What A Hauliday!

I thought I'd share some things I got in the past few months with you guys. In other words, a holiday haul, or as I like to say a hauliday. I love reading these kinds of posts and watching them on YouTube. Some of these things go as far back as the VIB Sale at Sephora, but most of these are gifts I got for Christmas. I won't go into too much detail, but let's get started, shall we?

  

• Essenza Scented Wax Warmer (flavors in Mango Raspberry, Cucumber Sage, Red Delicious, and Vanilla Caramel)
• Starbucks Double Wall Ceramic Mug - Alice+Olivia 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that my new mug has a tutu. Isn't it so adorable?

• LORAC Breakthrough Performance Foundation (SMS 4 - medium)
• Tarte Maracuja Miracle Foundation 12-Hour Broad Spectrum SPF 15 (light-medium)
• NARS Sheerglow Foundation (Punjab)
• MAC Face And Body Foundation (N3)

I know. I got a lot of foundations, but I am so obsessed with creating a perfect complexion and I like to experiment. The LORAC and Tarte foundations are darker than my normal skin tone, so I have been mixing them with some lighter foundations I have to give my face a little color.

 

• Murad Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisturizer
• MAC Strobe Cream - Travel Size 

• MAC Nocturnals Pigments And Glitter: Black And Gold

 

• Em Cosmetics Chiaroscuro Counter & Highlight Stick (light)
• Em Cosmetics The Great Cover Up Ultimate Concealer (fair warm and light neutral)

 

• NARS Guy Bourdin Holiday Collection Limited Edition One Night Stand Cheek Palette
• Tarte Off The Cuff Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush Palette
• Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

As always, thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you've done a Holiday/Christmas haul, I'd love to read them.

XoXo,

Oneo

New MAC Magnetic Nude Collection

Merry (late) Christmas! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and spent it with wonderful company.

I was excited beyond words to hear that MAC decided to re-promote the Extra Dimension line in the Magnetic Nude Collection. The shimmer and metallic effects of this collection are so unique. The collection launched in stores and at counters today, so go check it out. You won't regret it!

I'm so addicted to the MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes and I couldn't resist the Extra Dimension Skinfinishes in this collection. The finish makes your skin glow with warmth and has a soft frosty sheen. The color payoff is excellent and the texture is soft and easy to blend onto your skin.

Here is a close-up view of the MSFs. Superb (top left) is a soft nude with a champagne frost. Fairly Precious (top right) is a light peach with a peach frost. Magnetic Appeal (bottom) is a copper brown with a gold frost.

From left to right: Fairly Precious, Magnetic Appeal, and Superb

These highlighters are fantastic. They're really beautiful and flattering. Not only are the colors and textures extra dimensional, but so are the finish and glow it gives your skin. The nude and peachy tones are flattering and don't make you look pale like some metallic highlighters do.

If you need a better reference of how these shades might look on you, my foundation shade at MAC is NC25.

Like the MSFs, the Extra Dimension Blushes have excellent color payoff and are easy to blend. There are three blushes in this collection, but the one I ended up getting was At Dusk, which is a soft, neutral pink with a gold frost. 

 

Isn't that gorgeous? I already know I'm going to get a lot of use out of this blush.

 

I love me some nude lipsticks, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw promo pics of the lipsticks in this collection. There are four gorgeous shades, but after lots of swatching, I fell in love with Close Contact, which is a peachy nude with an amplified finish. Living up to its expectations as an amplified finish, the color pigmentation is great. It also has a creamy consistency.

In short, the MAC Magnetic Nude Collection is amazing. Each product has its own magnetic appeal. Although I didn't pick up any of the Fluidlines, Lipglasses or Extra Dimension Eye Shadows, I can tell you with certainty that they swatched beautifully. I'm happy with my selection and I hope that you enjoy this collection as much as I do.

XoXo,

Oneo

I Knew It Was Meant To Be - Rihanna Hearts MAC Fall Collection

Let's just take a moment here to appreciate how beautiful the packaging of this collection is. Once again, this was beautifully done by MAC Cosmetics. I seriously couldn't take my eyes off of the packaging and I knew I had to have it.

I didn't get a chance to shop Rihanna's first collection, so I can't comment on the fact that MAC repackaged some of the previous items. It's all new to me. I honestly wasn't sure if I wanted to get any of the blushes. What I really wanted was the cream colour base (pictured in the middle), which I was able to order online when it launched. The other two I had to chase down by finding a MAC store that actually had it, so that was a fun adventure.

The powder blush duo in Hibiscus Kiss was a little disappointing because I expected more color payoff. It is very buildable though, so you can definitely make it work. The powder blush in Bad Girl Gone Good on the other hand was very pigmented. It's a good, bold color for fall. The cream colour base in Diamonds is very subtle and I find that it works well for my skin tone (NC25). It gives me the right amount of highlight without going overboard. You can also use this over your lids or over your lips for a little shimmer.

Those are swatches of the powder blushes. I couldn't get a good picture of the cream colour base because it really just looked like my skin. No matter how many times I took the picture it was same. It was just too suble, so I apologize for that. 

Let's move on to the lipsticks, shall we? 

As you probably know by now, I am a major lipstick junkie. I couldn't wait to get my hands on these. The only thing was that I didn't think the pictures I saw online were true to color. Well, at least not for Nude and Who's That Chick (both pictured on the right). Nude is a cool medium/dark brown with a little bit of a gray cast. It's odd to think of a nude/brown color as cool, but either way it doesn't work for me. It's too dark for me and with the hint of gray, it seems to suck the life right out of me. As for Who's That Chick, I was pretty surprised that it was so orange. Don't get me wrong, I liked it and it's a good shade for me, but there is just way too much frost/shimmer. Talk That Talk looks a little scarier than it really is, but it's a beautiful plum color and it's just so gorgeous. I don't have a color like this so I am excited to try it out this fall. RiRi Woo is a cool classic red that is very pigmented. The formula is a little dry, but it's a great color.  

Here are some swatches:

(From left to right: Nude, Who's That Chick, RiRi Woo, Talk That Talk)

The last thing I got was the Extended Play mascara in Gigablack Lash. This is my first time using a MAC mascara and I'm really impressed. I get a lot of precision with the smaller wand. It does a good job of coating and defining my last on the first application. 

Other than the fact that it took me three hours to shop and check out online (and not to the mention the two stores I had to drive in complete opposite directions for), I'm super glad I was able to get my hands on these products. There was so much hype around it and now I know why. Needless to say, I am excited for the release of her Holiday collection and have high hopes for it. Hope you enjoyed, loves.

XoXo,

Oneo

MAC Archie's Girls: We Meet At Last

MAC has done it again. The release of their latest Archie's Girls collection has been a success. Well, at least it seems so to me. The fact that it was pretty much sold out before its launch date says it all. I got a late start on the shopping, but luckily Macy's had some of it in stock online and available in stores. For the most part I was able to get everything I wanted from this collection.

Needless to say, this collection does not disappoint. The packaging is absolutely adorable. Instant charmer! As always, MAC's collections are pretty versatile. The shades offered in Betty's half were sweet and very girl-next door, whereas Veronica's shades were darker and more daring. The offset was a great idea.

In all of its pink and peach glory, Betty's shades had more appeal to me. So let me show you what I got and what some of the swatches look like.

Let's start with the most exciting part of this collection: LIPS!




  

I absolutely love these colors! Betty Bright is hands down my favorite purchase. It's a very vibrant, peachy coral color and I suspect I will be wearing it a lot this spring. It has a satin finish, which is my personal fave just because it wears well. The formula is creamy, super wearable, and very pigmented. The most important thing I look for in a lipstick is wearing power and pigmentation, which the satin finish does well. Girl Next Door on the other hand has a lustre finish, which I like too, but because this finish gives you moisture and color at the same time it's a bit sheer and doesn't last as long. In the tube Girl Next Door looks like a vivid pink, but it's more of a pale, frosty pink on your lips. The transfer is sheen and lightweight. As for the only lip gloss product I purchased, Summer Sweetheart is described as a light peach color and that's pretty much what you get. I've never been a big fan of MAC's lipglosses because the formulas are a bit thick and sticky (and usually doesn't last long for me). However, it does settle into the lines well and you don't need a lot to coat your lips. It's pretty translucent and goes well on top of most lipsticks.

Now moving on to blushes.

As impressed as I am with the colors of the blushes, I did find the formula to be a bit dry and chalky. There is some fall out, but the pigmentation is great. The best way to explain Flatter Me is that it has a golden peach base with vibrant coral hearts. I believe it's supposed to be a beauty powder and blush in one, so when mixed together they produce a soft sheen. It's very buildable. My favorite way to wear it is on top of Cream Soda, which is a light peachy coral shade. When I first un-boxed Cream Soda it looked like it had some shimmer specks in it, but it's pretty matte on my face. It doesn't quite have that glowy, satin finish I like.That's why I finish it off with Flatter Me. The combination gives my face more dimension and an effortless glow. It's perfect for brightening and adding a flush to your cheeks.

So are you a Betty or a Veronica?

XoXo,
Oneo