Small MAC Haul

Just a small haul I got when I went to Westfield at Stratford. I haven't photographed the mini Fix+ and I forgot to do the crease brush, but if you want any more details or photos on either just ask! :) And sorry the picture is blurry, once again camera troubles :( sad times!

 

I would definately say that Snob is a lot lighter that in the swatch pictures, once again sorry! (really need a new camera now... any donations welcome ;) ) But this is a definate new favourite. I've always shied away from this shade because of it leaning purple/mauve, but I find it doesn't translate as much on my lips. I love it! It's a satin finish, but it's soo creamy and I will sometimes pat it down, and rub it in to my lips, it's almost like a lip paint it's so thick! If you're looking for a more lively creme cup or a more wearable saint germain then try this!

I've wanted this highlighter from MAC for as long as I can remember! Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish is notorious for it's gorgeous appearance in pan, housing multi coloured veining. It's been released in a few collections, and I finally got my hands on it with the Reel Sexy collection. People have complained about its drastic makeover it's recently had, where the coloured veining has being muted right down, especially the blue tones, but unless that affects is overall performance I'm not so fussed!

This has been my go to highlighter for weeks now. It gives a soft diffused glow, not yellow! Like most highlighters seem to be. I think it's beautiful, but I wish it had a bit more punch, as I always have matte foundations because my skin is oily, so I always like to have quite a glowy highlighter to counteract this. So if you could recommend some highlighters, white/silver based which have the wow factor, I would really appreciate it! 

Have you seen the Fall MAC collection coming out? Heavenly Earth Creatures, if not, head to Temptalia to read about it and see the promo images! Christine has the products and is making her way through the reviews of them. Exciting! 

What was your last MAC purchase? 

xo.

MAC Lipstick Dupe?

The lipstick I bought from Sleek recently reminded me of a Limited Edition lipstick I got recently... Keep reading.. (And sorry, these pictures have come out a bit blurry! Bad times :( )

Left - Party Parrot, Right - Candy Cane

Yes, that's right, Party Parrot from the Iris Apfel collection, an instant sell-out! When I got home, I realised it was less pink than it looked when I was at the Sleek stand, and I felt like it reminded me of another colour. So I got this out and had a good old swatch up, and I can report that they are pretty much identical! Sleek Candy Cane looks a TINY bit more pink when swatched, and obviously has a sheen finish, whereas MAC Party Parrot is a matte finish. But if you blot it down a bit to take off the sheen you will have a more matte finish! Yay, I love a good dupe, doesn't everyone?

xo.

Mini Sleek Haul

Last Saturday I went to the new Westfield shopping centre in Stratford London for the first time. I can safely say I'm in love! I work in a shopping centre in Essex, and so I'm used to be in a shopping centre daily, but this just left me speechless! It's huge, and new, and just.. so clean..! Has lots of shops that I could only usually go to in London, and I rarely ever go nowadays. So it was a refreshing shopping experience! It was my birthday almost 2 weeks ago now (wow, time files when you're getting old!) and the boyf said he would take me shopping as a present, so I dragged him to Westfield early on a Saturday morning.. :) I bought a few things which I shall post in time, but here are a few to start off with!

Sleek had a pop up stand there which I didn't actually know about, and apparently it's gone now! I don't usually buy much from Sleek, I have a few palettes and a blush or two, but whenever I go into Superdrug they hardly ever have the stand fully stocked, and Sleek haven't been releasing palettes/products as much as they usually do, so it never really catches my eye anymore. Never the less, I went over to the stand to investigate! Sorry I didn't get pictures, I saw make-up and that's all I had the time for! 

It was full of plenty of staff, all very friendly and constantly offering to help me find products. They were offering makeovers for a small price, and also foundation matching. I also got approached by a lady asking me to fill out a quick survey on her iPad in exchange for a mini pout polish, of course I agreed! 

They had everything in stock which was totally refreshing, and I actually got to try everything I wanted to, but never usually get to. I keep eyeing up the Blush by 3 palettes, but there's only 1/2 blushes in each palette I would actually use, so it seems like a bit of a waste! In the end I picked up a blush and a lipstick, as at the time I was trying to be good and just refrain from going mad! I fancied a bright pink blush, and I couldn't resist the bright pink lippie either. The lipstick I picked up is also a dupe for a sold out MAC lipstick from a recent collection, so watch this space as I have comparison swatches to post.. 

xo.

 

This is the mini pout polish I got free, it's a bright pink, but it applies as a balm, so the colour doesn't transfer as much. It smells sweet and vanilla like and is the perfect size to pop in your handbag. I don't own any other pout polishes, so I'm not sure if this is a permanent shade in the full size range or not.

 

Sleek blush in Flamingo. I really fancied a bright pink blush, so when I saw this shade I fell in love. I love the packaging of Sleeks blushers, small and quite literally sleek. They're all crazy pigmented and always worth the small price tag.

 

 

When I went to the lipstick bit, I was admiring all the colours, but for some reason this shade Candy Cane really stood out to me this time. It's a bright pink which leans red, very similar to MAC's Impassioned. My camera didn't like this shade so it looks funny in all pictures! This is a sheen finish, so it's not matte like the MAC dupe I have to show you!

Sleek Eau La La Liner - Red Sky Night 324

, 

Sleek Eau La La Liner

I picked up this Sleek liner from Superdrug for £3.99 a month or so ago, even though I hadn't really heard that much about them. And I still haven't seen many reviews or much press about them. I saw this shade and thought how similar it was to lots of lipsticks I like to wear, such as MAC Chatterbox/Speed Dial etc. And for the price, I didn't think it was too much of a risk! 

When I took the picture of the pencil, I had already sharpened it, and I think it's already broken inside as it came out a bit :( But maybe this can be blamed on the formula of the liner being so creamy. Also, the pencil isn't wood, it's plastic. 

This liner is crazy pigmented and incredibly creamy. The staying power is great also. As you can see in the pictures where I swatched it, I dragged my finger through the line, and as you can see, it's only slightly smudged. I didn't exactly do it lightly though! As for the picture of it applied on my lips, it looks and feels quite dry, as it's so creamy and matte. The other day I added vaseline, and it was a nicer finish and not so drying. But as a liner it's alright, I just wouldn't recommend it for all over lips if you suffer from dry lips. 

Unfortunately, I haven't tried this out as an eyeliner, as these liners are designed to be multi purpose, with the website claiming that you can use them on your lips, eyes, brows and body. The range hosts 20 different colours, ranging from bright yellow and orange to your average black and brown. Meaning there's something for everyone. Lips wise, I recommend this product for lining and for the price, I think it's an excellent product. 

Shop MAC Cremeblend blush - Florida

I just want to say straight away, that for some reason, when I upload the pictures onto here, the colour of the blush is a lot different, and I've tried saving it in different ways, but I have no idea whats going on! The colour is a lot more blue based - think MAC Pink Nouveau, that sort of shade. This picture here (from Temptalia) is pretty much right when I wear Florida on my lips.

I ordered this from Debenhams' website, getting 10% off and free delivery, can't complain! Once again, I thought the packaging of the blush was in the print from the collection but it was just a sleeve like the lipsticks. Anyway I'm sure I'll live! As soon as I opened the case I was in awe! Such a beautiful colour, and I love pink, seriously anything pink. If it was a pink toilet brush I'd want it, sad but true. I don't usually wear pink blushers as they just make me look flustered and hot! But like I said - as it was pink I had to have it. I first tried it on my lips, and oh wow it's like wearing a lipstick, I loved the colour. So creamy and yes extremely similar to Pink Nouveau which is one of my favourite lipsticks. So this is right up my street. When trying it on my cheeks, I did look a bit flustered unfortunately, but I think I was a little heavy handed. So I'll keep working with it, I'm going to make sure this baby doesn't go unloved!

This is a pink shade for everyone, I know mid to dark skin tones would look great sporting this. And I think pale skintones wise - definately blonde and blue eyed. Although when I tried it earlier I wasn't wearing my 'war paint' and as my skintone is uneven it might look a lot better when I'm wearing my foundation. Maybe I can make it look a bit doll like!

As with cremeblend blushes, natural oils like to seep out of the product, which is why there are usually droplets on the surface of the product. I hate it when this happens, it just reminds me of sweat for some reason haha gross! Fortunately mine wasn't like this yay, but when this does happen you can just use a clean finger and wipe over the top, or take a brush and just swirl around the palette and it should mix it all back together. Cremeblend blushes are definately very pigmented and creamy, and they last longer than powder blushers. I don't know the longevity of this particular blush as I haven't worn it all day yet, but they're are usually about 4-6 hours on average (approximately). This is also a repromote cremeblend, and will probably be repromoted again in the future.

If you're looking for a similar shade and this has sold out, try Illamasqua. I was looking on their website for similar shades and found 'Laid' and thought it looked pretty much the same, and then I googled for swatches as I don't actually own it, and I found this post, and look! They're really close! Yay :)

Out of curiosity, do you own any cream blushes by MAC and/or Illamasqua? Which do you prefer? I still need to buy a cream blusher by Illamasqua! Recommend me some shades :)

x

Shop MAC Lipsticks

Finally got my hands on some! Had to order these from Selfridges, ordered another one from MAC but I had to ring MAC up to find out that even though they took my money once again it was out of stock but they would re-order it in for me. This is not the first time this has happened, and if it's "out of stock" yet it goes through and takes me money, they really need to sort themselves out. Also I thought the whole box in the Shop MAC collection was printed, not just a slide on cover. Boo! Anyway, rant over. Keep reading to see what shades I picked up.

Innocence, Beware! (Cremesheen) - Described on the MAC website as 'light yellow pink'. Which is pretty accurate. I always thought that when this came out with the Venomous Villains collection it was more of a nude, more similar to Myth or Creme D'Nude. I find that when I wear this it's quite similar to Hue, which is the only other lightest nude shade I wear as I find they wash me out. 

Naughty Saute (Cremesheen) - Wasn't sure whether to pick this up or not, as I already have Viva Glam Gaga, and St Germain, and when I saw it was described as a 'Bright Pepto Pink' I thought it might be too much, but it is lovely! I blotted it right down and put lipbalm on top earlier and it was a bit more purpley, so it's definately very blue based and a lot cooler than Viva Glam Gaga.

Quick Sizzle (Matte) - I really didn't need to buy this, as I already have NARS Schiap, and a few other hot pinks, but it's just so beautiful I couldn't not! I love it already, so creamy and suits me yay! MAC website just describes it as 'Bright Pink' but it's a blue based hot pink. Pretty much the same as NARS Schiap, more vibrant and pigmented though. And similar to Topshop All About Me which I posted about, but when I swatched them next to each other, All About Me leaned more red. But I'll post a picture of the swatches seperately. I totally recommend this lipstick if you don't really have any bright pinks, as it will definately suit all skin tones, seeing as I'm as white as ghost. I reckon this would look SO good on darker skins, like BAM in your face haha, beaut! It's matte, but not drying, and you could always add balm or a gloss if that's not your style.

So I have one more lipstick to come, and I ordered a cremeblush from the collection on Debenhams website (10% off and free delivery - hello!) So I will post them when they come, and do a comparison swatch post :) I also got 2 nail lacquers, one from the Chen Man collection (Force of Love lipstick is sold out everywhere :( ) and Lazy Day from Vera collection, which I love! So I will also post them up aswell!

Have you grabbed anything from the new collections? Eyeing anything up? Or don't the collections do anything for you? I've just counted all my MAC lippies, and I now have 35! Oh dear...

x