Back to MAC Treats

Hello from Niagara Falls!

I'm currently away in a little getaway to the gorgeous Niagara Falls, Ontario but because I didn't want to leave my blog post-less while I'm gone, I prepared one beforehand so here it is :)

Here are some goodies we accumulated  from our back to MAC trip the other day! My sister had 12 containers (which she actually brought from Turkey as MAC there sadly doesn't have this program!) and I had only 6, I could have waited but meh. I got rid off them anyway since I'm skipping the upcoming  Quite Cute collection and ok I just needed to pick up something, it was one of those days! I'm sure a lot of you can relate :)

 

I had been wanting yet another all-over-the-lid type of color and Orb did it for me. Grain will always be my favorite all over color but sometimes you just want variety, nothing wrong with that! Orb can also be used as a subtle highlight color. MAC describes Orb as soft peachy-beige, it's in Satin finish. While browsing through the colors, I thought I'd check off a color from my long make-up-to-buy list and that color is none other than the gorgeous Sumptuous Olive! :) Sumptuous Olive is khaki with pearl and it's in Veluxe Pearl finish.

Orb & Sumptuous Olive

Since I had just run out of my beloved MSF Natural, I had to pick up another one, nothing too exciting here.

My sister also purchased Orb. She uses it all over her lid and finishes off the look with a simple winged out liner, Orb is now part of her daily routine. She back to MAC-ed for Girl About Town lipstick and also purchased a lip liner in Magenta.

 L-R: Orb, Sumptuous Olive, Girl About Town, Magenta

Have you back to MAC-ed anything lately? If not, when it's time what are you planning to get?

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week! ♥

Shadow Addiction

I love when it's time to back 2 MAC! I did some major depotting last week and as a result I had too many empty containers that were causing clutter so off to MAC I went! Okay I kind of lied, I just had the sudden urge to own two more eye shadows...for free...so I depotted away!

I don't know about you guys but I have an unnecessarily long list of products I want, neatly and alphabetically organized in Notes app in my iPhone. (Addiction at its best!) In case you didn't already know, I specialize in eye shadows, so I rarely get anything but when I back 2 MAC. Several weeks ago I put an asterisk next to Mythology after seeing swatches of it online. So I thought I'd be loyal to the little * in stead of getting something that's not in my list. 

 Mythology is a peachy-copper in Lustre finish. Lustre isn't my favorite finish (because Satin is) but I adore this color and its versatility. You can wear it all over the lid or on crease, day or night. In my photo above I have compared Mythology to MAC Coppering (on right) which is what comes to most people's minds when 'copper' is mentioned. Coppering is more orange/reddish-copper, it's a true copper in my opinion.

I, however, ended up picking the next product randomly...and that is Wedge. I can't believe I already didn't own Wedge (or had it on my list for that matter) why oh why?? I had been missing out on the best blending color in the world all this time! I'm glad we're finally united!

Wedge is a matte, taupe-y/beige. I'm not crazy about matte finish either, as I've always had difficulty blending colors in this finish. For some reason Wedge seems to apply and blend much much easier than other matte shades I own. Regardless, it does a fantastic job blending many different colors. I know, Wedge looks like what I would call a "blah" color but blending is the key to flawless eye-shadow application no matter what color you're using! It's not one of those fun colors but it sure is a staple. I've been using it religiously since I purchased it last week. I can definitely see myself hitting pan on this soon, of course after Print and Grain :)

What do you usually get for back 2 MAC, a mix of things or do you stick to only one type of product like I do? 

P.S. My blog is officially a year old! I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who read my blog and for your wonderful comments! It's such a great feeling to know there are so many people who care about what I have to say. Thank you guys so much! :)

October Favorites

Happy November everyone!

I love November because it's filled with some of my favorite events such as my hubby's birthday and Thanksgiving! :) Now on to my October favorites...

MAC Texture

Texture is very versatile because you can use it in many different ways/looks. It's great as an all over the lid color with a darker crease (such as MAC Print) and as crease color with more neutral lid (like MAC's Grain, Femme-Fi etc) or you can also use it as part of a smokey look with Print/Carbon all over lid and Texture on crease. I am using it more as a crease color with neutral eye though.

Milani Liquif'eye Eyeliner in Brown

As you may already know, I am in love with these eyeliners. They are amazing in every aspect! But because I'm just not doing much black eyeliner these days, I have been using my brown one and love it just as much as the black one! You can read my review about Milani Liquif'eye Eyeliner in Black by clicking here.

MAC Shy Girl

Shy Girl is one of my favorite everyday lipsticks. It's a coral-y beige color in Cremesheen finish which I just love! With Cremesheen formula, you really don't need a lipgloss over your lipstick. It goes with pretty much almost all my looks I'm wearing these days so I've been using it quite a bit!

Clockwise - Texture, Shy Girl, Milani Brown Eyeliner, Brow Duality Matte Side

Anastasia Brow Duality Highlighter & Clear Brow Gel

I am putting these two together because I always use them in conjunction. I try to keep my brows as groomed as possible at all times. I never really used to use brow gel or highlight during the day and would keep them limited to special occasions for some reason. But for the past month or so, I've been using these two products everyday. I love that the Brow Gel keeps my eyebrows in place as I have crazy, untamed brows. I also really love that this gel doesn't flake once dried as I did have bad experiences with other brow gels in past. I am not really using the shimmer side of the highlighter unless for nighttime looks. Matte side is great for everyday use and does a great job highlighting right under the brow. I use a bit of it above my brows too. That way they look super clean and defined.

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub

This is the newest product in this post but it's quickly become one of my favorites. With the weather getting cooler, my lips are starting to become drier and more chapped. Thanks to this amazing lip scrub by Lush that I don't have to embarrass myself in public walking around with cracked lips. It does a very good job removing the dead skin from my lips and leaves them super smooth and moisturized. That way I can wear any kind of lipstick I want, no more fear of matte lipsticks yippee!

Narciso Rodriguez For Her

I've had For Her for a while and used it for a while. Then it got old and was put in the back burner. This perfume reminds me a bit of fall/winter/holidays as it has that spiciness to it so now that we're in that season bracket I am back to using it again! I can definitely pick up musk, woods and amber in it. It's not one of those light perfumes that vanishes 15 minutes after you spray it at all. In fact, I would say it's pretty heavy, it's almost in the same category as Calvin Klein's Euphoria (which I heart).Very sensual, seductive and sexy!

What were your favorite products in October?

Mini MAC Haulage + My Blooming Lovely Trick

Hey girls!!!

I have recently been to MAC because I had some empty containers for back 2 MAC and here is what I got in return. I also picked up 2 other eye-shadows. I couldn't help it, they were staring at me! :)

Texture 

Peachy Brown with shimmer

(Velvet) 

Texture just kept popping up everywhere I looked and now I understand why. It's gorgeous! I've seen it mostly used on crease but I'm sure it'll be just as beautiful as a lid color. 

Scene 

Muted blue-gray 

(Satin)

I can't believe I've never SCENE this! What I love about this color is that it's not blue and it's not gray but a mixture of the two. I guess it's safe to call it slate gray. This shade is great if you are a bit intimidated by color but still want to wear it. I think it's pretty versatile and can easily be worn during day-time without looking overdone.

Seedy Pearl

Chilled lavender pink

(Frost)

The color is a mix between pale pink and lavender duo-chrome. It has an iridescence to it and can be used as a highlight on cheeks as well. When applied on eyelid, the color turns into more of a pale metallic pink It's a pretty unusual shade, definitely don't have any dupes for this. I am curious to see how it'll work into the looks I'll do..

Fulfilled Plushglass 

Full-blush Creamy Pink

I definitely did not plan to walk out with Fulfilled in my bag. In fact this is my first plushglass ever. As I was checking out at the register, the make-up artist's blush caught my eye so I asked her. She said it was Prim and Proper from the Liberty of London collection. (She also has porcelain-like skin and looks like a doll so that's probably why it looks perfect on her :)) I told her I was such an idiot for not purchasing that blush and that in stead I got Blooming Lovely and now I have no idea how to make it work for me. So another make-up artist suggested Fulfilled. I asked him to put some Snob on my lips (which I think is the closest permanent color to Blooming Lovely) and apply Fulfilled on top. It was just amazing! If you're having issues with your Blooming Lovely and don't want to toss it, try applying it with a very light hand (and if possible with a lip brush so it's easier to adjust the amount of color that goes on your lips) that way there is some color but it's not "hey I just spent an hour in the freezer" kind of color. Then try Fulfilled on top or a similar sheer gloss. I think the pink in this lip gloss overpowers the blue undertones of Blooming Lovely thus creating a softer and more wearable shade. I'm so glad I got this! Don't get me wrong, if Blooming Lovely works for you or I should say if you can make it work then I'm happy for you and I envy you :) Mauve just looks horrible with my skin tone. I don't know what I was thinking, could it have been the cocktails at the preview?!

*Color descriptions are taken from www.maccosmetics.com

End of my Back to MAC Collection + what I got in return!

My back to MAC collection was rapidly growing and honestly those empty containers just sitting in a bag were causing me to lose sleep because I was constantly thinking what lipsticks I will get once I turn them in! So today I decided to get rid off them and went to MAC. The MUA there told me, while this varied from store to store, at this particular MAC they were actually offering either lipstick, lipgloss OR an eyeshadow for every 6 containers you bring in. They didn't care about the whole metal pan in or out dilemma, which was great. (If you're in Chicago then it's the MAC on Armitage :)) 

I went there with 3 lipsticks in mind and was going to get Vegas Volt, Lovelorn and Creme D'nude, buuuuut when I heard I can get an eyeshadow, I gave up on the lipsticks except for one and that is....VEGAS VOLT! I absolutely love it, it's the perfect color for spring/summer though I don't really care too much about the whole color/season combo. I also wear bright pink nail-polishes during winter. So I ended up getting two eye-shadows and they are: Rose & Club. Though I have heard of Club before, I can't say the same for Rose. While I like this Rose color, I am sort of skeptical about it because if you google it, this color doesn't come up but more importantly it's nowhere to be found on MAC (Pro) website. I thought it may be a Pro color, but nope. So this got me thinking the color may be old or something. Another detail I noticed was that on the bottom of the container there is no specification for the finish (ie: satin, matte etc.) Am I crazy for thinking this way? I'm seriously thinking about taking this back and getting another color. What do you guys think?