Saturday, March 14, 2009

MAC Grand Duos, Intense Eyes palette, and FOTD

Grand Duos was the first MAC collection I've been really excited about in a while. I missed out on last year's Sonic Chic collection because I was on a strict ban then, so I had to get some this time.

Out of the collection I had intended to buy Love Rock and Grand Duo, but I ended up getting Love Rock and Moon River instead.

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I may still go back for Grand Duo though - am still debating it. Mineralized face products are my weakness...


Some closeups:

Moon River
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Moon River's swirly side reminds me of Lightscapade MSF in appearance - it has blue and yellow mixed into it. The solid pink side is a pigmented but light coloured pink.


Love Rock
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The swirly side of Love Rock is gorgeous, I love the purple mixed into it. The solid side is very pigmented purple toned pink, so a light hand is definitely needed for these.


Swatches:

L-R Moon River, Love Rock (solid side on left, swirly side on right)
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You can't see it in the pictures but these do have quite a lot of shimmer. The shimmer is a bit larger than say Petticoat MSF, but it is not as bad as New Vegas MSF which was just large bits of gold glitter that I hated.


The MAC Suedette Intense Eyes palette is a recent buy off Ebay as the price was reasonable and the seller seemed trustworthy. It was released in 2006 as part of the Holiday Formal Black collection.

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I think the concept for this collection was using different fabric types for each palette cover, in this case suedette. Out of the recent holiday palettes, I think the one with the best colours and packaging is the Formal Black one from 2006. Antiquitease 2007 was alright but I only really liked one palette from it, while the recent 2008 red gem palettes were boring, and downright ugly in terms of packaging.

Closeup:

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Left column: Phloof!, Till Daybreak, Smut
Right column: With a Twist, Nightbird, Gallant

Swatches:

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The colours are all gorgeous. I think this is the best palette MAC has done in terms of value for money because it has shades from the most common colour families. It has a good combination of shimmery and satin shades too without any matte shades (I hate mattes).


Today's FOTD:

Products used:
La Mer Fluid Foundation 01 Creme
Giorgio Armani Master Corrector #1
Giorgio Armani High Precision Retouch concealer #2
MAC Love Rock mineralized blush
MAC Suedette Intense Eyes palette (Phloof!, Gallant, and Smut)
Blinc Kiss Me mascara
MAC Strayin lipstick

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For Love Rock, I used the solid side on the cheekbone and the swirly side to highlight the top of the cheekbones.

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Also used the swirly side in the middle of the eyelid to blend MAC Gallant (outer corner purple) and MAC Phloof! (inner corner) together. It gives a nice shimmer to the centre of the eye.

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Finally, used Smut to line the upper lashline.

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Looking at the pictures, I thought Strayin was a bit too bright for this look, so I ended up wiping them off and going with a MLBB colour.


Thats about it for today. Hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

21 comments:

AskMeWhats said...

I missed MAC Sonic Chic collection and these are gorgeous!!!! gosh!!! I would go crazy deciding which one I would love to purchase! thanks for the swatch and photos...you look gorgeous!

Citrine said...

Hey b|u3

I am with you for the MAC collection...they are usually quite boring and the only thing I have been remotely interested it was those sonic chic blushers...of course they were gone before I knew it...

I have been whining for a long while about not being able to own the that "pleasantry" blush...When I saw love rock, I knew my prayer has been heard...

Anyway, I also like the Moon river for its pretty name, but when I tested it on my hand, it was just way too sheer (I only swipe once for all/any blush I have...too lazy to double dip...) so I just got Love rock...

Hello Kitty wasn't my cup of tea at all, but I saw those lip balm still available and the color/packaging looks pretty nice , so I grab that as well...

btw, I am from Toronto as well (just moved to US in 11th grade) I missed the (Chinese) food there but I am somewhat glad that we don't have to pay so much for MAC (or anything) in US...I saw your Stila pearl palette post and that retail price was just scary...

Citrine

miemiemie said...

oooh the moon river looks so pretty!:)

mayaari said...

very pretty look for spring! Love Rock looks really nice :)

smilecusiluvu said...

wow those blush are soo pretty... I wonder if I should go snag some too...

♡ Nic Nic ♡ said...

The blush looks gorgeous on you!!! arghhh mac always releasing stuff.... i might have to pick up ONE blush ;)

cheryl said...

hi blu! i passed by mac counter yesterday too but didn't buy anything. all the new collections were there so i think mac italy is not behind the. u.s. how are u liking the giorgio armani products??? yay or nay?

Anonymous said...

Oh, the colors of this palette are beautiful!

Love the subtle makeup on you! :)

Cheers!
Jess

IchigoBunnie said...

i like the colors! :) pretty stuff.

i have yet to own a single MAC item..XD haha

Rae // theNotice said...

!! The Grand Duos are driving me nuts - I know I DON'T need any more blush, and I know I WON'T wear them because of the shimmer, but they're just so... pretty!

Argh. And I just *know* Love Rock is the blue-based pink I've always been searching for...

It's decided, then. I must live vicariously through you!

PaperedLove said...

Oooh, those blushes look great for Spring!

Angie said...

Now you have me wanting a couple of the new mineralized blushes!! haha

Both of the ones you got are gorgeous! I love this bright look on you!

Your eyes don't look uneven ;)

I just realized my eyes actually may be totally uneven. Looking closely at my bottom corners, you can see that my right eye is more elongated whereas my left is really round, almost like it swooped up and ended sooner than it should have >.<

Ahleessa said...

I also bought "Love Rock" blush and love it... hehe~ :)

I don't know if you get this often but you really have a nice shaped nose! :)

Angie said...

I love my Rosebud Salve! Yu-be does wonders for my lashes! But yeah, stay strong! Haha. It's good that you're trying to resist shopping!

Hahaha, oh I know. Of course I notice my own flaws =P. I just thought you'd appreciate it since we can relate on our uneven eyes hahaha.

psychoexgirlfriend said...

We must have the same tastes in blush! If not letting myself buy any of the blushes, but if I could pick up any, the three you mentioned (Love Rock, Moon River & Grand Duo) would be my pick! Looks lovely on you. And have fun with the new palette. My fav from that collection was the Smoked Eyes palette.

MiuMiu said...

i think the blush looks realy nice on you..maybe one day i should try something from mac.
you could go to www.glow.com and search up the P&J items, they have the ingredients listed for everything =) if you could get your hands on a sample, i think you'd end up wanting to buy the full size XD
did you happen to know if holt sells P&J stuff? i'm sooo hoping for it, but there's definitely going to be a major mark up if they sell it =/

ChyiX2 said...

Very pretty FOTD there! Moon River looks interesting, I might check it out...

Anonymous said...

Your eotd looks gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

love the look~ so bright and happy^^

Bijin Blair said...

Very sweet FOTD! The colours look good on you =)

Grayburn said...

I'm debating whether or not to get the grand duos...hmm...

x Grayburn

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