I decided to check out the Style Warrior collection that just came out so I stopped by my local MAC counter. Sadly, they didn't have testers of vibrant grape or bright future, so I didn't get them. They were completely sold out of bright future and only had a few left of vibrant grape. It looked similar to Simply Natural's wine pigment and it looks like it could be duped from the 88 palette... The yellow was stunning though. A few MAC associates were wearing bright future and vibrant grape and it looked amazing.
I also picked up my second 217 brush cuz I FRIGGIN love it to death! I wanted to have one for my house and one for the boyfriend's house so I wouldn't have to move it back and forth. It's a costly little brush, but so worth it! I think this and the 187 brush are my favorites from MAC. Definitely worth getting one, two... or three ;)
Left to right: Hue, Pretty Please
I B2Med for Pretty Please lipstick. I also got Hue because it's such a great nude pink lipstick. I've been looking for more nude lipsticks lately since all my other ones are not daytime friendly.
I know they don't show up well here, but they are gorgeous subtle colors.
I also pre-ordered the complete brush kit from Sigma Makeup. It comes with 12 brushes for $64 + $7 shipping which comes out to about $6/brush. Good deal, no? They got pretty good reviews and they're comparable to MAC brushes. Even the names of the brushes are the same... So I figured, what the hell, I might as well try them out being the huge brush freak that I am. Plus they aren't even that expensive if you do the math. The only real drawback is that they won't be in stock until July because all the ones in stock for May & June have already been pre-ordered. Oh well, I can wait. Whoop! :)
WTF, Grey's Anatomy season finale ending. SERIOUSLY?! How could they end it like THAAAAAT? Do we really have to wait until the new season starts to find out what happens? BLEH.
ANYWAY,
I made this about a year ago, and I don't know why it never occurred to me to show it off. I got the idea from a Specktra user. It's a cheap, easy, and not to mention eco-friendly way to store your lipsticks. I just cut MAC lipstick boxes in half and taped them together to make a little lipstick rack. I made one for my lipglosses too out of MAC lipgloss boxes. It's really simple and it's easier for me to keep track of my lipsticks without having to dump them in a drawer somewhere.
This is what the bottom looks like--all taped up to make sure it's stays sturdy.
P.S. I want to give a quick shout out to my new followers. Thanks for taking interest in my blog! :)
I wasn't very impressed with the Ungaro, Cremesheen, & Suite Array collections... I finally got to check them all out yesterday. I was saving my trip to the mall for when Ungaro launched which was yesterday. I managed to get two lipsticks. Pure Rose from Ungaro which I'm liking more and more everytime I wear it and Creme d'Nude which I don't like very much. I never try tester lipsticks on cuz I think it's gross even when they offer to clean them... So I usually swatch everything on my hand. Creme d'Nude went on very sheer on the my hand, but it goes on pretty chalky on the lips. Because it's not so incredibly sheer on the lips, it's almost too light... But maybe I can see if I can work with it so I don't have to return it cuz I love nude lippies.
I didn't swatch the two things from Suite Array cuz those are gifts I bought for a friend's birthday. I'm going broke buying 3 birthday presents! Anywho, it's the Sweet Liason duo and the Spare Change pearl glider. Both are beautiful! I personally wouldn't buy pearl gliders for myself cuz my liners usually smudge like crazy unless they're waterproof, but they are very creamy and soft.
I'm debating whether or not to get the eye shadow palette from the Manish Arora collection. I wouldn't get anything else cuz I'd never use it. The palette is the thing I'd use the most... But most of the colors I'm still not so sure I'd use on a daily basis or anything even close to that... I don't have any of the colors in the palette though which is a good thing.
EDIT: I added some more pics of the brushes for comparison. Hope this helps!
I had a really hard time deciding whether or not I should cancel my Colour Forms order. I did actually call them to cancel, but they had already charged my card so my options were to either go pick them up and keep them or go to the store on pick up day and get a refund... I decided to pick them up and play with them to see if I really want to keep them... I got the advanced brush set & Naked to the Core l/s. I have to say that I'm definitely keeping the lipstick! When I pre-ordered them, I didn't swatch them on my lips since I would never let one of the tester lipsticks ever touch my lips so I swatched them on my hand and decided I liked it enough... But I tried my new one on today after I picked it up and I LOVE IT! It's now my HG nude lippie! It doesn't make me look washed out and it has a hint of pink in it. I think it'd make a really nice color for the winter time.
I think I might keep the brush set too... The 187 SE is nowhere near as stiff as the regular 187 that I already have, but it would make a good brush for powders and blushes. When I was washing it, a whole bunch of black dye came out which I thought was disgusting (a good example of why you should always wash your new brushes!) Also, it didn't shed too much. Only 2-3 hairs came out which surprised me a lot since I was expecting it to shed more. The 187 SE's brush hairs also aren't as good quality as the regular brush. You'll notice that on the regular brush, there are long white hairs and shorter black hairs that are separate. The shorter black hairs densely pack the longer white hairs together and that's what makes the brush so stiff. On the 187 SE, there are no longer white hairs and shorter black hairs (except on the outside). The bristles are all the same with the tips being white and the base being black.
The 168 SE is just as good quality as the regular one except it's so much smaller! meaning the handle AND the brush head itself. I prefer the regular sized one for everyday use, but I guess the small one would be good for traveling. I haven't used any of the brushes yet so this is all from feeling their texture, bristles, and stiffness. The 168 SE might be good for small blushes like ELF blushes or sample jars.
The 219 SE is tapered like the regular one, but the SE is not as pointy (meaning not as precise), but it'll still do the job for putting color on the lower lash line and in the crease. It seems like the SE has more brush hairs than the regular which is weird in my opinion... Why waste money on producing a brush with more bristles than the regular one? lol.
I don't own the regular sized brushes of the 275 SE and the 212 SE, but they seem alright. The 275 SE is pretty soft and very very flimsy. The bristles practically bend over when you put pressure on them. It does seem like it'd be very easy to just sweep color across the lid though since it's angled.
I can already tell that the 212 SE is going to be a good brush. It's a flat liner brush and the only liner brushes I've used are angled ones. This one is very stiff (EXTREMELY stiff!) which makes it ideal for putting on eyeliner. It's small and I think that's a good thing since I'll have more control over applying my eyeliner.
I had no intention of keeping this brush set until I washed them lol. Now I'm kinda growing fond of them. I think I just need to kick myself in the behind for hoarding things that I do not need and just want. I also checked out the Electro Flash, Sonic Chic, & New View collections, but surprisingly enough, I didn't like ANY of them! All of them were just way too shimmery for me and I usually like a little bit of shimmer, but those babies were super shimmery! Sucks for the MA that kept trying so hard to push for a sale. I hate when they do that! Why can't they do it when I need them at the right time when I actually want a makeover and actually need help? lol.
I love pretty much all the lipsticks that I bought! I thought I bought Circe, but I guess not since it wasn't on my invoice or the email confirmation that they sent me. Flower is a really pretty color, but I might have trouble showing it some love since it's a very cool toned shimmery pink and I don't think I'd wear it much. Margarita reminds me of Sunflower only not as vibrant which makes it a bit more wearable. All these colors look really intense in the tube, but they actually go on quite sheer which I really like because I don't like lipsticks that are too intense. The color IS buildable though so if you do want a really intense color, these will deliver that as well. My favorites are watermelon, twist, and summer love :)
So I had an interesting conversation with my dad... Lol.
Dad: You've been getting a lot of packages lately. What are you ordering?
Me: Nothing, just some make up
Dad: Make up? At least order some good quality ones. It's better for your face.
Me: (thinking--Dad you have no idea how much this crap costs! LOL)
Dad: Shisheto is good. (I think he meant Shisheido lol!!) So is Nu Skin. (This asian brand I think?) What kind do you buy?
Me: Just some good brands... (I didn't want to tell him for fear of him buying me some from China. He goes there twice a year and I don't want him to buy me any fake MAC stuff or anything lol. and plus i want to be there to pick out my own stuff.)
Dad: Oh, ok.
HAHA! I love my Dad! I've always been a Daddy's girl. My parents divorced like 1 1/2-2 years ago, but I'm so happy that they did. My mom never wanted me as a daughter since she's old school Chinese and has that mentality that the son will take care of her when she gets old, so quite frankly, she always treated me like shit. I was abused when I was younger and she's a gold digger and super selfish. I even have stitches to prove it. I don't mean to sound like a bitch, but that's honestly the way she is. So ever since the divorce, life has been wonderful and my brother, dad, grandparents, and I get along so well and I love them so much. Anyway, back in the olden days in China, families only wanted the boys because when they grew up, they'd stick around, hold the family name, and be able to work in the fields or whatever. People in China STILL only want boys especially in the agricultural areas even though they have the one child law where they can now only have one kid because the population over there is so big. Tons of baby girls are abandoned and dumped in orphanages. Take a look around here in the US. Most asian kids that are adopted are girls from China. Anywho, parents don't want their female kids cuz when they get married, they go off to their husband's family and they can't work as hard. I say it's a load of shit!
Anywho, enough with the serious talk. Onto the swatches! Yeee!
A very frosty and shimmery beige
This looks really dark in the tube, but goes on pretty light. It's a nice nude l/s, but definitely not my HG one.
Shimmery light chocolate brown. This is another one of my favorites :)
Again, the swatch on Cherry Culture is wrong. This is a really pretty dark brown, but may be a little too dark for me.
On Cherry Culture, the swatch of this color is orange and I didn't see that color on my lips... It came out to be more of a caramel brown, but at least it pictured orange... shrug...
I LOVE this color! It's a brown with violet undertones so it has some purple shimmer to it.
I don't know what I was thinking when I chose this color. It's a very dark purplish gray and it looks like it'd belong better in vampire movies or something lol.
Here is the first half of the lipsticks. Bear with me! These are taking longer than expected :(
I LOVE Pandora! But I don't know when I'd ever wear it out. Lol. It's a little bold for the daytime, but it'd be a good night time color and it looks a lot more vibrant in person.
The swatch of Sun Flower on Cherry Culture is COMPLETELY wrong lol. This is one of my favorites actually. It's a light coral red. It's not too bright and bold for the color scared.
Whoo! I got promoted at work today!!! Finally all of my hard work has paid off! And I get to start doing my next research project this summer! I'm not sure what I want to do yet, but my boss has already hinted at what he wants me to do. Anyhow, I'm super excited! We've also just hired a bunch of new interns so I can't wait to get to know them! There's one guy who looks JUST like Clark Kent (you know, Superman!) from Smallville. Anyway, come check out where I work! It's an awesome state of the art green facility and we're going to have an accesible living green roof! We've been remodeling for the past four years and it's finally going to open on September 27th! Click HERE. We're an aquarium, planetarium, and a natural history museum and a research institute.
Anywho, here are some MAC lippies that I wanted to share. Snob is definitely a very cool toned pink and I can't quite pull it off alone. It's super super bright and I usually have to put some gloss over it. It also goes on very matte even though it's a satin... It's not very smooth and creamy, so... don't put this over dry lips lol.
Enjoy! And don't mind my dry lips in the swatches!
Alright, time for dinner. The boyfriend feeds me so well! He can actually cook better than I can... LOL, embarassing!
Personally, I don't see a difference between Sci-Fi-Delity, Modern Ms, and Strawbaby except that Sci-Fi-Delity has gold sparkles in it and Strawbaby has bluish sparkles in it. Pleasureseeker and Soft Pout come pretty close except Soft Pout is a little darker.
L to R: Modern Ms (Barbie), Sci-Fi-Delity, Strawbaby (Fafi), Pleasureseeker, Soft Pout (Stylistics), Fleshpot (Heatherette)
This is an exclusive lipstick for Californians. MAC sends a select random few this postcard and you bring it in to a participating store to redeem a *FREE* LE lipstick. This is only available for people who live in CA and have their information stored in the MAC database.
I've also heard on specktra.net that MAC is only sending them out to customers that haven't bought anything for a while to get them to come back to MAC. I guess that means a lot of us won't be getting one. I'm not sure if this is 100% true. You might want to double check with a MAC representative yourself. I just don't understand why MAC would punish their good customers and reward customers that don't always produce sales. They're basically telling us to stop buying their products for a while--long enough for them to notice and reward us for it. It just seems really unfair. It's also unfair to the rest of the country--I'm not complaining since I live in California, but there are a lot of people that don't.
I'm still hoping that I get a postcard in the mail though :(
Thanks to noahlowryfan at Specktra.net for the photos
So I got my makeover today!! I actually got there really early so I wanted to cancel the appointment and just play around with the makeup, but I guess the MA didn't understand and just bumped up my time slot (or maybe she just wanted to make sure I bought stuff haha) Anyway, I didn't really like my makeover... It's funny because right before the makeover, I was asking her about some recommendations for really light pink blush that wouldn't be orangey on my skin, right? And what do you know, for my makeover she puts Evening Aura (an orangey gold eyeshadow) on me and Spaced Out (an orangey blush) from the new Neo Sci Fi collection... She also put the solar bits on my cheek, but didn't blend them out for some reason. She just tapped some on my cheek lol.
So, some things that I did get from the collection are the Microfine Lip Refinisher, Sci-Fi-Delity l/s, Pleasureseeker l/s, Soft & Slow l/g, and Pink Grapefruit l/g. I also got Pinch o Peach blush, a bulk of MAC wipes, and 3 B2M lipsticks in Sweetie, Frou, and Pervette. Once I got home, I sporadically cut my credit card in half. (?!) I KNOW! I've decided that if I don't have it to use then I won't keep spending... But of course, then along comes my brother and says, "What if you have an emergency and you need it?" And now I regret cutting my card in half a little because that is true... Well I hope I don't get struck with any bad luck for the next... oh, 3 months or so. (And now that I've hoped for it not to happen, it probably will more than ever. Don't you just hate karma?)
Sci-Fi-Delity is a really pretty light red with a hint of gold. It has minimal gold shimmer in it. Not too sparkly for the glitter shy.
Pleasureseeker reminds me a lot of Soft Pout from the Stylistics collection. (Well from memory anyway). It's darker than Fleshpot from Heatherette. It's beige/peachy with a tinnnnny hint of orange.
Soft & Slow is more of a dark plum color. I thought it was more reddish at the store, but it's really not and it doesn't have a lot of sparkle.
Pink Grapefruit is one of my favorites. The MAC description says it's an orange color, but I don't really think it is. It looks like a coral color with gold sparkles. It definitely looks more red in the container though.
Microfine Lip Refinisher--I LOVE, I LOVE! However, I didn't discover this until I got home though. It was alright in the store... For some reason, the tester at the store had all the black stuff from the exfoliator side coming off and it wasn't rubbing into my skin so it looked like I had dirty black specks on...BUT the one I bought doesn't do that at all. It works great too as an exfoliator. My lips always peel a little after my lipstick dries so I put this baby on and it pretty much got rid of the dry skin! Also at the store, I had NO IDEA how to work this, but there's instructions in the box. It says to put it on flat (with both sides on your lips). Then rub your lips with your finger to remove the dead skin and wash with water or damp cloth. Then apply lipstick.
