MAC Circa Plum Pigment

I love MAC pigments at the minute, I'm using them near daily, but this one seems to be getting a little neglected. Circa Plum is a nice almost grey-mauve colour with shimmer and a almost a little copper in it.

MAC Circa Plum pigment

MAC Circa Plum Pigment (dry, no base.)

I brought mine with the Lulu Guinness collection that came out a while ago. I can't find it on the MAC website but I've seen it recently in Estee Lauder outlets.

MAC Bloodline pigment

I spent months looking for this pigment, it was a limited edition that came out with a collection a while ago (Felines something or other).

MAC Bloodline pigment

MAC bloodline pigment left-wet right-dry, no bases.

I don't think the swatches above do it justice, despite my best efforts the purple edge this has to it just won't show up, that being said the swatches still look pretty good. It looks great wet (just run your eyeshadow brush under the cold tap and gently place it into the pigment).

As much as I've been loving pigments recently this has been the trickiest MAC pigment to try and wear really it's too dark and matte to wear as a mono eyshadow, so I've been using it wet as an eyeliner.

I've get to brave a pigment dark smokey eye but I'm planning to do so soon so I should hopefully have a EOTD post on this soon.

MAC Teal Pigment

This was the first MAC pigment I ever brought, I got it in a Tartan Tale gift set from Estee Lauders Portsmouth outlet since my getting into MAC was just after this collection was released.

MAC Teal pigment

MAC Teal pigment (dry, without a base).

I really like to wear this colour with a matte black or matte grey crease, the shimmer in this makes for a nice contrast.

Teal is permanent and can be brought from just about anywhere that sells MAC or from their website.

MAC Syrup

MAC do some of the best lipsticks around and I love their lustre finish ones, Syrup is no exception.

It's a lovely my lips but better colour without being the your typical nude or pink.

MAC Syrup - Lustre finish.

It's got a bit of pink to it that give it that almost natural blood-flush, like natural blushing.

Wear time is about 2 hours, typical of a lustre.

My 30 empties project

Readers meet my rubbish, rubbish meet the readers.

Since January first I've been attempting on a spending ban. Taking cue from the 100 day challenge going around I, being a typical makeup addict, asked myself how I could get the same satisfaction but quicker which lead to to ask 'How many items could I finish in that time?'. A project 10 pan lasts about three weeks but a few of those in a row would take longer to do, I decided on 30.

Pictured above are the finished items with packaging I could keep hold of (I get quite a few uses out of a Lush bubble bar but it doesn't have lasting packing so I counted them anyway, along with groups of single use sachets). These took me 70 days to finish.

Hair items, left to right;
Tresemme Remoisturise conditioner - nice enough and good value, it's a 900ml bottle so lasts ages. Repurchase, maybe.
The body shop Rainforest Moisture shampoo - silicon, sulphate, colourant and parabenfree, the sulphate free part means it doesn't lather well and I ended up getting through this very quickly. Repurchase, no
Lee Stafford hair growth shampoo, conditioner and hair mask - the conditioner and hair mask are great but the shampoo is very drying. Repurchase, shampoo no conditioner or mask maybe.
VO5 heat protect spray - works okay and doesn't leave hair greasy but the smell is too musky for my liking. Repurchase, no.

Body and face care, left to right;

Sure Aqua Clear anti-perspirant - not a fan of this, used it for the sake of it. Repurchase, no.

The body shop Chocomaina scurb - this is a sugar scrub so its best to use it on damp skin but keep it away from other water, it leaves an oil on the skin which can take a while to absorb but it leaves skin very soft.

The body shop peach fuzz shower gel - nice smell and lasts forever. Repurchase, yes.

Cutex Nourishing nail varnish remover - removes varnish nicely... not much else to say. Repurchase, yes.

Soap and glory The righteous butter - nice enough but a bit greasy for my taste, i'd try the daily smooth instead. Repurchase, no.
Yes to Carrots Exfoliating facial cleanser - great for dry and combination skin, adds nourishment to dry patches without making oily areas worse. Repurchase, definitely.

Yes to Carrots Moisurizing day cream - too heavy for the face, I ended up using it on my elbows.

Botanics Rehydrating body butter - nice enough, absorbs fairly quickly. Repurchase, maybe as a body butter.

Botanics Reviving body wash - quite nice, the smell isn't over powering and it leaves skin feeling clean. Repurchase, maybe.
Botanics Revealing body polish - didn't like this, it's a bit stringy (for lack of a better word). Repurchase, no.

The body shop Wild rose hand cream - smells nice but is a little greasy. Repurchase, no.

Johnson's baby wipes x 2 - I love these, especially the all skin type ones. Repurchase, yes.

Makeup and nails, left to right;
Models own Purple blue - opaque in two coats, not very blue. Repurchase, maybe.

GOSH Gypsy blue - Opaque in two coats but goes off very quickly. Repurchase, maybe.

China Glaze CG in the city - I love this glitter in a clear base, it's opaque in two coats, but I got through it so quickly. Repurchase, yes.

OPI Dulce de Leche - A nice pink toned nude that's opaque in one or two coats. Repurchase, maybe.

Bad Gal Lash - One of my favorite mascaras, very black and great with sensitive eyes but doesn't really lengthen. Repurchase, yes.

Urban Decay Perversion - a great pure black eye pencil, once it sets it doesn't budge, I love it. Repurchase, definitely.

MAC Pro palette #1 'Naturals'

I have two MAC pro palettes, I've collected the colours one or two at a time over the last 2 or so years and for that time they're really the only eyeshadows I've brought and most of them have been purchased at Estee Lauder outlets rather than in MAC stores/counters. I know some people are fanatical about use by dates and usage lengths and they might say an eyeshadow only has a life of 2 years but frankly my face is always clean before I apply makeup and only really I use my makeup so they don't bother me much. 

Anyway on to the pretties.

1st row;  Shroom, Brule, Omega, Copperplate and Scene

2nd row; Night manoveres LE, Espresso, Satin Taupe, Shale, Trax

3rd row; Surf baby LE, Silverthorne (LE I think), Knightdivine, Jest, Carbon

Left to right; Shroom - Basically NC10 with shimmer, Brule - Matte NC10
Omaga - Matte mid brown, Copperplate - Matte brown-grey, Scene - Matte grey

Left to right; Night Manoveres - Matte dark brown, Espresso - does what it says,

Satin taupe - Shimmery mid-dark brown with slight red undertone, Shale - Shimmer grey with lilac,
Trax - Purple/red with copper glitter

Left to right; Surf baby - Perfect grey with slight shimmer, Silverthorne - Silver shimmer with blue and gold tones, Knightdivine - Grey/gunmetal shimmer, Jest - Apricot shimmer, Carbon - Matte black

YSL glossy stain #22 Prune Minimale

If you read my post from earlier in the week you'll know how much I love these.
This was the first one I brought. I was looking for my ideal purple lipcolour (not caring if it was a stick, gloss or stain), I went all around a large boots looking at every possible purple then all around the beauty hall of a House of Fraser until I eventually found this colour, I had to have it.

Yves Saint Laurent Vernis A Levres in #22 Prune Minimal

My advice is to treat this like nail varnish, get it on neat and quick then don't touch it (or your lips together) for a good few minutes. It needs this time to set and change consistency but once it's on it won't move for as long as you leave it alone, it survives drinking easily but the glossy feeling won't survive eating.

It didn't want to be photographed otherwise i'd have included a lip swatch.

MAC Lovelorn

I love MAC lipsticks, they're lovely and when you line them up they look like soldiers with black helmets.

Lovelorn is a nice colour, its not too bright but it still has that feel of barbie pink to it.

MAC lovelorn - Lustre finish

Wear time is only a few hours, the norm with most Lustre finishes.

The colour comes out a little lighter on lips than it looks it the tube. It's a Lustre but it's got a little cream finish to it.

On the odd occasion I wear false eyelashes pair this with them to balance out the heaviness of the lashes without looking too over done.

Rimmel 'by Kate' 107 comparison swatches

This is one of few highstreet lipsticks that have caught my eye in years, generally the formula's are disagreeable. This one is a nice purple-red colour, pigmented, satin finish though best avoided if you've got dry lips.

These Lasting finish lipsticks are posted every where at the minute so since I own a few purple shades I thought I would compare them in this post rather just swatch the one shade.

Left to right; YSL glossy stain #22 Prune Minimal, Rimmel Kate 107, 

MAC Media, MAC rebel, MAC Amorous

Left to right; MAC Amorous, MAC Rebel, MAC Media,

Rimmel 107, YSL #22 Prune Minimal.

Of all of these I like my YSL #22 and my MAC Media most, I'd describe them and the rest but the pictures speak for themselves really.

My Media is a sample from thebodyneeds2.com (if you're in the UK keep your order value, before shipping , to £15 or less and you won't pay duty or have it held up by customs). 

Nuxe Reve de miel lipbalms

Lip balms are hardly glamorous but are really essential most of the year round. So many lipbalms just put a layer over the lips that rubs off and ultimately do nothing. Enter Nuxe.

Nuxe Reve de Miel lipbalms.

I know having two might not make much sense but I brought the pot first however the pots only real down fall is that the product melts slightly in heat and gets a little sticky plus it's glass and heavy so I found a discount code and brought the stick version to keep in my handbag. 

The dent in the pot is from a cotton bud, my applicator of choice for the pot to keep it from getting under my finger nails. 

Performance wise their similar (both make lips feel soft and nourished) but the pot feels thicker, more luxurious and generally seems to last that bit longer. If you tend to just apply lip balm before bed to work it's magic over night the pot if definitely best for you but if you like to keep your balm with you then go with the stick just for convenice.

That being said the prices of the different types are also interesting, the stick has 4g where as the pot has 15g making the product in the pot half the price.

Stick - £5.50 = £1.37 per gram

Pot - £9.50 = £0.63 per gram

MAC Aurora Pigment

I've recently really taken a liking to pigments and loose eyeshadows and Aurora is the one I've been reaching for most.

MAC's Aurora Pigment

MAC's Aurora pigment

I love this colour, it's a combination of gold and a tan shade but perfectly wearable. I've been adding a hint or green eyeliner or matte purple smudged along above my top lashes for a quick hint of colour before collage in the mornings (I have to catch an 8am train 3 days a week, I have no time in the mornings but if I don't bother with makeup I look like death's rather grumpy minion).

Aurora isn't listed on MAC's UK site at the minute, I brought mine from the Estee Lauder outlet in Bicester/Oxford.

MAC Coral Bliss

It's no surprise by now that I love MAC lipsticks, they make up the majority of the lip products I own.

I brought Coral bliss hoping it would be similar to MAC's ever hip, it's a similar finish but they're not really close enough for a dupe. However it's still a nice peach/coral/orange coloured creamsheen.

MAC Coral Bliss

MAC Coral Bliss applied lightly.

If you try to build up high cover with this it clings to every bit of dryness and looks awful and moves around your mouth, you end up looking how the joker would if he'd gone off red.

Wear time, when you go lightly, is about 2-3 hours.

YSL Glossy stain #5 Rouge Vintage

I've fallen in love with these Yves Saint Laurent Vernis a Levres (aka. glossy stains). I only own two because they're just so expensive but more shall be mine... as soon as I can afford the pretties.

YSL Vernis a Levres - #5 Rouge Vintage

I love this shade, it's a lovely cream/gloss type finish in a rose color.

It does set darker on the lips than it is in the tube.

The trick with these is applying with the applicator and not touching your lips together for several minutes. The application can look/feel a little strange until these minutes have past, it definitely changes after this and last for hours.