MAC Holiday 2011 Haul

Oh my...it's been way too long!!!

Well...I've been doing some shopping, but unfortunately I haven't posted anything in a while, but since I saw some of the MAC Holiday stuff up and close (and yessss bought some), thought I'd share with you my take on the collection.

I bought only lip stuff from this collection. I looked at all the eye stuff, and I've seen promotional pictures so I got excited, then I saw swatches, then I lost my hopefulness. I wanted to get some stuff for my Christmas shopping, but I lost hope when I started to play with the actual product at Nordstrom the day of the launch. Since everything was pretty much brand spakin new, I knew that for sure this stuff wasn't that good (the quality hasn't been compromised from numerous people handling it for weeks, etc).

Here's the stuff I got:

Sultry Iced Delights Lip Bag, $38.00

Left to right: Lip Pencil in Boldly Bare, Cremsheen Glass in Deelight, and Lipstick in I Love Winter.

Dazzleglass in Spanking Rich, $19.50

I haven't used any of the products too much, but overall I think I like them color-wise, but I think the two lip glosses are going to be a bit drying to me. However, I really liked the colors of these products.

Another mention is the new foundation I picked up. It's the new Matchmaster SPF 15 Foundation that came out last month.

This is shade number 4.0. Unlike the "traditional" numbering that MAC uses, this one is not separated by undertone. It's supposed to match to your skin. After using it once on my face and swatching it on my hand, I would have to say that it is pretty good at that, or it could also be that this shade leans warm (yellow).

If there's any new news about my purchases, you will be the first to know ;)

August 2011 Birchbox: Overview

My friend Jamie, known as The Happy Cardigan on Word Press, kinda convinced me through her blog to jump on the Birchbox bandwagon...kinda hate her for that, but I just received mine in the mail, and am excited to try out a bunch of these things.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Birchbox ( I wasn't until Jamie introduced me to it), it is a service that will send deluxe samples of beauty products every month. The samples are picked out for you from a pool of stuff they're currently "sponsoring" or featuring. You can subscribe for $10 a month. My box took quite some time to ship here in Hawaii (not exactly a benefit of living in "paradise"). You are also able to purchase products that Birchbox features on their site. Anything you buy gives you reward points (including the Birchboxes themselves), and once you reach 100 points, you can redeem that for $10 to use on the site. The only downside to the points is that they expire every 365 days.

This is the box the samples came in. I like the size since it will fit in my mailbox in case my pops isn't home to receive it.

You'll be greeted with this card explaining the samples you receive in the box.

Here's all the samples. I haven't tried everything (although it's taken me forever and a day to post), but when I do try them, I'll try and do a post about my experience with them:

Left to right: Be fine food skin care Night Cream, Be fine food skin care Single Serve Exfoliating Cleanser

I tried the night cream, and it's nice. If you have dry skin, I would say this isn't for you. But it's the right amount of moisture for me. I will try the cleanser one night.

N4 Reconstructing Masque.

N4 Volumizing Shampoo. This sample is like a one time deal. I hope it at least cleans all my hair.

Tocca SPF 30+ Sunscreen Towelette. It came with 2 packages (with one towelette in each). I'm afraid to try it because of the fact it might get my skin all greasy, but I gotta try it eventually I guess.

Twist Band Hair Tie. Yeah...I don't think this could even tie up half my hair.

Stila Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 in Medium. This stuff isn't all that great. Almost no coverage, and it makes my face greasy anyway (not necessarily more than usual, but enough to make note of).

I like this idea of getting these deluxe samples regularly. A few things I am not too fond of is that some of these samples, like the shampoo I got aren't really deluxe in my eyes, and that it took forever and a day to ship. One solution to the shipping would be for them to stagger the shipping of the boxes so that they come to our doorsteps at approximately the same time. However these minor things are just what they are...minor. One thing that I am liking is that I got a bunch of stuff that I have never heard of. So this is a great way to introduce yourself to different companies in the beauty industry.

China Glaze Anchors Away + My Nail Heaven

I posted this on my regular blog right before I started putting beauty things in here, so I'll put a link to that entry. I am really looking forward to this collection, and hope that I can find those colors at Kali's next month!

http://katsuchiika.blogspot.com/2011/01/update-nail-polish-news.html

By the way, for those of you who don't know Kali's Nail Supply, it is thee nail place that I go to for those "high-end" nail polishes, and also for cuticle things too. It's located at 547 Halekauila Street, near Restaurant Row. They have free parking in their lot behind the store. And to also note, they have a monthly sale, on the first Sunday of the month, where you can get 20% off everything you buy...what a DEAL!!! Here's their site: http://www.kalinailsupply.com/ They're really cool people, and easy to talk to. So even licensed professionals get a deal too on these Sunday sales.