You may remember a while ago I mentioned, in this post, that bought some MAC goodies on Rosie Connolly’s recommendation following her masterclass in Wexford. I was in Cork for my birthday that weekend and I decided to treat myself to some MAC beauty bits. Living in Wexford, my closest MAC counters are in Dublin. I’m rarely at them and when I do have time to drop in, I get overwhelmed with all the different shades of lipsticks and types of foundation! There’s just so much to choose from; it’s nearly best to go in with a little shopping list. Now I know that MAC is available to buy online, but I like to see, feel and swatch products before buying – especially when they’re not exactly cheap.
I’m a marketer’s dream…
On this particular weekend, MAC were running a promotion for National Lipstick Day. If you spent over €50 you got a free lipstick and there were 3 shades to choose from – not that I found it hard to bring my bill up over €50 with a list the length of my arm to buy from! I was armed with the product list from Rosie’s Masterclass, which you can read more about here, and other products were based on recommendations I’ve heard time and time again. I already had some products, likeMAC’s Strobe Cream, which I love. Anyway, keep reading to see what I picked up.
Extra Dimension Skinfinish
If you follow me for a while, you will already know that I’m a self-confessed magpie! If it sparkles, glistens or shimmers, I’m obsessed. The second I saw the Extra Dimension Skinfinish highlighter, I knew I needed it. Rosie used it on the model’s cheekbones, over the Iconic London‘Liquid Illuminator’, and the sparkle was just incredible. The two complimented each other really well. This shade is called ‘Showgold’ and it has a pink reflect which appealed to me mainly because I have green eyes. Pink tones really make green eyes pop so I am always drawn to pinks, cranberries and purples in eyeshadows and pink undertones in highlighters.
‘Showgold’ is described as ‘peach that breaks pink’ and it is truly gorgeous. I use it to highlight the inner corner of my eyelids too for an extra pop. There are 7 shades in the Extra Dimension Skinfinish collection so there is one to suit every colouring. It retails for €31.50 at the MAC counter in Brown Thomas. In my opinion that is reasonable as a highlighter is something I’ll have almost forever, as compared to a foundation or powder that needs to be replaced every so often.
Select Cover Up
The next item I picked up was the Select Cover Up concealer. I had heard lots of good reviews of this and noticed lots of my favourite MUA’s use it in their kits. In store I swatched the shades NW15 and NC20. The swatch of NW15 looked almost white so I bought NC20 with the intention of using it underneath my eyes to highlight the area. Having used it for a couple of weeks now, I am in love with the consistency and the coverage is second to none, making it a brilliant concealer for blemishes too. I use it as an eyeshadow primer also, setting it with a translucent powder. I find this works really well but I just ensure to pat the lid down with a damp beauty blender so the product doesn’t set in the crease and create unwanted lines in the base of my eyeshadow.
While I am delighted to have gone with NC20, I will probably buy NW15 next. While the swatch was really pale, I think I would prefer a lighter colour again for highlighting the under eye area for heavier, night time makeup. I really do love that signature Kim K, white highlight and strong contour look when I’m going out 😝 Then NC20 works really well for me to conceal blemishes, like I mentioned, and to carve out my brows. 👌🏼 Select Cover Up retails for between €19 – €21 at the MAC counters in Brown Thomas.
Prep + Prime ‘Fix+’
The next product is the Fix+ (Fix Plus) setting spray. This a multi use product – you can spritz it over a bare face as a primer to prep the skin, use as a setting spray over a finished makeup look or dampen down your eyeshadow brushes with it when working with shimmery eyeshadows. That is a particularly good tip as it intensifies to pigment of eyeshadows and really makes them ✨ pop! ✨ The ingredients in this water mist include green tea, chamomile and cucumber and it’s packed full of minerals and vitamins. It’s particularly hydrating so I find it great on my dry skin.
I bought the travel size which is 30mls and retails for €10. There is a full size 100ml bottle also and that retails at €22 so it does work out better value to go for the 100mls if you’re happy with the product. As setting sprays go, I would definitely recommend it. A little hack that a MUA friend of mine shared with me was to fill the bottle with water when you get to the half way mark. This doesn’t distort the formula at all and makes it last a little longer. I do feel like I’m flying through the 30ml bottle as I use it everyday now. I bought it at the beginning of August and I’m already past the halfway point. Regardless, I will 100% be repurchasing!
MAC Red
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, MAC were running a promotion for National Lipstick Day so I was able to pick up a new lippy too. I only have one other MAC lipstick so I wouldn’t say I’m a die hard fan and didn’t really know much about the shades/finishes/longevity, etc. There were 3 shades to choose from for the promo. The first was a deep purple, extremely rich and definitely not my style. The second was a chocolate brown shade and I knew myself from wearing some brown Rimmel shades in the past, that’s not a good look for me. The third colour was the one I settled for; a bright red called M.A.C Red. I wouldn’t be a huge fan of bold lip colours but every girl needs a red lipstick in their collection, right? It’s such a signature look, paired with winged liner and lashings of lashes!
The colour is really bright with a blue undertone which suits fair skin best, as compared to orange-reds. It is a satin finish which I love – I’m so over mattes – and the coverage is medium and buildable. I wore it to work recently and just topped it up once after my lunch. As it’s a satin finish, I didn’t expect it to last all day but it did wear well for a couple of hours before needed a touch up. It gets a big thumbs up from me. Although I know I won’t fly through this particular shade, it’s handy to have in my makeup bag and I’m impressed with MAC’s Satin lipsticks. I wouldn’t say no to buying more of them in different shades in the future, as they have a huge selection to chose from. They retail for €20 at MAC counters in Brown Thomas.
There you have it…
…a little haul/review of my most recent MAC purchases. As I mentioned, I’m not usually found at a MAC counter as they’re few and far between here in Ireland so this mightn’t be the most mind-blowing haul. I’m delighted with my purchases and definitely think they were worth parting with my hard earned cash for. If you have any questions on what I bought, or anything beauty-related, feel free to leave a comment below. You’ll always find me on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat too.
