I wanted to get these out quickly in the hope that the photos/swatches over my overspend haul may be useful to those still making up their minds on what they want to order. But I failed…
I’m not gonna do any proper reviews, I’m just trying to put some shots out there that are as colour accurate as I can manage.
Without further ado…
The Haul!
Stereo Rose MSF – surprisingly wearable on my pale, cool-toned skin.
Read more of MAC In The Groove Haul Pics & Swatches
Indulge me, I rarely do haul posts. But I’m really loving the things that I picked up this week. And just look how restrained I was at my local CCO (the MAC).
At the beginning of the week my Stila bits turned up from CheapSmells.. oh! I haven’t included my Stila Topaz Kajal in the photo! Oh well, I got that too… But anyway, look at that lovely taupe (bottom left). That’s Stila Cloud, a very cool toned shimmery silver taupe.
I finally took the plunge and ordered a Shu Uemura IR Beige 800 eyeshadow… I was struggling between the IR and ME versions, but felt the ME version swatched a little too pink for me.
I also took advantage of the Barielle BOGOF offer and picked up two colours from the Spring Wildflowers Collection (A Bouquet for Ava & June Bug) and two from the Summer High Steppin’ Collection (Belly Dance & Electric Boogie)
Hmm what else…
Oh, I nabbed Clinique’s (relatively) new High Lengths mascara that I’ve had my eye on for a little while… super funky alienesque brush!
Finally, I was (semi) well-behaved in my local CCO on Friday. I don’t have a MAC counter near me… so I usually target the MAC stand quite heavily when I raid the Gunwharf CCO. I picked up: Melon pigment, Blonde MSF and Femme-Fi eyeshadow. Pat on the back for resisting Moon River from the Grand Duo collection and Flower Mist Dew Beauty Powder from the Ungaro collection. (Please don’t tell me I NEED those two items in my life… I totally bend to peer pressure!)
What have you bought this week?
So you’ve probably all heard by now about the new Make Up Store which has recently opened on Carnaby Street in London. Make Up Store are a swedish brand, though interestingly the products that I bought state that they are made in Canada. They also operate out of Westfield in west London and last time I was in the city, I couldn’t resist trying a few products out!
Nice, sleek packaging!
Orion (£15.00) is a cream highlighter with a punch of colour. It actually reminds me a little of what NARS Orgasm Illuminator could have been if they’d upped the amp on the pigmentation. Perhaps a touch more peach though…
It’s shimmery, but not too glittery. As I was browsing through the High Tech Lighters instore, I noticed that many contained enough glitter to render them unsuitable for daytime wear which was a big shame ‘cos some of the shades were magnificent! I struggled to work out how best to apply it at first and in a fit of WHATEVER I just grabbed a synthetic Kabuki, tapped it on the surface of the cream and buffed into my cheeks. I’m pleased with the effect! I think it would be especially lovely ontop of bronzer.
I also picked up an eye pencil. I’ve been looking for a dark navy with a touch of shimmer… and Deep Blue Sea (£8.50) fits the bill nicely!
It’s nice and dark with a heavy black base, so doesn’t scream “coloured eyeliner”… but there’s more than enough colour there to add a bit of interest to a smoky eye!
Texture is creamy but surprisingly long-lasting. I didn’t need to warm the pencil up before using (one of my pet hates) so this gets a thumbs up from me!
I also picked up a nice peach blusher that looked true to colour without being too coral hued.
Passion (£14.00) is a fairly neutral peach that my cool toned skin can just about get away with. It’s far more pigmented than I imagined it would be so I do have to apply with a light hand.
It’s shimmery but perfectly suitable for daywear.
I’m pleased with the pieces I bought and the staff in the store were helpful without being overbearing. I’ll definitely be popping back next time I’m in town.
Here’s a quick FOTD showing Make Up Store’s Passion blush on the cheeks… I’m not sure why I look quite so crazy-eyed!
Scary lady!
Have you tried any Make Up Store goodies yet?
While up in London last weekend, I headed over to Fulham to check out Guru Makeup Emporium in person… it’s down this super cute little cobbled mews.
The shop itself is lovely… spacious and well stocked and the lady behind the counter couldn’t have been more helpful and accommodating.
I actually went there to have a look at the MUFE HD Blushes, but when I was swatching I was finding them quite hard to blend aswell as being perhaps just a little too pigmented for me. I’m fairly ham-fisted with blusher and to put it simply, my skillz weren’t up to the job!
Anywayyyy
I was distracted by the new Aqua Creams. I’d snagged one already from one of Goss’ infamous blog sales but I figured I’d check out the other shades… I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with 3 of them *eek!*
£16.95 each maketh for an expensive splurge.
But check out these shades….
Beautiful no? There was another one that I really loved too… a medium bronzey shade… I think it was #14. But I had to bitch slap myself and remember that my family need to eat.
#13 (Warm Beige) is a shimmering nude champagne, it’s a great lid colour.
#2 (Steel) reminds me of Benefit’s Skinny Jeans, but it’s more cool-toned… slightly greyer and more complex.
#5 (Peach) I bought to use as a blush. In the pot it looks like everything I wanted NARS Enchanted to be… on the cheeks, it’s nicely pigmented but there’s too much gold glitter for me to use as a blush *sigh*.
So how do these work? Are they cream shadows? blushes?
Well… they’re described as multipurpose. They’re simply waterproof cream colours that can be used on your eye, lips or cheeks. I’m not really interested in using these on my lips… I’ll mostly stick to using them on my eyes.
Are they crease-resistant? Not completely… but kinda. If you don’t have any problems with the Benefit Creaseless Creams, then I think you’ll be good with these aswell. On me, they don’t crease or ball-up… but they do settle a little more deeply in the lines after a few hours.
For £16.95 you get 6g of product compared to 4.5g in a £14 Benefit Creaseless Cream so it’s not too bad value-wise (although of course, you can get the Creaseless Creams much cheaper if you shop around). The obvious benefit to the MUFE Aqua Creams is the huge range of shades available.
Would I buy more… oh yes!
MUFE Aqua Creams are available to buy from Guru Makeup Emporium who do mail order and have a pricelist on their website!
…only a teeny haul!
It was 3 for £12… and there were 3 further colours I was tempted by, but I’m not convinced of the quality so held off splurging further until I’d given these a try!
L-R: Mouse, Peacock, Factory Grey.
I wore Peacock to the Sleek event, and whilst I love the colour… I wasn’t too enamoured of the formula which was a bit gloopy.
I would have a NOTD for you but I fractured 2 of my nails whilst bowling (of course) so have given them all a much needed prune instead!
Have you tried the American Apparel polishes yet?
A girl with too many lipsticks.
And a blog about them.
