MAC's summer to fall makeup trends

With the change of seasons from summer to fall coming upon us, there also comes a change in certain fruits and vegetables, the talk of football, PSLs and wardrobe and makeup modifications. Although the rest of the country is feeling the crispness in the air and have already posted pictures of apple picking on Instagram, we in Miami can only dream of wearing boots and scarves, and practically hold out till February when it’s “cold” enough to not break out sweating.

Sure our seasons can feel like a continuous loop of summers, so to break the funk, we headed to MAC Pro on Lincoln Road for some makeup tips to get us in the fall mood as we transition ever so slightly from summer to fall.

Truth be told, I don’t even know the best way to apply makeup in the first place, so we enlisted the help of Josh Ribadeo, the regional media artist for MAC Cosmetics at MAC Pro on Lincoln Road.

There were various trends on the runway during fashion week for the summer, but the natural look was very much in. I wanted to continue that summer look while we’re in between seasons with just a few adjustments for the fall. It’s really unreasonable for anyone to have a million products on a miniscule budget. The truth hurts, but your bank account won’t!

To get started, Ribadeo prepped my skin with moisturizer, foundation and concealer (for those under eye bags that show up after late nights in the office), and provided some of his tips along the way.

So first off, let’s address my fashion faux pas: I thought foundation and concealer are the same thing. Oh you knew that already? Apparently I’m late to the game. “Foundation tends to be exactly at the foundation of your skin. It will give you the most coverage with a very smooth effect on the skin typically,” Ribadeo said. “Concealers pact that extra punch of coverage under your eyes or if any acne spots were to come out, dark spots on the skin, concealers are what usually correct that.”

Good to know!

Then as a bronzer, Ribadeo uses the Mineralize SkinFinish Powder in “Give Me Sun” and gave me a summer glow by sweeping the product on the areas that naturally catch the sun, no kissy face required. “What you wanna do is focus right above the cheek bone, above the temple of the forehead, the bridge of the nose and the center of the chin,” he said.

One huge tip he recommended is to brush some of that bronzer on the neck, just to maintain the natural looking color.

Now, on to the good, pretty stuff. We used products from the “Good Luck Trolls” collection, like the eye shadow and lipstick for our summer look.

There were several lipsticks that caught my eye, but thankfully my mom knew about the Back-To-MAC program and gave me some insight. MAC’s loyalty free program, encompasses the Back-To-Mac, where you can bring in six finished product containers and you get to go home with one free lipstick, eye shadow or lip gloss. So if you can’t decide between a juicy red and a satin nude lipstick, you no longer have to choose!

So for the summer look, Ribadeo packed the pinky eye shadow on the center of the eyelids to catch the glimmering highlight before sweeping on waterproof mascara. Waterproof mascara isn’t a product I necessarily use on a daily basis, but if I’m ever heading to the beach or the pool, waterproof mascara is in my bag, right next to the sunscreen.

To get every single lash, Ribadeo came up with a solution. “When you’re looking straight into a mirror, if you’re working on your inner corner lashes, turn your head the opposite way so you work inside,” he said. “When you’re working on the outer corner lashes, turn your head the opposite way and coat those. That’s a good tip if you want that fanned out, really pretty lash.”

And to finish off the summer look, we applied “Sushi Kiss” from the Trolls collection that gave me a twisted fruit punch color to my lips. “I think it adds a nice touch with a bronze, glowing makeup application,” Ribeadeo said. “It’s also really creamy, so it’ll keep your lips hydrated throughout the day.”

A lipstick that can replace my chapstick? It’s the perfect concept.

Now with just a few adjustments, Ribadeo showed me how to turn this summer bronze look to a warm fall one with a few simple steps.

After blotting off “Sushi Kiss,” we applied MAC’s Retro Matte Liquid Lipsticks in a red shade that completely turns matte. Ribadeo assured me that generally speaking, the lipstick will last through a meal, and messy eaters around the world let out a big sigh of relief.

If you mess up while applying liquid lipstick, Ribadeo has just the trick. “All you need to do is get a little bit of moisturizer and a simple Q-Tip, roll off the edge there and then run that Q-Tip along the perimeter of the lip and it will quickly clean up any mistakes,” he said.

It surprisingly worked much better than scrubbing my skin off with tissue paper.

I happen to have dry skin, so using the moisturizer to get rid of any mistakes is just a bonus. The great thing is that MAC carries most of their primers and skin care line in a mini version for $10, so it’s just another cost effective way to manage not spending it all in one place.

And with the final strokes of the liquid lipstick, voila! The transitioning look is complete… now I just have to do it myself. Thank God I have all of fall to figure it out!