MAC Alluring Aquatic! MAC Goddess of the Sea Lipstick & MAC Seduced at Sea Extra Dimension Blush

When I think if 'MAC Alluring Aquatic' the first thing that springs to mind is the packaging. Let's face it. This PACKAGING is beautifulllll!  MAC could have stuck the most hideous  colours in this packaging and it would have flown off the physical and virtual shelves. 

It's the big MAC Summer 2014 Collection (and no we do NOT have a 'Summer' in Trinidad) and so it consisted of around 32 pieces which can be seen here!

When I first saw this packaging on Specktra (makeup lovers, this site is a must join- wonderful online community) wayy back in March or so I knew that my inner collector HAD to have something from this collection.

At the time of the online launch of this collection I was preparing for my exams and as such chose to not get into that buying frenzy at that point in time. My upcoming examinations trumped makeup at the end of the day and needless to say I somehow managed to resist the MAC online launch as well as the various department stores. 

When my exams actually began I resigned myself to the fact that I would just have to skip the entire thing. After a two week exam period, my exams ended on a Thursday and on that said day I saw a local MAC girl post an 'Alluring Aquatic look' which suggested that the collection was launching or was about to launch in stores. However, I preferred to have the usual celebratory drinks etc and forget about heading down to Westmall to grab some stuff.

By the Friday I was in major regret mode and headed down to Westmall bright and early-ish on the Saturday morning. When I got there only two lipsticks were left, one blush, a few of the eyeshadows, the brushes and pencils. Needless to say, I immediately told the MAC guy i'd take the "Goddess of the Sea" lipstick and of course due to  my weakness for extra dimension formula products I asked for a blush too. I got the last GOS lipstick and  I was definitely not interested in the only other remaining lipstick, 'Siren's Song' which is a pale sheer beige in a lustre formula. Purchasing that one would have been money down the drain!

Now that my long winded story is over, let's get down to some packaging pictures! I 'try ah thing' with these pics and I'm actually loving how they came out!

Artsy right?!

Love how these came out!

The packaging is a metallic teal-blue colour with actual raised water droplets on it. It really is beautiful. Even the boxing comes with water droplet indents on in.  MAC really outdid themselves with this one and I can't help but think it's so creative and especially clever for a 'Summer Collection'. Love love love it! 

Water droplets everywhere!

See the water droplets <3!

Up first is MAC Goddess of the Sea Lipstick!

To be frank ,between the two lipsticks left this was the only one that would work for me and so I bought it blindly!

This lipstick is one of MAC's cremesheen formulas and is described as a "dark vibrant violet". On me, it seems to be a deep violet which leans a little toward the berry side of things. Personally it's a good addition to my stash as i didn't have much else in this colour range. The lipstick itself is creamy and applies evenly. One swipe or passing of the lipstick makes it a good daytime colour which can be built up and used for a more vampy look. Well at least on me it seems vampy!

MAC Goddess of the Sea. Diff lighting indoors and last pic with flash! NC42/43 skin tone

The swatch on top is built up to about 3-4 passes of the lipstick whilst to the bottom I've just swatched it with one swipe! As usual each pic is in different lighting indoors and the last pic is taken with flash!

Next up, MAC Seduced at Sea Extra Dimension Blush!

MAC Seduced at Sea EDB

As aforementioned,  this was the only face/cheek product left in the entire collection. MAC describes this blush as a 'mid-tone neutral plum' but on me it translates to a muted orangey almost coppery colour with a lovely gold shimmer.

MAC Seduced at Sea EDB

As you guys may recall from previous posts, I'm enraptured by the extra dimension formula. This blush is no exception. It has enough golden shimmer that it would warrant the description tacky of the shimmer was done incorrectly. Fortunately MAC got it right as the shimmer is fine and extremely beautiful! The blush applies smoothly, is easily blended and gives a lovely glow. 

I used my finger to apply the blush heavily in the pictures below. The swatch to the top is blended out whilst to the bottom the blush has been heavily swiped. I changed the lighting for the pictures but again, they were both taken indoors. This blush applies a lot better with a brush as compared to using my finger to swatch.

Using my finger to swatch: Top is the blush  blended out! NC42/43 skin tone!

Different lighting! NC42/43 Skintone!

The picture below is one of me wearing the blush. To the bottom of my cheek i've used a bit of MAC Refined Golden Bronzer (which was as seems to be the usual available as part of the Summer Collection. I got mine in a previous release) for a slight contour and to the top of my cheek I applied MAC Fairly Precious EDSF!

Used on the cheek!

Not the best photo but I'm really not comfortable with adding full face photos onto my blog! Sorry! 

Let me know your thoughts on this post, this collection and what if anything you guys got from it! xx

Mini MAC Haul: More A Fantasy of Flowers: Dreaming Dahlia Lippie & A Basic Essential

In confirming that my brian is indeed getting older, the following post was started pre exam season, that is, way back in March and sadly I thought I had posted it when I evidently did NOT. I figured I might as well complete the post and so the following is  what you should have seen way back then. OOPS!

"Exam season is fast approaching and I have been ridiculously swamped with work these past few weeks so please accept my apology for the shortage of new posts in the past few weeks. I did manage to sneak in a small 2-bit MAC haul this past weekend (gone are the days of my large hauls apparently) and got the following items:

•  MAC Dreaming Dhalia Lipstick and
•  MAC Brush Cleanser

I went to MAC with the intention of leaving with only the MAC Brush Cleanser.  Of course, being a lipstick junkie, I had to stay true to my nature and just HAD to purchase a lippie. Dreaming Dahlia from the MAC A Fantasy of Flowers collection was a lipstick that spoke to me when I had first seen it. It somehow become stuck in my mind and in the end I broke down and ended up buying it."


CONTINUATION of post:

Whilst I normally dislike Lustre finishes, I felt that DD was a great everyday-brighten you face type of colour with one swipe and which could be built up to go from sheer to almost full coverage to provide more of an 'oomph'. 

MAC describes this lipstick as a 'sheer red coral'  but it pulls almost a pinky orange shade on me. That might just be the worst colour description ever but it really looks beautiful! Since i've gotten it, it has become one of my go to lip colours!

I feel like this lipstick has a lot of shimmer as well which gives it a luminous shine. The lipstick itself applies evenly and smoothly and does not feel gritty at all. Overall, this lipstick really is a winner!

MAC Dreaming Dahlia on my nc 42/43 complexion! Swatches in different lighting with the final picture taken using flash!

I know this post is super late but hopefully it helps one of you guys out there with a decision with regards to this lipstick. Btw, the brush cleanser is gonna get its own post soon! xx

MAC Phlox Garden & Sassy Moss Fluidlines!

So today my little black box finally arrived! For those of you who may not know, MAC ships orders in black boxes so when you see your box you know exactly who it's from. As you may recall in my MAC A Fantasy of Flowers post , I purchased both the limited edition fluidlines, Phlox Garden and Sassy Moss!

Before I review i've added a fun pictorial of the unboxing!

My Black Box is here!

On Opening!

Removed the first layer of black tissue!

Lifted off the second layer to reveal both fludlines!

I'll share my first thoughts and opinions on them below.

 MAC PHLOX GARDEN FLUIDLINE

I've been lusting after this fluidline from the moment  I first saw pictures of it late last year. The fluidline is a purple fuschia colour with an almost plum undertone. It's definitely unique compared to anything in my collection. It has a matte finish and it goes on smoothly and opaquely.

MAC SASSY MOSS FLUIDLINE

Sassy Moss is a beautiful bright green almost teal looking colour with a shimmery finish. Despite this it goes on really well though not as smoothly as Phlox Garden! I can't believe I almost skipped this colour because I may actually love this one even more than Phlox Garden.

Pic with flash!

It's been about 6 hours since i've swatched these and they are holding up pretty well. I've washed my hand at least three times and they've only just faded slightly. The wear time seems to be pretty good. If you love your fluidlines then you'll def love these as well! I won't hesitate to recommend these to anyone!

Leave me any of your thoughts and comments below! xx

Nailpolish Quickie: Orly Coachella Dweller

As any beauty obsessed person knows, the obsessions extends to all things  beauty related! My nail polish collection is rather large so I thought i'd share some colours with you. Maybe everytime I do a colour change i'll pop on here and do a mini review with some pics. What do you guys think of that idea?

Orly Coachella Dweller

I picked this up last year at Wonderful World for $43 TT. It's not from the permanent Orly range but was in fact from the Orly Spring 2013 Freedom Collection. Of course in Trinidad we rarely get products simultaneously with their US release dates so I picked this up around September or so. I was having a pastel phase or moment and so the pale pastel green creme polish was right up my alley. The shade is pastel green yet it's still a bit bright, maybe muted green might be a better description...ughh I suck at colour descriptions. Additionally the name "Coachella Dweller" only added to my attraction to this polish because I love the boho-hippie vibes associated with the well known Coachella Music Festival.

The colour applies relatively well for a creme shade. Two coats of this polish will give you just about the right coverage. The colour is not too thick so that it becomes goopy when trying to apply a second coat which is always a plus. However you do have to apply carefully to ensure that there is no streaking. IMO the brush head needed to be wider for a posh of this formula.  I'd give it a 3.8/5 for application.

The colour is pretty long lasting as well although nailpolish tends to chip very easily on me so I may not be the best person to judge the longevity of a nailpolish.

2 Coats! No top coat added!

Still gotta clean my edges!

Picture taken with flash!

Lipstick Storage Woes

Hey guys, just wanted to do a quick post so here it comes:

My first love is lipstick and so of course i've accumulated lots of them. About 2 years ago when I had now started getting into lipstick I stumbled across these great acrylic 12 lipstick storage containers. When I say stumble I mean I popped into a small boutique in a Mall in Port of Spain and saw them at the great cost of $60 TT (or $40, I really can't remember). I bought one and the following day I returned and bought the other.

From that day onward i've always wished that they had more because I quickly outgrew the storage capacity. I had managed to convince myself that I would find a store selling these storage containers  at such great prices and there was in fact a point where nobody was selling them at all. I would usually browse online for similar products but I always felt that they were way too expensive compared to the steal of a deal I got that day.

Let's fast forward to the present day where I finally took the plunge and had my mom order me a 24 lipstick holder storage container off Amazon as one of my birthday presents. At $8.99 US I thought that it would have been a great deal. Of course though Customs totally screwed me over and I found myself paying $85 TT in shipping and customs duties when I shipped it via my Skybox.

The biggest kicker of all was that this product was extremely disappointing. Below I'll review the both products mentions.

Acrylic 12 Lipstick Holder

What I loved most about this product was the fact that it was a dedicated lipstick holder. It didn't have any of the larger spaces for other products and so when in use it gave my lipstick storage a very sleek look. The quality is amazing with the acrylic being thick and clean cut with stylish edges. I really really love this product and I remain on the lookout for a few more.

Empty!

Filled with lipsticks!

Close up- hopefully you can see the edges and thickness of the material!

Acrylic 24 Lipstick Holder 

This product actually ended up costing $135 TT which was waaaay more than I had intended to spend. What's even worse is the fact that it isn't even worth the money. It's smaller than anticipated and arrived in a cheap thin white cardboard box. The product itself is cut cleanly but with no sort of design. It looks so basic and CHEAP! Plain talk bad manners! Additionally, the actual slots for lipsticks can only hold my MAC lipsticks and are actually smaller than the slots in the holder discussed above. I feel like i've been ripped off. The only slight saving grace of this product is the fact that it takes up less space and so it may be more efficient in that regard. Of course these are just my opinions and I may have had higher expectations based on the holders I already owned.

What I saw on opening the box! :( 

Didn't seem to get any better!

Filled with lippies!

Below I've added a picture of the  two products side by side so that you can see for yourself!

You can see which one holds my heart!

Acrylic lipstick holders can be bought in Trinidad from Simple Spaces Ltd. which is an actual store located in St. James as well as from the online store Makeup Haven. The images provided by these sellers seem to be of a better quality and of course the prices are much better! It's been a lesson learnt in terms of hoping to find a product much cheaper on Amazon (although this is the first time that this has failed me). Hopefully you guys find this review helpful!

I've noticed a lot of you guys reading but not commenting. :( Feel free to leave your thoughts and let me know if you have seen the lipstick holders in other places in TT. Take care!

PS. When I speak about acrylic lipstick holders here I'm referring to the ones that provide spaces for lipstick only. There are a few other places that sell the acrylic cosmetic holders.

MAC Magnetic Nude: Pleasure Model EDB

I promised to review this product a while back, after all it was a part of my Magnetic Nude mini haul, but, i've been swamped with school so unfortunately i'll just have to do a quickie review.

The first time these Extra Dimension Blushes were released people had problems with getting colour out of the pan. The reason was because they seemed to have come with a waxy film over them which had to be wiped off. Off the bat, I will say that the blushes in the Magnetic Nude release did not have this film over them. 

Pleasure Model EDB (normal light)

Pleasure Model EDB( taken with flash)

Pleasure Model is described as a soft terracotta with pearl and is a satin finish blush! The colour is a sort of coppery brown colour with orange undertones and is really beautiful on. It's not shimmery or sparkly but in fact imparts an almost luminous glow. The formula is long lasting and very smooth and blend able. Additionally the colour payoff is amazing! I really wish MAC would make this formula permanent. 

Below are my hundred and one pics! Just kidding! but I did include a couple pics just to give you an idea of how the blush looks in different lighting or at different angles.

This pic might be the most accurate representation of the colour!

Closer to the light! 

At an angle away from the light! 

Pic taken with flash! Def does not look like this at a normal glance!

Pleasure Model EDB with Fairly Precious EDSF as highlight to the top!

Hope you guys find this review helpful!