Giambattista Valli Lipstick Collection by MAC

Giambattista Valli by MAC

The Giambattista Valli lipsticks launched last week on July 9th, 2015. Giambattista is an amazing Parisian fashion designer who teamed up with MAC Cosmetics to create 5 beautiful shades for the summer. Here is my review of the lipsticks I purchased from this collection:

First Impression

The last time I purchased any MAC limited edition makeup collection was when they launched the Hello Kitty makeup line from 2009. 

After 2009, I have not really been impressed or felt the urge to purchase anything else from MAC's makeup collections; I noticed their products have gotten less pigmented over the years and I started to lose my interest until the Giambattista collection launched.

 The packaging really caught my eye, I loved the color choices and I really loved the designer they teamed up with. So I saved up my coins and ended up purchasing four out of the five lipsticks from the collection. 

 Light Test
I did a quick light test under 3 types of lighting to see what looks the most flattering.  The Bianca B lipstick looks almost white under the cool and flash lighting, which is not complimentary for women of color but I think the other shades look great under any lighting.
The colors look the most true under the pure white flash light.

Bianca B

Color

Bianca B is a pastel pink.  This shade is opaque so it comes out a bit chalky on dark skin tones.

Pastel lipsticks are not very flattering because you will end up looking really washed out and ashy. 

 I personally don't like this shade for myself on my entire lip, but I absolutely love it as a highlighter for pink lipsticks. 

Lipliner

I used lip liner "Hover" by MAC to try to make Bianca B more neutral on my lips.

Longevity

Nude colors tend to wash out fairly fast. Bianca B faded on me after two hours.

Duplicate

If you don't want to go out and spend $18 for a MAC lipstick, here is another brand Bianca B reminds me of: 

NYX Lip Butter in "Hubba Bubba" | $5.99 at Ulta.com

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Tats

Color
Hot Pink/ Magenta lipstick; compliments all skin tones.
I added Bianca B in the center of my lips to create an ombre effect.

Lipliner
I paired TATS lipstick with BEET lipliner by MAC

Longevity

This color lasted about 3-4 hours on me without any touchups

Duplicate
There are TONS of pink lipsticks all over the world; and if you're an artist on a budget, here's a duplicate for TATS

Ruby Kisses Ultra Matte Lipstick in "Gossip"
$2.99 at HouseofBeautyWorld.com

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Charlotte

Color

Deep Red with a slight orange undertone. The packaging has a more blue undertone which threw me off, but when applied it melted into my skin with a bit of an orange finish. I personally would use a much darker lipliner to create a true red tone on my lips.

Lipliner
I paired Charlotte with Cherry lipliner by MAC

Longevity

This has a pretty decent staying power, it lasted me about 4-5 hours without touchups.

Duplicate
Here's NYX to the rescue if you are trying to save some money

NYX Matte lipstick in "Pure Red" | $5.99 at Ulta.com

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Eugenie

Color

Plum/Brown shade, compliments every skin tone.
This shade is my absolute favorite!

Lipliner
I paired Eugenie with Currant Lip liner by MAC

Longevity
This has the same amount of staying power as Charlotte, about 4-5 hours without touchups.

Duplicate

Revlon actually carries a nice range of dark lipsticks, here is one that looks super similar to Eugenie:

 Revlon Black Cherry $7.99 | CVS.com

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Overall, I like these shades but I only LOVE one shade from the whole bunch. 

I hope MAC will keep collaborating with more amazing fashionistas and adding more unique collections to their line.

Happy Halloween! Skeleton Beauty Story

Photographer | Ten Photos

Wardrobe | Abigail Lipp

Model | Carissa Giles of Factor Women

HMU | Andrea Samuels of Factor + Black Board

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I haven't done creative makeup like this in a long time so this was fun for me!

This is Carissa before the Skeleton makeup.

I worked with only 4 things to create the Skull Head look:

- Kryolan Airbrush Makeup using a Silver Jet Iwata Compressor (for base)

- Inglot Eye Shadow in Matte Grey #376 and White Matte #351 
(for blending)

- Inglot AMC Gel Eyeliner in #77 Black (for details)

- Covergirl Outlast Lipstick in Burgundy mixed with Inglot Gel liner

I studied this image of Zombie Boy and mimicked some of the the lines and details to create my own skeleton face:

1.) I applied the Kryolan airbrush first to have a clean, white layer for a stronger contrast in the makeup

2.)I then added teeth, jawbones, eye sockets, etc with a thick paint brush. Theatrical makeup can seem overwhelming at first, but think of each section of the face as shapes: Eyes are like circles, nose is like an upside down triangle, teeth are like the letter "D" turned on it's side. Sketch out each section in shapes, then fill in where needed.

I also used a MAC eye liner brush #210 for presicion details with the teeth as well as the cracks in the Skull. I mimicked random shapes of tiny tree branches to create the broken/cracked effect.

3.) Last, I added depth with the gray & white eyeshadows to finish Carissa's face

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This took me about an hour and a half to complete. I'm really happy with how it turned out for the shoot!

K.Nicole SS2015 | Mercedes Benz Fashion Week

K.Nicole SS2015 Fashion Show at Pier 59 Studios

 Makeup was sponsored by Face Atelier 

The SS2015 look was created by this lady right here: 
DeShawn Hatcher.

First of all: 
DeShawn. Is. EVERYTHING.

I read her blog every month, her advice on the fashion industry is so golden and solid, she has really helped me throughout my budding career. I also follow DeShawn on Facebook, Instagram, pretty much everywhere. I've study her work for years, her creativity with color theory is absolutely incredible to me, she creates color combinations that I would never have thought to reproduce and there are a LOT of artists that mimic her style today. Deshawn is inspiring, one of the very few artists I really look up to... she's genius, genuine, talented and wise; I have the utmost respect for her!  I hope to be at least 5% more like her when I grow up. So when she announced she needed assistance for NY Fashion week I JUMPED to my email right away, messaged her, and kept my fingers crossed.

DeShawn replied back,
"Girl, I would love to have you on my team."


On September 11th, 2014, I was there:

- The team setting up -

- Lipsticks -

- Eyeshadows -

- MY KIT -

Before we started makeup, DeShawn gave us a brief demo of the makeup look:

- Nude, Glossy lids with a touch of bronze eye shadow in the crease and lower lid

- Clean brows, lightly groomed

- Glowing cheeks with dewy skin

- Lavender lipstick with illuminating, frosty FaceAtelier eyeshadow on top of lipstick

Hair was created by Key Artist Linh Nguyen, beach waves are IN for Spring/Summer 2015.

Here was my first model: 

It took me a while to understand what DeShawn was looking for with makeup, she was very specific about placement of eyeshadow and the direction of the blush as well as how much iridescent shimmer to use on the lips. Sometimes duplicating what the key artist wants is hard for other artists, especially if you are used to doing makeup a certain way; but this is why I adore fashion week; I learn new techniques and new ways of applying makeup from pro artists that I would normally never have the opportunity to work with. These are makeup lessons I could never learn on YouTube or on the Internet, these were life lessons that I would cherish forever. After about four times of me re-doing the models lips, adding more makeup to eyes, and toning it down in some areas, she said,
"Yes!"

(Photos by Vivien Killilea for Zimbio.com)

My second model:

My third Model (left):

My fourth model: Ania Charlot 

I've worked with her once before and her skin is a DREAM.