My To The Beach Haul from the preview party
Well, I was lucky enough to attend my first MAC preview party last Tuesday, May 18th for this collection. I wasn’t all that excited about these products to tell you the truth. But once I got there and saw them in real life, and tried them on, I was actually impressed. I ended up buying a lot more than I thought I would (what else is new?! LOL).
The party was really fun- it was packed when I first got there, but I came toward the end of the night, so by the time I was trying out the shadows, there were actually two MA’s helping my sister and I. They had stations set up for each set of products (lips, eyes, bronzers/blush). An MA would ask you which colors you wanted to try and help you put them on (or you could do it yourself if you wanted).
LIPSTICKS/LIPGLASS:
The first place I went was the lip station. I had my eye on Lazy Day lipstick and it ended up being pretty sheer on my lips. But it’s a pretty pink nonetheless and I cannot pass up a pink lippie;) It’s a bluer pink, kind of similar to Viva Glam Gaga (I will swatch some comparisons later;)
The lipglass the MA gave me to try over it was Splashing and it was too bright and just looked off with my skintone (I am NW25/30 and a Medium Plus in MSFN). Splashing is very pretty but very pigmented and I’m more of a light pink/nude lip kind of girl:) I told her I wanted to try Easy Lounger which is a sparkly baby pink. It was exactly what I wanted it to be- lots of sparkling pearl (not chunky glittery sparkles) and pretty light pink.
I completely overlooked Flurry of Fun while at the lip station. It looked a little scary in the tube and I haven’t ever worn anything bright orange on my lips before. But as we were checking out later in the night, the MA put Flurry of Fun on my sister’s lips and it was the most AMAZING thing I have ever seen! It was unique and not orange at all! It looks nothing like in the tube once you put it on. It gives just the right amount of peachy color with little bluish pink sparkle! I ended up trying it on and it instantly became my favorite lip product of the collection. My sis said it was the only thing she wanted from the collection. All I can say is, if you get the chance TRY IT ON! You won’t be disappointed;)
Oh, I got the lip pencil in Life’s A Breeze which is a pretty soft pink. I have lots of nude and darker and brighter pink liners but nothing like this. It’s definitely unique so worth buying if you’re a pink lip freak like me.
BLUSHES/BRONZERS/HIGH-LIGHT POWDER:
MAC Marine Life High-Light Powder
Marine Life
Next we hit up the bronzing and blush station. The MA put the cream bronzer in Beach Bronze on my sister with the 130 brush. It looked okay, but didn’t really seem to blend properly and looked “muddy”. I wasn’t impressed with the cream bronzers but they make work better on other skintones.
I already own both Refined Golden and Golden powder bronzers. I wore Refined Golden for a couple years before I realized it wasn’t a flattering color on me and that it made me look orange. Once I tried Golden, I never looked back to Refined Golden. Golden gives the perfect glow to my NW25-30 skintone and just a hint of shimmer.
We both had the MA put Hipness powder blush and Marine Life high light powder on our cheeks. Both are GORGEOUS! I thought they may be too bright or too corally on but they are really pretty! From what I saw at the party, they are universally flattering too. Depending on how hard you hold the brush, and which brush you use to apply, they can be used for most skintones. No one I saw looked bad with either of them on! I ended up with both of those. I didn’t try Get Away Bronze blush but one of the MA’s had it on and it was awesome on her! I will prob go back for it when the collection comes out next week, because they forgot to put hipness in my bag when I left:(
EYE SHADOWS:
Firecracker, Sand and Sun, Sweet & Punchy, Humid
Then the shadows are all even prettier in real life than the pics and swatches I have been seeing online (and those are gorgeous!) A super pretty MA was wearing a combo of Sand and Sun and Firecracker, and since I have Sharp from the Tempting quad, I opted to try that combo. I had painterly on my lids already (I came prepared;). Sand and Sun is a great nude shade, very buildable matte color and blends nicely. The MA applied firecracker in my crease and it was a quick, yet colorful, wearable look. Loved it! Firecracker is a must from this collection if you do not have any bright reddish-orange shadows. Colors like this don’t come along very often so I think it’s def worth looking into. Sweet and Punchy looked amazing on one of the MA’s and it’s a pretty bright color for summer. One of the MA’s said it was more yellow than Sharp so I bought it. But when I swatched them together, they are IDENTICAL on me (see my pics for the swatch comparison). It’s very pigmented, blendable, and lovely color payoff, so I guess I am not sorry I bought it… but if I had to do it again, I would pass. I have Urban Decay’s Shattered, which I have heard is close enough to Shimmermoss so I passed on that. I don’t wear teals all that much anyway… I actually found TWO untouched Shattered shadows in my Urban Decay palettes the other day LOL.
Liners:
I wasn’t in the market for more eyeliner since I don’t wear it much as it is. I am a huge fan of Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencils and not such a MAC liner fan. So I wasn’t even tempted with the liners… until the MA put Float on By on me! She just put a little under my eyes and OMG! It really brightens the eyes and brings out the blue. I would imagine that it would bring out the green in green eyes, and really make brown eyes pop too! I saw it on most everyone at the party and it was another color that seemed to flatter everybody.
BRUSHES:
MAC 130 and 131 brushes
I already have both the 130 and 131 brushes. I think they are nice but not really necessary. If you have a 187/188 brush you could def pass on these. The 130 is too small for everyday foundation, in my opinion and I don’t wear cream blushes or bronzers so I haven’t really found a good use for it. The 131 is nice for blush and MSF’s and one MA told me he uses it for liquid foundation (not stippling, but painting it on the way you would with a 189 or 190 brush). I haven’t tried this yet, but it sounds interesting.
So that was my To the Beach party experience. If you get the chance to go to one of these parties, it’s free and fun so nothing to lose. You don’t have to buy anything and it’s a great way to try out some new colors and products you may normally overlook. The MA’s were really helpful and did such a great job helping everyone try out the products.
SWATCHES:
**MORE COMING SOON**
Firecracker, Sand and Sun, Sweet & Punchy, Humid on NW25/NW30
Top: Firecracker, Sand and Sun, Sweet & Punchy, Humid. Bottom: Sharp
Sweet & Punchy Vs. Chartreuse pigment, Sharp, Golden Olive pigment
DUPES:
Eyeshadow: Sweet & Punchy = Sharp (from Cult of Cherry “Tempting” Quad)
Sweet & Punchy = Sour Lemon
Firecracker = Red Brick
Popularity: 7%
