I have always admired Ms. Monroe and her effortless beauty. She is timeless, like diamonds, and what I love most about her image is the fact that she looked best without makeup. I believe she looked stunning just fresh faced with tousled hair and no jewelry. Oh and some perfume maybe :-)
I know M.A.C events can be over the top so of course I went in semi-costume! Lol! I'm clearly far from a blonde but it was a great excuse to do some Marilyn inspired makeup because I love her signature look: red lips, liquid eyeliner and la-la-lashes!
My hair's too long to sit on my shoulders (like Marilyn) so I went for more of a Veronica Lake look. Partly because I'm not a hair stylist but it's glamour just the same! Lol!
I blew my hair out and set it in pin curls (roll the blown out sections and tuck them under w/pin curl clips) This achieves a "set" look without having to use actual rollers. A little trick I picked up from my friends at Bumble & Bumble (HI Sloane, Michael & Zuleika!!! XO)
It's important to roll the sections up while they're still warm so they can keep the desired form for longer. Also, I spray each section w/hair spray after each section and againwhen they're all rolled up. Today I used CHI Infra Texture dual action hair spray. I love the CHI line of products b/c they smell amazing AND they work SO well! This spray leaves no residue and never gets clumpy. I have a huge bottle of it in my beauty closet at all times. ;-)
I did my hair like 4 hours before the event so it would have time to hold the curl. I'm sure I could've used my huge curling iron but I had the time today to let it sit w/out adding extra direct heat, which isn't that great for the hair...Just saying :-/
*Hair & Makeup*
I went on to do the typical Marilyn/pin up style look. Taupey/Neutral eye shadows, lashes, liquid eyeliner and red lips.
I wanted to shnaz it up a bit so I added some shimmery white loose shadow on my lid ("Purest" by Pinnacle Cosmetics Pinnacle Cosmetics )
I applied NYX black glitter liquid liner over the plain black to add sparkle, defined my brows, added white (Kevyn Aucoin) pencil on my water line, blush and I threw on my favorite faux lashes...demi whispies.
Marilyn's makeup artist, Allan "Whitey" Snyder, was known to mix up to 5 different shades of red liners and lipsticks to get that perfect red lip. I did the same this time & used Cherry lip liner (M.A.C) to line & fill my lips, filled them in with Ruby Woo (M.A.C Matte lipstick) and a top coat of INGLOT Slim Lipstick #44.
I got there a few minutes late (it was from 7-9) and saw a huge line. You'd have thought she was there in person, it was ridiculous! But I wasn't leaving & I got in 15 minutes later. It was packed! Like wall to wall madness.
There was a line to view the collection, there was a line to have your products picked out and there was a line to pay. At one point I turned around to walk away and ended up going in a full circle because there was no place to go! Lol!
I don't know about any of you but this is torture for me. Lol! Oh, and in this small space they also had waiters serving food and drinks...but they were gorgeous so who cares? :-)
The soft sound of Marilyn's music was playing in the background and I felt right at home as I sang along to "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"...because they are!
I finally managed somehow to view what was left of the products. It wasn't even 8:00pm and all the red lipsticks, along w/the champagne eye shadow I wanted (Preferred Blonde), were gone. It was sad but it's all available next week so I know I still have time.
Plus, I have a few friends who work for M.A.C, that always helps in cases like these! :-)
I was not leaving empty handed so I ended up getting a Dazzleglass lip gloss in the shade "Little Rock"...this pays homage to a song in Gentleman Prefer Blondes. There are 2 in this collection (Phiff! is a creamy gloss w/gold flecks and Little Rock the same except it has silvery teeny sparkles)
I wanted Phiff! but by the time I got to the register it was sold out too (I'm telling you it was nuts!) Finally I said, "just give me what you have. I'm a beauty blogger, I need something to write about for tomorrow!"
The guy that was helping me was very cooperative and stood over an almost empty drawer and opened box after box of the remains trying to find something I'd like. What a sweetie!
*Little Rock* Dazzleglass- $21.50
I was a little hesitant because I have a few Dazzleglass glosses and they're nice but I can always feel the glitter in them when I rub my lips together. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the texture is super creamy and I can't feel anything. I LOVE this gloss! I want 2 more, at least! It goes on clear but w/just enough shimmer. I can see myself using this alone (because the shine factor is insane) or over other products as long as I keep the applicator brush clean so it won't change the color. I wish this came in a tube!
The packaging is gorgeous! Everything has Marilyn's picture on it and since she never took a bad shot, she looks beautiful as always. The gloss is in a case that's in the box so when you pull it out and open it, you see a small set of red lips staring at you. Cute! Also, everything has Marilyn's signature so it looks like each item is autographed. Love it!! I got home and immediately pulled my lashes off & wiped away any trace of my red lipstick so I could try my gloss on. I wasn't going to take a full pic but I thought it was good to show the same look would work with red lips or the new gloss.
*Packaging w/kiss inside & gloss*
Ok, so now I've had a chance to see the whole line up close and although the makeup artist in me wanted 2 of everything, I felt like it wasn't much of anything I didn't already have, 2 times over. The blushes are beautiful but I have so many just like them. I actually have duplicates of all 3 lip liners (Beet, Redd and Cherry-which, as I mentioned, I was wearing) The "Forever Marilyn Beauty Powder" was tempting but it was way too light for me. Like, I don't get that light even on the coldest day in winter. It will, however, be huge w/all of the porcelain skin ladies (and gents) out there! I am going to look more carefully when it hits stores next week so I can take my time without a stampede of people behind me but from what I saw, I still want 2 red lipsticks..."Love Goddess" & "Scarlett Ibis", the nail polish called "Flaming Rose" and definitely more Dazzleglass!
Marilyn Monroe is a legend and real beauty. Before she was famous, when she was simply Norma Jean, she was still a gorgeous woman. Like millions of others, I have learned so much by watching her and I'm thrilled to have even a teeny bit of her legacy. I hope you all have fun shopping her collection and please let me know what you think of it!
Keep it Prettie! *Stephanie*
