MAC - Semi Precious Discussion

[ansimi]

Well, from first word of this collection, I was all about the brushes...I love brushes!

I bought the eye blending and the cheek brushes. I thought the overall eye brush was just too big for my purposes. I was planning on buying the buffer but I didn't like it at all when I played with it. I have several kabuki and buffer brushes that I like so much better.

The blending brush works just as I'd hoped with Paint Pot and with Studio Finish Concealer - apply with synthetic side and buff edges with natural. Very happy with it already I did try both sides of it with the mineral shadows in the store and I didn't care for that at all.

I'm excited about the cheek brush. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to end up using it but I love the size and shape of the brush and it's easy to just use one side or the other so I have lots of ideas to experiment. I have a big brush collection but I don't really have anything like either side of this. I'll report back with results of my experiments!

I had budgeted expecting to buy all 4 brushes and 1 or 2 impulse items. I only got 2 of the brushes so I swatched a lot of the mineral products. One that surprised me and almost came home with me was Goldstone. It's an absolutely beautiful colour of rosy bronze and would be flattering on many skin colours. I just found it too sparkly and ended up not getting it. Now I'm reading back on Mac-Guy's suggestions and thinking maybe I should have asked to see their stock and see if they had one with a smaller glitter blob? I might revisit that because it's a special colour. I'm NW10ish and this would be a bronzer on me but the colour would look great on lots of people.

My only impulse purchase ended up being Clarity - very surprising because I'm not one for sparkles and this is super sparkly. I just thought it was so pretty and unique and will make a smoky, sexy, special-occasion eye for me. I totally thought of liba and her raves when I got it

 

[berryjuicy]

I love both my lippies.

Crappy cell phone pics up ahead. Please excuse the ginormous zit. Didn't wanna wait for it to go down before posting pics

Geo Pink Gem of Roses

 

[Jennifae]

Here's what I got today:

Gem of Roses LS
One of a Kind LS
Geo Pink CS
Looks Like Sin CS
Feeling Flush MB
Semi-Precious Rose Quartz MSF
Blue Sheen MES
Dark Indulgence MES
Smoked Ruby MES
Golden Glaze MES

 

[elegant-one]

I might have my bf add Faux Gold MES to my haul when he picks up my pre-order! All this talk & me going over the swatches of it again, just looks & sounds amazing!

Elegant/Momma, what was your haul?

Faux Gold
Smoked Ruby
2 GOR ls
Rose Quartz

I really loved Clarity in person, but it is really glittery. I will probably go back for a couple more things.

 

[Icecaramellatte]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mac-Guy

My first love of this collection is SP Goldstone. If you are a fan of bronzer, this will be a fantastic addition to your collection. I scavenged through ca. 15 different Goldstones to find the one I liked most: The inner circle is fairly large and has one large and a considerable amount of smaller orangey-coral-red veins. There was only one other Goldstone that had a similar amount of the coral veining, so if you are after this coloring, ask your MUA to show you their stock. The sample on display had very little of the coral veining, making it less glowy - it is the coral that adds the glow to Goldstone. The coral is similar to My Paradise rather than Marine Life. The product is fairly pigmented, which is a huge plus, as you absolutely want to buff it out when applied as an all over face product. If you do not buff it - I used the 179 - it sits just on top of the skin as we have seen in quite a few swatches. Buff it and it will blend to a stunning glow without looking glitter. Out of all my bronzers, this ones gives me the most glow, but it is by no means a glittery look. It is also essential that you prime your skin with either Prep & Prime loose powder, a translucent setting powder, or at the most with the Face & Body foundation or Studio Moisture Tint. As buffing the product is essential, I would not recommend using the MSF with any heavy foundation as heavy buffing will simply take off your foundation. For extra sheen, I just a spritz of Fix+ on the 179 on the natural hair side and slightly blended over my the areas I wanted to highlight. I would not use Fix+ for all over the face, but really just in the area you want to highlight. This gives the MSF a much deeper dimension without having to add tons of other products.



I know I quoted this post already but after playing with the MSFs, I have to come back to it. I've been wanting to try an MSF for awhile as an all over color but have been unsure which ones would work for this. So this info helped me to give Goldstone a try. I have had a bit of a time following all the different posts on brush use as I can not remember all the brush numbers and some of the numbers on my brushes have faded away. Well, I applied Goldstone all over with a 187. I figured this would give a light application. Then I buffed it with the 182 kabuki. I definitely see the subtle all over glow. I then used the 189 to apply Pearl on the cheek area. Anyone remember this one? It was limited edition. I think it was a synthetic brush, whitish looking. I believe it came out with one of the mineralize collections. Anyway, I completely forgot about this brush. It ended up looking pretty good though. I also have the 165 brush (I believe that one was from a mineralize collection as well. Mac Guy or anyone else - What do you think of my use of brushes? Do you think the 165 is a better choice? I also have all of the skunk type brushes. (all the numbers escape me). Thanks.

 

[clslvr6spd]

OMG is it bad customer service day @ Nordies today??? Never got the call back about the double charge, so 4 hours go by so I call back to figure that out & to add Clarity, Golden Gaze & possibly Faux Gold MES to my pre-order...They told me they had a few customers & they would call right back...1/2 hour goes by, no call. I call again, I ask to put those items on hold, the MA tells me to hold on a min, I was on hold for 20 min before I said screw it & hung up! I have never dealt with such horrible customer service with Nordies, EVER!
I am now going to go with my bf in a hour or so to talk to a manager. I could give a flying leap if my face is swollen, I am so freaking pissed off!

 

[elegant-one]

^Allison - it IS bad CS WEEK at Nordies! I had the worst week with them trying to get my Chanel anniversary items

nightmare shopping I say. I feel your pain.

 

[SweetJoy]

I promised myself I wouldn't buy from this collection. "Save your money for Mac Me Over" I told myself. Then I decided to go swatch, just for funsies.

...and somehow I ended up at home with Gem of Roses and the 128. I swear I don't know how that happened.

Only about half the MES colours were left, and I went at about 5pm. The MUA says most of the damage was done by staff. For a freestanding store it sounds like they didn't get very many of the SP items.

 

[Mac-Guy]

I think it would work well even for very pale NW skin as it gives you a hinge of bronze color without a fake-tan look. If I had to chose one of the 3 MSF I bought, I would go for Goldstone. While SP Pearl is pretty, it is very generic in comparison to Goldstone.

 

[UrbanSweetheart]

Feeling Flush: I wasn't sure if I needed ANOTHER pink blush, but what separated it from my beloved Hang Loose and Sakura is that this has a matte finish. It reminds me of the flush I get from wearing BOA, but just a different color. It shows up on my NC15/20 skin very easily. As long as I don't overdo it, it looks very feminine and pretty. Of course, the first thing I did was overdo it. I didn't mean to! Also, like a lot of other mineralize blushes, you will have a lot of fallout in the pot, but hey, it's not like you can't still use that stuff.

This is me, everytime I get a new blush

I keep eyeing Feeling Flush.....I think I need more swatches though

 

[UrbanSweetheart]

you have every right to be pissed off! I hope they give you a bucket full of free samples, or something! Sheesh! What is up Nordies and their bad customer service recently?

OMG is it bad customer service day @ Nordies today??? Never got the call back about the double charge, so 4 hours go by so I call back to figure that out & to add Clarity, Golden Gaze & possibly Faux Gold MES to my pre-order...They told me they had a few customers & they would call right back...1/2 hour goes by, no call. I call again, I ask to put those items on hold, the MA tells me to hold on a min, I was on hold for 20 min before I said screw it & hung up! I have never dealt with such horrible customer service with Nordies, EVER!
I am now going to go with my bf in a hour or so to talk to a manager. I could give a flying leap if my face is swollen, I am so freaking pissed off!

 

[clslvr6spd]

I just don't get it, I have always loved Nordies customer service! It's been the best for as long as I can remember...for Pete's sake there is a book called the 'Nordstrom Way' about their customer service & whatnot...I almost want to call up Macy*s around the corner to see if they can hold the other MES I decided to get until tomorrow morning, instead of giving the bitch that I talked to @ Nordies the commission!

 

[Mac-Guy]

I know I quoted this post already but after playing with the MSFs, I have to come back to it. I've been wanting to try an MSF for awhile as an all over color but have been unsure which ones would work for this. So this info helped me to give Goldstone a try. I have had a bit of a time following all the different posts on brush use as I can not remember all the brush numbers and some of the numbers on my brushes have faded away. Well, I applied Goldstone all over with a 187. I figured this would give a light application. Then I buffed it with the 182 kabuki. I definitely see the subtle all over glow. I then used the 189 to apply Pearl on the cheek area. Anyone remember this one? It was limited edition. I think it was a synthetic brush, whitish looking. I believe it came out with one of the mineralize collections. Anyway, I completely forgot about this brush. It ended up looking pretty good though. I also have the 165 brush (I believe that one was from a mineralize collection as well. Mac Guy or anyone else - What do you think of my use of brushes? Do you think the 165 is a better choice? I also have all of the skunk type brushes. (all the numbers escape me). Thanks.

I have the 189 and I use it for mineralize blushes that are not too pigmented. It's rather larger - at least twice the size of the 128, so any MB that is strongly pigmented would end up looking like gigantic clown cheeks with the 189. It's not my go-to brush, but I still like it, and it will be fabulous with Pressed Amber. You can cover larger areas of your face and then blend it out as it is quite soft. I think the 165 might works well for contouring, thus you could certainly use it for applying SP Pearl - it will certainly give you more control than the 189. You can also use the 168, which I prefer for contouring. What I like about my 182 is that I can use the black side to dip into the inner circle for a highlight while the larger side will work as an overall buffer brush. As I wash my brushes after every use, it will eventually save me one wash as I don't need to use another brush for highlighting. Looking at my stash, the 130 fits perfectly into the inner circle of Rose Quartz.

Urgh, I think I have too many brushes. More brushes = more choices = more problems

Just kidding. I love them all. And there is no right or wrong as long as you get the result you want.

 

[Jennifae]

Same thing happened with me yesterday. I called to place a pre-order. Lady said she would call me right back. After a few hours, she did call me back, but I was already at work. So, I called her back during my break to place an order, then she said she'll call me back in 5 minutes. "It's gonna be quick. I promise!" But she never called me back! I called again earlier today, and thank God someone else picked up the phone, and I was able to finally place an order. It was about $333 + tax for my SP and Colourization haul, and someone else got the commission.

OMG is it bad customer service day @ Nordies today??? Never got the call back about the double charge, so 4 hours go by so I call back to figure that out & to add Clarity, Golden Gaze & possibly Faux Gold MES to my pre-order...They told me they had a few customers & they would call right back...1/2 hour goes by, no call. I call again, I ask to put those items on hold, the MA tells me to hold on a min, I was on hold for 20 min before I said screw it & hung up! I have never dealt with such horrible customer service with Nordies, EVER!
I am now going to go with my bf in a hour or so to talk to a manager. I could give a flying leap if my face is swollen, I am so freaking pissed off!

 

[clslvr6spd]

It's effing ridiculous! I was already pissed off because I was charged $259 2x this morning for my order & knowing that it was a credit not debit return it's going to take forever to get my $$ back....I'm seriously going to raise hell when I pick my stuff up tonight.

 

[Piarpreet]

i cant wait for my third order to see if the veining is better but im in loveeee with all i got (got them all except mineral mode, faux gold,quarts something and clarity). especially GG SR and RF
rare find looks amazing with my green eyes. The simplest daily smokey eye ever!

 

[Jennifae]

Sorry to hear about the double charge! $259 x2! I'd be pretty pissed too!

It's effing rediciouls! I was already pissed off because I was charged $259 2x this morning for my order & knowing that it was a credit not debit return it's going to take forever to get my $$ back....I'm seriously going to raise hell when I pick my stuff up tonight.

 

[GlamQueen21]

Got my goodies today! Both Pressed Amber and Feeling Flush were not jumping out to me when I swatched them. Also, Dark Indulgence and Blue Sheen MES were amazingly pigmented but I'm on the fence about them now. Faux Gold looked so pretty!! Also all of the lipsticks were so gorgeous, especially Gem of Roses and the MSFs were amazingly gorgeous!! I might have to get Crystal Pink and Goldstone if I still want them but the only thing that I'm after is Natural Flare Cremesheen Glass. So, I ended up with Gem of Roses, Lush Amber, Rose Quartz and Geo Pink.


EDIT://
About Quartz Fusion MES, I would recommend to not get it! Reason why is that that MES is too chunky and a glitter bomb mess!

 

[LittleMaryJane]

Got my goodies today! Both Pressed Amber and Feeling Flush were not jumping out to me when I swatched them. Also, Dark Indulgence and Blue Sheen MES were amazingly pigmented but I'm on the fence about them now. Faux Gold looked so pretty!! Also all of the lipsticks were so gorgeous, especially Gem of Roses and the MSFs were amazingly gorgeous!! I might have to get Crystal Pink and Goldstone if I still want them but the only thing that I'm after is Natural Flare Cremesheen Glass. So, I ended up with Gem of Roses, Lush Amber, Rose Quartz and Geo Pink.


EDIT://
About Quartz Fusion MES, I would recommend to not get it! Reason why is that that MES is too chunky and a glitter bomb mess!

I felt the same about Blue Sheen as I was buying it... It didn't look as great under the store lights but once I got outside and could see it in the sunlight, I thought it looked gorgeous and I was so happy I got it.

 

[GlamQueen21]

^It looked so gorgeous but usually I don't purchase MES when a new collection of them comes out and I'm now thinking about getting it now lol I'm trying to be good.