MAC
It’s that special time of the year again kids!
Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!
Wahoo!
That means you can head into your local Nordies starting July 18th to nab yourself some seriously awesome, unique beauty finds!
Over 100 brands are participating this year including MAC, NARS, Juicy Couture, Dior, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Philosophy, and many more!
These brands all offer up some Nordstrom Exclusive beauty finds that won’t be available elsewhere so it’s a perfect time to nab yourself a unique beauty find and some are even a Steal and a Deal!
Here’s some items that caught my eye that I might be indulging in this Thursday (you could have begun pre-booking these items as early as June 23rd but I normally like to wander into Nordies and see them for myself on the date of release!):
Bobbi Brown Cocoa Mauve Collection
A really fab collection of awesome Bobbi Brown finds can be found within the Cocoa Mauve Collection that is exclusive to Nordstrom. This kit is $65 USD and comes with a Travel Case, Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Cocoa Mauve Ink, Creamy Lip Color in Berry Mauve, Metallic Eye Shadow in Iced Mauve, and Blush in Sand Pink.
The total cost is a considerable discount from what you’d pay by purchasing each item separately as Bobbi Brown is far from inexpensive!
As you can see below the model is sporting the entire look and looking very posh! I particularly like this collection as the look created is very similar to what you can get using the Bobbi Brown Mauve Face palette I recently review. At $55 USD it’s a bit pricey for the palette so this is rather a nice deal at $65 USD where you get quite a good deal more to do a complete look including a gel liner!
This one is on my wish list!
Dior has released a special limited edition palette for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale which is entitled Dior Gaucho. I’ve VERY tempted by this but I have so many Dior palettes in my beauty arsenal collecting dust it would be a shame to indulge my inner demon of need. However, I am tempted. The colors are simply yummie for the upcoming Fall and at $55 USD the price is not bad at all!
Dior Gaucho Palette
If you’re wanting the palette I’d highly recommend doing your ordering from Nordstrom as you can get a free deluxe sample of Dior Black Out Mascara with your $50 purchase!
Now here’s one we have all been waiting on! Nordstrom’s Exclusive MAC Collection entitled Color Forms! Don’t lie to your Muse and say you aren’t excited about this collection because I’ll call your bluff! Ok, ok maybe it’s not THAT exciting! I’m actually kinda sorta excited about it. I’m very interested in the eye palettes as they are a design we haven’t yet seen from MAC and I’m intrigued by the lipstick as well! And I do so admit that the piggies get me hyper enough to warrant the use of a paper bag to catch back my breath after have a mild case of hyperventilation. It’s definately unique and I’m positive I’ll score a few items from this release!
As always this is a great time to nab some killer deals on brushes! I’ve always raved about how fab the brush sets are and now is a good time as any to nab some fine brushes at 75% off the original prices. Yes, some people do rant that the mini size aren’t as great as the full size but the Muse says don’t listen! The smaller size is just as good as the full size plus it’ll only cost you about $10 USD per a brush in these kits! That’s a sweet steal and a deal in my opinion!
Spoiler:
The Muse says don’t feel too special when you pick up MAC Colour Forms for yourself. Although it’s advertised as a Nordstrom Exclusive it does make its way across the board and ends up in Singapore, Japan, and other locations outside of the US so definately don’t buy into the “exclusive” keyword with this collection.
I spy with my little eye a giant bottle of Philosophy Purity! My all time favorite size of Philosophy Purity is making it’s way to Nordstrom!
This little guy (I use the term little loosely) was only every available from QVC and sadly for the longest time it’s been MIA but now Nordstrom has gone and slapped an exclusive on it, jacked up the price by $10 USD or so dollars, and has made the Muse a happy Muse! I love this size. I go through gallons of this stuff anyway so why not grab the 32oz size! Hey, the economy isn’t doing so well right now why not indulge in a larger size cleanser right?
Philosophy Purity: The Massive Size
Wish list anyone?
Bare Escentuals never fails to make me gasp in absolute horror lately at it’s jacked up prices. But hey it’s the brand that I love to hate (price wise only of course). I love BE like I would a younger sibling, I like to talk down to it but that doesn’t mean I don’t care very deeply for it! Bare Escentuals In Fashion Nordstrom Exclusive is by far the most overpriced set I’ve seen to date from BE at $75 USD. I’m truly shocked. The price tag makes me cry out in pain however it doesn’t stop me from saying “ohhhhh look at the pretty colors” as drool drips from my mouth! The set looks quite breathtaking! This is an 8 piece set that includes Radiance All Over Face Color, Eye Shadow in Bahamas, Liner Shadow in Caviar, Blush in Escape, Lipcolor in Bavarian Cream, a Flawless Radiance Brush, Double Ended Precious Eye Brush, and a gorgeous clutch bag to store it all in!
Bare Escentuals In Fashion 8 Piece Set
Got $10 bucks? Nab a cool steal with the Evian Facial Water Spray Set! Get 1 Full Size Evian Facial Water Spray and a second mini travel size one for $10 USD!
Evian Facial Water Spray Set
The Muse likes the price! Definately on the wish list!
All in all I see some really great buys from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and plenty of ways to get more for less! I’ll be indulging this Thursday when all of these items hit stores (do check with your counter as they may already be available)!
Click on over and have a look at items that I didn’t mention in my post available during the sale!
Are you shopping for Nordies Exlusives?
What are you hoarding, hauling, and stashing away?
Excited about MAC?
Loving the Bobbi Brown set?
Wanting something I didn’t mention here?
Tell the Muse!
MAC New View is near and dear to my heart right now as I am absolutely adoring the MAC Mineralize SkinFinish Duo which contains a shimmering side and a matte side! Obviously, I don’t have to explain why I love this now do I?
A few people e-mailed and commented asking what brush should they use with the MSF and I thought I’d do a quickie post showing what I personally use with mine.
If you have a spare chunk of change I highly recommend purchasing the Limited Edition Brush that released with New View which is the 189 Face Brush. It’s a fabulously dense brush that’s perfect for picking up a light dusting of powder and apply in select locations on your face without giving you a chalky, powder, made up look! This brush is particularly good if you sculpt and contour your face. I’m seriously lemming it just for using with my powders to give me light, natural coverage. However, the 189 is $40 USD and although I have a funny feeling I’ll be heading to MAC very soon to indulge my whim for an expensive brush there are alternatives.
I’m currently using the 190SE which is a similiar brush in style to the 189 but is much softer, less dense, and flatter rather than rounder. It’s truly great for picking up a bit of powder and blending onto face for natural, flawless, even coverage. This brush is actually a foundation brush but I have a second one I do use for my foundation and this one I use for placing powder just where I want it. It gives me a sheer amount of product that I can build up with ease while not appearing as if I’m wearing two tons of powder. It fits my under eye contour perfectly as well and works particularly great with Laura Mercier’s Secret Brightening Powder (Which I’m kinda liking lately!).
This brush is particularly a great mention since MAC is introducing the Nordstrom Exclusive Colour Forms collection shortly and the Basic Brush Set for $49.50 USD contains 5 brushes including the 190SE! That evens out to $10 USD per a brush where as you’d spend $40 USD and upwards for the full you can nab the mini version for way less!
I also use the mini kabuki which is not available at the moment from MAC but if ye seek ye shall find it on E-bay for $10 USD or so. It’s a mini version of the full size that is released with MAC Sonic Chic and I actually prefer this size to the larger as I feel I have more control on how much product I pick up! It’s ideal for buffing MSF onto the skin and creating a perfect canvas for makeup! Although it doesn’t offer as light a coverage as the 190SE does it works well at building coverage up and covering flaws and larger pores.
Both brushes are great for use with your MSF in the Muse’s opinion! Do look out for the 190SE in the new brush packs and check out E-bay to grab yourself the mini kabuki! Both work fabulously in conjunction with your MSF to create flawless, even, beautiful skin!
What do you use with your MSF?
Tell the Muse!
I was very excited about MAC’s Sonic Chic release this week. I have plenty of blushes but I can always use more especially unique ones like the Mineralize Blushes that make up the Sonic Chic Collection!
If you like rich, bold, vibrant, pigmented colors these will obviously appeal to you in a major way! These are silky, blend easy, and offer a amazing color payoff! The only blushes I’ve seen that have a similar texture and pigmentation in comparison would be from NARS. I actually felt like some of the shades were extremely similar actually! The only difference between the two is NARS charges $25 USD where as MAC charges $21 USD!
Sadly, my counter didn’t get the complete selection so I ended up with five of the nine colors. I’m simply dying to see the rest and I’ll be heading over to bug my MA until they get them in stock! The Muse needs to collect them all damnit!
In all seriousness I’d pay close attention to Sonic Chic when making your selections between the three color stories released this month. Since all three collections have released at the same time it’s sometimes easy to over look awesome products and these blushes fall into the awesome category!
These can be a little intimidating for those who prefer a light touch of blush. They are extremely pigmented and have some sincerely extreme payoff but the good news is with a light touch you can easily blend the color out to create a softer look if you desire! So light to wow is completely optional on how you wield your brush!
One of my favorite shades that I picked up is Pleasantry which reminds me of NARS Blush in Desire and Angelika. It’s also very similar to Barbie Loves MAC Don’t Be Shy Blush. It’s a fun bubble gum pink shade that gives a delicious pale pink pop to cheeks!
My next favorite shade would be Merrily reminds me of MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Serenely. It’s a dirty deep red that shows up almost peach on my skin! It’s comparable to NARS Blush in Taos to me. Even though Merrily shows up in the compact as reddish I felt like it applied more peachy!
Next shade I am completely loving is Love Thing! Yum! Lots of pop here people! It’s a muddy burgundy shade that gives a very warm flush to your cheeks.
Gleeful is described as pink with gold but for me it’s a deep, dark reddish brown shade.
And finally Nuance which is a pretty universal shade of peach with traces of gold. This is probably the most subdued shade from the colors I picked up.
Although the blushes do contain a very fine shimmer to them it doesn’t show up on your face at all once blended. These remind me of the MAC Beauty Powder Blush releases because of the bold colors and excellent pigmentation however the texture is quite different as they are baked blushes. I noticed that the lighter shades applied sheer and natural while the darker shades gave a bigger pop of color so if you are a bit scared of color you might want to stick to the lighter shades!
You don’t want to miss out on these! They are truly amazing pieces to add to your collection! MAC did a fabulous job with them! Of course they get a BIG Muse Approval for purchase! Got get ‘em before they disappear!
Want ‘em?
Love ‘em?
Own ‘em already!
Tell the Muse!
Catch up on more great MAC posts!
Click here to see my original Sneak Peak of MAC Sonic Chic!
Check out my review on MAC New View featuring a Mineralize Skinfinish Duo!
Check out my review of MAC Neo Sci-Fi!
Hmmm…guess what?
I only got two shadows from MAC Electro Shock and I left the rest. Shocking right? I thought for sure I’d want every single shade once I seen them in person but turns out I skipped out completely aside from buying a single lipglass!
I’m sorry guys! I hope you’re not too disappointed in your dear, old Muse.
These weren’t calling out to me sadly. Where as MAC Antiquitease and Flashtronic offered Mineralize Eye Shadows that were soft and shimmery these just felt a bit chalky to me. They also were very, very similar in color to Mineralize Shadows I already owned. These are extremely pigmented and they smooth on intensely but I can’t quite explain what I’m not liking about the formula exactly. I guess they aren’t exactly what I expect in a baked shadow. If you’re at all familiar with the texture of Japanese eye shadow you’ll understand what I mean when I say that these feel like a cross between a shadow and a cream. This could be one of my reasons for not loving them. The formula is vastly different in comparison to the mineralize shadows released with Antiquitease and Flashtronic.
Secondly, the colors aren’t unique enough to warrant any raves from me. Yes, they are very pretty to look at but it’s nothing I haven’t already seen or own from MAC prior to this. I’ve read some reviews around on MUA and other blogs and most are really great, raving, glowing reviews but not for me sadly. I could be picky but these just didn’t do it for me this time around! I did a few pics comparable the shades from Electro Flash to ones from Flashtronic and Antiquitease. Love Connection is a bit lighter to Engaging from Antiquitease but it’s almost a dupe for the shade in my opinion. Mercuriel from Flashtronic is the same color in the Odd Couple duo as well. I felt like Silversmith was a pretty good dupe of Sea & Sky aside from the fact that Sea & Sky had two separate blues where as Silversmith had more of a gray side to it! The swirl side of Fresh Green Mix was comparable to Tectonic from Flashtronic.
I’m saddened to say that MAC Electro Flash was a disappointment for the Muse! The one highlight was the lipglass I picked up in Sonic Vibe which is a rather neat shade of strawberry pink!
Don’t let my review discourage you though! Head on into your local store or hit up your counter and swatch them out for yourself! You may find some color you love!
For the Muse it’s a bust!
Loving these so much it hurts?
Not really?
What did you haul from MAC Electro Flash?
Tell your Muse!
I already own a MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Light but when I seen the brand new Mineralize Skinfinish Duo released with MAC New View I didn’t hesitate in questioning whether I needed another one!
These are absolutely brilliant and it’s absolutely essential you pick one up even if you own the previous matte release. These are a unique duo of shimmer and matte powder in one compact. You get the benefits of an MSF plus a gorgeous shimmer to highlight! Is that freaking cool or what?
Perfection!
I do have one minor rant. I wish the split was even. The duo contains more matte MSF than it does shimmer so it’s pretty much an uneven split with the matte side making up about 75% of the palette while the shimmer side makes up the other 25%! I’m a shimmer girl so less is more doesn’t apply to me! More is better when it comes to shimmer in the Muse’s opinion! An even split would have been rather awesome but I do understand why they felt it was necessary to include more to the matte side.
You have a few choice ways to use this nify little palette which is always great as hey we all like variety right? If you so please you can swirl, swirl, swirl your brush all over the palette and apply which is what I did while I was testing. This creates a soft, candlelight glow to your face with just the right amount of powder and shimmer. Or you can just use either side separately or together! Apply a layer of matte powder to keep your foundation in place or use the powder as your foundation! Apply some shimmer to highlight cheekbones or even sweep across your eyes for a soft shimmer! The possibilities are endless! Multitasking products rock my socks! Can you say perfection on bare skin? Oh my god! I used mine on my freshly moisturized skin and it created such a dewy, fresh look!
I got my shade in Light Medium but there are four other shades to choose! Click on over to the MAC site to check out the shades!
Damn these are LE obviously I’ll need a back up! I can’t help myself!
Loving these?
Purchasing 1? 2? 3?
Tell the Muse!
I got my hands on two of the blushes from MAC Sonic Chic so far and boy oh boy are they brilliant! I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest tonight!
I’m not doing a full review in this post as I first want to get the rest of the colors tonight but expect my review late tonight or tomorrow morning!
These are super exciting and I’ll have lots to say about them shortly!
Hauling these?
Love ‘em?
Want them all?
Tell me!
I reviewed MAC Neo Sci-Fi yesterday, finally! If you read my review you probably noticed I wasn’t too keen on X-Rocks.
I decided to crack it open and do an FOTD to see if it was me. Its not too bad but I don’t completely love the look I created using it. You definately need a really light hand when using it otherwise it looks like you have mud on your face especially for medium-fair skin like my own!
What I Used:
Cheeks
MAC Blush in X-Rocks
Eyes
MAC Eye Shadow in Femme-Fi
MAC Eye Shadow in Expensive Pink
Maybelline the Colossal Volum’ Express Mascara
Lips
MAC Lipglass in Soft & Slow
I personally think I look like I stayed out in the sun too long!
A little teaser of MAC Electro Flash for you guys!
I’ll be doing a full review shortly!
Go on and shout @ me! Comment box is open!
What are you hauling from MAC Electro?
I’m really late pumping out my review for MAC Neo Sci-Fi! I was on vacation when this popped into stores which ended up in a delay getting all the pieces I wanted and thus my very late review to you!
Bad Muse!
Sadly, by now you’ve read the reviews, seen the swatches, and brought the T-Shirt on MAC’s Summer trio release however you haven’t heard my thoughts on the topic and those are by far the most important of course…maybe…sorta….kinda……….
Upon Neo Sci-Fi’s original release I wasn’t doing cartwheels through the aisles as I’ve been known to do when a new MAC color story pops up! Last year’s Summer Collection wasn’t anything I was too excited about either so Neo Sci-Fi found it’s way to the bottom of my list of Must Have Summer Makeup.
However, upon getting my hands on some of the collection I quickly realized that many of the items released with it are truly gems and I’m happy that I grabbed a majority of the collection!
As you know the color story was released in three seperate parts. Neo Sci-Fi which includes all the blushes, eye shadows, and facial cosmetics, Solar Field which included the bronzers and a new pigment product called Solar Bits (review to follow on those shortly), and finally Future Earth which included some very interesting skin care items!
So I think I personally got the best of the best that was offered with this particular collection!
I ended up with four out of the five shadows released. Femme-Fi which is a frosty golden cream, Evening Aura which is golden peach, Magnetic Fields which is a black brown, and Expensive Pink which is a golden orangey shade.
Out of the four shadows Expensive Pink is most definately a must have in my humblest opinion. Although the title says pink and the MAC website says it’s pink I see it as more of a flattering golden, burnt orange. It’s sincerely a beautiful shade for Summer when you’re sporting some great golden bronzer or some beautiful peach or coral blush! Evening Aura is about three shades lighter but it compliments Expensive Pink beautifully and makes for a great lid color while using Expensive Pink in the crease of your eye! If you’re just looking to buy one shadow from this particular collection definately don’t miss out on Expensive Pink (even though it’s actually available all the time it’s still nice to have in the cool neon packaging!). Magnetic Field was a spur of the moment purchase. It’s a dark black brown and I thought it would go great with one of the Solar Bits I picked up plus it looks wonderful as an upcoming Fall Shade. Femme-Fi is a creamy golden beige that works great as a highlighter and in conjunction with Expensive Pink and Evening Aura you can do a nice eye look combining the three!
Speaking of packaging….at first I was a little dismayed at the really gaudy neon orange packaging but turns out it’s rather funky once you get used too it! I’m actually liking the unique look of these particular compacts and not minding the glow in the dark effect at all!
Now blushes I might have made a tiny mistake on. I got both but I’m a bit scared of X-Rocks. X-Rocks is a very deep dirty mauve that appears almost brown. With a light hand I may be able to work this well but I am quite frightened I’ll just look dirty with it on so I need to practice with this before stepping outside the door! The star of the blushes is definately Spaced Out which is a shimmery summer peach shade that looks stunning on! If you’re sporting a tan you’ll look simply gorgeous wearing this!
And finally I nabbed a few of the lip items. Pink Grapefruit lipglass was my number one product in this collection! It’s simply too yummie and it made it’s way onto my Summer Must Have List very quickly! I ended up purchasing a backup since it’s truly a unique shade. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend tracking this one down! It’s has shades of orange, gold, pink, and peach all combined into a unique and simply stunning shade! I originally only purchased one item from the lip stuff released but I later went back after a reader pointed out that Soft and Slow was a must have lipglass! Turns out she was right as it’s a rather beautiful shade of creamy plum that works well with all the shadows and blushes in the collection! Finally I couldn’t keep my hands off of Electro Lipstick. It’s a bright true orange that I’ll probably look ridiculously sporting but I don’t have any shades like it so I absolutely had to have it!
All in all Neo Sci-Fi has some serious winners and I’m happy I did manage to score some of it. At first I wasn’t going to bother to head into store to swatch but I’m happy I did as the collection has some terrific finds!
Must have Hits from this Collection:
Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit
Eye shadow in Expensive Pink
Blush in Spaced Out
Face of the Day I created this morning using the following from MAC Neo Sci-Fi:
Eyes
MAC Eyeshadow in Femme-Fi
MAC Eyeshadow in Expensive Pink
MAC Eyeshadow in Evening Aura
Cheeks
MAC Blush in Spaced Out
Lips
MAC Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit
What did you haul from Neo Sci-Fi?
What was a hit for you? What was a miss?
Loved this collection?
Tell the Muse!
Read my mad ravings about MAC Lipglass in Pink Grapefruit!
Click here to read about the trio of MAC Summer Color Stories released last month!
Click here to find out why I am loving MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator released with Future Earth!
Check back soon to see my review on MAC Solar Bits and MAC Cool Heat!
MAC Pro has released six shades of matte, neon pigments. I find this very interesting and have a lemming for a few colors.
Have you seen these?
Gorgeous!
Must have! *drool*
Although my eye is on MAC’s Sonic Chic color story I do admit to having a lemming for some of the shadows from Electro Flash!
However, I will try really hard to refrain as some of the colors look similar to previous releases of mineralized shadows! But damn it all that doesn’t stop me from having major “pokemon” collect ‘em all syndrome! I know I’ll end up with a few if not all of these bad boys!
Check it:
Are those some sincerely drool worthy shadows?
If that isn’t enough to whet your appetite I took some photos of my little stash of mineralized eyes shadows from past MAC collections!
Enjoy!
What are you wanting from MAC Electro Flash?
Tell the Muse!
Watch some MuseTV featuring the mineralized eyeshadows from MAC Antiquitease Color Collection!
Click here to see a FOTD using “Her Fancy” mineralized eye shadow!
Click here to see a FOTD featuring “Family Silver” mineralized eye shadow!
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