It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of pigments.  It’s also no secret that I was very annoyed when MAC redesigned the packaging.  Boo!

So, you can imagine that when one of my beauty contacts told me she was clearing out some of her pigments, I jumped at the chance to buy them from her.

When they arrived yesterday I may have done a happy dance and squealed – but you can’t prove it!  LOL

My New Pigments!

From left to right:
Green Brown, Vintage Gold, Fairy Lite
Blue Storm, Fuchsia, Hertiage Rouge, Copperbeam

With the exception of Vintage Gold, Fuchsia & Hertiage Rouge (pro), all of these were limited edition shades.

Needless to say I’m very, very happy with my new jars – with a special place held for Green Brown, which I never thought I’d get my hands on.  It’s a red based brown with the most remarkable green duo-chrome finish, it reminds me of dragonfly wings.

Now I just need to buy some more pans, so I can press these and get them into my palettes!

Pretty Pretty Pigments

Swatches

Swatches 2

Are you a fan of pigments?

Some drugstore goodies that I wanted to share with you. Please feel free to let me know if you’d like a review done, or if you have any questions.

Enjoy!

Two weekends ago I was in Toronto for a bridal shower, and I made a point to stop by the MAC Pro store. It had been a while since I’d stopped in, and there were a few things I had been waiting to pick up.. plus a few extras that I completely forgot had been released.

MAC Pro Haul

Mixing Medium (Face and Body)
Chromagraphic Pencils (Primary Yellow & Pure White)
Powder Blush Pro Pan (Burnt Pepper)

MAC Pro Haul Unboxed2

Swatches: Mixing Medium, Chromographic Pencils & Powder Blush

I’ve been wanting to pick up the mixing medium for ages, because I’ve heard that it’s one of the only ways to press non-shimmer pigments and loose powders. The blush was another must have, because sadly my original was shattered a while back. Thankfully, they still had it. I had a bit of a panic fit when I thought it may have been discontinued. Whew!

Comparison: New vs Shattered Burnt Pepper

Since achieving my no-buy, I’ve slowly been accumulating a few items. Figured it was about time to share.

Enjoy. :]

Now some of you might be wondering why I’ve got a haul posted, but I promise that I’m not cheating on my no-buy. I ordered everything before I decided to stem my purchases, but since I ordered online they just arrived recently. I was alerted to Pharaoh paint pot by a friend, and then ended up finding a few other MAC’tastic things too. ;]

Specktra Goodies

Studio Mist Blush / Peach Spritz
Eye Shadow (clockwise from top left) / Gris, Electro Sky, Cloudburst, Bang On Blue
Paint Pot / Pharaoh
Paint / Mauvism, Graphito
Glitter / Chartruese

Generally speaking, I don’t order much online. Mostly because I hate paying for shipping, paired with the fact that it’s impossible to know if the swatches online are accurate.. and they rarely are. I do make an exception for this gem of a place called Specktra. It’s known to most as a large make-up focused community, but they also have a buy/sell forum which I was wary of at first.. but I’ve since changed my mind. There’s always a risk to ‘forum shopping’, but I’ve only had positive experiences.. everything has always arrived and everything has always been as described.

That said, since so many make-up artists and make-up fanatics hang out there, it stands to reason that there is a lot of product available.. and every so often, one of these people will streamline their collections and sell discontinued or (past) limited edition items.  You can find brand new items as well as gently used items, which is a great way to pick up the odd thing you may have missed out on.  Often times these products are below retail, or for some particularly rare items the price may be more.. but there is definitely plenty to choose from. But just like any other online setting, be sure to read everything, check out photos (or ask if there are none) and ask questions if you’re unsure of something! Also, there is the ability to leave feedback (much like Ebay), so you can check that too to see how other people have fared with a particular seller.

This past Friday I made the trek to Markham to attend the Estée Lauder warehouse sale. It was my second time going and it was just as much fun this time around, especially since I got to meet up with some other makeup fanatics. As always, it’s by invitation only and if you don’t have a ticket, you cannot enter. I arrived before 10:30 am, and while there was a line up it moved quickly. There was even some entertainment as the police on duty (yep, they have popo patrolling the entire area) who reminded everyone to write their name on the ticket so as not to hold up the line. Repeatedly. LOL

After my last experience I felt much more comfortable moving around the space, and I felt like my browsing was more efficient. I knew roughly where the points of interest were, which helped me navigate through all the rooms relatively quickly. It so happened that what I was after was in fact there, the old style pigment jars.. yay! I’ve got a lot of pressing to do now. By far though, the lip products were a great deal.. they were all $10 each and buy one get one free! Good times I say, good times.

Warehouse Haulage

I also managed to pick up the free gift and charity bag. The charity bags are fantastic, they cost $5 and the full proceeds to to charity. My bag contained a pearlglide eye liner, an eye shadow, a lipstick and a blush.. for $5!  The free gift was a Mineralized Skin Finish in Perfect Topping, a limited edition item from last year’s Sugarsweet collection.

If you have any questions about the sale or any of the products, just let me know.  Enjoy the photos. :]

Warehouse Haul: Concealer & Skin

Left to right;
mini Fix+, Fix+ Rose, Green Gel Cleanser, Charged Water (Renewal Defense), Charged Water (Revitalizing Energy)
Asphalt Flower Fragrance Blend
Select Cover Up (NC42), Select Cover Up (Corrector Green), Select Cover Up (Colour Corrector Yellow), Stilife Paint, Naked Honey Skin Salve

Warehouse Haul: Tools & Lashes

Left to right;
2 oz bottle, square powder puff
272 brush, 165 brush
#20 lash, #37 lash, pencil sharpener small, #38 lash, disposable mascara wands
#41 lash, pencil sharpener duo, #46 lash
#48 lash

Warehouse Haul: Pigment, Glitter & Eyeshadow

Left to right;
(Pigments) Golden Lemon, Mega Rich, Tan, Rose, Frozen White, Spiritualize, Deep Blue Green, Copperize, Chocolate Brown
Burnt Orange Eye Shadow
Rave Pearlglide Eye Liner
Alum Eye Shadow, Reflects Transparent Teal Glitter, Reflects Very Pink Glitter, Et Tu Bouquet? Eye Shadow

Warehouse Haul: Face

Left to right;
Pink Swoon Sheertone Blush, Otherworldly Sheertone Shimmer Blush, X-Rocks Sheertone Shimmer Blush, Eversun Beauty Powder Blush
(Mineralize Skin Finish) Brunette, Perfect Topping

Warehouse Haul: Lips

Left to right;
Poco Pink Lacquer, Rags to Riches Dazzleglass, Looks Like Sin Cremesheen Glass, Moonbathe Lipglass, Foolishly Fab Plushglass, Loving Touch See Thru Lip Colour, Wonderstruck Lustreglass
Lavender Whip Cremesheen Lipstick, What A Do! Frost Lipstick, Lovin’ It Lustre Lipstick, Grenadine Slimshine, Immodest Mattene
Saplicious Lipgelée

During the last weekend of November I did some shopping out of town. Usually when I hit a Sephora I go to one mall in particular, but there were a few additional stores that I needed to go to, so I ended up visiting another mall as well. Usually I don’t hit up the same store twice when there are multiple stops to make but when it comes to Sephora, I knew I had to have a peek. I’m glad I did, because I had forgotten to pick up an essential at the first store and then found something that wasn’t even stocked at the first store either.

Sephora Haul: Juice Beauty, Sephora, Make Up Forever & Stila

From left to right:
Stila Lip Glaze Collection, Juice Beauty Cleansing Gel, Sephora Blotting Papers in Natural Lavender
Make Up For Ever HD Concealer in #345, Sephora Powder Puff

Sephora Haul: By Lauren Luke

By Lauren Luke My Vintage Glams Palette + My Glossy Lips

I’ve also uploaded a video on YouTube if you’re interested in hearing a bit more about the products themselves.

Haul videos are something that get a mixed review, but I thought that people might want a little bit more information about the products, since the In The Bag post was more pictorial.

There is always that pesky time limit, so for the first time I had to do some editing. Once I got the hang of it, it wasn’t so bad.. but I was definitely despairing when I realized that my 12 minutes and some odd seconds were not going to upload to YT. I tried to keep all the product info in tact, and cut out some of the chatter. Hopefully it’s not too choppy.

Enjoy!

Taking the train home from IMATS

Today started very early. I didn’t want to miss my train, so I gave myself plenty of time to get ready. It was 6:40am when I left the house and pulled into the driveway at 6:15pm!  Talk about a long day, but it was very much worth it.  It was my first time attending a trade show and in particular it was the International Makeup Artist Trade Show, hosted for the first time in Toronto.  I’ve got a few stories, lots of information and tons of photos to share, plus some people to shout out.  Tonight though, I’m pretty much exhausted.  Instead of keeping everything for a mega post here’s a quick peek at what I picked up:

• IMATS bag
• company literature
• goodies galore

It was a great day and an excellent overall experience, especially since I got to share it with fellow makeup addicts (and budding addicts).  I will do a more detailed run down of the show in the next few days, but I will say that I will definitely be returning next year!  Good times indeed.

Much more to follow tomorrow!

IMATS: Catalogs & Program

IMATS: Product Lists, Flyers & Business Cards

IMATS: MAC Pro Face Charts & Notepad

IMATS: Products Galore

Yesterday was officially a haul-a-day.

I had been planning to head out of town for the past few weeks, since I needed to to pick up a few things.  The drive can be a bit of a pain, but it’s worth it.  A freestanding MAC store, Sephora and LUSH all in one mall.. that’s all the motivation I need.

The primary reason I wanted to hit this mall was because I needed to replenish my Juice Beauty moisturizer.  I’ve gone through two of their starter kits, and the regime has proved to work well with my temperamental skin.  There was a moment of panic when I couldn’t find it, but one of the women working there was able to find me the last one.  Whew!  I also decided to pick up the serum, since I’ve still got plenty of the face wash.  The blot film was something I’ve been meaning to try for the past few months.  I think it may be a better alternative for touch ups during the day since my problem is shine, rather than fading.

HaD: Juice Beauty & Sephora Goodies

From left to right:
Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum, Juice Beauty Oil Free Moisturizer, Sephora Matte Blotting Films

I’ve never tried Stila’s smudge pots, but I could not get over the vibrant intensity of this one.I had a few sets ready for B2M that I wanted to put towards the Dazzleglass Cremes and a Mineralize Eye Shadow.  I also ended up picking up a few lipsticks that I’ve had my eye on too, since I got the other items for free.The reason to hit the MAC store (aside from it being MAC) was to B2M for the Dazzleglass Cremes and a Mineralize Eye Shadow. Of course since I was able to get those free items, I ended up grabbing a few extras that I’ve been wanting for a while.

HaD: MAC & Stila Goodies

From left to right:
MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Creme Allure & Luscious Spark,
Barbie Loves Stila Smudge Pot in Cobalt Clutch, MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow in Cinderfella, MAC Lipstick in Faultlessly F/W, Impassioned, Ravishing

LUSH is a relatively new experience for me. I think I’ve been into their stores maybe a total of three times, but I’ve always had good luck with the items I used. I was there to restock on a body butter, because I think they’ll be great to keep my skin soft through the cold, dry winter months. The other items I got out of curiosity, so we’ll see if they live up to the high standard already set.

HaD: Lush Goodies

From left to right:
The Soft Touch Body Butter, Dark Angels Cleanser, You Crack The Whip Body Butter,
Sugar Babe Sugar Scrub