It's Official... We Are In a Recession!

How do I know this you ask?

Because MAC is having a sale! That's right! A sale at MAC!

I know that I wasn't the only one flat out flabbergasted when I saw the email. I had to get up and look out the window t see if pigs were flying. I would have checked to see if Hell froze over but if it's in Connecticut it's been frozen for a hot second now.

MAC has a Friends & Family Sale every year but it's usually towards the end of the year. Didn't they just have one around September? I dunno... I can't keep up. They also put the holiday collection on sale recently. Though this was less of a sale than it was prices returning to the 2oo7 price range. I'm not complaining though... I'll take what I can get.

Times are really hard. Next thing you know MAC will offer GWP.

Mmm.... Maybe not.

So are you getting anything? Going to stock up on some staples? Let me know.

B.B.

I Am Not a Hater

This post is not a review or rant. It's an explanation... An explanation as to why you will not find many posts on MAC products over here at BBB&B.

To put it simply... I'm just not a huge fan of most of their products.

Oh stop gasping. It's not blasphemous to not be a MACaddict. Lol.

There was a time when I waited for product launches with baited breath and could be found at the store swatched up within an inch of my life.

The more I wore makeup, the more I learned. I learned that I am a huge fan of loose eye shadow. There are several etailers that I happily give my greenbacks to without a second thought. They have ginormous core lines and they also don't release a new, limited edition collection once a month so I don't feel the need to rush and get stuff... That more than likely will be forgotten about as soon as I acquire my new favorite product of the moment. Most of the time shadows and lip glosses can be bought as a sample for $1-$2. I am also a brand hoor so I have discovered items from other brands that I like more. Have you tried a Chanel lip gloss? Oh my goshness! Long lasting, non sticky, and soooo purdy!

There are a few MAC products that I will happily and eagerly run down an old lady to get to. The Paints, Paint Pots and Shadesticks are in heavy rotation in my beauty routine. The Beauty Powder Blushes are only second to my beloved NARS when it's cheek time. I have (and love) quite a few MAC eye shadows, lip sticks and glosses. The shadows from the Cool Heat collection fed my undying hunger for any thing green or blue. The Cult of Cherry lipglass is one of the few items of any brand that I have a backup of.

So, I am not a hater of MAC. I am just not a follower. I getting to flippin old to even try to keep up :-) Luckily, plenty of my fellow beauty bloggers have made sure that MAC's non stop barrage of new products are well covered.

B.B.

Fall Leaves Inspired FOTD

One of my favorite things about living in Connecticut is the landscape. It is simply breath taking. You don't have to be a tree hugger to be rendered speechless by the lush, green hills of the summer or the crystal-like twinkling of the ice covered trees in the dead of winter. Every fall, I am treated to the colorful fashion show the hills put on. The leaves have just began changing color so a shocking golden yellow will pop in the midst of a sea of green . It's gorgeous!

The fall leaves inspired this FOTD. I was going for something the stood out but was still subtle. That's why I used Gold Mode as opposed to a darker gold. I am going to lunch with Mr. Brown and we can't have his employees thinking he's married to a woman of ill repute. LOL!

Item used:
MUFE Mat Velvet Foundation
MAC Paint Pots in Indianwood and Artifact
MAC Pigment in Gold Mode
MAC e/s in Coppering and I *think* Cranberry
Maybelline Full & Soft Mascara
Jordana eyeliner in Green Gables on waterline... Really, it's there. Lol!
NARS Taj Mahal Blush
MAC Slimshine in Mousse (This in my new boyfriend! Perfect MLBB)


So yeah... Pay no attention the triflin-ness that is the brows... I'm lazy.

B.B.

My CCO/ CoC Haul.

The Cult of Cherry collection by MAC really didn't much for me. I am really not a bold lip type of gal and the eye shadow quads seemed easily dupe-able. I wasn't going to get anything until I saw Cult of Cherry lipglass in person. Surprisingly enough, I only owned one red lipgloss do this was easily justified. I also love the Mattene lipsticks so I grabbed Rapturous. While shopping for Momma Brown I discovered the lovliness that is Mousse Slimeshine. I don't know where I have been but this is a lovely nuetral brown that plays well all the lipglosses that I have tried it with. It's almost like putting a light layer of foundation on my lips.

The CCO on the other hand is a dangerous place. So much makeup, so little money! Lol! But I was good. I haven't been into eyeshadows for while now but pigments will always be a weakness. I would have gotten a bucket load if I could. Luckily, the CCO has a 3 piece limit. You're only allowed to have three of any type of item so that helps to curb spending.

Top to bottom- Indianwood Paint Pot, Rapturous l/s, Cult of Cherry l/g, Racy 3D glass, Boundless 3D glass, Smokesignals pigment and Pinked Mauve pigment. I also got Fertile e/s.

Boundless and Cult of Cherry look crazy similar in the tube. Boundless is much more sheer because it's a 3D Glass.

Good, Clean, Wholesome and FREE Fun!

Yesterday Mr Brown spent the day at the office and you know what they say... When the cat's away, the mouse will spend the afternoon pressing pigments because there's not a dern thing else to do in Connecticut. But anywayz...

Look what I did ya'l!


There are several tutorials on pressing pigments on Youtube. Enkore's video is by far the most popular.



In addition to alcohol, I also used glycerin and Fyrinnae's Powder Modifier. Most mineral eyeshadow will not press hard enough using just alcohol because there are no binders added to the shadows. I got my metal pans from Star Auctions on eCrater. Many people use these pans because they are the same size as MAC pans so they fit in MAC 15-pan palettes. Yaby Cosmetics carries pans and palettes in various sizes so you can really get gangsta with and make an entire face palette! I used a Modern Basics Beauty Supply palette with the insert removed.

It was so much fun! With the exception of the blue in the middle of the top row (Glory by Pure Luxe) all of these are shades that I created using pigment samples. This is a great way to rediscover some forgotten treasures in your stash and scratch that "I want something new" itch without breaking the bank. I have 17 new eyeshadows for less than $25 bucks! How cool is that?!?!

B.B.

Eyebrow Madness and HIP Sculpted FOTD

Happy Hump Day!

It's finally Wednesday and I am thankful for it. Today I decided to play mediator between my feuding eyebrows. They are not the same shape and I am not talented enough to groom them into conformity. That's what waxing is for right? Well, for years that's what I did until and unfortunate burn about 6 months ago. Oh! You can only imagine how upset I was. I had to take some deep breaths and count to 10. Whoosah.... I haven't mustered the courage to go that route again. I have just been cleaning them up enough to ensure that I had two distinct brows.

Enough was enough. Today I whipped out the stencils and got to plucking.

This is what I started with.


I used the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk to color in the stencil.


Anything hairs that wasn't white I plucked. I forgot to take a pic of the brows after plucking but before filling in. The show must go on. On to the FOTD! lol.



Face- A bunch of different mmu foundations that I mixed in a jar.

Eyes-
MAC Artifact PP as base
HIP Metallic Shadow Duo in Sculpted
MAC Vanilla to highlight
Ardell Lashes - Luckies
Maybelline Full and Soft Mascara
Brows filled in NYC Browser powder

Lips-
Rimmel Vinyl Jelly l/l in Tasty
MAC Li' Hot Pepper lipglass

I have been a big fan of HIP duos since they came out. The love affair continues with the new metallic duos!

So what do you think? How did I do on the brows. I think went a little heavy on the filling in part but all in all I am pleased. They still don't match exactly but at least I don't look like Groucho Marx any more.



Scuse the parched mini fro ya'll. I will be busting out the plastic baggie and the Neutrogena Triple Moisture Hair Mask tonight! LOL!

Be bold and beautificated!

B.B.