Actually, I got this a while ago, but I've been too busy to post it at that time, and it got lost in my folder somehow. I love eyeshadow palettes! I never could finish an eyeshadow color so to have a smaller amount but with more color options? I'll take that!

There were four sets to choose from this collection. I chose this one because I didn't have any smokey eye color set (surprise, surprise!). And the review said it's a warm smokey set, which makes it perfect for me. (Note: I look horribly racoonish in true black and grey).

Here is the palette, pic taken in natural light, indoor:

Here is the swatch on my arm:

The pigmentation is not so great, but I like it better this way. I could layer the color and I don't run the risk of having a too black sweep on my lids ;).

Last picture is me, wearing the black smokey eyes. It is somehow looking a bit purple-ish on me, but I love it :). Let me know what you think!

I went to a MAC makeover at their Makeup Artist Collection launch event at Kadewe, Berlin. This is the result. I love it, love how my complexion looks brighter, my eyes pop, and I also love how the MUA taught me how do the look and she gave me a look that was outside my comfort zone.

Here's what she applied on my face:

• Face: Studio Moisture Tint SPF 15 in dark, Select cover up concealer
• Eyes: some Prep+Prime, Powerpoint eye pencil in Tealo, Cocomotion Pigment, Zoom lash mascara, Eye brow: Spiked
• Cheek: Cream highlighter, Notable Blush
• Lip: Obviously Orange Technakohl as lipliner, New Spirit Lipgloss

My thoughts (left to right):

187SE: I don't really love it so far. I tried it for foundation and powder and I didn't see much difference. Maybe it was just my amateur technique? No idea, but I'll still try it some more.

168SE: Nothing special so far. It's really a good angled brush IMO. But I have a cheapo angled brush and I don't see much difference.

194SE: Lovin' this concealer brush! It's really good for applying my under eye concealer.

275SE: It's supposed to be an eyeshadow brush? I don't know... it's too big for applying eyeshadow to me. But it's great for applying powder under my eyes after the concealer.

212SE: I don't really use eyeliner (except for pencil ones). I tried it once with eyeshadow. The shape is a bit awkward to me... IDK.

I love the bag that came with it, also with the brush bag :). All and all I think it's definitely worth the purchase. Especially if you're new to MAC brushes (like me). Unfortunately, I can't compare it with the regular sized one since I don't have them.

Which one should I get ;) ?

I decided to get the Eccentricity and 226 Brush from the Mac Colour Craft collection.

The purples in Eccentricity are just so pretty! I found Rich Bronze also looked nice for crease color. Rich gold works alright for the highlight, it's a bit too shimmery for me.

Unfortunately, if I use all four of them together, it looked very glittery! Color wise, it looked great, but it's a bit much for a casual look (for me). It's better for a night out or a more special occasion. For an everyday look, combining two of these with a non shimmer shadow is better.

I'm still trying to get the hang of 226 brush. So far I like it for applying crease color (more than 217) and making an outer V kind of shape.

Result:

Here's my swatch for MAC's Colour Craft Mineralize Eye Shadow (Quad): Natural Flare.  The copper looked orange, and the yellow orange looked more yellow than orange. Rich gold looked and feels like lots of glitters. Only dirty brown looked like the one in the palette.

All in all, it's still very pretty IMO. But I'm not sure if I want that kind of yellow orange on my lid :-/.

It's one of my pictures on my wedding day 5 years ago. Aaaarrrgggghhhhh!!! I think I looked more like a kabuki performer than myself.

Okay, this was an extreme case. For the record, I was also put in a traditional costume (see my headgear?). Nevertheless it always seemed to me that the goal of (some) make up artists in Indonesia is to make me look whiter instead of enhancing my true skin color.

When I went to a cosmetic counter, they usually would feel a bit sorry for me because I'm not white. They would then try to find colors that made my skin looked white or recommends a bunch of whitening products. Hahahaha. No wonder it took me longer to actually embrace my skin color :-|.

Well, I embrace it now, and next (I think) I will start with foundations.

This is me. As you can see, my skin color is neither light nor dark. I think my skin is somewhere in the middle, closer to dark with yellowish undertone. I am a newbie for makeup and I love following makeup tutorial from youtube and such.

I started this blog because I find it harder for me to find a good review for my skin color. Mostly when people do some swatches for a certain color, it will turn out completely different on my skin :P. So I think I'll blog my experience and I hope some other people will find it useful too :).

FYI, I'm an Indonesian who lived in Berlin. It does make it a bit more complicated but it doesn't mean it's easier to find the right shade in Indonesia (I'll show you why in the next posts ;-) ).