FOTD Vol 1: Burgundy Bliss Featuring MAC Sin Lipstick

Today's Face of the Day is credited to wanting to play with my new goodies on a day where I didn't even get out of my pajamas.  I edited the above photo slightly in photoshop just to brighten it up a little - the lighting in my bedroom is horrendous and I'm still learning all the tools and tricks of my new camera.

Anyway, I'm really a fan of this lipstick.  I applied with a brush so it's gone on smoothly and helped to get a clean and tidy application - straight from the tube yesterday when I tried it on I kind of looked like a child playing dressup haha.  I love this colour so so much.  Once the lips were in place I decided to play around with a bolder eye as well, using shades of brown, burgundy and deep plum.  

Also I just want to say that those are not my natural eyes - I'm wearing Geo Magic Color circle lenses in the shade violet, which I purchased from EyeCandys.  I'll do a full review of these lenses later but I will tell you now that they are my absolute favourite and I love how well they blend into my natural eye colour so they don't look obviously fake.

List of products under the break!

MAC + Rocky Horror Picture Show Haul

MAC + RHPS: Strange Journey Sculpt/Shape Powder Duo

My MAC + Rocky Horror Picture Show order came today!  

I've been so excited for so long for this collection, and I'm glad I managed to get the products I did.  I have never seen a collection sell out this fast before, even back when I used to make monthly purchases from every Limited Edition collection.  The Frank N Furter lipstick sold out in less then ten minutes.  Ten.  I was reading a thread on Specktra where people had items disappearing from their cart as they tried to check out and even one post from somebody who had finished checking out and then had an email saying one of the items was out of stock and would be refunded.  

I was so so happy that didn't happen!

There are five RHPS boxes but I only actually got three items:

• Strange Journey Sculpt/Shape Duo (Bone Beige/Emphasize)
• Sin Lipstick
• Frank N Furter Lipstick x3

One thing I do want to say is that I was a little bit disgusted by the opportunistic nature of some people.  It's always been a fact of life that there are some individuals who buy up the more hyped items from limited edition collections, only to resell at a profit later on ebay.  When I managed to score the MAC + Brooke Shields 'Gravitas' eyeshadow palette at the beginning of the month, I was disappointed to see that it was selling for £100 on ebay on release day, when retail was £70 here in the UK.  Again I'd managed to buy mine from the MAC website before it sold out, but there were a lot of people online who weren't so lucky as to be online when it launched at lunchtime.  Now there are Frank N Furter lipsticks up for sale with bidding of upwards of £35 for a £17 lipstick, and that's with days left for bidding to go. I've seen Buy It Now listings up to £70.  Yes, for a lipstick.  It's insane.

MAC + RHPS Lipsticks: Sin on top of Frank N Furter

Out of everything here, I was most desperate for that infamous reselling-for-ridiculous-prices Frank N Furter lipstick, so I was so glad to get mine direct from MAC before it sold out.  Not only the iconic name, but the shade just looked so beautiful and perfect from the swatches I'd already seen online pre-release.  Sin is also a permanent shade, so while I wanted it with the special collection packaging, it wasn't a big loss as I could have bought the permanent shade any time instead.  And with the sculpt/shape duo, it's been released with a couple collections in the past and I'd considered it, so was happy when it was repromoted in the RHPS packaging this time around.  But again, the separate shades are available as Pro items, so I could have bought separate pro pans and slotted them into a blush palette instead if I'd wanted to.

MAC + RHPS: Strange Journey Sculpt/Shape Powder Duo

I'm already loving both of the lipstick colours.  Sin looks a touch darker on me than it does in the swatches, but then again it could just be because my complexion is so pale.  In any case, it's very vampy and autumnal and it's daring and different and I could not be happier.  It applies a touch dry, but as long as I start with a lip balm (as I always do) it shouldn't be too drying.  Frank N Furter on the other hand applied very smoothly and felt quite nice on the lips when I wore it for a couple hours this afternoon.  Watch this space though, I'll do a review or First Impression Friday with further thoughts when I actually wear them both.

MAC + RHPS Lipstick Swatches: Sin (top), Frank N Furter (bottom)

Now, you'll notice that I bought three of said Frank N Furter lipstick.  And it is not at all to be one of the opportunistic assholes who wants to turn an easy profit, as tempting as that might be.  Instead I got one to use now, one as a backup when I eventually use up the first (and having tried it on today it really is the perfect red I thought it was going to be on my colouring).  And then one for a giveaway to one of my readers!  When last I blogged a few years ago, I waited to get a hundred followers before I held my first giveaway but since I've only just started out I probably won't wait that long.  Look out for my Frank N Furter lipstick giveaway to open by the end of November - in this case, the early birds will get the worm, as a thank you for the early adopters/followers who have already been reading. 

Until next time!

XOXOX

First Impression Friday: MAC Pro Longwear Lipcreme in Prolong

Welcome to the first edition of First Impression Friday!  Each week (or rather, each week that I have some new product to try out) I'll do a brief post covering my initial thoughts on something I've tested for the first time.  Please note that this will not constitute a full review, as I need more time to try out a product and make a full assessment of its' performance.

Today I've tried and tested MAC's Pro Longwear Lipcreme for the first time.  The shade of choice is Prolong, which is a nice blue-based red shade.  It's a matte finish, so it has a certain level of tackiness to it and lacks the 'slip' of a lipstick with more sheen - it's not a shade you want to be rubbing your lips together much after application, as it feels like that would really mess with the application and finish and move the product about a little too much.  I've had it on for two hours and there's absolutely no wearing off yet, which is expected, particularly for a lipstick with a matte finish (I tend to find they have somewhat better staying power in general, which may be due to the heavier texture and application).

I'll do a post on this later on with a full review with regard to things like wear-time and lasting power, but for now I want to say that it's love at first sight.  I love the coverage, the texture, the finish, and the shade.  I have one other shade from this range of lipsticks - Unlimited, which I'll test out and review another time - but already feel like I want more.  Prolong in particular, I think is quite a stark red but one that will be quite wearable across a range of skin tones.

So yes, my first impression in a nutshell is that I'm already in love, but time will tell if this will be a long-term infatuation or a short-lived fling!

Have you tried out the Pro Longwear Lipcreme range yet?  What were your thoughts?  And what is your must-have shade?

Until next time!

XOXOX