MAC To The Beach Collection Part 2

Hi everyone,
Here is the rest of the items that I purchased from this collection.
1. I got the Get-Away Bronze blush. This is  a warm golden brown blush. It goes really well with my current NC25 skintone. It warms up the face and it gives that tan and glowy look you get when you're off on a vacation by the beach. Perfect for the summer!
2. I got the beachbound lipstick. Personally I wouldn't recommend this. It's a glaze which means it barely shows up on the lips. I bought it because I like golden/peachy lipsticks and I don't mind a sheer glow to the lips. I more times than not will only wear gloss on my lips so this is good for someone like me. If you prefer color pay off from your lipstick as I suspect most people do, pass on this.
3. Beach Bronze. I wanted to give this a go...this is a cream bronzer. I have never had a cream bronzer, but I really like it. It will stay on your face all day and it does not look streaky. It looks a bit more natural that powder bronzer.
4. Lip pencil in Life's A Breeze. I got this because it compliments "lazy day" lipstick and it makes it last longer. It's a gorgeous bright pink.
I have included some swatches below (from L-R we have life's a breeze pencil, beachbound lipstick (swatched twice), get-away bronze blush and beach bronze cream blush)

This is my contribution to this collection. I really did love this collection. Now I can't wait to see the September collection called Venomous Villains. It's a Disney and MAC collaboration so I'm sure it'll be fantastic. What was your favorite part of this collection?

Hope you all are having a wonderful week :)

16 miles and going......

Hi everyone,
So I wanted to post something that has nothing to do with make up for a change. I recently ran 1/2 marathon in April and that was so much fun I decided to run the full marathon next year. I'm training hard to prepare for it. Usually my long 13+ mile runs are on the weekend since I work during the week. Yesterday against my better judgment, I lifted weights which I hadn't done in ages, and I woke up this morning with a couple of sore muscles. I was off work today and had set my mind on running 16 miles. I never thought I was going to be able to run 16 miles with the sore painful muscles though. However, I set my mind on it, thought positive and kept going. What stays with me during challenging times is one of my favourite quotes from Henry Ford "If you think you can, or if you think you can't, either way, you're right." I love that quote. The moral of this story? Think you can and you can make anything happen....
Good luck on any endeavour you are challenging yourself with today.
Have a lovely week :)

NOTD OPI Rumples Wiggin' Shrek Collection

Hi everyone,
This is what I used on my nails today:
1. Base coat CNDC stickey
2. OPI Rumples Wiggin's from the Shrek Collection. I'm so glad I bought this. It's a lilac color and perfect for the summer. I used two coats of this.
3. INM Super Fast drying top coat.
I love OPI's Rumples Wiggin's but it's one of those nail polishes that requires a second coat and maybe even a third. I was surprised of how sheer the first coat was. I love the color though.

Have a wonderful day! :)

MAC To The Beach Collection

Hi everyone,

MAC to the beach collection came out online on Tuesday and a few items sold the same day the collection came out. The highlight "Marine Life" sold out immediately. The collection came out on the stores today and I purchased a few items. I also made a separate online order and will post that later once I receive it. I went a bit overboard on this collection but I must say, I love the beach, so I can't help but fall for these marketing tactics. The collection's package is green or orange with shells, starfish or corals on it.

Here is what I got at the store today:

1. Marine life highlight. This is gorgeous. I can not believe I was able to find this at my local MAC store today. It is half light pink, half dark pink and has a touch of gold on top. The gold on top is just a spray though and will come off once you rub your brush on it. I almost do not want to touch it. This will be used as a blush as I have a fair complexion right now and could not pull this as a highlighter. It has a seahorse on it. The child in me gets giddy every time I look at it. It's so so pretty. On the skin it comes off as this soft pink/coral type of color. Gorgeous!!! Very glad to have this in my possession.

2. MAC hipness blush. This is just a typical pink. This came out with the Faffi collection but I did not have it. It's another one of the soft pinky coral blushes that work well with my complexion.
3. Lipstick in Lazy Day. This is a soft blue pink. This is a lustre finish which means it gives shine and it is not too pigmented so you can sheer it out. This is everything I wanted MAC Viva Glam Gaga to be. It's much softer and easier to wear than Viva Glam Gaga.
4. Lipgloss in Easy Lounger. This is pink shimmer in a tube. It comes off a bit sheer but it goes really well with Lazy Day.
Below are some pictures of these items. I will do some looks, reviews and swatches later on. What did you think of this collection? Was it all hype or did you love it?

NOTD Essie Splash of Grenadine

Hi Everyone,

This is what I used on my nails today:

1. Base coat CND stickey
2. Essie Splash of grenadine
3. Top Coat Orly Glosser
I do love Essie Splash of Grenadine. It's a unique color and I don't have anything else like this. It's a darker version of OPI's lucky lucky lavender. I got perfect coverage with just two coats and it's such a pretty color for spring/summer.

I hope you all had a lovely day :)

Product Rave -Creative Nails Design Stickey Base Coat

Hi Everyone,

So I did a nail of the day post on the 20th showing off OPI lucky lucky lavender, and I mentioned CND stickey base coat and I raved about it being one of the best base coats I have ever used. Well to show you what I mean, here is a picture of my nails 5 days after my nail of the day post....no chips and no pealing. Below is the picture of the nails now and the one I posted on the 20th.

The top coat I used is Orly Glosser which I got at Sally's, but no matter the top coat, CND stickey always keeps my polish put and it prevents it from chipping. It is described by the company as a soft sticky base coat designed to anchor color to the nail and to prevent peeling and chipping and it does just that. This one is a winner. If you can get your hands on this, do so. 

What do you guys think? Have you tried this? What are some of your favorite base coats?

Product Rave Kiehl's creamy eye treatment with avocado

Hi guys,
I wanted to do a product rave for a product I absolutely love. I have combination/oily skin but always get dry around my eyes. I have tried several different eye creams, but nothing as rich and moisturizing as this. It's Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado. The texture of this is very thick and not to everyone's taste. I read mixed reviews online, but I absolutely love it. I picked this up in Florida in March and have used it day and night since. It literally transforms my eye area the moment I put it on. It just gives that plump affect to the eyes and rich hydration. I'm going to attach a picture of the cream and as you can see it's very thick. The green tinge is the avocado.

Have you tried this? Do you have any other Kiehl's recommendations for me?

What's in my make up bag?

Hi everyone,
As many of you know, I run/work out all the time. I'm always training for a race whether it's a 5k or a marathon. I mostly work out in the morning or during my lunch hour so I have to reply my make up at the gym. Hence the need to carry all this make up in my make up bag. The make up in this bag changes weekly(***guilty face***), but what can I say? I love make up. This is what I had on my make up bag this week.
1. MAC studio finish concealer in SPF 35
2. NARS sheer matte foundation (I think I prefer this to the sheer glow one but I have combination skin and it tends to get oily on summer time). This foundation is amazing. It matches my skin perfectly (no face/neck syndrome) and I really do believe it has helped my skin complexion. I'll do a separate post on this once I have had it for a while.
3. MAC Omega and a random brush from Sephora. I use this for my eyebrows. I don't really like painted on eyebrows. If done wrong, eyebrows can really age people. If you are blond, try Omega for your eyebrows. It gives a very pretty ashy/soft look.
4. MAC Saint Germain. This is a Barbie pink lipstick. I love this color but it's hard to wear so I pair this with Clinique Luau which is a very soft pinky/peach with gold running thru it. It evens out the blue in Saint Germain. I always prime my lips with some sort of chapstick or lip butter and at the time is The Body Shop shea lip butter.
5. MAC Bare Study paint pot. This is a shimmery champagne kind of color.
6. NARS Cairo and NARS Fez. I got Cairo in a recent haul. Cairo is a color you can wear all over the lid with nothing else on. It makes my life simple. It's hard to explain this color but Sephora describes it as a champagne color. It goes well with Bare Study. Fez is a shimmery chocolate. Very rich and very pigmented.
7. Blush of the moment is Bare Minerals cheerful. This is a baby pink. It has no shimmer on it, and I prefer to keep a matte face when wearing shimmery eyeshadows. It prevents my face from being all disco ball looking (although at times, I don't mind that either)
8. Brushes. Foundation/blush brush is from Sonja Kashuk and so is the flat brush that I use to apply eyeshadows all over my lid. The blending brush is from MAC (it's MAC 224)
Below are some swatches of these colors (from L-R, Bare Minerals Cheerful blush, Saint Germain on it's own, Saint Germain and Clinique Luau, MAC bare study, MAC bare study and Ciaro, Fez)

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.