Sparkled Beauty

It was perfect yesterday, sunny and warm. I had a nice time outside. We had an appointment at the studio for some family photos - haven't had our pictures professionally taken for a long time. Squirt certainly had a fun time, as she is a natural poser. Can't wait to see how the pictures turn out.

I didn't do much shopping this weekend. Just did a short trip to Walmart for some batteries. Saw certain shades of Sally Hansen Nail polish on for CAD2, part of their "Roll Back" campaign. I just bought one purple shade - as purple is probably the colour I don't have many.

So the reason for all the pull back, no shopping thoughts that I have had recently? The huge haul I said I would talk about a few days ago: MAC. A MA decided to retire to be a new mom (and had no desire to come back to makeupafter) and sell part of her kit, which had a bit of everything. This is in no mean a huge haul, compared to lots of you out there everytime MAC has a new release :-). It is just huge to me, because I never spend that much money at once. My experience with MAC is limited as well, as I always feel intimidated being in the store (and don't know what I was doing there).

First, the makeup case. I never own one, and always admire people who bought them. To me, it is such a neat way to organize makeup and it's convenient when you know where the stuff is. And to my dream of being a MA, a case like this is such a must have. At least, it looks cool to have one, lol. It's funny, as after I bought it, I left it alone with all the other stuff inside for days. My bf kept asking why I haven't started putting makeup in the case. And today I finally opened it up and added some stuff. It looks all pretty and tidy now.

Next, the brushes. I never had a MAC brush in my life, for one simple reason: they are costly. No one can deny the high quality of MAC makeup brushes, and makeup lovers always crave about them. But I'm such a newbie, still trying to figure out how to use brushes to get the look I want. It is scary to have a brush in your hand and don't know what to do with it. Still, this brush collection fell on my hand (with a price tag to pay), and they are so pretty. I got a brush roll with 17 brushes.
Face brushes:
- 109 small contour brush
- 150 large powder brush
- 184 duo fiber fan brush
- 187 and 188 large and small duo fiber brush (the loveliest among them all)
- 190 foundation brush

Eye brushes:
- 208 angled brow brush
- 210 precise eyeliner brush
- 212 flat definer brush
- 213 fluff brush
- 217 blending brush
- 227 large fluff brush
- 231 small shader brush
- 239 shading brush
- 242 shader brush
- 252 large shader brush
- 263 small angle brush
Considering how little I know about MAC, Temptalia's Guide to MAC would be a must read material. Her Beauty Basics series on MAC eye brushes has been very helpful when I was trying to decide whether it was worth it buying the brushes. Now I have to do more reading, and then start to know my brushes to put them in good use.

And the most exciting part of the haul - the eyeshadows.
From L-R, First row: Copper Ring, Swimming, Humid, Retro-Speck and Plumage
Second row: Swish, Woodwinked, Bitter, Parfait Amour and Star Violet
Third row: Amber Lights, All that Glitters and Fresh Water.
They are so pretty, and it's a good combination among different shades, dark, highlight, bright summer shades, etc. I for sure will have fun creating looks with them.

The rest is face stuff. They are part of the kit, so I had to get them all, still need to see how to use them. I heard good things about the foundation - MAC Studio Fix (NC35, C40) and Studio Fix Fluid(NW15, NW25, NC37). The interesting part is the liquid ones have SPF15 while the compacts don't - I think they are sold at the same price at MAC. I don't know what my MAC foundation shade is, but by the look, these shades might be a little too light for my skin tone. I'm thinking of selling them.

Powder blush in "Secret blush", Heatherette lipstick in Fleshpot, lipsticks in Midmauve and TWIG. I'm not big in blushes but I like this Secret blush a lot. I will try it out pretty soon. The Heatherette lipstick got me with its fancy package, but it's a nude shade and I don't know whether I can rock nude shades, as my lips are quite pigmented. The other 2 shades are easier to work with, I guess, but they are quite similar. So lipstick wise, I don't know what to do with them :-)

Eye Kohl in Fascinating, Fix +, Matte, Select Cover-Up (NW15) and Paints in Sublime Nature. There's a Blacktrack Fluidline as well, not pictured. The white kohl could be used in the lower lash line to bright up the eyes (I need some practice in that field). Fix + is a stable in lots of you ladies' routine but I don't know how it works. Matte would be useful for my T-zone (maybe like a primer). The Cover-Up is too light, and I never used paints before. Haha, do you start thinking what I was doing getting this kit and don't know how to use the stuff?

If you guys have some experience with any of the products in this kit, please share. There's no way back for me with this haul, so I seriously need to make it work or I'll have to sell some off.

Hope you guys are ready for a new week. I know I'm not. Thanks for stopping by.