My Mac Art Of The Eye, Fashion Sets and Temperature Rising Collection Haul and Swatches

Okay, here's the last installment of my Mac haul posts. This one is actually a very small haul, despite Mac releasing so many collections in May. I was really only interested in the Extra Dimension products, but decided to pick up a few bits and bobs from other collections too.

I got Banafsaji eyeshadow from Art Of The Eye, Embrace Me eyeshadow from Fashion Sets and Caliente lipstick from Temperature Rising. I haven't actually worn the eyeshadows yet, but both swatched very nicely, they are both smooth and pigmented. I have worn Caliente lipstick and have included a lipswatch picture at the end of this post. Caliente is a dazzle lipstick (you might remember them from a few years ago), but it's actually not too gritty at all. Yes, it is sparkly and glittery, but the glitter particles are very small and the lipstick feels quite smooth on the lips. It's a lovely purpley bronze colour and I think it's great for summer.

All of these products are limited edition, but I think they are still available, if not online, check your counter (except for the Art Of The Eye collection which is a Mac website exclusive I believe). The eyeshadows cost £12 for 1.5 g and the lipstick is £15.50 for 3 g (which is £1.50 than usual because of the matte brown packaging - which is admittedly quite nice).

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

My Mac In Extra Dimension Haul and Swatches - Eyeshadows

Here's part 3 of my epic Mac In Extra Dimension haul, the eyeshadows. I only bought 4 out of 6 as the silver one really didn't interest me and I'm pretty sure I have a very similar one to the mauve one. These four, or in particular 3, are quite a different story.

Dimensional Blue is nice, but it doesn't have the same duochrome effect as the other three. Triple Impact has gorgeous purple sheen to it, Zestful has green and Opalesse has pink duochrome. They look stunning swatched on my arm. Admittedly they are quite sheer and don't show up half as well on the eyes, but they still give a soft, ethereal effect and I'm thinking they might really pop over a black base (haven't tried them yet though). They have a creamy, soft texture like that I would expect from these, so I'm happy with them.

You get a measly 2 g for £16.50. Although they are limited edition, they are all still available, so for once I could actually review/post about something from Mac that didn't sell out in 2 seconds.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

My Mac In Extra Dimension Haul and Swatches - Blushes

Another post about my Mac In Extra Dimension haul, this time it's the blushes. While I'm not doing an in depth review, I have included the swatches for you to see. All of these have now sold out on the Mac website, but are still available from Debenhams and House of Fraser among others.

Although I'm not doing a proper review, I have to add that I'm not too happy about these blushes, they swatched badly and don't seem to apply much better with a brush either. I haven't tried them all yet, but the ones I've tried hardly showed up on me and those were the brighter ones! They don't have that soft, cream-like texture as the skinfinishes, which I guess is good on one hand, especially if you don't like metallic looking cheeks, but also not that great on the other hand.

Anyway, these cost £19 for 6.5 g and are all limited edition.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

My Mac In Extra Dimension Haul and Swatches - Skinfinishes

Finally, the day had come when I could get my hands on the new Mac collection, In Extra Dimension. And here's what I got, first up the skinfinishes. I haven't used them yet, but I have swatched them, so I'll include the swatch pictures as well. I decided to do it this way in case they sell out quickly, at least you can see the swatches.

Midnight is "helping"

So I got all 3 skinfinishes, all of them have 2 shades in them, so technically 6 shades.You get 9 g for £21.50.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Want It! Mac In Extra Dimension Collection April 2013 *WITH PROMO PICTURES*

I now have the promo pictures for Mac's upcoming In Extra Dimension collection, due in April in the US and May in the UK. The collection contains extra dimension eyeshadows, blushes and skinfinishes, all made from the same gelee powder as the previous two collections' products as well as Estee Lauder's gelee powder products.

Here are the collection details:

Extra Dimension Skinfinish
Double Definition - Soft shimmery gold / Patina bronze
Shape The Future - Pastel pink with iridescence / Soft brick with shimmer
Definitely Defined - Silvery pink / Soft rose with shimmer

Extra Dimension Eyeshadow
Zestful - Pale iridescent lime
Extra Silver - True silver
Dimensional Blue - Frosty blue
Opalesse - Opalescent white with pink pearlized pigments
Triple Impact - Opalescent lavender with violet pearlized pigment
Smoky Mauve - Mid-tone mauve

Extra Dimension Blush
Flaming Chic - Bright blue pink
Bareness - Rosy beige pink
At Dusk - Mid-tone rose pink
Fiery Impact - Burnt red bronze
Blazing Haute - Mid-tone peach

128 Brush - Split Fibre Cheek Brush

235 Brush - Split Fibre All Over Eye Brush

See more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil Vault *UPDATED WITH SHADE NAMES!*

Okay, so I don't even know if this is coming out in the UK, but I really really hope so! It contains 40 full size 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils, including permanent, previously released and new shades, and will retail for $295 (guessing £200 - £220). It will launch in the US on Tuesday, 26th March.

Here's the list of shades available in the Vault:

• Perversion Blackest black matte (Existing Shade)
• Zero Zealous black cream (Existing Shade)
• Smoke Deepest grey matte (New)
• Uzi Dark gunmetal shimmer with silver micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive, Revamped)
• Oil Slick Black shimmer with silver micro-sparkle (Existing Shade)
• Underground Metallic taupe shimmer (Existing Shade)
• Mushroom Metallic taupe-pewter shimmer (Previously Exclusive)
• Smog Copper shimmer (Previously Exclusive)
• Roach Deep copper brown shimmer (New)
• Bourbon Brown shimmer with gold micro-sparkle (Existing Shade)
• Hustle Metallic brown shimmer (Previously Exclusive)
• Whiskey Rich brown matte (Previously Exclusive)
• Corrupt Dark metallic reddish brown shimmer with silver micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive)
• Demolition Deep brown matte (Existing Shade)
• Desperation Deep taupe/gray matte (New)
• Scorch Bronze shimmer with silver micro-sparkle (New)
• Goldmine Gold shimmer with gold micro-sparkle (New)
• Loaded Dark green shimmer (New)
• Freak Bright green shimmer (New)
• Invasion Deepest dark green matte (New)
• Mildew Deep metallic green shimmer (Existing Shade)
• Stash Dark metallic green/gold shimmer (Existing Shade)
• Junkie Metallic teal shimmer with gold micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive)
• Mainline Deep green/blue matte (Previously Exclusive)
• Deep End Bright metallic peacock shimmer (Previously Exclusive)
• Electric Bright metallic aquamarine shimmer with silver micro-sparkle (Existing Shade)
• LSD Navy shimmer with bright turquoise micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive)
• Sabbath Deep navy matte (Previously Exclusive)
• Abyss Bright metallic blue shimmer with blue micro-sparkle (New)
• Chaos Vibrant cobalt blue matte with slight floating pearl (New)
• Ether Pale smoky gray shimmer with violet and fuchsia micro-sparkle (New)
• Delinquent Dark purple shimmer with light purple micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive)
• Vice Pearly red eggplant shimmer (New)
• Psychedelic Sister Bright purple cream (Previously Exclusive)
• Rockstar Darkest eggplant shimmer (Existing Shade)
• Empire Dark eggplant matte (Previously Exclusive)
• Asphyxia Vibrant pink/purple duotone with tonal and blue micro-sparkle (Previously Exclusive)
• Woodstock Sparkly hot pink shimmer with silver sparkle (Existing Shade)
• Yeyo Metallic white shimmer (Existing Shade)
• Cuff Metallic silver shimmer with silver micro-sparkle (New)

Also, according to Temptalia, these 40 shades will be the permanent line up of 24/7 eye pencils going forward which means that any shade not on the list from the existing permanent line up will be discontinued. So if you love any of those shades, better back them up now!

Sleek Make Up Aqua Collection Mirrored Pink Blush Review and Swatches

Gah, I've been so busy these past few days, I've hardly been home, so that's why I haven't been posting much. I'm gonna quickly write this post up and then go to bed, I'm knackered. I know this is just a hobby, but I feel bad about not being able to blog. Hopefully next week will be a bit calmer.

The other day I showed you the eyeshadow palette from the Sleek Make Up Aqua Collection and today I've got the blush called Mirrored Pink. The blush comes in the same style cardboard box as the palette, and the compact itself is the regular black Sleek compact with the full size mirror in the lid.

Mirrored Pink is a frosty, slightly cool blue pink shade with fine gold shimmer, can't actually think of what other blush to compare it to. It's really nicely pigmented and smooth, not too powdery, and it wears very well. It is a bit frosty and it's quite easy to overdo, but it is a lovely blush. I have been using it for the past few days and it's very easy to wear. I did enclose a picture at the end of this post, but I wasn't wearing much else in the way of make up as I'd been to the pool, so excuse my disshivelled look please!

My only niggle about this product, and this might just be my compact, but I find it very hard to open it, so instead of trying to force it open with my nails, I'm now using a pair of nail scissors to pop the lid open. Shouldn't be necessary, but it could be a one off. At least it closes securily!

The blush costs £4.49 and you get a whopping 8 g, so it's still a brilliant bargain and it is really lovely. It's limited edition and is available from Superdrug and the Sleek Make Up website.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Sleek Make Up Aqua Collection Lagoon Eyeshadow Palette Review and Swatches

Nowadays Sleek Make Up eyeshadows are pretty much the only drugstore eyeshadows I buy (yes, I've turned into a make up snob). They are still great value for money and their quality is up there with Mac, Inglot, etc. eyeshadows. So as you can imagine, I was very happy to get my hands on the new limited edition Aqua collection, and in particular Lagoon eyeshadow palette (I will review Mirrored Pink blush another time).

The palette comes in a gorgeous cardboard sleeve, but inside the sleeve it's the usual matte black palette with a full size mirror in the lid, 12 eyeshadows and a double ended applicator. The eyeshadows come in a good variety of shades, you get yellow, green, teal, blue, coral, pink, the lot. Some (most) are shimmery/frosty and there are 3 matte ones too. They swatched very nicely, with the exeption of the matte ones which swatched okay, but actually all of them applied, blended and stayed really well on my eyelids.

I have done a few nice looks with this, although I still haven't used the bright coral shade (which I guess would also make a nice blush, if only the pans were bigger) and the black one. There isn't an obvious highlighter shade in it (the white one is too frosty for highlighting, better in the inner corner/tearduct area), but if your collection is even a quarter of mine, I'm sure you will own a highlighter shade to use with it.

All in all I'm very pleased with the palette and other than my usual compaints (put the shade names on the palette somewhere rather than the see through protective sheet, get rid of the applicator, stop putting the price up by a quid every year) it's a really nice one to have. I find some of my Sleek palettes a little hard to use due to the colour selection, but this one is really great, provided of course that you like bright colours. Other than the light purple and the rosy pink shadow, everything is pretty bright and loud in here!

The palette costs £7.99 for 13.2 g of eyeshadows. I bought mine from the Superdrug website, but haven't actually seen this on the shelves, also this doesn't seem to be on the Sleek website at the moment.

I'll leave yo with a picture of Paws, out gorgeous big cat who decided to "help" when I wanted to photograph the palette and blush! 

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

NOTD: China Glaze Strap On Your Moonboots Holographic Polish

It's been a long and horrible day, so I only have the energy for a quick post, but I wanted to share this with you as it's so pretty. Strap On Your Moonboots is the first shade from the China Glaze Hologlam collection that I've tried on my fingers. This was the one that arrived broken, so I decided to quickly use it while I could. I now have a new bottle and managed to save most of the broken one, so all's good.

The formula was a little thick, but it could've been due to the fact that the polish hadn't been in a sealed bottle for a few days. After adding a few drops of thinner it was fine and easy to work with. I used 2 coats, but frankly, one would've been pretty much enough. It dried quickly which was just as well as I didn't use a topcoat. The holo effect isn't as strong as some others (Color Club, Glitter Gal, Layla), but it is very smooth and looks very classy. The colour is gorgeous, it's a smokey denim blue colour, again rather classy and unique (for me anyway). I was pleasantly surprised to find that it lasted relatively well too, I'd heard horror stories about the China Glaze OMG holos. It didn't chip at all for the first 24 hours and still looked good on the second day.

All in all, I really like this polish, even though the holo effect isn't nearly as strong as I had hoped. I ordered mine from Nail Polish Direct and they cost £8.95 for 14 ml each. I have seen these on BeautyBay for £16 each which is a joke though, I'm sorry, but these are never worth that much!

See more pictures after the jump!

Bobbi Brown Lilac Rose Shimmer Brick Review and Swatches

I've bought surprisingly small amount of make up lately which isn't like me at all, but this is one of the lovely things I did buy, Bobbi Brown's new Lilac Rose Shimmer Brick. You know how I love and collect Shimmer Bricks, so of course I couldn't not get this one, I just have to have them all.

Lilac Rose is part of the spring collection that I've already told you about here. I didn't get anything else, although there are undoubtedly some gorgeous bits and bobs in the collection. The Shimmer Brick comes in the usual square black packaging with a full size mirror in the lid. You have 5 different colour stripes, "featuring bright pink, golden pink, and icy pink pearl pigments perfect for light to medium skin tones. Each bar also doubles up as eye shadow." (Quoted from the Bobbi Brown website)

Despite its name, there is nothing lilac about this Shimmer Brick, but at least there is rose. Swirled together the shades give a frosty light rosey pink colour. This is definitely a highlighter, not really dark enough to be worn as blush, also it is rather frosty. In the pictures below I wore it on top of Bobbi Brown Maui Illuminating Bronzing Powder (by the way, Bobbi Brown, it's not a bronzing powder, it's a BLUSH!!!) and it gave me a nice sheen. It can be easy to overdo, so you definitely need a light hand when applying it.

It costs £32 for 10.3 which is the standard weight of Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks. It is a limited edition shade, but luckily Bobbi Brown collections don't sell out very quickly, so it is still available from Bobbi's website and some department stores.

See more pictures after the jump!

Want It! Mac Baking Beauties Collection for Spring 2013

Mac has a very pretty collection coming out in April (I believe May in the UK) and I really wanted to share the promo pictures and collection details with you.

Pretty, isn't it? To be honest, despite the edible promo pictures and gorgeous colours I don't actually want many things from the collection. Since I'm on a lip product no-buy, I will be skipping the lipsticks and lip balms. I am rather interested in the new paint pots and the pearlmatte powders, although the pattern on those does remind me of the embroidery my grandmother used to make (and that's not necessarily the best thing to be reminded of when it comes to a hip and happening brand like Mac).

Here are the collection details, let me know what you're lemming! (Collection details taken from Specktra with thanks to the user Mac-Guy.)

Lipstick

Rasberry Swirl - Light white blue pink (Cremesheen)

Pure Decoration - Light white peach (Cremesheen)

Lavender Whip - Light cool lavender (Cremesheen)

Devil's Food - Glossy deep plum (Frost)

Mineralize Tinted Lip Balm

Sweet Tooth - Creamy lilac

Baking Beauty - Creamy light peach

Glace' - Creamy pale baby blue 

Cheery Cherry - Creamy mid-tone blue pink

Pro Longwear Pain Pot
Fancy Frosting - Frosted white
Mooncake - Warm beige
Eclair - Light chocolate with gold pearlized pigments
Let's Skate - Pale pink with pearlized pigments
Dangerous Cuvee - Frosted cool grey

Glitter
Reflects Transparent Teal - Sparkling white with turqoise
Pink - Bright pink

Haute & Naughty Lash
Black

Pearlmatte Face Powder

In For A Treat - Champagne base with matte coral flowers and mint leaves

Pink Buttercream - Light silvery pink base with dark pink flowers and periwinkle leaves

Lustre Drops

Pink Rebel - Blue pink with gold pearlized pigments

Nail Lacquer

Blue Velvet - Light periwinkle blue (Cream)

Confectionary - Light blue pink (Cream)
Pistachio Creme - Light teal mint (Cream)

129 Brush

Powder/Blush Brush 

252 Brush

Large Shader Brush

See more pictures after the jump!

China Glaze Hologlam Collection Haul and Swatches

My China Glaze Hologlam collection holographic nail polishes arrived today! I was so excited, I had to take pictures and swatch them all. Unfortunately one of them (Strap On Your Moonboots) broke in transit, so there is quite a bit of polish on some of the other bottles, but I just quickly wanted to take some pictures while it was sunny. Luckily the bottle didn't smash completely, only the top broke off, so I could still swatch the polish (there's about 2/3 left in the bottle as it remained standing).

I haven't worn any of them yet, so can't comment on wear time. The swatches show just one coat, I'd probably do two for a better coverage, but they are nicely pigmented. The holo effect isn't as strong as some other (namely Color Club and Glitter Gal), but it's not too bad, it's still linear and perfectly visible. The pictures were taken in strong sunlight, so they are as good as they get. All the pictures were taken without flash.

The colours are nice, not massively unique, but pretty anyway. OMG A UFO looks rather yellow/gold in the pictures, it's actually more khaki than yellow in real life. Don't Be A Lunatic and Sci-Fly By are very close, Sci-Fly By is a little bit darker, but hardly noticable. Get Out Of My Space and Astro Hot look quite similar in the pictures, but Get Out Of My Space is definitely more purple in real life.

While the holo effect isn't as strong as I hoped, these polishes are really nice and I'm glad I got them all. I ordered mine from Nail Polish Direct and they cost £8.95 for 14 ml each.

See lots more pictures after the jump!

ArtDeco Spring Collection Haul, Review and Swatches

This pretty magnetic palette is part of ArtDeco's spring collection and as I love butterflies, I of course had to snap it up. I also bought 4 of their duochrome eyeshadows to go with it and a pretty duochrome nail polish.

The palette takes either 4 eyeshadow singles or a blush and an eyeshadow, and I decided to get 4 of the new shades of eyeshadows. Of course you can buy it without refills and you also don't have to get the palette if you just want the eyeshadows, but I figured they would look lovely together.

I got 255 Aero Spring Green, 267 Fresh Water, 285 Lilac Passion and 297A Rosy Heart Throb. These are new shades for the spring, but I don't know if they are also limited edition or permanent. As I said, these are said to be duochrome eyeshadows, but with the exception of Rosy Heart Throb, I can't really see the duochrome in them. Rosy Heart Throb has a gold duochrome to it which is very pretty. The eyeshadows are very soft, a bit powdery and they are rather sheer as well. They give a very soft effect and look very springlike,but if you are looking for something more dramatic, more pigmented, then these are not for you. They did last well though and didn't crease at all, but due to their softness it was easy to overblend them, so you need to be careful when applying and blending.

Considering the price of the made up palette (£32.25) this is not as cheap as you'd think and for the amount of product you get (3.2 g) it's not the best value. I also found it a bit odd that the packaging of the palette shows an applicator, but you don't get one with it, which I probably wouldn't use, but for the price they really should've thrown in a measly applicator. 

I also bought Ceramic Nail Laquer 245 Iridescent Butterfly Wings which is a pretty blue with purple and teal duochrome. It seems very sheer, but I haven't tried it yet, so can't really comment.

The palette costs £10.25, the single eyeshadows are £5.50 (for 0.8 g) and the nail polish costs £9.50 (for 6 ml). I bought mine from BeautyBay, but Debenhams should be stocking the collection soon too.

See more pictures including swatches and a look I did with the eyeshadows after the jump!

Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush Review and Swatches

First of all, I'd like to apologise in advance for the lack of posts in the coming few days (and as you could see there wasn't a new post yesterday either). It's school holiday this week in the UK and that means 3 children in the house. With several daytrips this week I won't have much time to write up reviews and by the evenings I usually feel really tired to type anything coherent. I have also not been feeling well (cold and sore throat), so not been feeling energetic at all.

Anyway, I do have a review for you today and it's the new gorgeous heart shaped blush from Too Faced. As soon as I saw the pictures, I knew I had to have it. I just love the design and the colours are really lovely too.

Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush is a baked heart shaped blush devided into 3 colours: rosy pink, coral and peach. All 3 shades are rather frosty, but not glittery. You can just about use the strips alone due to their size or you can mix them up to create a pinky coral glow. It isn't overly pigmented, so don't have to worry about overdoing it. I've found that it gives more of a glow rather than an obvious colour, but of course you can layer it on. It did seem to disappear after a few hours' wear to due its lightness, so longetivity isn't its strongest point. I think this is true to most baked products though.

The blush comes inside a very cute pink heart shaped cardboard compact and the outer box is also cute and pink. The packaging is exactly what you would expect from Too Faced, girly, pink, a bit kitsch, but ever so cute. You get a nice 5.5 g that should last you a good while. The blush costs £24 and I got mine from Beauty Bay, but Boots should be stocking it soon if not yet.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Mac Pro Longwear Paint Pots Review and Swatches

Mac has released 8 "new" Pro Longwear Paint Pots this month, although only 2 of them are actually new shades, the other 6 are repromoted or even from the permanent line. I only bought the two new shades: Frozen Violet and Antique Diamond, because I already owned the other 6. Although mine are the original, "just" Paint Pots, I believe the formula hasn't been changed, they've just been renamed to Pro Longwear Paint Pots.

So I thought I might as well do a quick post on them and show you all the swatches. For once, these are actually NOT limited edition, so you can take your time to purchase the ones you like. Yay!

We have here Let's Skate from Glitter & Ice (2011), Chilled On Ice, Vintage Selection, Let Me Pop and Dangerous Cuvee from Cham-Pale (2010), Frozen Violet and Antique Diamond (new) and Blackground (permanent). All of them are glittery and/or frosty to some extent, some more than others. They are quite sheer, perfect for a quick wash of colour. I often use paint pots when I don't have time to do a complex eye look, just swipe one colour on my lids and maybe another one to highlight and that's it. These paint pots are brilliantly long lasting and they don't crease all day long (not even without primer underneath). Once they dry, they're not going anywhere. They are also very good as eyeshadow bases.

As you can see, most of the old paint pots are still in good condition, but my Let Me Pop has shrivelled up somewhat. I don't know why, I stored it just like I store the others (upside down with the lid tightly closed) and it's the same age as the other 3 Cham-Pale ones. It still works, it's not too dry, but I suspect it may not have too much life in it left. Oh well, at least I can repurchase it now it's permanent. Actually Let Me Pop isn't one of my favourites, it's a bit chunky and hard to get even. My favourites are definitely Vintage Selection and Dangerous Cuvee, but I also really like Antique Diamond.

Mac Pro Longwear Paint Pots cost £14.50 and you get 5 g of product for your money. It's nice to have some new shades added to the permanent line, but I would still like to see some bright colours like purple, blue, teal and green.

See more pictures including swatches and a look I did with Antique Diamond after the jump!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush in Tease

The new Estee Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee Blush in Tease is so pretty. I love the design and the colour, so of course I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. It has taken me a while to use and review it, but I've finally managed.

Firstly, this is another one of the new gelee powder formula, so it's a powder, but feels and looks like a cream product. It is very metallic and gives a high sheen finish, so it's probably not for those who prefer their face products to be matte. It isn't glittery, but it's definitely rather shimmery.

I had a bit of trouble working out how to apply it best and it seems that the sponge applicator they provide with it is the best way to go about it. It doesn't pick up too much product and you can blend it out easily. When I tried using a regular blush brush, the result looked quite patchy. But with the applicator it looks nice and even yet not too heavy. I also found duo fibre brushes work well, but they give a much more subtle effect. With the sponge you need to be a bit careful not to overdo it, but if you do thin layers rather than try to pile it on, you'll be fine. The blush didn't last very long on me, it's practically disappeared after 5-6 hours of wear.

It's a lovely product, but even on my pale skin it's more of a highlighter than a blush. I haven't tried it on top of a powder blush, but I think it would work really nicely.

The blush costs £30 and you get 6 g which is actually more than previous illuminating powder gelees. It's still not a massive amount, but probably way more than you need. This is a limited edition product, so grab it while you can if you like what you see!

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Mac Year Of The Snake Eyeshadows - Aztec Brick and Once Upon A Time

At first I wasn't going to get anything from Mac's new Year Of The Snake collection, despite the products having snake prints on them, I don't really know why. In the end I decided to pick up the two eyeshadows I hadn't owned yet, Aztec Brick and Once Upon A Time. I have to admit, I mostly got them for the outer packaging, it is so pretty. But I definitely wanted to get something I didn't have yet. As pretty as Shell Pearl beauty powder is, I decided I didn't need another one. I also already owned the other two eyeshadows, and as I'm on a lipstick no-buy I decided not to go for any of the lipsticks.

Anyway, I got Aztec Brick and Once Upon A Time eyeshadows. These are larger size eyeshadows, they contain 3 g product and the pans are the size of the mineralize eyeshadow pans and the prolongwear ones. The eyeshadows have snake imprints on them, what looks like the middle part of a snake, no heads or anything. They're not that amazing to look at to be honest, but Aztec Brick in particular is a lovely shade. Both are Veluxe Pearl finish and have a nice texture. Once Upon A Time is almost the same colour as my skin, so it doesn't show up well, but it is pigmented and very smooth. Aztec Brick is a much louder colour and it also has a lovely texture. They both stayed on my lids for 8+ hours and didn't crease.

The eyeshadows come in the regular black Mac compacts and black cardboard box, but they also have a limited edition sleeve on top of the outer box with gorgeous colourful metallic snake prints.

Sadly as I type most of this collection is already sold out on the Mac UK website and it's a Mac online only collection, so if you haven't bought anything from it yet, then better get a move on because there isn't much left. Sorry. The eyeshadows cost £16.50 by the way.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Want It! Bobbi Brown Lilac Rose Collection for Spring/Summer 2013

Aah, just how gorgeous is the promo picture for Bobbi Brown's upcoming Lilac Rose collection for spring/summer? My heart skipped a beat when I saw it.

I don't want much from it, but that Shimmer Brick is going to be mine. It is called Lilac Rose (obviously) and it will be a worthy part of my Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick collection. It's so pretty!  I also love the Lilac Sparkle Eyeshadow.

I don't know when it's going to launch, but when it is, I'll be first in line!

See more pictures after the jump!

Guerlain Sakura Blush G - Cherry Blossom Blush Review and Swatches

As soon as I heard about Guerlain's (supposedly) Asia exclusive Sakura Blush G I knew I had to have it. What I didn't know was that it was actually being sold by Selfridges. I accidentally found a link to it on the Selfridges website and quickly snapped it up. I was lucky, it sold out that same day. I don't often order from Selfridges because I loathe to pay £4.95 for shipping, but I had to make an exception.

If you like Guerlain you may remember them releasing their original Blush G that was released 2 years ago with the spring collection. The new Sakura blush is basically the same, only it comes in a white compact with a white velvet bag and white box as well as a white handled little brush in the compartment below the blush, and of course the colours are different. This time it's all about pink. You get 4 strips, none of them really big enough to be used on their own, but you can use 2 or 3 or all 4 together if you wish. You get a coral-pink, a shimmery white, a shimmery darker rose and a shimmery lighter rose colour. Mixed together you get a lovely rosy glow. The blush smells of cherry blossom which is one of my favourite smells.

The swatches were very hard to see, the blush appeared to be a bit hard to pick up and not very pigmented on my arm, but on my cheeks it gives a nice rosy pink glow. It's not overly pigmented, but the colour is buildable. I don't see it working on darker skintones, but I guess it was never intended to anyway, Asia exclusive colours are often light as they're catered for light Asian skin. It is a tiny bit shimmery, but not very noticably and it's not metallic either. I'd definitely describe it more of a glow.

You get 8 g of product which is a lot, but equally it costs quite a lot too at £42. I'm happy I bought it, even with the extra £4.95 shipping charge, it's a lovely addition to my Guerlain collection.

I have absolutely no idea if this will be available anywhere else in the UK or whether Selfridges is getting in more stock, whether it's available at the counter or other department store, but if you do know, please let me know in the comments!

See more pictures including swatches and a look I did with this blush after the jump!

Yves Saint Laurent Y Facettes Palette 4 Wet & Dry Eyeshadows Review and Swatches

Another pretty eyeshadow palette from the spring 2013 collection, this time it's from YSL. This is one of their hybrid / gelee powder style eyeshadows (Pure Chromatics they're called I believe), they feel quite creamy, but aren't actually cream products. They can be worn dry for a subtle look or wet for a more intense one.

I really love the colours in this quad, they are springlike, but not too pastely. You get a gorgeous frosty grass green, a shimmery light pink, a frosty mauvey purple and a frosty sky blue. Out of the four, the pink mostly just gives you pink sparkles, it's the sheerest of them all. The other three are nicely pigmented even whe dry (I haven't actually used them wet yet).

I have only used two colours at a time (blue and green, pink and purple), but I can definitely see using 3 or even all 4 at the same time, they go together really well. Despite their creamy formula they did not crease on me at all, but they did start to fade after about 8 hours. I also noticed some fallout, especially with the pink shade which is the most glittery. Nothing major though, and it's often expected with this kind of formula, and the glitter isn't chunky, so it doesn't bother me.

You get 3 g of product which isn't a lot, but I think these eyeshadows are generally more "fluffy" so they weigh less than regular powder eyeshadows. The palette costs £39.50. I think this is a limited edition, but not sure.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!