Backstage Photos c/o Mac Cosmetics

Tuesday was an exciting day for me as I went along to a Mac Spring-Summer '14 trends presentation. It was set inside a yet to be refurbished loft-style space in the Britomart precinct, think brick walls and high ceilings. Nicole Thompson, Australia's senior artist, talked us through all the trends from New York and London's fashion weeks and then showed us how we can incorporate those into our own makeup looks. We also got to play with the products (see below) and were given a mammoth book on the trends themselves**. I also had a bit of a fangirl moment when I got to meet+chat with Leonie of The Style Insider as I love her blog. Can you tell that I enjoyed myself?

Anyway, today I thought I'd share some of Nicole's beauty tips and tricks as well as key products from the SS14 beauty looks. I'll be posting reviews of all the products mentioned at some stage so do keep an eye out for that.

Beauty Tips and Tricks from Nicole T

-Use a foundation like Face and Body a couple of shades darker than normal to tint the skin. You'll be left looking gorgeous and sunkissed. I've not used Face and Body foundation before but it often gets mentioned at Mac makeup presentations so it's got to be good, right?

-Do you have bright lipsticks that you tell yourself are for fancy dress only? *raises hand* Apply them to your cheekbones and then gently pat them in with your fingers. Hello gorgeous cheek stains.

-Use a fine glitter like the Mac Reflects Glitter to subtly add shine to the face or eyes. I sometimes apply this along my collarbones as well and it looks so pretty.

-Another lipstick tip-Do colours like Candy Yum Yum or Ruby Woo scare you with their brightness? Swipe the colour onto your hand and then pat it into the lips for a subtler colour. Nicole also recommended using a brush like the #242 brush as opposed to a lip brush. Sometimes lip brushes can be quite small and flimsy. This brush is a better size for precise lip work.

-Not so much a trick but another thing I noted. This season it is all about the lashes, especially sixties-style lashes and feathery brown-black ones. Use a mascara like False Lash or Haute & Naughty to lengthen and add volume, then apply the #33 lashes over the top. I'm a bit terrified of false lashes if I'm honest, but we all got to look at the #33 lashes on Tuesday and they are so pretty. They basically look like those individual lashes grouped together. Very subtle.

Key Products

-Strobe Cream: Again this is one of those products that I know Mac artists all seem to love as it often gets mentioned at presentations. You can use this as a moisturiser, highlighter and again along the collarbones to add a gorgeous sheen as opposed to the sweaty look.

-Blacktrack Fluidline: A gel liner that again is often mentioned. Some people swear by this liner. I know the Pixiwoo girls use it a lot in their videos so I am looking forward to trying it out.

-Carbon Eyeshadow: A matte black used to subtly line the eyes. Smudge this with a brush like the #239 for a smokier look.

-Haute and Naughty Mascara.

-Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Groundwork: The perfect eyeshadow base. This is what Lorde was wearing on her lids Monday at the Grammy's too.

-Eye Kohl in Fascinating: This was used to really subtly line the eyes at shows, further enhancing the whole 'no makeup' makeup looks.

-Sheertone blush in Peaches.

*Pictured PR Samples and Press Event. Note: I did not write this post because anyone forced me to. I wrote it because I genuinely love Mac products and enjoyed this event-I've told everyone about it this week basically. 

**I've now taken to dubbing this book 'The Book' a la The Devil Wears Prada. I hope somebody gets that reference.