FOTD: My Attempt Do Free Wheelin' 1920s Flapper Makeup

The 1920s have been all the rage recently. I myself am a Fitzgerald fan girl, but I've been kind of avoiding the whole 20s trend for a variety of reasons.

1) The clothing style of the 1920s does not suit me. At all. The whole point of the era's fashion was to break out of the Victorian mold and embrace a more boyish silhouette. While this may have looked dashing on the daring ladies of the Jazz Age, my curvy figure needs the hourglass silhouettes of the 1940s. A dropped waist makes me look like a rectangle, which is not super appealing.

2) This is going to sound like a pretentious hipster, but I try to avoid trends when it comes to makeup. It's certainly impossible to avoid sticking to trends entirely, but I prefer to play around with what I'm personally loving and personally suits me, instead of what all the other kids are doing. YA HEAR THAT? I DON'T BEND TO PEER PRESSURE! #DAREgraduate

3) The 1920s was all about the dark eyes. I have small eyes that I am extremely self conscious about. For the entirety of high school, I packed on black liner to my lower waterline. This was not a good look. I remember staring in the mirror when I got ready wondering why my face looked so unbalanced. If only the Doctor would come along...we could pop into the TARDIS and I would sprint into the bathroom, pry the kohl from my pale hands, and replace it with a nice nude. Maybe high school wouldn't have sucked then...Enough whining about high school, onto the post!

I'm an avid reader of the reddit forum, MakeupAddiction, aka reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction. Those girls and guys are the bomb diggity. That subreddit is seriously my happy place. A few days ago, there was a FOTD challenge to do a 1920s inspired face. I was just lounging around the apartment, so I figured, why not?!

Here was the end result:

This is ridiculously out of my comfort zone, but it was fun! I really tried to channel what I believe to be the point of the beauty revolution of the 1920s. It was all about sticking it to the man; throwing off the chains that was Victorian innocence and chastity, and embracing a lifestyle of the Lost Generation. Their eyes were dark and smudgy and imprecise, and they often used dark lipstick in the shape of a Cupid's bow. Additionally, the cosmetics of the day basically only allowed for matte, pale faces. I'm sitting at about NW15 with dry skin, so I naturally fall into a matte, pale face. You guys, I would have been sooooo popular back then. But I digress.

I tried to use the Urban Decay liner in Perversion as a base, but it wouldn't smudge at all! That's a good thing when you're using it as an actual liner, and a bad thing when it's meant to be a base. I then packed the black, glittery shadow from the Lorac Femme Fatale palette that was a Hautelook exclusive almost a year ago. I winged it out and tried to make it as smoky and imprecise as possible. I then lined my waterline with Perversion, which I hadn't done in about four years. I'm actually a fan of how this looks! I'm definitely going to be busting this eye look out at the bars sometime. I also used Perversion to fill in my brows, which made them look a bit odd, but oh well. 

The lipstick is NYX Violet Ray, which looks so different on my lips than in any other swatch online. I bought this on a whim about a year ago and have only worn it once, I think. Note to self: wear this more! I love this shade.

Overall, I really liked challenging myself to create this look.

OH SO SULTRY. Just kidding. I couldn't be sultry if my life depended on it.

Until next time, kiddos,

xo, Maria.

Review and Swatch: MAC Mineralize Rich Lipstick in Lady at Play

If I was only allowed to use one type of cosmetic for the rest of my life, it would have to be lipstick. I freaking love lipstick. It completely transforms your entire face in one step. I love all kinds of colors: bold reds, bright pinks, crazy purples, sometimes even a nude. Additionally, if I was allowed only one lipstick brand, it would have to be MAC. No one comes close to their variety of colors and finishes. So naturally, I get excited every time MAC announces a new kind of lipstick finish. The Mineralize Rich formula came out a few months ago, but you know. Here at EngineeredBeauty we like to be fashionably late to the party. They are $22 for 3.6 g, as opposed to the $15 for a regular MAC lipstick for 3.0 g. With the Mineralize Rich lipstick, you're paying $6.11 per gram, and with the normal lipstick, you're paying $5.00 per gram. This means that the regular lipstick is a better monetary value, and I imagine that the increased cost comes from the new, fancy packaging.

According to MAC's website, the Mineralize Rich Lipstick is, "a 77-Mineral Moist Complex that instantly nourishes lips with maximum moisture in a lightweight, non-sticky formula. Larger bullet applies bright, long lasting colour in a single stroke. Medium shine finish, buildable coverage. Magnetic closure." Not sure if there are 77 minerals in the lipstick, or if that's just some marketing spiel.

I can confirm, though, that Lady at Play is moisturizing, lightweight, non-sticky, a larger bullet, a long lasting color, medium shine, buildable, and housed in a magnetic closure. Way to be accurate, MAC website!

The packaging is larger than the normal MAC lipstick with a really cool magnetic closure. I'm a big fan of the magnetic closure; there's less of a chance of the lid popping off in my bag, and it's fun to play with. These are the things I care about.

Lady at Play is described by MAC as a "mid-tonal cool tangerine." I'm not entirely sure how much I agree with that description. To me, it's more of a neutral pinky coral. 

Swatchy swatchy. This thing is super pigmented, y'all. This was two swipes of color. When worn on the lips, it feels like there's basically nothing at all. I really like the level of shine to it. I'm a matte lips girl, and this seems like a happy medium between the matte-ness I love and a glossy creme. I would compare the feeling on the lips to a Revlon Lip Butter, but this is much more pigmented. A good thing about this lipstick is that your lips don't have to be in the best shape for this to work. 

Lady at Play is a bolder color, but I feel completely comfortable wearing it in the office because it's a no-fuss color. 

This was me putting it on in the car as soon as I purchased it. It was love at first sight. 

Here's me wearing it at work. Loving how you can't see my eyes because of the lenses of my glasses. 

And here's me making a confused face and wearing it with some bad hair. Also, please don't judge me for the Hollister polo. I love polo shirts and it was half off. I had to suffer ten minutes of breathing the cologne-infested air of that wretched place to get this shirt, okay! Cut me some slack!

Overall, I freaking LOVE Lady at Play. The formula is amazing, it sits so nicely on the lips, and the color is fantastic. It's an everyday way to way a bolder summer shade...although let's be real, I'm still going to be rocking this baby in the dead of winter. I love it that much.

So get thee to a MAC counter! And grab you some of this goodness!

Until next time, kiddos,

xo, Maria.