haulin, haulin : treating myself in mac

I seem to have been shopping like crazy lately! With the passing of some major uni deadlines and trips to both London and Amsterdam in the last week it's been treat-time every day and in too big quantities. Hauls = happy me, but not so happy purse!

My first haul was in MAC, ahh the joys! I've always liked MAC but it is rather expensive and so I don't get to splurge beyond a lipstick very often. However, all my amazing friends bought me a makeover and vouchers to spend at the counter in Harvey Nichols in Leeds, and boy did I enjoy it. 

Firstly I was after a foundation, something I've never tried from Mac but everyone raves about. As their offerings are usually quite heavy, and this was a treat buy, I wanted a base for special occasions and nights out so I went for the full coverage studio fix, in both NC30 and NC15  (the lighter one for during the day). Overall I'm really impressed, it really does cover all but it's actually not as heavy as I expected, and it really stays put too. The colour range is what stands out most, these really match my normal skintone and tanned version perfectly, plus the finish is a really nice matte that lasts as well. A big thumbs up for studio fix!

Next I created myself a new quad. Although Mac shadows don't come close to urban decay offerings for me, I do love the wide range of colours and finishes they offer, plus I was looking for some new matte browns. These three, omega, mystery and charcoal brown (from lightest to darkest), were just what I wanted. The pink shade, yoghurt, was one that I would never usually go for but was used during my makeover as part of a smoky eye and I've been hooked ever since. These quads don't come in cheap at £46, but seen as I had vouchers it didn't hurt so much. Not sure I'd use my own pennies at that price though. 

Finally I picked up the much hyped Mineralise Skinfinish in Stereo Rose, a big blogger favourite. A lot of people have been dissapointed in this latest release of it, and I'm a bit on the fence to be honest. The product in general I absolutely love, and at first gave amazing pigmentation and a shimmery pink/coral colour that would suit most. I find it works best as a blush/higlights used sparingly on the uppermost parts of the cheekbones, rather than the apples. If using a contour and bronzer, it really ties the whole look together and makes it more natural. However, as other have expressed, depending on the amount of gold running through it (the line parts), you can get an amazing or a little dissapointing result. At first I loved it, now I'm a little deflated. I'm hoping with a bit more usage the gold tones will return. Fingers crossed. I think this is a case of luck as each compact is slightly different, I'd advise to check in store before you buy. 

And that was my first Mac haul....

More posts coming very soon on my huge shopping sprees in London and also a little lifestyle on what I got up to.

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Love Charlotte

xxx