My MAC F&F Order!

Remember that MAC 25% off sale? Well, my order arrived today! Look at all the fun stuff I got:



I got a couple of lipsticks, a blush, a mascara, another 239 brush, and a whole bunch of eyeshadows! (Can you tell eyeshadow is my favorite?) I'm excited because I got a good mix of both neutrals as well as bold colors. I'm most excited to try out Steamy (the bluish one) and Sumptious Olive. If I come up with any good looks with my new purchases, I'll post them here.

MAC Friends & Family Online Sale ends today!

Today is the last day of the MAC Friends and Family sale - 25% off everything, online only, with the exception of the Viva Glam products.

Offer code is SAVE25 with free shipping of orders of $60 or more.

Not surprisingly, I went a little crazy with this sale, despite the fact that I definitely do NOT need any more of this stuff. But I can't resist a good sale!!! Ah well...

This info is a little late, but if you were thinking about getting some stuff, here are some suggestions below. These are some of my favorite neutral shades that should go with anyone's coloring.

Audrey's MAC Picks

Eyeshadows:











These were actually the first MAC eyeshadows I bought and I often see these on other people's "must have" lists. I typically wear Shroom & Satin Taupe together and Ricepaper & Woodwinked together but you can always mix them up. And if you want it more dramatic or more of an evening look, I'd add some Carbon in the outer corner. You could also use Carbon with a liner brush to line your eyes instead of eyeliner.

I also prefer buying pans vs pots - pots on the left, pans on the right.



Then I would just buy a palette to store the pans and I find that easier to manage and tote around. Plus it's more economical. A pot eyeshadow is $14.50 and a pan eyeshadow is $11. A x4 palette is $3.50, so a pot eyeshadow is the same price of a pan e/s + the x4 palette and you'd still have room for three more pan eyeshadows. If you think you'll be collecting more, there's also a x15 palette.

Lip stuff:

Bare slimshine lipstick


Love Nectar lustreglass (like a lip gloss)


I'd also recommend the Viva Glam V lipstick but that is not included in the sale, but still worth checking out.

Brushes:

These are my two favorite eyeshadow brushes.

The MAC 239 brush is a flat shader brush and is really great for packing on color on the lids. Because it's thin, you can also use the edge to line your eyes with shadow.



The 217 is more of a fluffy brush and is good for putting color in the crease or the corner and just blending out the color for a softer look. You can use it with either creams or powders so I have one just for eyeshadows and one that I use to blend out my concealer.



OK, those are my main recommendations for now... do you guys have your own favorites? Please share!

Loving The Cosmetics Company Store...

If you've been following my blog, you'll know that my interest in make-up started with watching YouTube make-up videos (tutorials, reviews, hauls, etc). That's pretty much where I learn everything (for good and for bad) and one of my favorite discoveries through YouTube is this wonderful place called The Cosmetics Company Store. (I'd link a website, but they don't appear to have one.)



This is a chain located at various shopping outlets. (You can find all their locations here.) I guess they primarily sell the Estee Lauder line which includes not only Estee Lauder but their other brands like Clinique, Prescriptives, Bobbi Brown, and my personal favorite - MAC!!!

The beauty of this place is that not only do they sell discounted makeup but they all sell discontinued products as well. And since MAC has so many collections that include limited edition products, you can really score at these stores. They also sell some of their permanent products. I typically only purchase the MAC stuff and from what I can tell, they are usually priced at about a 30% discount (awesome, right?).

Below is picture of a portion of the MAC display at the CCS in Maryland. This is just a small portion - they also had a whole wall rack of their skin, eye, and cheek products. But check out all those palettes on the bottom shelf - those are from past collections that aren't available at stores today.



The offerings vary from store to store. The one near me doesn't really have too much compared to the ones I went to in Las Vegas and Maryland.

Here are the fun MAC products that I got in the Las Vegas CCS:

• Sweet & Nice Tendertone (Limited Edition, came out in June 2008)
  
  
  
• Love Nectar Lipglass (Permanent)
  
  
  
• Dipdown Fluidline (Permanent)
  
  
  
• Fafi Eyes 1 Quad (Limited Edition, came out in February 2008)
  

I was excited to get this quad because all the colors are pretty plus I've been meaning to buy Vanilla as a standalone eye shadow anyway. Here are all the colors included:

Top Row (L-R)
- Pink Venus: Washed pink (lustre)
- Vanilla: Soft pale-peachy-ivory flecked with shimmer (velvet)
Bottom Row (L-R)
- Hey: Neutral tan with white pearl (veluxe pearl)
- Howzat: Deep grey with silver sparkle (satin)

I couldn't wait to try it out so here's a look I did using all the colors.



I wore Hey on the inner third of the lid, Pink Venus on the remainder of the lid. Howzat in the outer V and Vanilla as the highlight color under the browbone.

I later went to a CCS in Maryland and bought a couple of eye shadow brushes that are part of the permanent collection. I totally do not need them but I have some weird addiction with collecting MAC brushes. That's why I absolutely love these discounts!

Next time you're outlet shopping, make sure to look for The Cosmetics Company Store!