for MAC Siahi fluidline

M.A.C Deep Truth Eyeshadow

Swatch of M.A.C Deep Truth eyeshadow

Looks

• ·         Smudged black thick eye pencil on upper line. And a light wash of Deep Truth all over the lids. This is my favorite way of wearing almost any eyeshadow. I put more color near the lash line and then take a fluffy brush (MAC 217) and blend upwards till the crease. The color gradually decreases in intensity.
• ·         Deep truth on the lids and MAC Carbon or any matte black eyeshadow in the outer corner. This looks amazing as a blue smoky eye. I use NYX Jumbo pencil in yogurt to highlight my brow bones and the inner corner of my eyes.
• ·         I love to use this as an eyeliner. I wet a thin eyeshadow brush like the MAC 266 and dip the edge of the brush in Deep truth. It looks gorgeous as an eyeliner. I think this color looks very similar to the MAC Siahi fluidline.
• ·         I love to smudge my kajal with Deep truth. I keep the rest of the makeup very neutral. Groundwork paintpot on the lids and black eyeliner. I line my lower lashline and water with loads of black smudgy pencil like Lakme Satin kajal or the Bourjois waterproof clubbing liner. Then I take deep truth on a MAC 219 brush and smudge the liner with it. The end result is very beautiful. It looks like black with a hint of blue and silver sparkles.

What is your favorite look with Deep Truth ?

Marveling at Marvel ~ MAC Marvel Eyeshadow,Photo,Swatch

MAC Marvel Eyeshadow

Swatch MAC Marvel Eyeshadow

Limited Edition. Mickey Contractor Collection.

Finish- Frost

Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot

Color - Purple with shimmer.

I recently bought Marvel. I haven’t used it yet. Looking for ideas to create awesome purple eyelooks with it. Any suggestions?

Pretty in pink ~ MAC Sushi Flower Eyeshadow,Photo,Swatch

MAC Sushi Flower Eyeshadow

Swatch MAC Sushi Flower Eyeshadow

Finish- Satin

Price – Rs 680 for refill pan and Rs. 900 for eyeshadow pot

Color - Medium Pink with slight shimmer. On skin shimmer is not apparent.

Good for – Summery pop of color, Traditional Indian look.

Looks-

• Smudged black thick eye pencil on upper line. And a light wash of Sushi Flower all over the lids. The pink will tone down the black eyeliner and turn into purple in color . The rest of the eyelids will have a light wash of summery pink. The gradual change from black to purple to pink looks very pretty.
•  Chambor eye tattoo eyeliner in brown or any brown shimmery eyeliner on both upper and lower water lines. Sushi Flower all over the lids. And Swish chocolate in the crease and outer V. Pretty day time look.

• MAC  Sushi Flower on the lids and MAC Satin Taupe in the outer corner. Then line upper line with any black gel liner. A nice change from dramatic black smoky eyes for evening.

Do you love Sushi Flower as much as I do ?

I am sweet on Bitter ~ MAC Bitter Eyeshadow,Photo, Swatch

MAC Bitter Eyeshadow

Swatch MAC Bitter Eyeshadow

MAC Bitter Eyeshadow
Finish - Velvet
Price - Rs 680 for refill or 900 for a eyeshadow pot
Color- Lime green with very slight shimmer. On skin looks like yellowed light green.
Good for -I love it for a summery pop of color on eyes.


Looks-

• Smudged black thick eye pencil on upper line. And a light wash of Bitter allover the lids. The green will tone down the black eyeliner and will impart a summery pop of color all over the lid.
• MAC Bitter all over the lid and  MAC Electric Eel in the outer V.

How do you like to use Bitter ?

Best eyeshadow for office ~ MAC Groundwork Paintpot,Review and Swatch

Love at first sight. ..this is how I felt when I first swatched the Groundwork paintpot . Yes I am overtly dramatic about makeup and unabashedly so :P.

Groundwork is a beautiful taupe colour with very slight shimmer.On my skin it looks like light brown with shimmer.You definitely can’t make out the individual shimmer particles. Here is the swatch for you. My skin tone in MAC varies from NC 42-45.

The consistency of the product is to die for. Very very smooth and creamy and it gives you just enough time to blend before setting. I use groundwork paintpot both as an allover wash of gorgeous neutral color on my lids or as an eyeshadow base. I more often than not reach for this for a quick and polished neutral makeup for office. I use Paintpot all over my lids, followed by a bit of NYX jumbo eyepencil in yogurt for highlighting, Revlon Colorstay twist up eyeliner for upper and lower waterlines and Covergirl Lash Blast mascara. Quick and simple but veryyy pretty eye makeup.

Smoky Smudgy oomph in 2 mins ~ M.A.C 219 brush

I walked into M.A.C one early Wednesday evening and the store was empty.Yipee!! Means undivided attention from the MUAs. I was in luck as South India head of MAC was in the store that day. I asked her if she could show me how to do the smudgy  eye look. She took this really black kohl and smudged in to my lower and upper waterlines with short strokes. 

Then she picked up Sketch a deep purple eyeshadow and smudged it in with the 219 brush. Oh my GODDD. Amazinglyyyy smoky eyes in 2 minutes flat. I had to get the brush!! It was like a magic wand performing smoky miracles!

Here are the pics-

My MAC 219 Brush

My MAC 219 Brush

Price u ask ? INR 1400. My poor credit card let out a heart wrenching yelp.The baby needs some rest.

How to ? Pick up any darkish eyeshadow with the MAC 219 and run it over your eyeliner. It will give a soft smoky look.

Best suited for ? Girls who like to smoke out their liner. You can also use for this brush  specific placement of crease color.

The Good  

• Perfect for smoking out eyeliners. Works in a jiffy

• The pointed head is perfectly shaped and sized.

The not so good

•  The price of course. I don’t understand why MAC is so much more expensive in India than in US. 
• The bristles could be softer. 

All in all I love the brush. This along with my MAC 217 is my everyday eye makeup brush. I love the soft smudgy eyeliner/kajal look for office and the dark smoky look for going out. This brush works perfectly for both situations. I loooove it ! J

Makeup-Mantra Rating :-8.5/10