MAC Reel Sexy and Tres Cheek haul

First off, I'm sooooo sorry for the lack of posts! My nephew's 1st birthday party just recently past and that's what has kept my attention. Helping my sister plan and of course his cute self is a big part of being distracted. With that already done, Now I can clear my head and blog again =)

No matter how hard I try, as of lately anyways, I can't help but get something from one of MAC's LE collections. This year I am interested in adding more blushes and Lipsticks to my stash so when I heard that MAC was going to have an all blush collection, I heavily stalked specktra's forums to see what people were anticipating and if anyone had uploaded swatches.

I initially had my heart set on getting at least 3 which were Modern Mandarin, Immortal Flower and love cloud but after seeing so many swatches and comparisons, I settled on Modern Mandarin solely because it looked like the most unique blush out of the collection and I didn't have anything like it. Everything else seemed dupable.  People kept on saying Immortal flower wasn't that pigmented and I saw a swatch next to Illamasqua Lover which I recently acquired, and it looked similar enough to pass. I also saw a comparison swatch next to Tarte's Dollface and they looked very close so that was a skip as well.

MAC Modern Mandarin

Now this is a purchase I most def don't regret Purchasing. At first, I was a bit intimidated by this considering the swatches I've seen online looked way too red and just over the top but I got it anyway and I'm glad I did. It is soooo pretty on the cheeks and just gives this fresh, warm youthful glow to your complexion. I've even seen it on some girl who was about an NC or NW 15. Don't let it's vibrancy fool you. With proper application, I think anyone can wear this! Just build up the color to your liking. This was the first to sell out but as of right now, all the blushes are back in stock on the MAC website if you're interested.

Here are some not so great pictures I took with my iPhone 4s on my cheeks and arm swatches:

MAC Modern Mandarin - Left: heavily swatched, Right: applied w/angled blush brush

MAC Modern Mandarin - Left: heavily swatched, Right: applied w/angled blush brush

I waited too long to decide on getting Watch Me Simmer from the SHOP MAC, COOK MAC collection and then it was gone. Surprisingly enough, MAC put this in their Reel Sexy collection only 2 months after it's release so of course I ordered it right away. Application was smooth and not streaky, at least for me. I can already see it being a favorite of mine.

MAC Watch Me Simmer Lipstick

MAC Watch Me Simmer

Last but not least is Reel sexy. it's a pretty BRIGHT and I mean BRIGHT light coral. I find that if I just swipe it on, it comes out looking neon and chalky on me which is not a look I like on myself so I found that by patting it on with well moisturized lips, looks more flattering on me in my opinion. None the less, it's a lovely color.

MAC Reel Sexy lipstick

Reel Sexy patted on the lips

Did you pick up anything from these collections?

MAC Chen Man and Viva Glam Nicki Haul/swatches

Hey Everyone! I had a gift card to Macy's that I got from my sister for my birthday last month and decided to save it for this collection. I picked this up about 2 weeks ago when it launched but I'm a little late posting this cause I couldn't find the charger for my camera battery.

 I actually ordered Force of Love lipstick when it launched online because I was scared they would sell out by the time I was able to make it to any of the counters or stores by me. I missed out on a lot of the bright lippies from the Iris Apfel and SHOP/COOK collection and was adamant on making Force of Love mine lol. I picked up Budding Love and Force of Love lipglass along with Viva Glam Nicki, which I've been eyeing at the MAC counter in Macy's. Nothing else really stood out to me, plus this year I am interested in getting more lip products and blushes. If any of you want the Play it Proper beauty powder, I suggest to check your CCO if you have one near by since I saw it at my CCO a few weeks ago.

Top: Budding Love Lipglass Bottom: Force of Love lipglass

Force of Love

Viva Glam Nicki

Nicki and FoL

Budding Love l/g, Force of Love l/g & Force of Love l/s

VG Nicki and Force of Love

I know a lot of people were comparing Force of Love lipstick to Party Parrot, Watch me Simmer and VG Nicki but I only have Nicki to compare. They're both warm tones but you can see that FoL is darker. I love both and I'm glad I picked them up as they are flattering on my warm skin tone.

Me wearing Force of Love Lipstick

All these bright lips are getting me in the mood for spring and it's just makes my routine simple and quick.
Did you pick up anything from this collection?

MAC Naturally Lipsticks: A Perfect Day & Pillow Talk

Pillow Talk & A Perfect Day

About a week and a half ago I placed an order on the MAC website for 2 lipsticks from the Naturally Collection. As much as  wanted to get a few other things, I restrained myself and just got A Perfect Day & Pillow Talk. Although I'm thinking of picking up the Red Head MSF.

Here are some pics of them in the tube and hand swatches. I also took pictures of each color on my lips with no lip liner underneath or gloss on top to get the true color. Hopefully it'll be helpful for anyone especially those who are the same shade as me (NC30/35) if you are thinking of getting it. I tried to capture the color as true to life as I can.

A Perfect Day: left side no flash, right side with flash

A Perfect Day a beautiful light pink nude that I wasn't sure would work for me. I thought it was going to completely wash me out and give me that corpse look but luckily it doesn't. Maybe it's because my lips are really pigmented. Its definitely a shade that looks better suited with a darker smokey eye in my opinion but still has enough color to wear every day if you like. Although for me, I'd probably pair it with a darker lip liner underneath.

Pillow Talk: left side no flash, right side with flash

Pillow Talk is described as a midtone rosy nude on MACs website. In the tube and swatched, it looks just as described but on my lips it leans a little more brown but that may be due to the fact that i layered it a few times. It's a great everyday color and I think it would be nice nude for those with a darker skin tone.

I hope you find these swatches helpful. Did you pick up anything from the collection?

Inglot black Friday haul and swatches

Hey everyone. I made an order from Inglot when they had their black Friday sale going on. I didn't own anything from Inglot and Everything was 15% off and free shipping so i wanted to take advantage of that since at the time, there were no Inglot stores near me. I heard they already opened a counter at the Macy's Union Square in San Francisco but I haven't gone to check it out yet, plus it's about an hour away.

Ive been meaning to post this in December but Inglot took forever with my order and they sent me a teal liner instead of a cream blush. So I had to contact them to let them know of their mistake and to send me the correct item. Let me tell you, trying to get a hold of someone at the Chelsea market store is a pain in the butt. I had to call and email that specific location because that's where my order was sent from. I placed my order the weekend after thanksgiving and it took near a month to receive my shipment. When I finally got the email notification about my order being shipped, there was just a number but no link and no info on what carrier they used for shipment. I even emailed them asking about what carrier they use but never got a reply back. Calling them was no use because it rang a couple times then went to this automated message saying their voicemail wasn't set up so I couldn't leave a message. Finally after a few emails I sent, they email me back apologizing and told me they'd send me the right items. So I finally got my other blush today after finding a note on the front door yesterday of an attempt to deliver but no one was here to sign for it. It would have been nice if Inglot had let me known who the carrier was, the estimated arrival and that a signature was required. I don't think I'll be ordering from their website anytime soon.

Sorry for the rant, I just had to get that out. Anyways I only ordered 5 shadows and 2 of their AMC Cream blushes. I just want to test out a couple of things from the brand before ordering more.  I also got a Large Zpalette to house my new Inglot shadows. On to the swatches!

Inglot rainbow #120R, Pearl #448, Pearl #439, Pearl #428 & Matte #353

Shadows were swatched over UDPP on top row and no primer on the bottom row

Inglot rainbow #120R

Pearl #448, Pearl #439, Pearl #428 & Matte #353

indoor natural lighting, no flash

with flash

Mixed, 86 swatched heavy and blended, 84 swatched heavy and blended. Taken indoors with natural light, no flash.

with flash

I didn't swatch the liner because i wasn't sure if Inglot wanted me to return it. So far, I'm pretty impressed with Inglots product quality which isn't a surprise since everyone raves about them so much. I just wish they named their products instead of this numbering system because the cream blushes and cream liners are the same size, same packaging and they have the same numbers in different products which led to them sending me the #86 cream liner instead of the #86 cream blush.

Hopefully the swatches are helpful if you plan to order online!

theBalm haul & Black Friday sale

Hey everyone,  I thought I would share a haul with you. I've been on the look out for theBalm products at my local TJMaxx and Marshalls thanks to the blogging community. I found the Luminizer duo and the Shady Lady palettes for 19.99 and 12.99.  I was so excited to find them at such a great price. As for the blushes and bronzer, I got a deal on Plum District for $40 worth of products for $20 with free shipping but i was able to snatch this deal for only $5 thanks to a halloween special they had. Plum District is like Groupon or Living Social catered or geared towards moms. 

If you don't have a Marshalls or TJMaxx near you and still want to get a good deal on any of theBalm products, theBalm is having a 40% off sitewide with code BLACKFRIDAY, begins 9AM PST and ends at 11:59PM PST. Whats even better is I noticed they do free domestic shipping in the U.S.

So check it out. I've been using the Mary-Lou Manizer everytime I do my makeup. I'm quite impressed with everything I've gotten and their packaging is cute! If you would like swatches, just let me know =) 


Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Beauties Factory Haul & Swatches

So last week on Wednesday I received my order from Bf-beauty.com. Not too long ago I heard about them from lady @ Glitter is my Crack... .  At $1.50 for a pan the size of MUFE eye shadows, I thought why not give these a try and if they suck, then it's not something I'd cry over.  I picked up 10 colors to try out, but I was really curious about their matte shadows since good quality matte e/s are hard to come by. I also ordered a 20 pan empty palette and some false lashes as well cause u can never have too many false lashes! I was impressed with the shipping since I placed my order on a Thursday night and got an email Friday morning saying that they already shipped it. I just did the standard airmail shipping which they stated on their website takes about 5-14 working days but I got it in 4 business days so that made me happy.  They also included a lil freebie, some faux nails which I probably won't use but it was a nice gesture anyways.

First impressions of the shadows: These shadows are a hit or miss. Now I can't speak for all of the shades since there are a TON of colors to choose from but I was a bit disappointed with some of the matte ones that I received as they were not as pigmented and a bit chalky.  The first 2 pics were swatched on bare skin, no base at all. On the 3rd picture, they were swatched on top of MAC PRO Pure White Chromaline, & 4th pic swatches were made on top of MUFE Aqua Cream #4 Snow.  Click the pictures to enlarge...

I'm gonna play around with these and see how well they apply and stay on my lids. So when I do get some good use out of these, I will do a review.

I'm also excited because less then 2 weeks ago, I was contacted by Selina from Cellnique to try out some products from their line for a review and I received them today! I got 2 things which were the Skin Action Sebum Gel & the Advanced Bio renewal Masque.

I'm going to test these out for at least a month before giving it a thorough review so be on the look out for that! Till next time lovelies!

EDIT 7/27/10 @ 3:00pm- I forgot to list the prices of some of the stuff....
If you register for an account on BF-Beauty.com the prices of their stuff are slightly cheaper than if you don't. It's free so you might as well sign up!

For example the eye shadow pans are $1.50 but if you register for an account it's $1.45. Also the empty 20 palette is originally $8.99 but it cost me only $8.72. When you register, you get 20 points which is worth $1.00 that you can use towards your order and everytime you order you get points as well to use for the next purchase. Also what I need to mention is that shipping was DIRT CHEAP. My order came to about $30.00 just for the items without redeeming the points yet and shipping was only $1.20.

They also sell pre-made palettes, brushes, hella lashes which are cheap too, and many more things. Check them out and if you guys do, I'd love to see what you hauled!