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How To Spot Fake MAC Cosmetics On eBay

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My new video shows you what to look for when shopping for MAC Cosmetics on eBay. There are thousands of counterfeit M.A.C. Cosmetics in the world, and the internet makes it that much easier to dupe people into thinking it’s the real thing. In my video, I cover brushes, eye shadow palettes, and the Hello Kitty collection. I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I now know that there’s no better deal than buying MAC from real MAC counters, real MAC stores and the MAC website. They are extremely reasonably priced, and the US sells it for less than any other country in the world. This tutorial is meant for those of you who seek out those discontinued or limited edition products that are no longer available. A tip for brushes: JUST DON’T DO IT. The video explains why…

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Looking Greasy in the Club?

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 In the 6 or so years I’ve maintained social networking profiles, I noticed a horrible epidemic plaguing a lot of young women:  pictures of them in night clubs were REALLY bad. Their heads were whiter than their bodies and their faces were greasy looking. Camera flash is not very generous to our features, but super generous to our flaws. All these pretty girls were looking deathly ill.

I didn’t go to school for makeup artistry, so everything I know is basically through trial and error. Here are some things I’ve learned about flash photography:

DO contour appropriately
DO use a foundation and powder a couple shades darker than your skin tone, or cover your neck and shoulders with your normal foundation
DO use matte finish foundations, concealers and powders. This includes blush. Eye makeup isn’t as important to be matte, but it does make a more beautiful picture.

DON’T use shimmery finishes on your face. This will make you look greasy and gross.
DON’T use foundations or concealers with pink undertones. This will make you look pale or ashy.

Here is the difference between a do and a don’t:
DO
I used a matte finish foundation, concealer, powder and blush.
A light colored lip gloss with no shimmer and minimal glitter will accentuate you natural lip color.
On my eyes is just a black crayon that I blended upwards. I didn’t use a highlighter.
When you contour correctly, there’s no need to highlight.
DON’T
I used my normal radiant finish foundation with a satin finish concealer.
I used a shimmery loose powder followed by a sheer coral blush and shimmery highlighter on my cheekbones.
You can see that I look really greasy and my face is lighter than my neck. This makeup is beautiful in person, but doesn’t translate well in flash photography. 
Here’s what it looks like without flash:
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Marissa’s Pick of the Week – Tapered Shadow Brush

The Tapered Eye Shadow Brush is my favorite eye shadow brush ever! In fact, I love it so much, I have 4 of them- 2 for me, and 2 for my artist box. I only own Lancome’s Blending Brush #17 ($27.50), but other lines carry similar brushes. This brush gives the perfect shape on your outer corner and crease everytime. I also use it to apply shadow all over, and to flawlessly blend colors together. Another great use for this brush is settling your under eye concealer with a loose powder. Holding the brush vertically, roll it across under your eyes with just a little bit of powder. To see the use of this brush in action, view my last video tutorial.