Do you know what yesterday was? If you said “Thursday” then you get partial credit and a warning that nobody likes a smart aleck What “it”was in my neck of the woods was the counter launch for MAC’s To The Beach collection.

I went in about a week ago asking about the collection, since Karla at TNBTTGSY swatched them and made me want them SO BAD. Seriously, she swatches like nobody’s business. Anyhow, I was just dying for some of the collection and I hopped in to see if it was out yet. It wasn’t on the counter but my gal Jessica let me sift through the spanking new testers and pre-order what I wanted. You can bet your buns I went straight down after work yesterday to pick up my new babies. Good thing too, 3 of the 5 items I picked were already gone and the store had only been open for 3 hours! This is a really fun , not too bright(imho) collection and I will get tons of use out of my purchases.

For a full selection of swatches visit Karlas posts here and here. And click through at the end for my pictures as well

I nabbed Sweet & Punchy and Humid($14.50), two gorgeous shadows and Float on By($14.50), which is a beautiful dark green/turquoise eye pencil. Since no purchase is complete without lip color I also grabbed Lipglass in Splashing($14), a pretty pink, and a lipstick in Funbathing($14), a bronzed plum color. Funbathing is almost exactly a more sheer version of my favorite lipstick ever, MAC’s O. It’s a perfect way to wear my favorite color through summer and I’m so tickled that I just might have to go buy another one before it sells out. I highly suggest you run to your nearest MAC counter ASAP and give this collection a whirl, I love it. And hurry, some of these products are already sold out online! (more…)

I was, sorry to say, defeated in my quest to own the Stacked1 set of pigments from MAC ($32.50 if you manage to find some). I did manage to hit the counter right after they recieved a second shipment of the stacked2 sets. While Stacked1 was a set of beautiful purples, Stacked2 is earthy tones of gold and light copper with an olive green thrown in for good measure.

Holy shimmery shine Batman, these pigments are super shiny metallics with just a tiny touch of glitter to really make them glow. Like most MAC pigments they’re super multi-use, and can be mixed with just about any product you have. I prefer mine foiled with a shadow sealant as an eye color, but I’ve used them above my cheekbone for some highlighting as well. I’m not a huge fan of the crumbly texture rather just a smooth powder (Temptalia has some great pics of the texture in the jar), but it blends and applies well without feeling chalky or chunky. The shiny color stays in place well with a sealant, and be sure not to get any on your clothes or you’ll look like a glitter bomb all day. One thing about these stacks that is both good and bad, there is a ton of product in each jar! If you’re like me and rarely repeat colors often then this will last forever.  I don’t think I’ll ever get to the end of these jars unless I start finding some serious extra uses for it. Since we’re still in the last dying clutches of winter here, I can’t think of a better way to coax the sun from its hiding place than by wearing something to give it a little inspiration, like these shiny reflective pigments!

DecoDiva created a stunning Green and Silver Eye that you could create this New Years Eve, or any evening where to really want to “knock their socks off!”  This is her step-by-step tutorial to walk you through this look.  And if you are on a budget – no worries, Aromaleigh and Meow Cosmetics offer generous sample baggies of many of their products for just $1.  Now we can all afford to get a wonderful selection of cosmetics and get a chance to try this look  for ourselves!

Start with a clean, moisturized face.

1. Put on Eye Shadow Primer.  (Eyeshadow Primer and Base from Aromaleigh in Light)

2. Put some black shadow on the outer vee area and a little in the crease. I used MAC Paint Pot in Blackground.

3. Apply some silver eye shadow all over the eye area, from lash line to eyebrows. I used Aromaleigh Fume (25% off, now $6). (more…)

When asked to create a list of favorite beauty products for 2008, both DecoDiva and Mo mentioned their love of Indelible Gel Eyeliners.  When such extraordinary makeup mavens heart such a find, one needs to pay attention!

If you are a fan of liquid eyeliners, and particularly MAC’s Fluidline, the Indelible “Gel” Eyeliner will most likely appeal to you.  Mo reviewed this eyeliner in Black Cherry from LooseLipsNY , and DecoDiva found the indelible gel eyeliner at Aromaleigh’s website.  DD noticed that Aromaleigh carried this product by customer request and that it was made by a third party (private label) company that supplies it to any company that wants to carry it, in the same colors and same formula. (more…)