Free MAC...Sorta

Alright before I clarify the title of this post, I need to just apologize for what I feel to be a lack of posts. My personal goal for this blog is to have it constantly updated with the latest and greatest products. Unfortunately, because I've been so busy I've had no time to set up my digital camera with my desktop, and I don't have wireless so I can't use my laptop, etc etc. It's kinda silly, I admit. But at any rate, the only time I can really get on to load pics is select times of the week. Sigh...so I apologize, but I am trying to get this thing going a little quicker, I promise.

Ohkayy, and now for the Free MAC that I was talking about. Well, in the past 6 months, I've gotten $200 worth of free MAC Cosmetics, and I am just putting how I did this out there because even though this may not be for everyone, it is kinda cool (and don't worry, I don't get a cent for telling you about it, so it's not a promo ploy or anything)! :)

Put it simply, I got $200 by using my Nordstrom Visa Card. They have a points program where you get 2 points per every dollar spent at Nordstrom (.com & rack included), and you get 1 point per additional dollar spent on the card (groceries, gas, phone bill, eating out-ANYTHING). Once you hit 2000 points, you get a $20 nordstrom note, usable on any Nordstrom merchandise, including MAC Cosmetics!

Now, 2000 points seems like a lot, but there are multiple (at least 4-5) times a year where you will receive up to 10 points per dollar on all Nordstrom purchases. Right now until March 22, Nordstrom Visa cardholders get 6 points per dollar. So, my Sugarsweet purchase yesterday, which cost me $115 gets me 690 points! So, right there I'm almost 1/3 of the way towards $20 to apply to my next MAC purchase.

Then, consider all your everyday purchases like Gas, Food, Phone, Utilities that you can charge and easily pay off with cash, immediately. Bigger purchases like airline tickets are awesome and give you a lot of points fast! Also, their bill pay system is extremely efficient and you can make unlimited amounts of payment during the month- if you want to pay on it after every purchase, you can, so you don't have to worry about interest...and the gift certificates are yours! And, if you can't help but carry a balance, the interest rate is extremely forgiving- starts at 7.9% +, so you're not paying through the nose for interest.

As I mentioned, I have received $200 worth of these gift certificates in just 6 months, mostly by charging my bills on it, but also thanks to the many generous multiple points periods (in 2008, they had triple points for literally 2 months! It was great!). BUT the best part is, if you open a card and charge $100 on it at point of opening, you get $20 in the mail (arrives in like 1 week). So, that's a nice bonus.

ANYWAYS, I know I'm selling this card like crazy, as if I'm getting something from you opening a card (I wish I got something for this, LOL) but the truth is I just cashed in one of my $20 certificates yesterday, and I have another one coming to me in April, so I'm just super excited. I know how much my readers love MAC (and heck, ALL makeup!) so if you have access to Nordies, and have good credit, you should go for it. I should also remind readers that it's the Nordstrom VISA, not the regular Nordstrom store card or pre-pay card (although you do get 1 point per $ with those ones too).

So I hope that's some worthwhile beauty advice today! :)

Double Dazzle Preview: New Dazzleglass Photos

Alrighty so I went a little bit mental last week and bought out practically all the new dazzleglass on eBay! I won't be living near a MAC counter or store when this collection comes out (April 30), and I hate waiting for the post, so I guess that kind of justifies me paying through the nose for these...not to mention I wanted them now! :) 

Soo...here's the list of all the dazzleglass that are being released for this collection (thank you to Temptalia.com for this info):

Sugarrimmed- Milky pale pink with red, teal and white pearl
Goldyrocks*- Sheer soft yellow with pink and gold pearl
Moth to Flame*- Sheer neutral beige with violet pearl
Smile*- Light coral with pink and gold pearl
Steppin’ Out- Clean yellow pink with red pearl
Utterly Posh*- Mid-tone orange with pink and gold pearl
Love Alert- Raspberry red with red pearl
Date Night- Deep plum with blue and gold pearl
Funtablulous- Purple with violet pearl
Extra Amps*- Sheer bright blue pink with blue and pink pearl
Like Venus- Clean light bubble gum pink with red pearl
Stop! Look!*- Sheer violet mauve with blue and pink pearl
Money Honey- Mid-tone rosy mauve with red pearl
Rags to Riches- Plummy pink with teal and red pearl
Baby Sparks- Pale pink with violet pearl
Bare Necessity- Caramel apricot with red and gold pearl
Girl’s Delight*- Sheer mid-tone tan with gold pearl
Get Rich Quick- Warm yellow brown

* denotes first-time release

So, of the first-time releases, I got:

Goldyrocks: This a nice, soft yellow that doesn't appear yellow when actually applied on the lips. It's more gold of course. Very pretty! I will need to try it a little more, but so far so good!

Moth to Flame: Surprisingly beautiful. I mean what can I say, it looks pretty in the tube, but the very light silver glitter is quite fantastic when applied! High shine! 

Smile: So this is the one I wanted the most, and when it arrived, I noticed it didn't look quite right...it was too dark, and I just couldn't imagine that it was the color that everyone raved about. It didn't have a sticker on the bottom so there was no way to tell, but after comparing it to swatches from other people, I realized what I had was Utterly Posh (see below). Well, UP turns out to be a pretty color, but I still wanted Smile, so I bought it also (lol). It really is gorgeous! When I pulled it out of the package today, I was like "yes!" because it was exactly the right color, everything I imagined. A beautiful, soft coral. I've heard it described as Baby Sparks with more peach, and indeed it is (see below for comparison of Baby Sparks and Smile). And the name is totally cute too! What more can I ask for? Oh and can I say this will probably look hot over Lollipop Lovin?

 

Utterly Posh: Ok so this is the one I initially got when I ordered Smile. It is like a darker version of Smile, or a lighter perhaps slightly less brown version of Miss Dynamite. Very pretty, I can't complain about it.

Extra Amps: So I can't say much about this one, because it is a very typical hot pink color. I don't find it too unique; it is just barely different from Miss Fizz. But it's pretty nonetheless. 

And here are 10 dazzleglass (new and old) that are coming out on April 30:

l to r: Sugarrimmed, Goldyrocks, Moth to Flame, Smile, Utterly Posh, Funtabulous, Extra Amps, Rags to Riches, Baby Sparks, Bare Necessity

I am really excited that a bunch of great colors are being released, including some of the best-sellers of the original release (bare necessity and baby sparks anyone)? I'm definitely looking forward to seeing some Steppin Out- I've heard good things about this color. Anyone really like this color?

Well, I do have to say that my very favorite dazzleglass of all time is Funtabulous. When I first saw the display of d/g last year, I could only pick 2, and I picked Funtabulous and Bare Necessity based on how they looked on me. Funtabulous has great color pay off for a dazzleglass, and I love how it appears over a thin layer of Myth or Fleshpot l/s. Definitely a winner! Plus, purple lips are in this season, so why not?

My beloved Funtabulous (I will deffo be getting a new one of these!):

Now, may I just say that there are a couple negative things about these...first, the amount of product in the tube is quite pathetic. It's like less than a mini lipglass from the holiday collections! Blah! That is one reason I didn't want to swatch on my skin, because I don't want to run out of any of this expensive gloss soon - sorry!! :)

Also, I have noticed that 3 of the 5 I've ordered smell like meat. Yep, that nasty meat smell is still plaguing the dazzleglass! I hope they fix it before the official release, but just so you know, it may happen to you! Luckily, if I let it air out for a second, it can be used ok w/o smelling too bad. But still the idea is not enticing by any means.

However, I noticed that Smile was not as sticky as my other dazzleglass. Am I crazy? Imagining things? Probably. But I smacked my lips together multiple times and was quite impressed.

Ok, so here are some comparison shots: 

Top to Bottom: Moth to Flame, Smile, Baby Sparks (all in the same ballpark, just different sparkles)

Top to Bottom: Funtabulous, Extra Amps, Miss Fizz (the difference btwn EA and MF are not so much that you have to have both, imo)

Top, Utterly Posh; Bottom, Smile. (You can see how, without a label on the bottom, UP could easily be mistaken for Smile)

Top, Baby Sparks; Bottom, Smile. The main diff here is basically if you prefer peach or pink. That's all. 

AND, since there are some Dazzleglass that will be sorely missed, here's a pic of some d/c dazzleglass  for the road:

Pleasure Principle, Comet Blue, Miss Fizz

Well, I hope you enjoyed this preview of new colors. I can take more pics as I know these are kinda small. But they were taken w/ flash in daylight, and I'm quite happy with the accuracy of the colors. Well, enjoy yourself some Dazzleglass in just about 1 1/2 months! :)

Review: MAC Softsac Carry All

Ok so I totally forgot that I'd been meaning to do a review of MAC's Softsac Carry All traincase that I got, so here it comes. I got this about a month ago, when CreamTeam was released. I had actually been eyeing it for a few weeks and had heard great reviews on it. However, I didn't feel like I had $55 to blow, but then I got a $20 Nordstrom Note gift certificate, so that made it $35, which is a steal. And now that I own it, I have to say this is WELL WORTH even $55. I mean, considering that the brush roll is $45, an extra 10 bucks for a whole case is sweet! Or even the Hello Kitty vanity case is $55 and so much smaller.

ANYWAYS, back to the amazingness that is this Softsac Carry All. The thing that most stands out to me is all the storage space in here that is sized exactly for MAC products. Here it is open:



It can hold so much stuff- there are about 4 or 5 lipstick pockets, about 4 powder/msf/bronzer/etc pockets, a zipper pocket for whatever you want, 2 large pockets one on either side, and tons of room to pile stuff in in the main character. There's also a really nice mirror (mine still has the plastic covering).

K so here's one side, with the lipstick pockets and one large pocket:


The other side in which I put a couple quads:


ANDDDDD, what's more, I can fit my ENTIRE brush roll in, and zip the lid without any bulging or overstuffing! My brush roll is really dirty, but you get the idea:



There's also a really nice adjustable strap so you can carry it wherever. And it's the same fabric as the brush roll- which is nice b/c they match, but can also be not so nice b/c that fabric collects dirt easily- but anyways, I LOVE this case!

Review: Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

I'm sure every woman has heard of or seen Maybelline's Great Lash Mascara. After all, it is considered the "#1" Mascara, with a cult following unlike most. I was a little surprised that such a basic, plain jane mascara could be the swear-by product of so many women. Yet that plain-jane, no frills style is exactly why this mascara is so well-loved. Unlike most mascaras these days that promise to give you 5x longer "falsie" lashes or to pump up the volume 10x, this mascara is just an old-fashioned mascara that claims to give you longer, fuller, but not ridiculously crazy, lashes.

I'm currently searching for the "perfect" mascara to lengthen and thicken my weak looking lashes, so I decided to give this "#1 mascara" a go. For $4.50, it was worth a try. How did I fare? Well, you know what they say, the proof is in the pictures:





The Verdict: From the looks of it, my lashes look and feel longer and thicker- but not drastically. I mentioned it before and I'll mention it again: my lashes are stubs! So basically, I do need more than this basic mascara. I need one that transforms my lashes into sky high and beautiful- unlike this one. Ultimately I guess it depends on what you're looking for in a mascara, and if you are looking for basic basic basic, then this is it.

Also, I have noticed a tiny bit of migration under my eyes, despite the one I bought being "waterproof". It is very hard to get off without a makeup remover, so yes, it is waterproof, but not necessarily migrate-proof.

Note to Self...

...Post more often! :)

Sorry about the major lack of posts lately- I am striving to get things organized over here. I have so much to post about, just not the time. I'm also without wireless internet right now which is fine except that I can't upload pics, since they're on my laptop :( So I will figure things out...but don't lose hope! :)

xoxo,

Abby