Shock To The System

Cardboard boxes. Ms. New Beauty has had her fill of them. In the past week or so, it seems like all she saw were cardboard boxes. MNB was moving of course and the brown cubes became a necessary part of that process. Yesterday, after a week of packing, lifting, and unpacking cardboard boxes, she thought she was finally done with them - at least for the time being. But lo and behold, as Ms. New Beauty approached her front door, there was another cardboard box waiting for her. Initially, she thought she was being tormented and followed by the evil container. She soon realized that this box, unlike all the others, was not demanding her to fill it up with styrofoam peanuts and keepsakes. This one held a special present just for her and brought nothing but delight to her life. This box held a new summer makeup collection full of eye popping eyeshadows and luscious lipsticks and it was all waiting patiently inside just for MNB.

M.A.C. C-Shock Collection

M.A.C. can do something a lot of other makeup brands can't. It can claim that it has a legion of faithful and adoring fans without stretching the truth one bit. I know women who have tried other brands and run straight to the M.A.C. counter after professing their sins and begging for forgiveness in the form of a new concealer. I used M.A.C. in high school but I am not such a die hard fan as others are. I'm greedy, and there are so many great brands out there that I could never commit to just one. I am not a Makeup Monogamist.

But I have always loved M.A.C. for their richly pigmented eye shadows and absolutely juicy lipglosses, so C-Shock is just the jolt my makeup case needed. When I first poured everything out onto my bed, I instantly put together my eye looks for summer. I am so not a fan of understated eyes for evening. When it's time for me and the girls to hit the clubs, lounges, and bars of the world, it must be with bright eyes. Brown eyeshadow is only for situations when I have to be daytime demure. So these colors are perfect for me. A veritable rainbow of punchy, vivid colors. The eyeshadows are bright and rich in pigment, but they go on quite smooth and sheer. You can build the intensity of them to make the look as daring or as subtle as you want.

Now, the lip colors are a kind of bright that's harder to work with. You can wear almost any color on your eyes, but the lips are a beast of a different breed entirely. I tried four of the lipsticks - a frosty pink (similar to Proenza Pink so you know that didn't work on me - Brown Girls of the World Beware!), a bright blue, a frosty coral, and a shimmery purple. Momma New Beauty helped me try them and we both agreed that the blue lipstick on brown skin gives a frostbite effect. The coral looked great but the jury was split on the shimmery purple. On Momma New Beauty, it was a sheer pinky wash of color that worked. On me, it looked like a holdover from a 1986 pre-Easter raid on the Fashion Fair counter. Interestingly enough, the lip gloss in a similar purple shade looked amazing on me. So I guess the formulation of the color does a lot to determine how it will work for you.

C-Shock is a limited edition collection and will only be available at M-A-C counters until mid-July, so if you like what you see hurry up and get it before it's gone.

Shock your system with a bit of brights and look perfectly punchy for summer, just don't forget that Ms. New Beauty told you!