MAC's Archie's Girls Pearlmatte Face Powder in "Flatter Me"

When I was little I'd beg and plead for my mom to buy me an Archie comic as we were checking out at the grocery store... I loved those guys and I still do! The vintage-cartoon aesthetics always appealed to me, and I have to say they look perfect on this MAC packaging.

I needed a blushy highlighter, so I snagged the paler of the two offered by MAC, Flatter Me. It's fairly pink and shimmery, so it's hard to get used to. I've only used it a few times now and I already know that it's going to take practice to get it to look nice on my face instead of making me look like I'm the weirdly red-faced kid in the room. So, I'll work on it and get back to ya!

Depot MAC Eyeshadows → Pro Colour X 4 Compact

This Christmas I got a great, great gift--a MAC Cosmetics gift card! Woohoo! So naturally I was browsing their website to see what kind of goodies I could score and discovered their empty palette section. I didn't give this much thought until I remembered hearing about people depotting their MAC eyeshadows. I don't have a lot of MAC eyeshadows (3 total), but they're a right pain in the patoot because they're so hard to store. The circular case with rounded lid makes them impossible to stack and arrange, so these 3 little guys take up much more room than they should. With a free shipping code (double awesome), I ordered a Pro Colour X 4 Compact and prepared to depot my MACs (and an Urban Decay because it is only a teeny-tiny bit larger and still fits the palette).

Top Row: Greensmoke, All That Glitters, Beauty Marked
Bottom: Midnight Cowboy

These adhesive magnets are perfect to stick to the back of the depotted pans ($2.99 from Hobby Lobby--look for their 40% off coupon, too!). They look like they were made exactly for depotting--they are the exact width of the pan and they are just the right thickness to put the pan flush with the palette.

I used this tutorial on YouTube to deconstruct the eyeshadow in a way that hopefully allows me to Back 2 MAC the packaging (I don't see why it shouldn't). This method also worked for the old packaging of Urban Decay eyeshadow.

How brilliant do these shadows look in the compact? For $9 (+ magnet cost) this is a pretty easy upgrade and it's going to save me so much space! The quality of the palette itself is top-notch. It has a matte finish on the black plastic with a see-through top that closes smoothly with a strong magnet. I don't see the palette popping open in a purse anytime because the closure is strong enough that you need two hands to get it open (but it's not difficult to open by any means). Another great feature of the palette that differs from MAC's traditional packaging is that it is very geometric. There are no curved edges which makes it great for stacking and saving space.

This is probably going to be one of my top purchases of the year, and it's only January!

Midnight Cowboy Mani

I swear this mani isn't as dirty looking in real life as it is in this picture! Here's a nude polish with Urban Decay's Midnight Cowboy and MAC's Beauty Marked eyeshadows dusted over the tip of the nail (while the nail was still fairly wet). It's actually really glittery and has a lot of depth. You have to be careful with the top coat because it can smear the eyeshadow, but if you can surpass that issue you can get a really cool glitter-on-top-of-shimmer effect with the eyeshadow.

Coming Soon: MAC & Wonder Woman

This February my childhood dreams will collide with my adult interests. MAC Cosmetics is putting out a Wonder Woman line and my inner 9 year old is freaking out! I was (and still am) a huge Wonder Woman fan. My cousin used to own a comic book shop and would always hook me up with the latest WW issue or giant poster that came out. I still have them all tucked away in their little plastic sleeves, safe and sound from the world!

Here's a small preview of the line coming out:

Some people think the line is tacky, but they clearly aren't familiar with the essence of Wonder Woman, DC Comics, and yes, Linda Carter. The packaging is '70s kitsch and I am in LOVE!

Hello Kitty

Everyone who knows me know that I am pretty much obsessed with Hello Kitty. I love the pop art style that every HK variation has, but for this manicure I stuck with the traditional Hello Kitty.

MAC's Vestral White (from the Hello Kitty collection, of course), with CM Nail Art's black and yellow for the mouth, whiskers, and eyes and Swarovski #5 rhinestones in Rose (Seche Vite top coat).


To apply the rhinestones, wait until your last coat of your base color is about halfway dry (still tacky) and push them into it until the edges of the bottom of the rhinestone is no longer exposed. Apply a topcoat to seal it in.

A common problem with HK manicures I've seen in the past is the shape of the eyes and nose and placement of the whiskers. Often you just seen round dots for both, and therefore they look wonky and generic. In reality, the eyes are vertical ovals and the nose is a horizontal oval. The top whisker is placed near the top of the eye line or even above it sometimes. Hello Kitty does not have the face of a typical cat--she's a work of art, folks!