Blush Comparison: MAC Warm Soul & NARS Madly Swatches

As the cooler weather starts, I like to branch out from my bright coral and peach blushes and venture more into the warmer bronzy-peach tones. Recently, I picked up MAC Warm Soul and NARS Madly. I read that these two are very similar and some of the blog posts that I like reading the most are swatch comparisons. I am guilty of buying products that are basically the same, just because I feel like I need to have them. These blushes retail for $27.50 CAD for the MAC and $29 CAD for the NARS.

MAC Glitter and Ice Haul Morning Frost Paint Pot

MAC Glitter and Ice Holiday Collection came out recently. I really liked the theme of this one, it has an icy Snow Bunny type of feel to it. This collection had a bunch of new items, including paint pots, beauty powders, lipsticks, new brush kits, etc. I only items that I was interested in were the paint pots. I love paint paints and had my eye on "Morning Frost" from the promotional pictures. I didn't buy this online, like I normally do with MAC collections because I wanted to swatch it in person because I was worried it might be glittery and fallouty like the Cham Pale paint pots. But I was pleasantly surprised.

The packaging for this collection is really cute, all the items come in shiny silver boxes (like Christmas!) and white lids. This paint pot will stand out amongst all my black lids. (Colour on nail is Sally Hansan's Instant Dri in Bronze Albaze nice colour and goes well with this product).

Review: MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder

Studio Careblend powder is a newish powder from MAC. Powders are typically meant to mattify the skin, aid in oil control and used for touchup, but the Careblend Powders have ingredients that are actually meant to hydrate the skin. A powder that hydrates the skin? that is crazy to me, I had to try this out. It's described on the MAC website as being a "cream-like powder that offers a virtually invisible, fresh-looking finish." They feel really smooth and comfortable on the skin, which I love. I normally don't use pressed powders because my skin is quite dry, but in the summer and in the heat it's nice to touch up with one. I've been using this powder to set my liquid foundation.

MAC Lipstick Collection and Swatches

 

I am not really a lipstick or lip product kind of girl, so it's crazy that I somehow accumulated 12 MAC lipsticks. I swear half of these are from the Back 2 Mac program. I think they look pretty on, but not really practical for everyday wear because they come off so easily and I hate the feel of stuff on my lips. I find that I mostly buy MAC lipsticks when they come out in limited edition collections, and I especially like when they come in cute packaging (like the To The Beach and Liberty of London ones that I have). From my collection, I believe only 4 are from the regular line.  I love MAC lipsticks for their cute packaging, they look like a bullet and their great smell, I can't get enough of that vanilla smell, that makes them great alone.

MAC Blush Collection and Swatches

Today I will share with you my MAC blush collection. I love MAC blushes because they come in a wide variety of shades (although most of mine are peach) and they have good pigmentation. I have depotted all of mine except for the limited edition and mineralized ones. I will talk about them briefly here and show you swatches.

MAC Foundations Overview

When I first got into wearing liquid foundation years back, MAC was my favourite. I find their staff very useful in helping to find the right shade for you, it's definitely daunting at first to understand the NC and NW system, which is backwards from most makeup brands. I would suggest going to a MAC counter and being colour matched. I am quite pale and wear NC15 in most of their foundations, it's a great match for those who are more yellow toned, or want to offset the pinkish tones in their skin (like me). However, as I started experimenting with other brands of makeup, I began to ignore my MAC foundations, as they started to feel too cakey and thick for my liking. I do feel that MAC makes great foundations but definitely not a foundation for everyday use.

This a general overview of some of MAC's liquid foundations. For the purpose of this review, I will only focus on their liquid foundations. I won't go into much indepth detail here, but if you would like a more detailed review on specific ones please let me know. Foundation is definitely very personal and what may work for me, may not work for you, I tried to not get too personal here.

Review: MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC's "Surf Baby" collection launched finally, I think officially at MAC counters and stores today. I say finally because the UK got this before North America and I was going crazy not being able to buy this while youtubers were posting videos of all their hauls. The only item that I wanted from this collection was the "My Paradise" cheek powder and I got it here. I can't say this enough lately but I love orangey/peach blushes and MAC knows how to drive me crazy with them, first it was Ripe Peach (missed out on it), Marine Life (my order got cancelled it sold out) and now this, it seems like every summer there is a blush similar in colour.

Review: MAC Magically Cool Liquid Powder

I bought the new MAC Magically Cool Liquid Powder on the morning that it launched on the MAC website, I was super excited about this product because I missed out on it when it first appeared in the Venomous Villains collection. Since I have dry skin, anything hydrating or cooling is high on my list. This product is a really neat concept, it's a loose powder, but when applied on the skin it has a "wet" or "cooling" sensation because of the high water content in the product. Other brands have some this before, including Presciptives, Revlon and Almay (which I will discuss below). I had some time to try this out this weekend and I can give an initial review here. Please note, to really "see" the sparkles in this product, please click on the images to enlarge the image.

Review: MAC Ever Hip Vs MAC Jazzed Lipstick

MAC's Ever Hip lipstick is available now in the new Fashion Flower collection, it's a re-promote from the "Liberty of London" collection. I missed out on it the first time, so I made sure I picked it up this time. However, the entire time I was debating whether or not to get it, I was wondering how similar it was to MAC Jazzed, which I already own, so this will much be a comparison post of the two.

Review: MAC Paint Pots Swatches and Review

Today I will share with you my small MAC paint pots collection. If you aren't familiar with paint pots, MAC describes them on their website as "A highly pigmented eye colour that goes on creamy but dries to an intense, vibrant finish. Long-wearing, colourfast. Creates seamless coverage without weight or caking. Blends smoothly over the lids. Cream-based, can be mixed with M·A·C shadows and liners." Personally, I use these as either a base for my eyeshadow (primer so to speak) or on their own as eyeshadow. They help shadows look more vibrant, which is great.

Monthly Faves: March 2011

I'd say I am excited for April to finally be here, because it means spring is almost here, but in Canada that is far from the case, February-May is basically all rain and miserable weather where I live. On a positive turn, I found several new products that I loved in the month of March. I find that monthly faves generally tend to be "new" products for me, I don't know if that's the case with most people, but most reached favourite type products do not change too much, but since I buy new products all the time, it means these are all new pickups.

Review: MAC Viva Glam Gaga 2

MAC recently came out with a new Viva Glam Gaga lipstick, this one is an amplified creme and very different than the last baby pink one. I bought this lipstick completely blindly, I did not swatch it in the store, but based on the swatches and descriptions that I saw online, I thought it would be a shade that I would enjoy. Plus, 100% of sales of VIVA Glam products go towards the MAC Aids fund so either way, it goes to a good cause.

Review: MAC Something Special Cremeblend Blush

MAC's new Cremeblend Blushes have launched on the MAC website and are available in-stores tomorrow, Thursday. I jumped on the chance to get these early because I missed out on the Lillyland collection and have never tried any creme blushes from MAC until now. A few of the colours appealed to me, but I decided to only get "Something Special" for now, I love peach blushes and some of the others looked really dark and scary to me. "So Sweet, So Easy" the bright pink one looks nice too, I am going to check that one out at the counter first. It will be interesting to see how Posey and Ladyblush compare because everyone loves those ones the most.

Sephora, MAC, Drugstore Haul

So my apartment complex was doing some work on the electricity today, so there would be no heat/power/light from 10am-6pm, and after showering in the dark, I decided it was a good day to go shopping!

I stopped by Sephora to pick up my free Beauty Insider birthday gift (my birthday is March 9), this year it's the Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake Shampoo, Shower Gel and Bubble Bath. It's a nice freebie, big 180ml bottle, there is no purchase necessary to get this, just tell the cashier that it's your birthday and you'll get it (if you are a Beauty Insider). Last year's gift I didn't even bother getting, it was a Sephora brand eyeliner, eyeshadow set.

My main mission at Sephora was to get my first NARS blush, but upon looking at the section noticed they did not have Gina (the blush I wanted), not even a spot for it. Luster was a nice peach too, but too shimmery and Taj Mahal, which everyone raves about didn't have a spot either. I spoke to one of the girls there and they hadn't heard of the colours and told me they must have been US only blushes.. great, don't you love when that happens? You have your heart set on something and you can't get it. I dislike shopping at Sephora online too because paying $10 extra to get something (shipping cost) when I should be able to get it in the store is just irritating, I'll probably end up buying those blushes elsewhere.

While I was waiting in line to pay I also noticed this cute Benefit set, it comes with 3x 4ml bottles of Posie tint, High beam and Benetint for $18 CAD, it's available online too. I've wanted to try High beam for a while and the full size is like $30 CAD and frankly, I would never go through the entire thing, and the High beam To Go is like $12 so for $6 more you can get 3 minis, which are really cute and practical. Let me know if you've used any of these three and how you like them.

I also got another Benefit Creaseless Creme Shadow/liner, this time in Birthday Suit, it's described as a "brushed chrome" to me it looks a bit taupey or brown, not really sure what colour it is yet. This was one of those spur of the moment purchases, I probably shouldn't have bought it.. got home and regretted it, I might return it. I have that problem with Sephora, I always buy too much.

I was pleased to see that my MAC store had Lady Gaga 2 lipstick in stock still, the picture of it looks peachy, but it's a light brown/nude lipstick. I grabbed that and also Back to MAC'ed 6 empties for MAC Hue lipstick, which I have wanted for a long time too.

Then at the drugstore I picked up the Physicians Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascra, the packaging on this is really cool, it's like a green leaf shape. I find Physicians Formula to be really expensive for drugstore, and despite all the rebates they offer, you're still spending a lot of money, that's why I opted not to get those heart powders that everyone has been getting, too expensive for me, I'd rather spend that on other things. This mascara was 40% off and ended up being $10 after discount and it comes with a full price rebate, meaning you send in and get the entire amount you paid for it back.

I also picked up Revlon's Coral Reef Super Lustrous which I finally found, couldn't get it for the longest time, it's always sold out, it was $6.99. And I picked up some Garnier face wipes, the cheapest "nice brand" I could find, they were $7.99.

If you want reviews of anything, let me know, I am definitely planning to do a full review on the Lady Gaga lipstick and the Benefit set.

Updated MAC Eyeshadow Collection and Swatches

My MAC eyeshadows are my favourite part of my makeup collection, I love looking at the pretty colours and use them regularly. I love how you can customize your palette, no one else's is the same and it's fun collecting them. I am a fan of neutrals, so that's mostly what you will see here, I have very few "colourful" shades, since I don't wear them and prefer to spend my money on everyday shades. I did a MAC eyeshadow collection post about a year ago, and it's come a long way since then, so I thought I would do an update. I have acquired these from MAC purchases (obviously), blog sales, makeup/discounted etailers such as allcosmeticswholesale and bridgette's boutique and the many were purchased "free" on Amazon from Swagbucks. I redeem my Swagbucks for amazon.com gift cards on a regular basis and have one seller in particular that I purchase from again and again, with shipping it ends up being a bit more than retail, but since they are "free" I have no issue with that at all. I always buy pots, and then take them back to MAC once I have 6 and get a free one.

MAC Viva Glam Gaga II

The new VIVA Glam Gaga lipstick and lipglass just went live on the MAC Cosmetics website. The new lipstick is described as "a light warm beige with an Amplified finish" and the matching lipglass "seductively pale milky-beige". As with all VIVA Glam products, all proceeds go to help those fighting with HIV/AIDS. Enter the code "GAGA" for free shipping until February 20, 2011.

I think these colours are very wearable, more than the milky pink that the last one was. I am planning on picking this up, and am tempted to order it now, seeing how hard Viva Glam Gaga 1 was to get track of. This is a limited edition product and will replace the 1st lipstick from her.

Click here to check it out on MAC's website.

Are you getting this?

Monthly Faves: January 2011

I bring you my January faves on a plate, I am always looking for pretty backgrounds to make my pictures look nice, today I was lazy and just put it all on a plate. These are my most grabbed for, favorite products of the first month of 2011.

1) Smashbox Photo Finish Adjust - This has changed the way my foundation applies! I am so happy with the results. I have read people say this makes them break out/makes them oily, that's actually why I like it (minus the breakouts, I don't get those), but it adds moisture and slip to my skin, helping my foundation glide on and not look patchy. Love this stuff. As for the redness aspect, I like to think it does something, but I really don't think it does. If you know of a redness solutions (tried the clinique foundation) product that you like, please let me know.

2) Garnier Moisture Rescue Freshing Gel - I know you can't see the product much in the picture, but this is the gel version of the cream product. Love this stuff so much, actually I prefer gels in my skincare hands down. Will be buying more of this once it runs out for sure.

3) MAC Painterly Paint Pot - This product has replaced my Urban Decay Primer Potion and any other eye primers I was using. The colour is perfect for my skintone, it evens out the eyelid area and is a nice prep for eyeshadow.

4) Bobbi Brown Corrector (Light Bisque) - This was in my year-end favourites (along with some of these other faves) and continues to be my go-to when I want a really good under-eye concealer, this stuff is thick, but very creamy. I will do a separate full review of it soon.

5) Laura Mercier Moisturizing Foundation - My favourite foundation this month, nice colour match and very good coverage. It may sound weird but my face doesn't feel as cold in the winter when I go outside if I am wearing a thicker, more coverage foundation.

6) MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural (Light) - I went back to this product after a long break, I thought it broke me out, but now I think it doesn't (or it never did to begin with). I don't use it over the Laura Mercier foundation I just mentioned because that one does not need setting, but more over thinner, more liquidy foundations it's great.

7) Wet N Wild eyeshadow palette (Vanity) - The best drugstore neutral eyeshadow palette of the month, I just got this within the last two weeks or so but been using it lots. Click here for full review.

8) Omega 3 Vitamins (not pictured) - I am not sure if this has helped my skin this month, but when I started taking these my skin cleared up a lot. Maybe it's the skincare I've been using too.

What were your favorties for January?

All Cosmetics Wholesale Haul

My order came in from Allcosmeticswholesale today. If you haven't ordered from them they are a great place to get discounted makeup and discontinued items too. I have no affiliation with them, I've just ordered from them myself and love their products. But I will say, shipping is expensive in my opinion, but at least they ship to Canada, which is great. I will show you what I got, reviews on everything are coming up if there is interest. Edit: Recently I had a negative experience with All Cosmetics Wholesale and will not be purchasing with them again, their customer service (or lack of) is terrible and I suggest you avoid them. (November 12/2011)

Smashbox's Photo Finish foundation primer in the Color Correcting version Adjust. This is a green-toned corrector meant to cancel out redness in the face. I love the packaging on this, it has a pump, nice light bottle. Even if the green doesn't do anything, the primer itself is awesome and I've always wanted to try a full bottle of the stuff. Have you tried it? Does it work?

MAC Phloof! eyeshadow, this is a frosted off-white colour. In person to me it looks a little pinky with a kind of blue sheen. I love building up my MAC eyeshadow collection. I ordered Nocturnelle and Signed and Sealed eyeshadow off Amazon.com recently too.

And lastly, Laura Mercier Moisturizing Foundation the colour, Blush Ivory. Very nice frosted glass bottle, great pump, love it. I was hesitant to get this, but ACW only had this shade available and it was only $29 vs paying $42 at Sephora for it, so I grabbed it. I thought it would have pink undertones, but it is surprisingly neutral toned I think and it will hopefully work for me. Is it moisturizing? I would have to say no on first impression, I swatched it and it doesn't seem all that to me (I have dry skin so anything with the word "moisturizing" in the name is a winner for me).

I caught the sunset in Toronto in my picture that is what you are seeing there, I thought it was kind of cool. Have a good weekend everyone!

Drugstore and MAC Shopping Time

I ventured out and bought some beauty products today, drugstore and MAC. I was on a mission to find the new Maybelline Fit Me foundation, people have been asking me on twitter, what I thought of it, but I have no opinion because I haven't tried it! Canadians get stuff late a lot of the time. Although the Shoppers Drug Mart flyer has this foundation... no store actually has it, at least not the 4 that I hit up today! So it will be some waiting for that one I think. I loathe waiting around while everyone else gets to try stuff and rave about it.

The two paint pots that I picked up from Cham Pale were terrible in my opinion and went back, I exchanged one for Bare Study paint pot, which I am much happier with. I know I will like this because I had a sample of it before. This paint pot is shimmery too, but not at all to the extent of Chilled On Ice paint pot and it's much more opaque, should of got what I knew was good in the first place.

While I was paying, the MAC girl handed me an invite for the new collection coming out "Wonder Woman". I got this very elaborate animated ad invite, she told me to RSVP right away if I want to be part of the pre-launch party. I don't know, do you guys like anything from this collection? I thought it looked a bit kiddy.

If you've been following my blog you know that I don't have blue eyes (they are green), but this palette from NYX looked gorgeous so I picked it up. The colours are so buttery and pigmented. They had one for blue/green/blue and a smoky one, but this one stood out the most to me, not crazy about the blues, but the others are pretty.

And lastly, I got the Ganier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Creme. I've had my eye on this for a while, and finally got it. I've been using my small jar of Clinique Moisture Surge and this definitely reminds me of it, same texture. I know lotions are more for dry skin, but I actually prefer gels, they go on really nice and feel great on my skin. This stuff is love love love. Have you tried this product? You should, it's fabulous!

MAC goodies from a friend

I ordered MAC Lavender Whip lipstick from Winnie at "All Styled Up" a few weeks ago, and she was super nice to include some extras in there for me! She hits up the MAC Warehouse sales in Toronto every few months, and I always buy stuff from her. Thank you Winnie for sending these to me! :)

Here is Lavender Whip in all it's glory. It's a cremesheen finish, pastel purple shade. It's totally unique and I love shades like this, although they are more for fun, and definitely not for everyday wear. Plus it was limited edition, so you can't get it anymore.

She also included Roman Holiday Dazzleglass, which is packed full of pretty shimmers that I tried to capture in the picture here. It's like a peach/brown golden colour, really pretty.

Here is a swatch of the two lip products. Lavender Whip is quite opaque and smooth on the lips. Roman Holiday is quite nice too, gotta experiment a bit with this over some of my lipsticks.

She also included Nocturnelle Nail polish in there, which is a black jelly, supposed to be really good. And a MAC pencil sharpener too. :) Thanks again Winnie, if you ever need to unload some MAC items, you know who to contact! :)