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Ask Temptalia Post-Session #025 Wrap-Up

Ask Temptalia Post-Session #025 Wrap-Up

I thought it might be a nice way to finish off a session by pulling out some of the most commonly asked questions from the day and highlighting them here in one post. The sessions can get lengthy, so I can imagine it’s difficult for everyone to follow it!

What is the best blush for my skin tone?

  • NW15-NW20: MAC Peaches, Breath o’ Plum, Well-Dressed; NARS Angelika, Dolce Vita, Sin
  • NC15-NC20: MAC Blushbaby, Dollymix, Margin, Springsheen; NARS Deep Throat, Orgasm, Torrid
  • NW25-NW40: MAC Cubic, Dollymix, Desert Rose, Peaches; NARS Angelika, Deep Throat, Sin
  • NC25-NC40: MAC Ambering Rose, Margin, Springsheen, Sunbasque; NARS Deep Throat, Orgasm, Torrid
  • NW40-NW55: MAC Breezy, Dollymix; NARS Desire, Outlaw, Mata Hari
  • NC40-NC55: MAC Ambering Rose, Breezy, Raizin, Sunbasque; NARS Exhibit A, Taj Mahal, Dolce Vita

You can also check out a series I did called My Recommendation Guide, which is done by skin tone.

How can I combat oily skin?

There are four things I recommend…

What is a good moisturizer with SPF?

Some recommendations from me, but there are so many available that I haven’t tried myself, too…

  • Budget-friendly: Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 45, Cetaphil UVA/UVB Defense Facial Moisturizer SPF 50, Olay Defense Daily UV Moisturizer SPF 30, Aveeno Daily Moisturizer SPF 15
  • High-end: DDF Ultra Lite Moisturizing Dew SPF 15, Shiseido Sun Protection Lotion/Cream SPF 38, Clinique Superdefense SPF 25, Kate Somerville Protect SPF 30 Sunscreen, Lancome UV Expert 20, Boscia Oil-Free Daily Hydration SPF 15

What are some good neutral MAC eyeshadows?

  • Soft Brown, Espresso, Wedge, Mystery, Bronze, Woodwinked, Patina, Ricepaper, Shroom, Vanilla

What are some good bright MAC eyeshadows?

  • Humid, Juxt, Aquadisiac, Electric Eel, Lucky Green, Winkle, Free to Be, Parfait Amour, Stars ‘n Rockets

What eyeshadow should I use for my brows?

  • From light to dark: (all MAC) Omega, Wedge, Cork, Espresso, Brun.

What are must-have MAC brushes?

These would be some basic brushes worth looking into. Depending on how you do your makeup or what is more important to you, these may not all be necessary (e.g. if you don’t line your upper lash line very often, I wouldn’t get the 208 right away).

  • Eyes: 239 (applying), 217 (blending), 224 (crease), 219 (defining), 208 (gel lining), 249 (creams/paint pots)
  • Face: 109 (liquid foundation), 116 (blush), 134 (powder), 188 (creams)

69 Comments

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kcrystal Avatar

This is very in depth! Thanks!
I assume that LM setting powder is the same as her Translucent powder?
I love her TP and it sets makeup flawlessly and beautifully.
Is peaches blush same as Cantaloupe blush btw?

Anyway, great list and I only like a couple of items you mentioned, but i suppose it’s why there are so many products to choose from and what makes the world go round 😛

mary Avatar

hi christine

its strange because im NC but all the blushes that are for NW skin look great on me. i dont like ‘cool toned’ blushes. peaches is pretty much my favorite blush (aside from ripe peach of course).

i also like nars deep throat.

btw i find the 224 a bit scratchy. dont u think the 217 works better for crease?

mary Avatar

i thought NC meant cool toned according to mac? lol i dont understand mac’s system. but yeah, i love peaches. i know its not cool toned. its such a beautiful shade 🙂

mary Avatar

ps can you please please please do a review of mac 131 since its coming out next week and i wanna know if its worth getting. how is it for blush or foundation compared to the mac 187?

Kimberly Avatar

I would love to add that Soba is a great eyeshadow to use for your brows if you are a redhead!! I have used Strut plus Soba and it is the perfect color combo!!

Dini Avatar

This is a great wrap up. It is nice to see a quick summary of common questions, especially the skin-tone specific suggestions, as well as budget friendly vs. high end options for sunscreen. Thanks for all the info!

Kaylynrenee Avatar

I just discovered MAC e/s in Grain recently as a nuetral. It’s perfect for my NW15-20 skin! It’s a lovely satin finish that helps even out my eyelid skin tone while providing a pretty/subtle glow. It’s my new fav!!!

Thanks for the round-up!

wendy Avatar

I’m sorry but I disagree about blushes for lighter skins tones. I’ve tried Sin and Dolce Vita and no way do those look good because they are too dark.

rashmi Avatar

hello dear
first of all congrats for shaun’s first review being super duper hit .. blockbuster amongst all of us here …

this is good round up sweetie … u always have new ideas

christine today i purchased “prim n proper” blush from liberty of london coll . it launched in india today only( i did purchased shell pearl pdr when it launched in usa)
u think i need a backup of blush , i really liked the color n the way it appeared on my skin … or would u suggest any other dupe or better dupe for that blush ???

fari Avatar

I just have to say, I love & appreciate your dedication to your site. It’s quite amazing how you keep this up & are always so helpful when I’m sure you have tons of other things going on in life– I don’t know how you do it. But thanks! I’m definitely bookmarking this article ( hehe. I plan on going hauling next week — some of those blushes are on my list!!)

Connie Avatar

Thanks Christine! This is very helpful guilde, im definitely gonna save this for future reference. Will give Cetaphil spf50 and Smashbox anti-shine a try! =)

Violet Avatar

I agree with a lot of this – I’m NW15ish and my no-brainer blush has been Nars Sin for some time now! I have (and love) pretty much all the eyeshadows on the “good brights” list, too.

One note on the shadows for brows, though — I have naturally mouse-brown hair that I dye black and I like Concrete e/s on my brows. Anything lighter looks weird with the dark hair, and black is too harsh, so Concrete fits the bill nicely for me.

tehreem Avatar

Hey Christine!!

I just wanted to ask…does sunscreen prevent one from getting a tan??
The higher the sunscreen spf the less tan one gets?

Ceriene Avatar

This is fantastically helpful. I’ve seen you answer questions like these over and over, but I never can remember what you recommended after a while. Now I’ve got a reference!

Thanks a lot, Christine. 🙂

Rosanna Avatar

I love reading through the ASK TEMPTALIA posts to learn something new – and I do read ALL of them.

For those who aren’t fans of the glitter in NARS Angelika, NARS Desire is the matte version of the same colour!

Eliza Avatar

Hey Christine, My mum wants a blush brush but she wants me to get it for her & she won’t be able to go down to MAC anytime soon! I can’t decide if i should get the 116 or 129 for her! I personally have the 129, how does the 116 compare to it? Is the 116 much smaller then the 129? Thank you so much! 😀

Nicolle Avatar

I think there is definately a shade of eyeshadow for brows you need to add between Cork & Espresso: Charcoal Brown. Cork is too light for me and Espresso too dark.

Jennifer Avatar

Thank you for the tips

Does anyone have a suggestion on a good brush that I can use to apply my tinted moisturizer? I hate using my fingers or a sponge

Leidy Avatar

Ur teh best! Thanks. Im so excited. Im actually collectinG MAC brushes now. I have the 165, 239, 116, and 217. The next one Im getting is the 188! 🙂

Saira Avatar

I really like this new type of post, Christine, found it really helpful. It’s great to see some of the points from the Q&As summarised so you can have a quick look over the answers. I really liked seeing the answers to the questions on eyeshadows, blushers and brushes :o) .

lizzylizliz Avatar

i have the concealer its the studio finish spf 35 im an nw35 any idea as to what my foundation would be or is it the same?

sana Avatar

hi christine,
thank you for your wonderful site, as a new MAC addict ur site is like THE guide book for me.Please help….im NW 35 in studio tech,black eyes,dark brown hair,indian….i need a 15 e/s palette…im considering humid,stars n rockets,gorg gold…pls help me with neutral browns and pinks.ive sunbasque and margin blush…are they correct choices? i want a very natural pink one..cud u recommend one?
ive so many more questions …bt waiting for ur reply 🙂

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