MAC Haul & FOTD

Face: YSL Touché Éclat, Tarte Exposed · Brows: Anastasia Brow Wiz, MAC Mystery · Eyes: MAC Painterly, Malt, Sable, Teddy eyeliner, Maybelline Illegal Lenghts Mascara · Lips: MAC Rebel

This past Saturday, with a list in hand, I took a trip up to San Francisco to the MAC Pro Store and ended up with a bit more than I had planned, but oh well!  I really wanted a Z-Palette but they're so hard to get here (and I'm impatient) so I settled for the new MAC palette. I know some people didn't like the old one, but I've got to admit the new one is beautiful and sturdy.

For shadows, I opted for: Shroom, Patina, Charcoal Brown, Sable, Copperplate, Quarry, Malt, and Satin Taupe.  They seem to complement each other beautifully and also go well with some others I need to de-pot (Naked Lunch, Silver Ring, and Honesty). I think what started this whole thing was me dropping my beloved Satin Taupe and being way-too-sad about it. I originally purchased it to wear when Richard and I got married (and I did) so when it broke, I was feeling a bit nostalgic (lol?).

I really wanted a paint pot but couldn't decide between Bare Study and Painterly — the lovely lady MAC talked me into Painterly and I'm glad she did. It's such a nice nude base for shadows and it makes the colors pop a bit. My only fear is waking up one morning to find a dry paint pot, but hopefully that won't be for quite a while.

I repurchased Teddy, my favorite brown eyeliner of all time. I only wear it on the outer-half of my waterline, but I think it's perfect for that use. I also got the MAC 217 as I was in the market for a new blending/shadow brush. I'm in love! I need more brushes! Help!

Last but definitely not least are Plumful and Rebel. I originally went in for Capricious, but they didn't have it in stock, sigh. I figured I should get Plumful since I wanted it eventually anyway and was then talked into Rebel as well — but hey, I ain't regretting it.

Soooo that's that. Sorry this was ridiculously long! It's stuff like this that makes me seriosuly consider buying a new camera with video capability so I can do videos (so if you have any recommendations please let me know). I think I'm set for a while when it comes to MAC products — what are your favorite things from MAC?

PIXI Shade Quartette in Shades of Taupe

Pixi Shade Quartette in Shades of Taupe* · $22

I was lucky enough to recieve a few bits from PIXI, and thought I'd start out by showing you all the beautiful eyeshadow quartette that I had been eyeing (no pun intended) for quite some time. P.S. Sorry if the lighting is off — it's so gloomy today!

Shades of Taupe is exactly what it says it is — shades of taupe, duh. There's four different colors — one matte, one satin, and two shimmers and let me tell you, they're just the perfect colors for autumn and winter. I really love taupes, purples, and browns in the colder months so I'm super excited to have this in my collection.  Whether you just want a light pinky-brown on your lids or maybe a subtle smokey eye like I did, you can do a lot with these four shades. They're super pigmented, seriously a little goes a long way. They're also extremely soft and really easy to apply and blend. Overall they're an amazing quality and for $22? That's basically a steal. 

What do you think of the PIXI shade quartettes? What are your favorite winter shadow colors? 

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Urban Decay Naked Palette · $50

The hype around Urban Decay's palettes can't be denied, and for good reason. I've been wearing eyeshadow tons more now that I've cut down on eyeliner use, and I've got to say I much prefer it that way. So with that I've been debating getting a UD palette for some time now, going back and forth between the original Naked palette and the Naked 2 palette. After some research and recommendations, I went for the original!

The colors in this one are bronze and cocoa neutrals, making them a bit warmer than Naked 2 which is exactly what I wanted. There are few matte colors thrown in with the shimmers as well which is awesome as I'm a sucker for a nice matte brown (I'm looking at you, Buck). I'm pretty excited about most of the colors here, but especially Sin, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, and Toasted. Such great summer/autumn colors and I can definitely see myself wearing some of these year round too since they're so versatile and neutral. It comes with a little bottle of Primer Potion which is super cute and a total plus (vs. the random lipgloss that comes with Naked 2).

With our NYC trip coming up in two (!!!!) days I wanted something that I could easily bring with me and that would have all the colors I needed. This is exactly that. It's so travel friendly that I can just throw it in my carry on and be done with it.

What do you guys think of the Urban Decay Naked/Naked 2 palettes? Which is your favorite?