Haul time!

Never thought I'd actually utter (or write) that magic word: Haul. I always watched with glee and envy at youtube makeup gurus and other seasoned bloggers as they showed off their bags of recently acquired treasures with this heading. Glee because I don't want to spend such money on makeup makeup, so it was a way to live vicariously through other girls. Envy because, well, that one is obvious. But two weeks ago, MAC had a 25% friends and family sale on their website. I got a few things - a mini haul, if you will. Although I kind of went against my philosphy of "it's not a bargain if you don't need it" and "people will overspend way more than they'll safe on sales", I'm glad that I got these items. I've participated in a previous Friends and family sale they had around Christmas. Due to the quality of the most (but not all) of MAC products, and the fact that I often check out the items in store before purchasing, I have consistently used all of my MAC products. I can't say the same for other impulse purchases of drug store makeup that seemed like a good bargain at that time.

So here's what I got:



and opened:


We have:
1) lipstick in Brick-o-la. This is a plummy-red colour that I purchased entirely because of this post by the lovely Bailey. http://baileycait88.blogspot.com/2009/06/fotd.html. I have to say, it looks better (and also redder) on her than on me. But I think it'll look better once I'm back to my NC25 winter skin colour.

2) Selective Moisturecover concealer in NW20 for my undereye circles. Although I'm more yellowed toned this pink hue just works for me. This was purchased as a backup.

3) Select Sheer Loose Powder in NC30 for my mom. :)

4) Studio Tech in NC25 for winter use. I really wanted to try it out because my skin gets pretty dry in the winter, and this is a creamy formula. I didn't lift off the foil cover yet because I don't want it to dry out.

5) and 6) Two blushes I thought would go well with my new "tan" - Trace Gold and Gingerly. Gingerly adds a bit of warmth without being too artificially pink or red. Trace Gold is more of a highlighter on my new NC40 skin, but I think I will be able to use it as a suble bronzer as well as highlighter in the winter.

7) Eyeshadow All That Glitters. A gorgeous peachy nude with gold glitters. I tend to gravitate towards these more neutral and subtle colours for eyeshadow. This is quite similar to Glamazon - a colour in my Too faced palette, as well as a colour in my belonved Cover Girl Trio (Shimmering Sands). But this one is a bit more peachy without making my eyes look red or pink. Loves it!

8) MAC 168 brush. I have a "fake" version from Quo, and it simply did not hold its shape. This one is doing so far after the initial wash. It also feels denser and softer.

Lastly, a bit of a surprise. I purchased the SFF in NC40, thinking that it will be too dark but at least I can blend it with my NC25 to get the perfect shade. I thought I'd be better safe with this than going with a shade that may not be dark enough. However, to my surprise, this shade is perfect! Like previously mentioned, I recently began using a self-tanner regularly, but I didn't think my skin colour had darkened that dramatically! To be fair, there doesn't appear to be as dramatic a difference between the NC40 and the NC25 as you would imagine. The difference is more pronounced in flash mode. In the second picture, taken in natural day light, the NC40 only appears slightly darker, and more yellower, than the NC25. I have arranged included a Revlon foundation for reference. The foundations in the picture are: Revlon Colorstay in Buff. SFF in NC25 and NC40





I also wanted to get the Plush Lash mascara as per this Closet Rebel's (http://closetrebelc.blogspot.com/) recommendations but they were out. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have bought "all" this if it weren't for the sale. But I can honestly say that I'm pretty happy with my purchases, and that they will all be in my "regular rotation" from now on. :)

Did you pick up anything from the sale?