This is something I haven't really ever done before. I got an amazing Secret Santa gift from work this year. We always use elfster to sign up for it, and the website automatically selects who everyone is buying for so it is kept random and anonymous. I had no clue who had me this year, so I didn't know what to expect from a gift. I got really lucky because the person who got me knows me well and got me makeup and skincare!
All of the makeup was from Mac Cosmetics (which I love) so I decided to review all three products in this one post since the products aren't new releases, but they're all new to me, so I just wanted to share my thoughts on them as well as swatches and pictures of me wearing them.
Cream Colour Base in 'Shell'
I've never tried this formula from Mac, but I have seen it being used here and there on YouTube. The moment I saw the colour, I knew I'd definitely be using it a lot as long as the formulation agreed with me. This is pretty much like any cream shadow, but thankfully the consistency is perfect enough where the shadow doesn't crease, but it's still sticky enough that other eyeshadows stick nicely to it. It is pricey (almost $30 CAD), but, I don't have any cream shadows that wear this well and don't make my eyelids look dry so I really do like it. I never actually wear this on its own and aways put either a sparkly eyeshadow, or a lighter matte shadow on top like in the photo below.
Dazzleshadow in "Last Dance"
This is a beautiful light pink sparkly colour. It isn't very opaque, but from my understanding it isn't supposed to be as it provides more of a 3D effect in person. I love putting this on top of the cream shadow for a very pretty but effective look since it does stick down well and the colour and shine stays the same until you remove it. This is a bit pricey, especially in comparison to Mac's regular eyeshadows. I love this colour and would potentially buy one of the other colours (the gold), but the range isn't huge so I can only recommend it if there's a shade you really like. If I had time to put makeup on in the morning, I'd likely throw some bronzer in the crease, and layer those two shadows all over the lid to make me look fresh and awake, do my mascara and brows, and throw on the lippie I'm wearing in this next picture along with this eyeshadow. In the photo below, I put a medium brown shade all over the lid (minus the inner quarter) and then pressed some of 'Last Dance' in that inner quarter for a little bit of brightness.
Tendertalk Lip Balm 'Play With Me'
I love this lip balm! It gives me that popsicle look, but evenly on my lips without staining them. It's super moisturizing. This is a lip balm and is pretty sheer, but since my lips don't have much pigment to them, this does show up on my quite well, like you can see in both face pictures. I don't think it's amazing enough where I'd buy it myself since it is $25 and I get a similar effect with my favourite lip oil, but I'm very happy about getting it as a gift because it is very lovely. The packaging is also really cool, so that and the back to Mac program make it even better!
