MAC Palette Construction

If MAC is a brand that you have no interest in (are you sick?!) there's one thing they offer that has got to tickle your fancy, their Pro Palettes. 

They're just empty eyeshadow palettes that you can get in different sizes and you just pick shades you love that you can get in the refill pan or de-pot the ones you have and pop them in. They also do this with their blushes and it's such a cool idea because I find with most palettes I buy I tend to stick with some colours more than others. Problem averted.

I got the empty quad and to fill it 'Naked Lunch' and 'Sable'. They're really good everyday shades and go well together. However they're looking pretty lonely next to the empty spaces, and I've got my eye on a few (15, actually) shadows that I think will work well with the brown theme I've got going on. I can feel another trip to MAC in the near future.

I also bought a paint pot in 'Painterly' as a base, and a travel sized Fix+, which I have no idea how to use so if you have any idea please let me know.

Essie Chinchilly

During the week I head to Priceline  to look for new products to feature on my blog. It's conveniently close to where I work which I'm starting to realise is a bit dangerous for me. 

The other day as I was searching through the aisles on my beauty mission, I almost peed my pants with excitement when I noticed a stand full of brand new Essie nail polishes. 

Finally! After I calmed myself down I was looking through and they ALL looked cute but I opted for 'Chinchilly'. It's sort of like a deep grey/mauve/purpley colour thats looks a bit different in certain lights. It's very sophisticated and a nice change from my usual pink-red-black rotation. 

They're not available to buy online yet so if you've got some spare time, I'd recommend going into a store and having a look.

Now the question remains: exactly how many of these will I accumulate before the years end?

Dr Bronner's Magic Soap

Every week or so I like to give my brushes a really deep clean. Up until last week I was using just a normal facial cleanser when I took them to the bathroom sink spa. 

It did an okay job but I wasn't really 100% happy with it so after hearing about the Dr Bronner's Magic Soap I decided to try it. There are a few different ones, I picked up 'baby mild'.

What I do is wet my hand with warm water, put a small 5 cent piece amount in my palm, and swish my brush in it until all the makeup is gone. Then I rinse my brush under the tap with the handle facing down. This is really important because if your brush faces upward it allows the water to go inside, and will cause the hairs to loosen and shed. I always squeeze the excess water out, and lay them flat over a bench to dry overnight. I also reshape them while they're damp. 

The magic soap makes brush cleaning so easy, and is also good for people who have allergies or sensitive skin (and of course babies) as it's unscented and organic.