Latest MACquisitions: Fleur Power Blush & Richer, Lusher Cremesheen Glass (Pics + Swatches)

Hey everyone! It's been a hot minute since I've done a MACquisitions post, haha :) I only got one thing from the Venemous Villains collection -- Strange Potion Lipglass, will swatch next! -- but while I was on Oahu, I picked up some other stuff I'd been lemming for awhile:

Richer, Lusher Cremesheen Glass & Fleur Power blush

Fleur Power is described as a "Soft bright pinkish-coral (Satin)"
It is uuuuber pigmented! This is the most pigmented MAC blush I own so far. A very light swipe packs A LOT of color for me. It is gorgeous though, a great fresh flush color :)

Richer, Lusher is described as "Peach Coral"
It also packs some punch in pigmentation. Not as sheer as I expected it would be! Although I was really excited to get this shade, on its own, it's a bit "bold" for me :P I like to use it to add some color to nude lippies.

L-R: Fleur Power blush, Richer, Lusher Cremesheen Glass

Richer, Lusher Cremesheen Glass

Will do a look w/ the blush soon!

Latest MACquisitions: #239 Eye Shading Brush -- spending over $20 on a brush DOES make a HUGE difference

Hello loves! Another MAC post today. I am on a roll! So, thanks to the Mister, I now own my first MAC brush! Now, I actually have MANY eyeshadow brushes... but nothing expensive and I don't really use them because I find sponge-tip applicators so much easier for packing on the color. When I try with brushes, it just didn't work for me. But I've always had the nagging desire to nab myself a MAC brush since I've heard so many good things about them.

So, I am finally convinced that spending a ridiculous amount on a single brush can be worth it. VERY worth it, in fact. Here is the MAC #239 Eye Shading Brush, $24.50:

Super luxuriously soft white goat hairs.

Flat, slightly domed shape.


Side width:

MAC says:

"Soft and dense to shade or blend eye shadow or emollient-based products. This brush has a tapered, rounded edge with smooth, firm, fine fibres. It can be used to build intense colour on the eyelid. M·A·C professional brushes are hand-sculpted and assembled using the finest quality materials. They feature wood handles and nickel-plated brass ferrules. 17 cm."

This brush is a godsend.

It is a do-it-all brush and has currently replaced my need for sponge-tip applicators and almost all other brushes I've currently been using to do my eye makeup.

I can do my everyday eye look using this single brush:

The MAC #239 Eye Shading brush can...

• Lay down the eyeshadow like no other... easily builds pigmentation
• Picks up even powdery, shimmery shadows and pats them down with no trouble
• Apply a highlight below the brow
• Pack on color right where you want it
• Soften hard edges
• Blend, blend, blend!

So, while using sponge-tip applicators and drugstore brushes is a whole lot cheaper, I think it's a good idea to invest in at least one MAC eyeshadow brush in your lifetime... and this seems to be an excellent brush to start with! It is so multi-purpose and really eliminates the need for my to use other brushes.

The bristles are SO soft, but dense. The brush easily picks up eyeshadow... so far I've been using it with even powdery drugstore brand eyeshadow and it still picks up the shadow and packs it on with intense pigmentation -- something my other eyeshadow brushes can't do.

I can also use this brush to apply my highlight below the brow, and for softening harsh edges and blending shades together perfectly. I normally use my EcoTools eyeshadow brush for highlighting and one of my Kirkland brushes for blending, but the 239 can do it all -- no need for me to switch brushes! I can also pick up eyeshadow on the tip of the brush and it precisely packs on the shadow just where I want it -- something I normally need to do with sponge-tip applicators.

This brush is also a great size for my eyes. I have smaller eyelids, so most of my other flat eyeshadow brushes are too large and I find the application is too messy when I try to use them. This brush is on the smaller side, so I think it would be great for asian eyes!

So overall, I love this brush and I think it's worth the hefty price tag because it can do so much. Definitely worth investing in!

Latest MACquisitions from In the Groove: "Jazzed" Cremesheen Lipstick & "On The Scene" Cremesheen glass [Pics + Swatches]

Hello loves! Today I have some pictures & swatches to share with you since I was lucky enough to get first crack at the In The Groove collection at our Macy's MAC counter last night : ) I talked to a really nice guy MUA who was was so kind to let me put some stuff on the side; since I knew I only REALLY wanted 2 things from this collection:

Cremesheen glass in "On The Scene" and Cremesheen lipstick in "Jazzed"
...as usual, I had giftcards, so I only ended up paying $2.50 ;)

...The picture below is a crappy color representation of "On The Scene," it's not that pale. My camera sucks. The second picture (after the lipstick) is true to color.

Jazzed is described as a "Bright coral pink"



On The Scene is described as a "Light coral beige"



SWATCHES
L-R: On The Scene, Jazzed.

And here's some swatches comparing Jazzed to Ravishing, just incase anyone's interested :P ...At first I thought they'd be similar.

But clearly, they are not. Ravishing is darker and much more coral-peach (looks very coral on lips), while Jazzed is lighter (but shows up brighter and bolder on lips) and is pinky-coral. It's a really fun, fresh, summery shade. Very pretty ♥

On The Scene is pale coral and very sheer. It takes lots of layers for a hint of color to show up but I like that it nicely mutes the pigmentation of my lips for a nude lip look and is VERY shiny and glossy ♥ Not nearly as sticky as I thought it would be... I'm really diggin' Cremesheens / Dazzelglass cremes now. Still not too keen on Lustreglasses after my last unsavory experience with Love Nectar.

LIP SWATCHES
L-R: Jazzed, On The Scene

(maybe) strangely enough, I wasn't all that interested in the fawned-over Stereo Rose MSF, and Petticoat either. Idk if it's just me... but even though the blended shades are nice; the MSFs just look really unaesthetically pleasing to me :P Anywho, I figure our counter doesn't seem to sell out of even LE stuff too quickly, so it'll probably still be there for awhile, if I ever get the urge :P The only other thing I was remotely interested in was their Mineralize Blush Duo in Hang Loose ...because of the lilac shade, of course!

Did you get anything from MAC's In The Groove collection?

Love Pack from LOLANNE!!! ♥

Hello loves! Today I wanted to share this freaking amazing love pack I got from the lovely miss LOLAnne... the sneakiest, sweetest, generous, AND probably the funniest blogger I know ;)

She had a "hidden" giveaway in one of her posts awhile ago... so I entered! And recently I was talking about how I wanted to try more MAC lippies after my bad experience with their Lustreglass. So she offered to send me a Dazzleglass Creme in "Do it up." Little did I know, it was because she needed to get my address because I had actually WON that super secret giveaway she had! SNEAKY SNEAKY!

I got the package a few days ago...
and was greeted with animal butts! XD

And what else?

OMFGPENGUINAMIBABY!!!!! ♥♥♥
Soooo kawaii!
And MORE?!


OMG Anne, thank you SO MUCH ♥
She even included a MAC Mineralize Blush in "Pleasantry" (because she knows I'm on the biggest blush kick EVER right now XP)... and lots of candy!


Group shot : ) ♥

This is Pleasantry on my cheeks & Do It Up on my lips, over Maybelline Pink Please. I have to say I really like the formulation of the Dazzleglass Cremes. So smooth and don't feel sticky to me at all! Pigmentation is fabulous. Do It Up is a little bright on its own for me, but layered over a lighter lipstick, it makes a pretty, glossy, bright pink ♥ Definitely want to get my hands on more of these glosses. Pleasantry is such a soft pretty baby pink...love it too!

One last shot...
Thank you so much again, Anne!!! ♥ ya ;)
...and now I have your address. Muahahaha XD

Latest MACquisitions: Ravishing Cremesheen Lipstick (Pics + Swatches)

Hello loves! So I'm sure you know by now that every time I have some Macy's gift cards to use, I use 'em at MAC. I decided to not pick up a blush this time (gasp!) because I had wanted to get the Richer, Lusher Cremesheen Glass. However, our Macy's counter was out of stock and their next shipment was not gonna be in for a couple of weeks... and they don't know what exactly they would be getting in the shipment -_-;

So I ultimately decided on getting a Cremesheen Lipstick in Ravishing, since I had been interested ever since Angelique recommended it : )

Is it just me, or is this packaging kinda unattractive? :/

Ravishing is described as a "clean light peachy coral" and I'd have to agree. Since I've been wanting to try more peach/coral lippies, this is perfect! I love this shade. It's bright but not overwhelmingly bold. Very pretty and fun.

Flash:

Natural light:

I sent the Love Nectar Lustreglass back and am currently waiting for my refund. Then I'm planning on buying Richer, Lusher online, 'cause I'm too impatient to wait several weeks for our MAC counter's shipment just to possibly be disappointed. But right now, I'm totally happy with this lipstick. I love how smooth, creamy, and moisturizing it feels and how pigmented it is. Definitely gonna add more MAC lipsticks to my "to-buy" list ;)

How "Ravishing" looks on:
(with a little Revlon Super Lustrous "Life's a Peach" gloss over it)


Swatches in different lighting:


Happy Friday, everyone!
(well, it's almost Friday here :P)

Latest MACquisitions: Hipness Powder Blush & Love Nectar Lustreglass

Hello loves! Here today to share some pictures & swatches of my recent MAC purchases. Also, if you're interested, you can read my latest rant about MAC's crappy customer service here :P

I wasn't sure if I wanted to pick up the popular Hipness powder blush or not because honestly, I am just NOT a fan of this LE packaging. I don't like the shade of green... nor the starfish on the cover. But after seeing other bloggers' posts with swatches, I finally gave in. Luckily, our MAC counter doesn't sell out of even popular items right away; so they had it in stock. And I'm glad I ended up getting it because it is LOVELY : )

The Love Nectar Lustreglass is a whole 'nother story. Since I got a few recommendations for it, I decided to give it a go since MAC was having free shipping on any purchase. And thus began the start of some trouble. First of all, it sucks that Hawaii is exempt from free 2 day shipping. Next, it took 3 extra days for me to get my damn lipgloss.

...UPS is full of shit. The tracking # was showing my package was delivered TO MY FRONT DOOR on 6/10/10 at 4:38 PM. I was home at that time, and didn't receive anything. I didn't receive my package until two days later, because it turns out that they delivered my package to my NEIGHBOR'S house, and they weren't home until Saturday... so they luckily found my package intact and returned it to me.

The stupid thing is that their street number is in HUGE numbers right on their house. Idk how the UPS person could have missed seeing that when he/she walked to their door. And OUR street number is also in large numbers on our mailbox... ugh -_-;

Anywho, pictures after the jump!

MAC Springsheen Pics/Swatches + Your Thoughts On... Must-Have MAC Products?

Hello loves! I've been on a roll with the MAC lately... I must admit, even after all the years of avoiding it like the plague (mostly due to snobby, pushy MUAs and my distaste for their foundation); I have finally reached a point where I am comfortable with hitting up our Macy's MAC counter for longer than 30 seconds!!! Still; my limit is maybe... 5 minutes max before I start getting annoyed just being there lol. So while I still don't particularly "enjoy" browsing there, at least I have a better idea now of which MUAs are snobby and pushy and which are more helpful and willing to listen.

I recently found a bunch of unused gift cards hiding in my wallet, and of course, I headed to the MAC counter (instead of looking for clothes or shoes... because our Macy's selection sucks). And by now, I'm sure aaaall of you know that I'm a blush-aholic in the making :P So I went with the intention of either getting their powder blush in Peachykeen or Springsheen; so I could check it off my wishlist.

Sooo.... I settled on Springsheen this time : )

Springsheen is described as a "Peach with Pearl (Sheertone Shimmer)"
Very pretty! Sorry these swatches aren't spot-on accurate... it looks really pink but it's more peachy IRL


Anywho, It's been awhile since I did a Your Thoughts On... post.
So here's a question for all the MACaholics out there:

What are your must-have MAC products?
What would you recommend?

I could go review-hunting... but I'd much rather hear it from you ladies first!
Rec me some stuff plz? : )

• I'm mostly interested in their blushes. I know which shades I want for sure (Peachykeen, Fleur Power, Hipness, and Instant Chic), but I'm also a bit curious about the shades Dollymix, Plum Foolery, and Margin (do you think Margin is too similar to Springsheen & Peachykeen?) Any input for me on these shades? : )
  
  
• I am not too interested in their foundations, but I'd love to hear your experiences w/ them! I've heard a lot of both good and bad. Studio Tech was a no-go for me. Wasn't too fond of Studio Sculpt either.
  
  
• Somewhat surprisingly, I am also not too interested in their eyeshadows. I have tried a few and wasn't really wowed. But I know there's certain shades that people swear by... What would you recommend?
  
  
• I am interested in their lippies though! I'm partial to nudes, light pinks, and light peachy/coral shades; and I've been particularly interested in the Boy Bait Cremesheen glass, and Creme d 'Nude Cremesheen lipstick. What are some of your fav lipsticks and lipglasses? Lip conditioners? Tinted Lip Conditioners?
  
  
• I'm not too keen on their brushes simply because of the price... but nonetheless, I can be convinced (;
  
  
• I'm a bit curious about their Oil Control Lotion, Fix +, and Strobe Cream/Liquid as well.

So what are YOUR must-haves?
What would you totally recommend?
What would you totally avoid?

Thanks for sharing with me! : )

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