MAC Matte Royal

Hello again readers!

When MAC launched their new Matte lipsticks, I went over the moon! I love matte lipsticks for their long wear time, and for MAC to be offering new shades to the table, I couldn't resist caving. Not only is this my first MAC Matte finish lipstick, this was my first MAC lipstick entirely!

I can't describe the packaging as much more than classic MAC. The black bullet with silver MAC print, and the silver tube on the inside. Easy to pick out of an entire pile of other lip products.

The smell of the lipstick is to die for. A gentle, sweet vanilla. Not overwhelming, and I find it to be pleasant. 

The lipstick was everything I was hoping for; a beautiful royal blue, with a semi-matte finish. I would say a complete matte finish, but it does pick out a bit of the light while I'm wearing it. It has an odd effect of completely washing me out, which I don't find to be a negative thing entirely. If I want it to be balanced, I put extra effort in my eye makeup. Otherwise if I keep it relatively neutral, all of the focus is on my mouth.

It takes a few passes to get an even application, and it needs some care in order to get a steady look to the lips. I don't have a lip liner to match this, but I really should, because this can get really messy, really quick.

This isn't a lipstick I'd recommend to people who are just getting into lipsticks (even though it's an incredibly fun color!) because of how much effort I feel it needs to wear it.

The lipsticks retail for $16, but with tax and everything I round it $17 a piece with free shipping! A bit steeper than a drugstore lipstick, but so far I find it to be worth the price. It makes me want to buy more, but at the moment I can't really justify spending so much on lipsticks that I may have in my collection already. In the future, I will be buying more for my collection, just not at the moment.

Thanks for reading!

Mac Kitschmas Pigment

Hello again readers!

Onto my second MAC makeup purchase. I have two of the palettes, but not a lot of makeup. I'm building up my collection slowly...

Kitschmas was a pigment that I didn't think I'd ever want, honestly. It just didn't do it for me in the swatches I went to look for, and I decided I would never get it. Then I kept seeing other swatches, and makeup looks, and just collections with Kitschmas included and I found myself drawn to it yet again, and I went ahead and bought it.

It's such an odd pigment. It's a light pink, with lavender and silver shimmer/glitter and it's pretty unique. I can just tap a small amount in the center of my lids to get the halo effect with ease. The color since it's not so neutral, brightens up the eye and adds some color.

It also can be built up with a glitter glue to better payoff to stand alone, but I prefer it as a highlight.

I've also used this as a face highlight, and while I like it, it will not be appealing for everyone. 

This is one of those products that I'm happy to have, but it doesn't blow me away by any means. I just wanted it because it looked really pretty, even though I don't reach for it very much.

Thanks for reading. 

Mac Blue Brown Pigment

Hello again readers!

Well, I start uni again tomorrow, and I'm dreading it, but it's the last semester I have to do! So that's really amazing.

I thought I'd bring up a post that I wanted to post ever since I got the pigment in. The Mac Blue Brown pigment has been on my wishlist for ages and ages, since I first got into makeup, and for the longest time, it seemed like an unreachable goal. Fortunately, it wasn't unreachable at all!

I picked up the 'To-Go' size, as it's in fact a better value than the full-size product. A 'To-Go' pigment is .09 oz for $10, while the full-size is .15 oz for $21. So if you bought two of the 'Sized to Go' pigments, you'd get .18, which is an extra .03 oz for CHEAPER. What a deal, right? Plus, they're super travel-friendly.

The downside is that not all of the pigments have Sized to Go sizes (there's only 8!), so don't be disappointed if they don't have your favorite pigment in the travel section.

The opening is small, smaller than the full-sized pigments (I'm assuming, since the packaging for the full-sized pigments are also bigger), so you can't dip a large brush in, but a shadow brush to pack the pigment on will dip in no problem.

I tried it in the way that I'd shake some of the pigment out onto a piece of paper, and then whatever excess was left over I'd fold the paper so I wouldn't waste pigment, but I find just dipping my brush is easier and there is less of a mess.

I've used this as an eyeshadow, and an eyeliner (I also have a nail polish and a gloss in this color, but from different brands, so maybe I'll do a duo-chrome post in the future because it's my favorite) and haven't tried it as say, a blush or something, though I want to. The cool thing about this pigment, is you can apply it subtly, or pack it on for a really cool look.

The pigment is everything I ever dreamed up, and more. It's a warm red-brown base with a beautiful blue shimmer when the pigment hits the light. It goes on so well, even without a primer. Though, if I don't wear a primer, it'll crease like crazy (not a bad look, but I'm not always down for the grunge look) and it's noticeable because of the duo-chrome finish.

And for so long, I've been using the definer shade from the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette, which is said to be a dupe for MAC Blue Brown pigment.

Is it a dupe? Mostly, yes! If you love the color, you'll get it with the Comfort Zone palette.

The biggest differrence (which I use to defend myself when I collect all the blue-brown duo-chromes I can get my hands on) is that the finish is different. Comfort Zone is a more subdued illumination, but it picks up more light in it's subtlety. MAC's pigment is crazy intense and picks up light in one spot enough to draw your eye to it, but then fades off towards the sides.

Both are worth having in your collection in my opinion, and I'm really glad to have bought this pigment because it's just flawless.

Thanks for reading!

MAC Large Duo Pro Palette

Hello again readers!

This week I am going to upload all of my higher end makeup reviews and swatches that I've been holding onto. 

Today I have the Mac Large Duo Pro Palette!

This is my first MAC purchase, and I wanted to note how great the box itself felt. It's light cardstock, but it feels really sleek and luxurious. I know, look at me waxing poetic about a box, but it did feel nice.

The palette is made out of a hard black plastic, also smooth to the touch.  The issue that I have with this palette, is that it shows off fingerprints. If you have product, or oil, or anything at all on your finger tips, it will transfer onto the surface of this palette, making it look dirty. Just from taking it out of the box to photograph, it had oil transfer! Not a good look.

The inside of the palette has a clear plastic divider, keeping shadows in their respective places. The reason I chose this palette over the others, is that I can use both sides to store shadows.

The palette itself is magnetized, perfect for MAC shadows and other shadows like MORPHE, but not so great for shadows that you depotted from other palettes. I had to buy a strip of magnet from Walmart, but that itself didn't put me back much, and I still have most of it, since you don't need a lot for the eyeshadow pans.

I stored the shadows that I depotted from the ELF 36 pan pallete, my ELF beauty books, my Profusion palette, my eyeshadow set from Emma, and my ELF Eyeshadow single (already magnetized).

It holds a lot, but as you can see there is some big gaps between the small pans and the large pans from ELF. It's not a huge deal, but I can see myself having issues in the future because of this empty space.

I really do like this palette! I got it for 8 dollars and some change with free shipping since I don't live close to one of their stores or counters. It arrived within a week, and the quality is fantastic for an 8 dollar product. I definitely see myself buying another one when I fill this one up, since it's so easy for me to store eyeshadows in.

Thanks for reading!