I mentioned in my recent Misc. Makeup Purge post that I have enough MAC empties to Back to MAC. I’ve been saving these since last year and I actually have enough for TWO items! (6 empties = 1 product) 😀 Here’s what will be going back to MAC:
Clockwise from upper left hand corner:
1) Studio Sculpt Defining Powder (review here)
2-3) Cleanse Off Oil (2)
4) Tendertone in Hot ‘n’ Saucy (shown here)
5) Fluidline in Ostentatious
6) Pro Longwear Concealer in NC20 (shown here)
7) In Extreme Dimension Mascara
8) Lipgelée in Moistly
9) Paints in Magrittes
10) Prep+Prime Transparent Finishing Powder (mentioned here)
11) Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium (shown here)
12) Cremeblend Blush in Something Special
In Canada, we have the option of trading for either a lipstick, Lipglass or an eye shadow at stand-alone MAC stores. I dislike MAC’s Lipglasses so I’m not redeeming for that. Since I get to choose two items, why not get one of each of a lipstick and an eye shadow? 😉 Similar to the last time when I redeemed for a MAC lipstick (I ended up with Party Line), I’d like your input on what I should get!
Lipstick options
• Brave (satin) – pink-beige with white pearl
• Crosswires (cremesheen) – clean pinky orange
• Fanfare (cremesheen) – mid-tone yellow pink
• Ravishing (cremesheen) – clean light peachy coral
• Half ‘n Half (amplified creme) – creamy pink
• Fast Play (amplified creme) – Neutral pink
• Mocha (satin) – peachy yellow-brown
• Craving (amplified creme) – burst of plum
• Brick-O-La (amplified creme) – mid-tone berry
• Dubonnet (amplified creme) – deepened claret
I had the first 3 shades in my last round of Back to MAC options. I’m paying more attention to the finish of the lipsticks this time around – no Lustres, Glazes or Mattes. I’m mainly focusing on Amplified Cremes, Creamsheens and Satins. The first set of 5 shades are colours for summer time, and the second set of 5 are more Autumn shades. Feel free to suggest shades I haven’t listed!
Eye shadow options
• Soft Brown (matte) – soft golden peachy-brown
• Antiqued (veluxe pearl) – ash brown with bronze
• Coppering (veluxe pearl) – orange copper
• Smut (velvet) – muted black with red shimmer
• Malt (matte) – soft pinkish-beige
• Haux (Satin) – soft muted rosy brown
• Nocturnelle (frost) – pinked-up chrome purple
• Plumage (matte) – dusky peacock
I have soooo many eye shadows, the odds are that I’ll have shades similar to most of the above, but what the heck, the more the merrier. 😛 Again, if there’s a shade that you think I might like and it’s not listed, please share! My favourite MAC finishes are Veluxe Pearl, Frosts, and Mattes.
I’m planning on going this Sunday so please let me know your thoughts before then! 🙂 Thank you!
Soft brown – You NEED XXX
and Brave x
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I’m actually toying with the idea of getting 2 lipsticks and no eye shadow since I have so many…
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well well ………………
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soft brown u NEED
and Brave x
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TWO ….lol
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Déjà vu! 😆
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I’ve been hoarding my MAC empties for a while. Who know what you find in your stash?
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I DUNNO xxxxxx too hot to look right now xxx
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It’s hotter than HELL out there! Ahhh I’m melting. Get a slushy from 7-Eleven. Did you know that when I was kid, I loved 7-Eleven because that’s my birthday! 😉
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did u know i love that number too xxxx my birth weight lol xxxxxx always been a lucky sequence xxxxxx
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Lips – brave, fast play or brick o la.
Eyes – I love them all, but especially antiqued, coppering, haux and nocturnelle.
Tough choices, I think that they would all look great on you!
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You picked my top 3 lipsticks too! Great taste! 😉
Eyes… I’m thinking Nocturnelle just because it’s different than all the neutrals. But yeah I do love the ones you listed!
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Nocturnelle will be great to add a pop of colour to a neutral look.
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Thank you for your suggestions! 😀
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I like ravishing & mocha. Something just draws me to those two 🙂
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They’re really pretty warm tones and super wearable! Ugh decisions, decisions…
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All the ones you have listed are super pretty! Hopefully you share the ones you end up picking up! 🙂
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All such beautiful colours. For lipstick I like the shades Fanfare and Craving. Eyeshadows Coppering, Smut, Nocturnelle and Plumage. You’ve made me want to buy stuff☺ x
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Haha, yes when I picking these out, I was like, um, I’ll just get all of these eye shadows and make a quad! 😛 I’m leaning toward Craving more and more…
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Haha I couldn’t narrow the eyeshadows down. Too many nice shades☺ Craving is gorgeous. X
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I hope you’re not tempted to go shopping at MAC now due to me! 😛
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Haha if I buy anything tomorrow. I’m blaming you😉😂 x
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Brave! I’ve got a Throwback Thursday going up on it next week already scheduled! Brave is a year round winner for me, I’ve nearly finished it! Trying to link it for you to have a look but it wont let me include a link in my comment!
I love the look of Coppering or Antiqued for the shadows!
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Nearly gone: http://bit.ly/2adOsFj and Swatch: http://bit.ly/29TcpPs
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Is this this post:
https://helplesswhilstdrying.com/2016/04/18/collab-lucieleanne-spring-makeup-look/
Brave is so lovely, and I know I would wear it BUT… I’m worried it’s too similar to all the other MLBB type shades! I’ll bring in my UD Rush that I got recently to see if it’s close.
You know, I was shocked that I didn’t own Antiqued when I was looking through the list. It’s such a ME colour. Coppering, I’ll have to test against my skin since it’s quite orange… sometimes they make me look sick!
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It’s a seprate post dedicated to it, but Yeah – it’s definitely a colour which transitions to looking lighter or darker depending on skin tone. At the minute it looks a lot browner and lighter than it does on that post on me! It’s my perfect MLBB shade! Antiqued is very you, I agree!
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Oh I shall look forward to your TBT post then!
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I love soft brown! And Craving, you need them both.
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I think the reason why I don’t have Soft Brown yet is because I have lots of similar shades like it. But I should get get it and have it, ya know? Craving is getting a lot of love here… I chose it because of the Amplified formula, which I LOVE. Thanks for your suggestions!
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Brave is the most popular choice as it has been increasingly hyped among bloggers and another trade marker that is not listed here would be velvet teddy and you are looking for bold statement lips, then ruby woo would be a good choice
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Yes, I agree that Brave is the most popular choice. I just wonder if it’d be too similar to other MLBB shades I already own? I plan on bringing my other lipsticks with me so I can compare side by side!
And I considered Velvet Teddy but be too brown on me, and look too harsh. And Ruby Woo… sigh, I wish I had the nerve to wear something so bold. Also, it’s a matte formula… I don’t like mattes very much!
Thank you for your suggestions! 🙂
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Great variation of thoughts and I would welcome your lipstick comparisons
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I got Craving with my last back to MAC and I really like it. Being an amplified, it’s very pigmented though. I like Fanfafe as well, I find it to be an easy color for me to wear despite the yellow undertones (which actually to me aren’t that yellow). 😊
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The formula of Craving is what drew me in! I’m worried it might be too similar to Party Line though. Fanfare looks really easy to wear, that’s why I’ve had it on my list for years… Thanks for your suggestions!
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Fast Play or Brick O La get my vote for lippies and either Soft Brown or Haux for shadows. It’s so hard to pick, you put together too many gorgeous options!
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Haha, yeah, I figured I probably couldn’t go wrong with any of the colours I showed. You can imagine how LONG it too me to narrow down the list! 😛 I really love both Fast Play and Brick o La because of both the colours and the amplified finish!
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You have excellent taste! I can’t imagine the struggle of narrowing down ALL the Mac lipsticks. I was in a CCO that had maybe 12 shades and it took me forever to decide on one! Any of your choices would be lovely 🙂
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Totally Haux or Malt and why not Ravishing 😀
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I think it was you that I saw Haux and I put it onto my wish list! 😛 Thanks for your recs!
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I bought Haux and it’s so beautiful … Quarry would be an awesome choice too if you don’t already own it !!!
You know me, I would be all over the Lipglass 😉
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Lipglass is SO sticky though! My hair gets caught on my lips all day long.
Hmm I never took notice of Quarry. It’s really similar to Haux, no?
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To me Quarry is a tiny bit more beautiful than Haux 😉
Lipglass are ok for me because my hair are always in a bun !!! 😀
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How to decide!! How about you get 2 using the B2M and then buy the rest…? Hehehe.
My votes are on Brave, Half n’ Half, Crosswires, and Fast Play for lipsticks, and Antiqued and Haux for shadows. Have you tried on all of the lipsticks on your list and they are flattering on your skintone?
What’s the difference between Amplified Cremes and Cremesheens? I feel like it’s been explained to me before…but I forget. lol
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I’ve only tried Brave one the last time I was doing the Back to MAC! It was really pretty but I worried it would dupe other MLBB shades so I didn’t get it.
Amplified Cremes are more pigmented compared to Cremesheens. And Cremesheens are more glossy. From what I can tell. I only have 1 MAC lipstick in the Amplified formula (Cosmo) but I LOVE it and want more. I searched online for all Amplified colours and these were the most wearable of the lot. For instance, the shade Impassioned is an Amplified, so is Morange – they’re retina-searing type of colours! 😛
This is a bit outdated now but a great reference:
http://karlasugar.net/2009/09/mac-lipstick-recap/
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Oh and yes, I’m leaning toward Antiqued!
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Thanks for the link!
Oooh, Impassioned and Morange look awesome! Not that I could pull those colours off, but still.
The swatches next together really help. I guess Fast Play is a bit similar to Cosmo, which you already own, so I scratch that off my list. Half n’ Half looks really pretty, but might be another MLBB colour? Craving is super pretty…I replace Fast Play with Craving for my list of things you should get with the B2M!
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Yes, that’s what I was thinking, Fast Play is quite similar to Cosmo. Half n Half might make me look really dead – it has a lot of grey in it. I wonder if Craving is to similar to Party Line? Decisions, decisions! I’m going to bring my non-MAC MLBB shades with me so I can do side by side swatches – because I think UD Rush is similar to Brave.
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Get two lippies – Brave and Fast Play. 🙂
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Haha, you know me too well. Those are definitely the top 2!!!
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Well, what are you waiting for?! 😉
I read the comments earlier and you got a lot of suggestions – I think everything’s been mentioned at least once!
Decisions, decisions… whatever you choose, I’m sure you’ll be happy with your choice.
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Fast Play!
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Yeah… I think I want that one a lot. Maybe just to buy. It looks gorgeous from online photos!
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Good selection! I like the look of brave 🙂 not that I’ve tried it but it’s so popular it has to be good!
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Yes, it’s super popular but I wonder if I already own something really similar? I plan on bringing some MLBB lipsticks with me to MAC to make sure I’m not picking up a dupe!
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Good idea! Have fun choosing
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Thanks! I’ll be sure to post what I did end up choosing! 🙂
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I think that you and your blog are awesome! I tagged you for the One Lovely Blog Award. If you are interested, check out my post here. the https://lookingjoligood.wordpress.com/2016/07/22/one-lovely-blog-award/
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Thanks Laura! 🙂
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Back To Mac is such a great program! I have a few Mac products right now, someday I’ll finish them all and I can get a lipstick. I think in the US it’s only a lipstick, not a choice like Canada sadly.
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You know what’s funny? Until last year, I’d only ever Back to MAC for eye shadows. I never considered getting a lipstick until then. I’ve done Back to MAC about 5 times now – I like their skincare and face powders, so that’s how I can accumulate the empties.
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Now I’m totally loving the look of Nocturnelle, everything is just so god damn pretty! I also really like MAC’s Lustre lipsticks, are you not a fan? My greatest piece of advice is to go with your gut instinct, if there’s a shade you first thought of and keep going back to, pick that one 🙂
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I found the Lustres that I’ve tested at the stores to be too slimy / slippery. I like tinted lipsticks but only if they don’t smear all over. I really wanted Plumful and it is a Lustre formula – it was disappointing when I tried it on.
Your advice is a good one! I will have to remember it. 🙂
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My two most worn MAC shades are Lustres haha! I suppose they’d be good if you have dry lips too 🙂
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Ravishing lipstick and haux eyeshadow!
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Those are lovely! Thanks for the recs!
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mac mascaras? how do you find them, besides extended play in blue packaging. Some great options to choose from doll, copper ring and, fast play and soft brown are good options;)
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They sell MAC mascaras at the stores! I got this particular one from a Holiday kit though but they are available individually. I didn’t really care for this one (very clumpy). Your picks are great – I’m a big fan of the neutrals!
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Mocha for lips and Smut for eyes… hm… but not together for 1 look 😛
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Well what if I wanted to wear them together for a dramatic gothy look that I’m well-known for? 😆
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Wahaha 😂😂😂
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A many emptied. Ur a MAC machine. Lol. If I have any idea about your skin tone, I say Brave and Nocturnelle. Am I close??
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I’m really leaning toward Nocturnelle because it’s different than what I already own! Brave is a bit dicey because I seem to gravitate toward those MLBB shades and I’m thinking I might already own a shade just like it. 😛
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At least I got one!! I absolutely love Nocturnelle…it just might be my first MAC product 🙈
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I’ve been eyeing up Crosswires myself it looks like a really easy shade to wear in the Summer and of course I have to recommend my holy grail nude “Mocha”. Jay x
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If only mac had back to mac here in europe…
I have to say I love brick o la, that is definitly going on my own to swatch list.
xo Anne – Doves & Roses
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I want them all! Haha.. Wish we could do this here too.. Had I known this back to MAC exist I could have kept all the ones that I got rid off. 🤔
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I know that I’ve tossed stuff out before realizing there was a program like this! Also, now they have it so that you don’t have to save the items yourself and bring all at once. You can bring one at a time and they will track for you – no more hoarding garbage at home! 😛
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Thats really cool!
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