This morning I woke up feeling a little spunky and rejuvenated after a really (really) blah Monday and Tuesday so I decided to actually put some color on my face today.

I dug around my newly organized makeup stash (it probably won’t stay this way for long) to see if I could find something to spice up my life on this Hump Day! It didn’t take me long before I gravitated towards that purple pot of eyeshadow - it drew me in immediately.

MAC’s new collection, Electro Flash, gives us mineralized eye shadow duos that definitely helped to pick up my mood when I spied Odd Couple, a pot containing a bold purple half paired with a side of light bronze with purple veining. They say the shadows are extremely pigmented but I thought they had just the right amount of color.

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It’s Saturday and I’m going to try and get some relaxation in after last weekend’s whirlwind in Tahoe. All that eating, gambling, and 4th of July fun really wipes a girl out!

This morning, the Boyfriend and I went for some dim sum and now I’m just getting ready for my appointment at Refresh Day Spa where I have a Hawaiian Salt Glow with Kukui Nut Oil and Swedish Massage scheduled. Although an afternoon at the spa doesn’t require wearing makeup, I still like to put a little something on because you never know what you’re going to do or who you are going to bump into!

Skincare is very key every day, no matter what. I’ve been using L’Oreal Skin Genesis Serum Concentrate and Oil-Free Lotion. The serum is a little runny and drippy and I’m not loving the texture since it goes on very wet. I have really massage it in for about 10 seconds before it dissolves fully into my skin.

The lotion, on the other hand, has a nice texture that’s rich but not too creamy and actually has a little bit of super subtle shimmer in it. It helps give me a radiance that really counts on days where makeup is minimal. The Skin Genesis is a multi-layer Cell Strengthening skincare line for preventative purposes. Marketed to those around 30 (that’s me!), Skin Genesis is supposed to help firm up the top layers of the skin to help me slow the look of aging.

Taking notes from the last time I visited the Bobbi Brown counter, the MUA there mentioned that mascara, cheeks, and a little lips are all a woman really needs to look her best every day. Here’s what I used on myself before heading out the door.

1. Lumiere Fiber Optic Blush Brush
2. MAC 266 brush for my eyebrows
3. Shiseido Eyebrow Compact in B3 Light Brown
4. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler
5. MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Sweetness
6. Redpoint Megalash Mascara in Satin Black
7. LipFusion Lip Plump gloss in Summer (more…)

Today I rushed after work to go take a peak at the new MAC collections on counter as not to miss any of the must-haves - and swatch the heck out of everything for you.

But, to my dismay, there was a new counter manager there (or someone new, anyway) and she was freaking out that I was swatching and taking pictures. So much so, that she wouldn’t let me take them right there at the counter and therefore turned me way off to hauling anything from Electro Flash - even though the shadow duos looked to die for. I swatched Odd Couple and Sea & Sky on a free spot on my hand and the textures are definitely super pigmented and very rich. (more…)

There are many products out there that claim to be lust-worthy, holy grails among millions, and are so hyped up - you must have them. One case in point: NARS Orgasm blush.

I have heard nothing but rave reviews about anything NARS puts out in this shade (check out my friend’s overzealous review here). And while I absolutely hate buying into anything that’s so pumped up (minus the Sex and the City movie, of course), I was (secretly) super stoked to get my hands on this NARS blush/bronzer duo ($37 US) in Orgasm and Laguna and couldn’t wait to try it out.

Orgasm blush is a pretty and soft peachy pink with subtle shimmer. It’s great to sweep all over your face to create a healthy glow - did you see Muse’s FOTD with just this blush and gloss? The results truly promises to live up to the hype.

Laguna, a camel brown with hints of shimmer, is the bronzer in this duo. I personally am not a huge fan of this shade - I feel like it looks a little flat on my skin as I tend to prefer just a bit more shimmer in my bronzers for more of a “glow”. But in a pinch, it’s great to have as a backup. (more…)

MAC’s Mineralized products are coming back - in a big way! Three new collections will be in stores and on counters Thursday, and if you have a craving for all things mineralized or missed the boat on MAC’s 2007 Holiday collection with these eye shadow duo darlings, it’s time to get them NOW!

Electro Flash: This is the anchor color collection for this release with nine new pretty eye shadow duos, four lipsticks and four complementary lipglasses. Personally, I’m liking Love Connection (surprised? ) and Li’ Hot Pepper lipglass. Autumn red tones are going to be particularly special for fall.

Sonic Chic: This slew of nine mineralized blushes makes me want to drool as much as I loved the Beauty Powder Blush collection that MAC released in the spring. The colors look amazingly rich, perfect for summer and transitioning to the new season. I won’t be able to afford all the pans but you bet your behind I’ll try!!

New View: If you love the mineralized skin finish powders, I think you’ll really like this. Although if you had those, I’m not really sure this collection will complement your current makeup bag. But if you don’t have it already, definitely pick these up - everyone raves over them and you can definitely tell why. The shimmer veining that runs all through the pan is sure to bring a luminescent glow to your complexion that can’t be beat!

I’m running out to my local MAC counter tomorrow so stay tuned for swatches - and maybe a mini haul.. because retail therapy never hurts.

Do you have a hankering for any of these goodies from MAC? Tell me what you’re going to pick up this weekend!

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Thank goodness I’m home, and with being away for almost a week, I was more than ready to get back into my regular routine.

After making it back to San Francisco in record time (I’m talking just under three hours baby!), I spent the entire afternoon catching up on work email in my pajamas and then a few hours just vegging out in front of the TV watching missed episodes of America’s Best Dance Crew and discovering a new show on A&E - Intervention.

Have you seen this? It’s a crazy documentary where people with drug addictions think that they are being profiled only to discover later on that their families have scheduled interventions to make them go to rehab. If you’ve got a strong stomach, I recommend it because it’s pretty interesting. But watching a 23-year-old guy shoot heroin into his ass cheek is not for the weak at heart.

Watching two back to back episodes of Intervention made me decide that I needed a good cleanse myself and hopped into the shower to get all the highway travel grit off me. I gave myself an extra dose of pampering with a full body scrub down with MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator from their Future Earth collection that was released a few weeks ago. (more…)

I don’t know anyone that doesn’t love digging through old stuff just to find something you didn’t even remember existed!

I was going through some old boxes to try and find items to complete my Halloween costume for work this morning and discovered a MAC lipglass set from their Temptations collection - remember those from wayyy back in Holiday 2005? I was so stoked because I love lipglosses and now I have 5 more colors to wear everyday.

Just in case you’ve forgotten like I have, here are the colors in the Cool set (in the order seen below): Fleur de Light, Cultured, Pink Poodle, Dreamy, and Bow Belle. Fleur de Light and Bow Belle are discontinued I think, but White Magic from the McQueen Collection is a comparable duplicate.

Have you found anything in your makeup box lately that you’ve forgotten about and can’t believe you did? I’d love to hear about your finds!

I was pretty lazy to put on makeup today so I just slapped on my basics - powder, eyebrows (a must when they are as thin as mine are!), eye liner, mascara, a little blusher and gloss. What resulted was my perfect day to day look that I can do all the time without feeling blah and boring.

On this particular day, I tried my new MAC McQueen Lipglass that I got the other day. It’s a soft, baby pink with white pearl shimmer (gorgeous!). And as it would turn out, I love it so much because I feel like it gives me luscious lips! It’s definitely going into my purse everyday so I can touch up with it whenever I need to sass it up during the day.

Here’s what I’m wearing:

Shiseido Eyebrow Compact in BL3 (Light Brown) for $28.50 US

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Chocolate Shimmer Ink ($19 US)

Lorac Blush in Plum ($16 US)

MAC McQueen Collection Lipglass in WhiteMagic ($14 US)

And that’s all folks, easy as 1-2-3.. okay, maybe 4 but it’s still manageable for 10 minutes in the morning, right? =)

I was so excited to receive my goodies from the MAC McQueen Collection in the mail the other day - I ordered the lipstick in Masque and Lipglass in White Magic.

I tried out Masque first; it’s a rosy, dirty pink that’s pretty in the tube but makes me look pretty pale as a stand alone color. When I apply it on my lips, I don’t get total coverage with the first swipe. I have to apply about two layers and then blot my lips together to get an even coverage. The look is slightly too matte for me with just the lipstick on so I applied a little bit of gloss to even out the color and to make me look less like a corpse.

Here’s what’s on my lips:

MAC Lipstick in Masque, McQueen Collection ($14 US)

MAC Lip Pencil in Whirl ($12.50 US)

Bourjois Effect 3D Ultra Glossy Lipstick in Lilas Romantic 85 ($12 US)

I’m not really sure if this one is going to go in the favorites collection but it could be a lovely color if you layer with other glosses.

I’d love to hear what you thought of the rest of the McQueen Collection.

Makeup Bag just announced that MAC’s new holiday collection is available now.

So if you can’t wait until Thursday to get your hands on the new Antiquitease collection, now you don’t have to. I know you’ve been itchin’ to pull out that credit card for this collection for weeks and now you can buy them online before they hit stores. If you’re really hardcore, opt for overnight shipping so that you can get these babies as early as tomorrow! WOO HOO!

Shop the entire collection HERE.