Homeland Holiday Haul

13 Things: Makeup Favourites for 2013

Daily Face #1

MAC Paint in Untitled

   Although I've mentioned this in a Basket of Favourites post before, I've decided that this product deserves a little love letter all of it's own.

   I had no idea what the MAC Paints were about until I bought this. There's a lot of hype about the Paint Pots and how great they are at making your eye makeup last all day, and when I went into MAC, I was convinced I was going to leave with one myself. I wanted something neutral with no shimmer in, just a simple, easy base that wasn't going to interfere with the colour I was going to wear, however both Painterly and Soft Ochre were not what I was looking for, with Painterly too pink and Soft Ochre too yellow. Bare Study is a beautiful colour, but has too much shimmer in for something that I wanted to be able to create a matte look with.

   The MAC girl pointed me in the direction of the Paints, saying that she personally preferred them to the Paint Pots and suggested the colour "Untitled", a great neutral colour which is hardly detectable and does not alter the colour of your eyeshadow at all. It does seem to have a teensy amount of shimmer in, which I didn't notice in store, but it is a small amount that just adds a nice sheen. It still looks very natural! It's a liquidy-cream/creamy liquid to powder formula and once it's set, it is set.

Fresh out the tube

   For £14.50, you get a very generous tube, considering the amount you need to dab on is miniscule, so I'm expecting this to last for years! The packaging is also surprisingly resilient for a tube. I was expecting it to get crushed easily and start leaking permanently or to simply explode, however it is absolutely fine, despite spending most of it's time pinned underneath glass foundation bottles in my makeup bag.

WAY too much on my hand...

   I use this every single morning and it makes my eyeshadow last 12 hours easily, from 7am until bed time at around 10 or 11pm. It's just as good for nights out and won't move at all if you're in a hot sweaty club. Even if you're a drunken crier or just have a particularly bad night, you will still have your eyeshadow in place which should help you regain your poise and elegance in no time.

... But blends in nicely for such an overload

   This has given me the confidence to actually wear eyeshadow (I had a brief love affair with blue eyeshadow when I was 11. Simply awful and since then I've sworn off it) as I don't have to worry about it creasing or moving around and having to check it every hour, it is locked in place and looks the same on every mirror check throughout the day! If you're looking for a neutral eyeshadow base then I would wholeheartedly recommend that you give this a go. They have a whole range of pretty colours and they're a lovely formula, are not drying on your skin at all (as I've heard the Paint Pots can be) and they really do anchor your eyeshadow on all day until you take it off. 

Have you tried the MAC Paints?
What do you use as an eyeshadow primer?

Debenhams Haul

   The other week, Debenhams (always a dangerous place), was having one of their regular 10% off events. I could not resist placing a cheeky order as I was bored to tears with exam prep and needed to cheer myself up with something other than food.

    I'm not sure what it is about getting parcels in the post, it just feels like you're receiving a gift (on the condition you don't check your bank balance afterwards)! I picked up a few things that I had been lusting after for a while, along with a very naughty impulse buy.

Basket of Favourites

I haven't been writing much for the past week or so as I'm only a couple of weeks from the start of exams, but I thought I'd put together a short, picture-heavy post on what I've been loving for the last month or so.

So, here is my basket!

Hair bits

Percy & Reed No Oil Oil (free in magazine but would buy full size)

Coconut oil

Eye bits

MAC Paint in Untitled

Rimmel Scandaleyes kohl pencil in Taupe

Urban Decay Naked Basics palette

Lip bits

L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash (101 Lolita and 102 Romy)

Lush Mint Julips lip scrub

Extra bits 

Geodesis Fig Tree candle
Origins Gloomaway body scrub

Sentimental bits

Sofa snugs with a bear
An insulin-dependent cat
A cup of tea in a Nicholas Mosse mug