November Favorites: Part 1

November is gone (what happened to 2011? It vanished in thin air!) and here are my favorites.

Sigma F84 Angled Top Kabuki Brush: It's been a while since I got this excited over a brush, but I just love this one:

• Excellent quality: exremely soft but at the same time firm and dense, no shedding, sturdy construction.
• It applies my foundation (Mac Face & Body) flawlessly and quickly. I just stipple it on my face and because of the size and the density of the brush the result is lovely in no time!
• The shape makes it also perfect for small nooks, for example arround my nose etc.
• It applies my foundation a little heavier than my Mac 187, but, F&B is quite sheer, so I actually prefer it this way. 
• Sooo affordable (at least compared to a Mac face brush)! 
• The only disadvantage is that it requires two times washing to get clean and it takes almost 2 days to dry.

I love it so much that I've already ordered the Round Top Synthetic Kabuki - F82 and the Precision Tapered - P86 (using the Black Friday free shipping, it took me quite a while to manage to make that order, the site was up, then down, then up, then down, LOL!), as soon as I receive them I'll let you know what I think of them!

Mac Prep+Prime highlighter in Radiant Rose (€22, I got it €15,40, at 30% off, with the Glamour card).

I got frustrated with the Erase Paste by Benefit because of its texture, I felt that it added ages to my eyes because it is quite thick and dense, although soft and creamy. I tried it on top of a silicone primer and it was better this way, more manageable, but too much work for everyday application. So when I visited my local Mac, I decided to try this, although my prior experience with a similar (?) product a few years ago (YSL's Touche Eclat) wasn't very satisfactory (maybe I didn't know how to use it back then?). 

So I just got this one out of pure curiosity, without expecting too much. Imagine my surprise when this little thing actually worked! Of course I have to clarify that I don't have really dark circles, but my under eye area is darker than the rest of my face, and after using this product I realized that I didn't need cover that much as I needed a highlighter.

I love it because:

• it does light up the under eye area
• it has a pinkish shade so the result is very natural (I don't really like white stripes under my eyes, LOL!) 
• it can also be used on the bridge of the nose or anywhere else I want to highlight in a discreet way (without using a shimmering product etc)
• a little goes a long way
• it lasts all day without a setting powder.
• The only con is that it is a bit on the dry side, but nothing that I can't handle (with a little more moisturizer underneath it).

Wet 'n Wild Idol Eyes shadow pencil in Pixie: it's a smooth champagne eyeshadow, no great lasting power though, so I mainly use it under a powder eyeshadow, especially when I want to make the eyeshadow color less vibrant, more muted. If I want to use it alone, I just add a tiny bit of translucent setting powder on top.

Korres #5 Olive Green eyeliner pencil: I got it mainly because I love the color and thought I could use it as an eyeshadow, but it is a little hard to apply it since it's not very soft. What I do is that I rub it on my hand, so as to warm it a little bit. I also wear it on top of the Wet 'n Wild Pixie pencil, because it is easier to apply it this way and it also turns into a gorgeous grey-silverish-frost light green color!

Swatches: Wet 'n Wild Pixie, Korres #5 Olive Green, Olive Green on top of Pixie.

Mac Smolder Eye Khol: I love this pencil for the upper waterline because it is dark and buttery soft. I wouldn's use it anywhere else though because it smudges a bit (I prefer gel eyeliners, Mac's Avenue is my favorite).

Mac Sheertone Blush in Breath Of Plum: I got this blush a while back because I didn't have anything in the plum family, but I didn't use it that much, until November, when it became my (almost) everyday blush. I use my Mac 187 with it because it gives my cheeks the subtle, a little muted and sophisticated result I'm looking for when I'm going a little heavier on the eyes, especially with smokey looks.

Mac matte lipstick in Ruby Woo and Love Alert Dazzleglass: Ruby Woo is my first (and only one so far) red lipstick and I chose this shade because it has a retro appeal, especially if used light handed over a lip balm, it's sooo pretty that I don't need anything else (apart from mascara, defined brows and a smidgen of blush, to be accurate, LOL!). If I want to spice it up, I use a tiny bit of the Love Alert dazzleglass on top. There is one major default though, it is verrrry dry, but I never wear full red lips, I always layer this on top of a bit of lip balm, so I don't mind. Although, if used without the lip balm, it would probably stay on my lips ALL day long!

Swatches: Ruby Woo (blended out on the right), Love Alert, Love Alert on top of a little of Ruby Woo.

I have a few more favorites but since I don't want this post to go on for ever, a part 2 will follow!

Mac Holiday Collection: Part 2

Well, as the killer returns to the crime scene (LOL), I returned to my local Mac to get a few more things and also to get 1-2 items from the permanent collections using the 30% off card from the Glamour magazine.

First thing first: I wanted to buy the Uncoditionally Fabulous nail polish from the Glitter and Ice collection from the day I saw the first swatches online. But, at €15, it seemed quite expensive to me since I hardly ever wear glitter nail polish. So, instead of buying it, I decided to order the China Glaze Snow Globe, because a lot of people said that it was very similar. I got it for €5 (shipping included) on e-bay and, I've been wearing this since I received it (5 days ago) because... I just love it! I wear one coat, over a semi-transparent pinkish-beige base, and I named this combo the snow princess manicure, it's sooo freaking fairytale like!

Unfortunatelly the picture doesn't do it any justice, because, in real life, as I move my hands, the light catches all the different colors and they sparkle sooo beautifully! I was also impressed that only with one coat, the distribution of glitter is even all over my nails, there are no gaps, etc.

From Mac, first of all I got a few lip products:

Whirls & Twirls lipstick (LE, Glitter and Ice collection). I picked this one because I'm afraid of nude lipsticks and this one, while being almost nude, it has a pinkish tone and a little shimmer, so, it is perfect for the days when I want to keep my lips discreet (with a twist!).

Pleasure Principle dazzleglass (LE, Glitter and Ice collection). I don't have any dazzleglasses but I decided to get this one because it's a lot like the glitter nail polish in a dazzleglass! Love it!

Love Alert dazzleglass. After seeing swatches of it online I loved the strawberry pink shade. It is also part of the Glitter and Ice collection but since it is also in the permanent line, I decided to get it from the permanent line, because of the 30% off with the Glamour card and because I can back to Mac this one.

Here are the three of them together: Pleasure Principle, Love Alert, Whirls & Twirls.

One thing I really needed was a warm blush. I came to this conclusion after looking at my blushes and realized that they all leaned to the pink/raspberry/plum categories. So, after some online searching I had narrowed the list to 2-3 shades and after swatching them in store, I decided to get Sunbasque. Mac describes this as "gilded peach with pearl" (huh???) but in real life it is like a peachy-rose-bronze, really pretty. I also realized that the sheertone shimmer is my favorite finish (next to the satin) because of the discreet and totally wearable shimmer that gives my cheeks a little pizzazz in the quick, without the need to use any other product on top. I used my mac 187 brush, it's a pair made in heaven!

On the left I swatched it with my finger and then I blended it out on the right part.

Last thing I got was the Make it Perfect Brush Kit / Special Edition (€56 - Ice Parade Collection), I just couldn't resist it because I already have 3 of them in ful size and I love them (168-239-217) and the mini version with the sparkling handles is totally adorable (LOL) and travel friendly! The kit has five brushes totally:

• 167 SE blush/powder brush
• 168 SE angled contour brush
• 239 SE eye shader brush
• 217 SE blending brush
• 212 SE flat definer brush 

After washing them, I was really impressed with the softness of the bristles (not being handmade etc).

They come in this pouch, I don't like it very much but the plastic is of good quality, really sturdy.

I also took some photos in comparison to my full size ones (on the right), you will notice that there are minor differences, but I haven't tried them as yet so I can't tell if they will affect the actual performance (probably not).

The 217

The 239

The 168

All of them together

PS: have you managed to find here in Greece the Let's Skate painpot, Winterized eyeshadow and Snow Globe powder? I can't find them anywhere and the mac assistants don't have a clue if and when they will be available. I've also emailed mac but I haven't heard from the as yet...