My First Mac Products!

Hello everyone! I've just completed my first week back from break and I'm already procrastinating, so why not make a new post?

Typically I stick to drugstore products because I like to stretch a buck and trick myself into believing I'm frugal by purchasing 3 lipsticks for $15 rather than one for the same price (you feelin' me?). Well, I've always heard about the great quality of MAC from various YouTubers and the like, and I figured now was the time to treat myself (tax refund money, for the win).

I thought I would test the waters and get a few products in various categories, and I settled on purchasing a powder blush, eye shadow, and lipstick. I knew I definitely wanted to try a higher quality blush because I always seem to struggle with blushes. There is either no color payoff or gross glittery bits everywhere, but that's the price you pay when the actual price you pay is low.

My new babies.

 I purchased a powder blush in Dame (satin finish, $21), an eyeshadow in Cranberry (frost finish, $15), and a lipstick in Hang Up (cremesheen, $16). I ordered all of these products online and received them rather quickly, within four days I believe. I also got free shipping, because I spent a ridiculous amount (or at least I think so).

I really like the blush. It's very wearable and appears quite natural, even on my scarily pale skin. Even though it is a beautiful color, I was still just a teensy bit let down on the color payoff. I find I have to dip my brush in a couple of times to really build up much color, and for $21 dollars the pigment should jump out of it's packaging and straight onto my cheeks. But I guess that's what you get when

From left to right: Dame, Cranberry, and Hang Up.

you're not easy to please. It's still a good product though, pickiness aside.

The eyeshadow is a confusing one. It appears to be a much lighter mauve online than in person. In the pan it looks nice, not an everyday color, but certainly one to have in your collection whenever the need for that shade arises. However, when I swatched it on my wrist (as you can see to the left) it comes off as a very rusty brown, but when I wear it on my eyes it stays more true to the actual color. I wasn't even wearing eye primer and it still registered differently. While it's pretty on the eyes, I'm certain I could have found a drugstore dupe and saved myself that $15. Lessons learned.

I love lip products. Stains, balms, sticks, glosses, what have you — I love them. I find you can't go wrong with the Revlon Balm Stains or Matte Balms, but again, I wanted to give MAC a try. I'm partial to deep berries and darker lip colors, so naturally I gravitated towards Hang Up. Again, the color appeared a bit different than the actual product, but if I build it up enough it is still a lovely color. I wish it had a bit more staying power, because I'm terrible about reapplying (that's why balm stains are the bomb), but I can learn to deal with it. I don't think I'll be purchasing strictly MAC lipsticks from here on out. They're nice, but I'll probably save those special purchases for special colors (I've been wanting a lilac lipstick really, really badly—thoughts on that?).

Overall, I'm fairly pleased with these MAC products. I think I'll start branching out into some more higher end products (when funds allow) and see how they compare. I've also recently purchased from two brands I've never tried before, both drugstore, so stay tuned for that!

xoxo,
Caitlin.

Update & Mini Review

Hello everyone!

I'm currently on spring break and have been insanely busy, but I wanted to put up a quick post about a new product (of many) I've recently purchased.

The product in question is Maybelline's Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser. I saw it while in the beauty section at Wal-mart and snatched it before I could even look to see how much it was. I love most of Maybelline's products, including Baby Lips, so I had to try it. I didn't realize that I never actually looked to see how much it was (whoops) but I checked online and it was $5.94 (Wal-mart's price).

Nails: Fuse Gelnamel V-amp and Lights, Camera, Re-action

I've been looking for a pore minimizer because my foundation has been settling into my pores between the apples of my cheeks and my nose. I wanted an affordable and readily available product, and Baby Skin was both, so I decided to give it a try.

It was one of the first out of my new products that I tried (I've been on a very minimal makeup kick this week) and I was not disappointed. I apply it on my cheek/nose area and occasionally my t-zone. This stuff WORKS. You only need a very small amount to blur your pores and the truth is in the name; your skin feels so soft afterwards it's insane.

I absolutely, 10/10, 5 stars, 100% plan to repurchase this product. I'll probably buy another once I see it again (I bought it at a Wal-mart I don't normally go to). If you have any pore problems, I recommend adding this to your makeup routine.

Be ready for an onslaught of product reviews, first impressions, and possibly some fashion posts here soon. I've done some bank account damage recently and I've got a lot to show for it (including my first MAC purchases!).

xoxo,

Caitlin.

Fuse Gelnamel by Sensationail

Hello everyone! I've got a nail review for you today.

This past week I purchased the new Fuse Gelnamel starter kit by Sensationail after watching a YouTuber talk about it in a video. This new 'fusion' of regular nail enamel and gel enamel really intrigued me, as it claims to not be as damaging to your natural nails. I've never worn fake nails or gel nails due to the damage it can cause, so I thought this would be a good product in this realm to try.

This product claims to last longer than regular nail enamel, although it doesn't give an exact time range, and doesn't chip or crack or require a base or top coat. It cures each nail in 30 seconds when using the LED light that is included in the kit, and each kit contains everything you need for a gelnamel manicure.

This is the exact kit I purchased, and it contains the LED lamp, a gelnamel polish (I got the color sonic blue-m), cleanser, a double sided buffing stick, a cuticle stick, and cotton sheets for applying the cleanser to your nails. I purchased this kit at Wal-Mart for about $25, which is about $5 cheaper than buying directly from the Sensationail site. I also purchased a second nail color, because I wanted a more wearable color, even though I like the blue. I got watt's your color, which was about $7 compared to $10 at the Sensationail site.

Watt's Your Color

The LED lamp works off of a USB, so it can be charged at your computer (or at a wall, it comes with an adapter) and once it's charged it can be used wirelessly, which I find very convenient. The instruction sheet says to push back your cuticle, buff your nail (it was very clear that each nail be entirely completed before moving on to the next), wipe it with the cleanser, apply one thin coat of the gelnamel, remove any excess that might have gotten onto your finger (I used the cuticle stick), place your finger into the lamp resting on the groove, and press the button. The lamp turns off automatically after 30 seconds. After the light turns off, wipe your polished nail with the cleanser and boom, you're done. Sounds really simple right? Well, kind of.

After reading the instructions and following them to a T, I found that the polish didn't seem to be completely set after 30 seconds, and when you wiped it with the cleanser some of the polish came off onto the cloth, causing the color to be faded at the tips and making the overall color very dull. I was not happy AT ALL. After doing a couple nails and being disappointed in the results, I went back to the instructions and saw there was a 'troubleshooting' (if you will) type of guide in the little booklet. It said that it was okay to do one more coat of polish just as long as each coat was cured separately, and that after wiping the finished nail with the cleanser the shine would be diminished, but would return over time.

After applying two coats and cleansing each nail, the color was more vibrant and the shine did return (it became almost wet looking when I woke up the next morning). I was fairly satisfied with the results, although it was much more time consuming than the product claims. If you do the math, it was 30 seconds per coat, per nail. With two coats and ten nails, that was one minute per finger, so ten minutes just sitting with my finger in the lamp, not to mention carefully cleaning the excess from each nail and buffing. I think the whole process took me about 30 minutes. It was worth it, I suppose, because I was able to go right to sleep afterwards since they were dry, and YES, they passed the sheet test. No annoying wrinkles in my enamel after sleeping that night.

I did this on Wednesday night, and today being Friday, they still look really fresh. I've done lots of dishes, cleaning, and banging my nails off of stuff (accidentally, of course) these past couple of days and they still look good. I'll be curious to see how well they fair throughout the next week, because I usually get a shattering effect in my nail polish after the first few days (not cute). I'll be sure to post an update later next week.

Here they are today.

The instructions for removal say to use 100% acetone or the Sensationail Gel Remover Kit. I'm not sure which I'll end up using, but I'll be sure to update you on that as well. They only offer 12 colors in this formula, which is kind of a bummer, but hopefully they'll release more if it gains enough popularity (hint hint, go buy some).

The colors they have currently.

Overall I'm fairly happy with this purchase. It didn't break the bank and it seems to be holding up fairly well. If it keeps up this way I'll definitely be purchasing some more colors (I'm eyeballing the silver glitter one in lights, camera, re-action!). I think this will be a good product for my toes, which I don't paint very often, since it lasts so long. Did I mention the light swivels around so you can use it for your toes? Awesome, right?

xoxo,
Caitlin.

UPDATE

It is now Monday, and I've had this enamel on for almost a week. At this point, with typical nail polish, I'd have multiple chips and 'shattering' (cracking without actually breaking off). I have had one nail that has chipped, my index finger on my left hand. I smacked it off of my desk on Friday, and as a result a portion came off. Luckily, my nail didn't break, just a part of the polish. I was able to reapply the enamel to that portion of the nail and cure it under the LED lamp and boom, fixed. There doesn't seem to be any wear to the edges, and overall it looks about the same as the first day I applied it. I am very pleased, and will most likely use this gelnamel when I want a longer lasting manicure, which is pretty much all the time.

xoxo,

Caitlin