MAC Sinfully Chic Face Kit

The Sinfully Chic face kit from MAC was part of their holiday collection for 2012 called Fabulousness. I was late in buying anything from this collection, trying to hold back a little on buying so much makeup but I eventually caved and bought this. I must admit that the packaging this year really did sway me, it's got to be the most beautiful holiday collection from them yet (in terms of packaging). I've never actually bought from their holiday collections before so I was interested to see what was on offer. As I don't own that many MAC items, I thought this would be a great way to try a range of their products. I do own a few lipsticks and lip glasses, both of which I love! So getting the blush and eyeliner was a plus. 

This set seems to big the biggest in terms of size, kind of like a clutch bag. And while I think it would be great just to pick up this set and take it with me, it can be a bit bulky so I've taken the items out and put them into my makeup bag to save space. You can also change out the products if you want which I think is a nice idea if you're going for a different look. The only other thing I'm worried about with the silk pattern would be getting it dirty, the texture seems like it would attract a lot of dirt so I haven't taken mine out. It sits on my shelf looking pretty instead.

Once you open the set, the two sides are divided by a mirror. There is a pouch with a travel size blush brush in (MAC 129) and you can always add your own brushes in with this. I already own the 129 travel brush when it came out with the wonder woman collection and I think it's great for when you are limited on space and it does the job. I have heard that the travel size brushes are nowhere near the same quality as full size but as I don't own the full size I can't compare. This brush is still better than a lot of other brands though.

The lip glass (be nice) included in this set is a pretty champagne colour, when on the skin it does come out clear and has quite a few glitter particles. The lipstick (Out to please) is a slightly orange toned nude, I think on my skin this would wash me out so if I were to use this I think I would put a more brighter gloss over the top. 

My favourite items in this set are the blush and eyeliner. The blush (pursue your passion) is much more orange than it looks on the site, it's a warm bronzey colour. I do like this a lot and don't use a bronzer when I wear this, I will sometimes put a more pink toned blush just on the apples of my cheeks to give my face a bit more colour. 

The eyeliner (technakhol liner in graphblack) is very soft and very pigmented, it glides on the skin so smoothly and doesn't budge all day. It's also really easy to take off at night. This is an eyeliner that doesn't need sharpening, you just twist the top whenever you need more. So an all around good product in my books! This is no longer available but if you are interested in the fabulousness collection, Debenhams still have a lot on their website.

What did you think of MAC's 2012 holiday collection? Did you purchase or receive any of these items? What would be your favourite product from MAC?

Nars Andy Warhol Palette

As I was spending four weeks away over the Christmas period, my parents gave me an early Christmas gift to go away with. I'd asked for this a few weeks before and the day before I left they gave it to me. I was really pleased to receive this, especially as it's not the cheapest palette.  

I do love the NARS brand, as well as Andy Warhol, so when I heard they were coming out with an Andy Warhol collection I knew I would end up buying something from it. There were lots of variations of palette's, three different self portrait palettes and three different flower palette's. I chose this one as I loved the design and the colours I'm more likely to use, it's perfect for a smokey eye and being quite compact is great for travel and putting in your makeup bag. I have so much eyeshadow already in lots of different colours and I'm not that adventurous with it so I knew if I'd gone for the colourful ones it would never get used. Black is something I usually use, even as eyeliner.

The packaging is great on this, I'm a fan of the matte black NARS packaging already (even though it gets so dirty!) Instead of the normal black box, this comes in a silver one with Andy Warhol written across it. The same design is seen on the actual palette. On the mirror inside there is a quote "Art is what you can get away with", this was such a nice detail but also manages not to take up much of the mirror so isn't so distracting. The quotes are different on every palette. 

The portrait on this is unfortunately an overspray so it will eventually rub off. I've bee trying to keep it there for as long as I can, it's just too nice of a picture :) As for the eyeshadows themselves, I've only used them a few times but they are really easy to apply and work with. The two grey/silver shadows are very shimmery as you can see in the above photo but the black has more of a matte finish. It's not fully matte though and does have some small glitter pieces, nothing too noticeable. 

The NARS Andy Warhol collection has much much more on offer than just these palettes. I've been looking at the edie gift set for a while now but I'm trying to hold back from buying it! It is limited edition though, so if you do find anything you like I would get it now. The collection is still available from www.narscosmetics.co.uk  www.selfirdges.com  and  www.sephora.com

Have you tried anything from the Andy Warhol Collection yet? What is your favourite NARS product?

Lipstick Collection Part 1

I  love watching youtube videos of makeup collections and reading blog posts about what products each person has, so I thought I would share what I own. I was never really a big lipstick fan until recently, I still don't wear it very much but I've started to see what is out there and the type/colours I like. My lips get dry quite often so I'm always using a lip balm before I apply any lipstick, I'll usually go for something sheer and moisturising. Matte shades don't seem to look so good on my lips and I don't feel like I can pull off the bold coloured lips. I do own a few bolder colours but I sheer them out and will sometimes add lip gloss over the top.


I decided to do this in two parts because I don't want this post to go on and on. Plus this is a picture heavy post :)

I only own four MAC lipsticks
Viva Glam Nicki - I did a post on this a few months back here

Watch Me Simmer - This was from the Shop Mac Cook Mac Collection so is no longer available, it is an amplified finish. I don't know much about MAC lipstick finishes but this is a very bright bold and pigmented colour. This has more of a matte feeling and tends to dry my lips a little so I sheer it out and put gloss over the top. This is more longer lasting than the creamier formulas. 


Viva Glam Gaga - This is one of my favourite lipsticks because I think the colour suits my skin tone more than others, it is a lustre finish. This doesn't dry my lips out and blends really smoothly onto my lips.


Innocence Beware - from the Venomous Villains collection, this I picked up from a CCO. It's a nude colour with a very slight hint of pink. This is a creme sheen finish and has a creamy consistency and goes easily onto the lips. I mentioned earlier that I prefer wetter formulas rather than dry/matte ones and this is one of the finishes that I prefer as it feels nicer on the lips. You will need to reapply this through-out the day but that doesn't bother me as I expect to with lipstick.

Dior
I have two Dior lipsticks, these are part of the Rouge Dior range. I picked these up in Duty Free. I have the colours Rare Amber which is a burnt reddish shade with some orange, and Pink Songe, which is a medium pink colour. I love these lipsticks as the colours fit my lips and skin tone really well plus they are really easy to apply. These aren't matte shades but they are highly pigmented and have pretty good staying power.

Chanel
I only own one Chanel lipstick which I got at duty free with the Dior ones. I decided to try out one of the Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks as I prefer this type of formula. I really don't like the dry feeling on my lips that most lipsticks give so I purchased this to try. I really liked the colour selection but went for something safe with Rivage, a nude pink colour. The staying power isn't too good but then with something like this I wouldn't expect it to be. This is one of my favourite lipsticks to wear.

Check back for part 2 soon! 

Estee Lauder Mad Men Collection

I'm a huge fan of the TV show MAD MEN, so when I heard Estee Lauder were releasing a collection themed towards the show I couldn't wait to finally get my hands on it. The collection only consisted of two items though, which I was kind of disappointed with because I think they could have released a few more items or at least a range of shades. But having looked at the two products they did release I think they did a really good job, the colours aren't that unique but I think they chose shades that would appeal to a wide audience considering there were only two items available in only one shade. I love Estee Lauder's packaging anyways but I think they did a beautiful job on this. Mad Men is set between the 50's (first season) and into the 60's and back then lipsticks were a lot smaller than they are now, so Estee Lauder made sure their collection was authentic as possible by copying this. I love the 50's and 60's era's, especially the fashion and makeup and think that these items really reflect the glamour of it all.

I only purchased the blush from this collection which is a cream blush in the shade Evening Rose. It comes in the most beautiful box decorated with blue flowers and gold leaves and the gold compact also comes in a gold pouch. There is a blue "button" that you push to release the top. On the inside of the compact there is the words "ESTEE LAUDER MADMEN COLLECTION" engraved into the edge which I thought was such a nice detail to add, there is also a mirror on the inside.

I first started applying this blush with my Sigma F50 but I found that the brush just picked up too much dust and all the hairs kept sticking into the blush. I prefer patting it on my cheeks with my finger first and then using a brush to sheer it out, I haven't used many cream blushes in the past because I don't feel too confident with them but this one I love. It gives you that perfect natural flush to the cheeks. I think this would be good for an everyday blush and one that I wouldn't wear with a bronzer because I like the natural finished effect. This is definitely a buildable blush and gives your cheeks that dewy glow.

I searched every Macy's and Nordstrom's for this blush only to have everyone on the counter tell me they'd never heard of the collection (umm hello! you work for the brand!) after some searching I found that unfortunately this was an exclusive to Bloomingdale's, and my boyfriend offered to drive me all the way down to Santa Monica to buy it! :D

At $40 I do think this is very pricey, but that's the price you pay for a little luxury and I would say this product is a wonderful item to have. On the upside I did get a gift with purchase with this which I've also been loving and will post about at a later date.

NOTD - Super Bass

Just a quick NOTD post today. I purchased this nail polish on buywapowa about 2 months ago from the Nicki Minaj collection. I'm not a huge fan of crackle varnish but I do like the black one every so often for a change. I wasn't planning on buying this polish but I wanted the Pink Friday polish and these two came as a gift set. I layered the Super Bass shatter over the Don't Touch My Tutu white shade from the OPI NYC Ballet collection and I like the effect it gives but I'm not in love with it. I feel like this type of purple would be hard to work with in a shatter polish. One thing I also find with OPI shatter polishes is that you can't layer them or else the shatter doesn't work. With my Barry M black shatter I can paint my nail several times and the polish always separates but with this I need to cover the nail in one or two swipes or else it doesn't work. If that makes sense lol Still, I liked experimenting with this shade and will no doubt try it out with some other colours in the future.

Hope you all had a good weekend!

Force Of Love

I don't own many MAC lip glosses at all but the ones I do have I've really liked. I've only ever tried lip glasses from MAC and I love the formula of these. For a lip gloss they have a lot of colour which is something I've not found with a lot of other brands. They aren't too sticky either which I think is great because I often find that when other lip glosses wear off my lips they are still incredibly sticky. 

This lip gloss was part of the Chen Man collection and this is the kind of colour I always go for. Something not too "out there" that can be worn either sheered out or with the colour built up. I find that really bold colours don't fit my skin ton of face sometimes unless I'm wearing bronzer. I really like this colour as it's not a very bright or dark pink but somewhere in the middle. This lip gloss also has small shimmer particles in it but they aren't that noticeable when worn. I don't find the staying power great but then I haven't found that with any lip gloss as they are a gloss. I don't find myself re-applying often though.

I picked this up at duty free whilst I was at Heathrow airport last month so I got it at a discounted price. I think it was only about 10% off but I'd seen it sold out all online so took my chance! Mac lip glasses range from £13 upwards and are available from www.maccosmetics.co.uk www.debenhams.com and all MAC counters.