Back to Mac

It takes me about 2.5 years to accumulate enough containers to do Back to Mac. I finally had six empties to bring in in exchange for a lipstick.  My empties were:

1. Oil Control Lotion / A nice primer but nothing too life changing.
2. Two empty eyeshadows / depotted them for a Z-Palette immediately after I bought them.
3. Color Correcting CC compact in Illuminate / This purple powder was discontinued.  I never ended up using this because it made me look weirdly ashy and I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought it.
4. Prep + Prime highlighter pen / I absolutely love this product, but my Maybelline Age Rewind Brightener concealer is a good enough dupe.
5. Annoyingly I can’t remember the last thing because I didn’t think come up with the idea to write a blog post until after I returned them… an empty Myth lipstick maybe?

 

Now that I’m thinking about it I could probably gather a couple lipsticks that I NEVER wear- that old Lady Gaga, glossy finishes, an orange gloss from the old Simpson’s collection, etc. which makes me excited to get another little bag of trash together to bring in. If you aren’t aware, you can depot products then bring in the leftover packaging from powder items like blushes and eyeshadows.

If you haven’t used the Back to Mac system before, you hand in your six empty containers and pick a lipstick at no charge. I took the easy route and went with a nude Bronx.  This shade is a greyish light nude in the retro matte formula. It kind of looks different in every lighting that I’ve been in, but it’s almost like if Blankety had a more matte, more brownish grey sister.  Or if you mixed Whirl and Fleshpot, you would get something like Bronx.

There’s something about a pale greyish nude that reminds me of my Burt’s Bees Lifeguard’s Choice days, but in a much better way. Did anyone else wear that? It was my prom lip color lol.  Mac lipsticks are such a nostalgic product for me. They are a must have for just about every makeup collector, and I still reach for them quite often.

Shopping in person rather than online occurs less and less frequently for me. When I’m in the store the employees always ask me if I want to try certain shades on, but I’m usually not wearing any makeup.  Putting a brown lipstick on my bare face just isn’t helpful to sell me on something.  I did enjoy swatching and checking out some new products. The employees working at Mac always look so fabulous and have that “Mac look” with a full face of makeup that I really like. As for the brand itself, I love the classic clean look of all their packaging.  Going into the store and browsing made me leave with a couple new items on my wishlist:

 

1. Hyper Real Glow palette in Get it Glowing / This gold super shine palette is so beautiful.
2. Next to Nothing Powder in Dark Deep / The girl at the counter said she loves this to bronze with for her oily skin instead of the Mineralize Skinfinish Natural that I usually use (Give Me Sun formula) because I was looking at the Dark Deep from that line. The Next to Nothing formula was a more matte finish that was lightweight but just the right amount of pigmented. When I finish up my Urban Decay Beached bronzer I’ll be buying this next.
3. Extra Dimension Eyeshadow in Stolen Moment and Sweet Heat / These are stunning ultra metallics and I was pretty much mesmerized by them when I was looking at the eyeshadow stand.
4. Studio Fix Foundation Powder Plus foundation / I want this for setting my makeup and controlling oil. I honestly have no clue what color I’d be in it though.  I never have makeup on when I go in there like I said and my fake tan is always at weird levels so having them match me isn’t much help.  
5. Naturally Flawless Blush / This shade has been hanging out in my online cart for ages. How gorgeous is this!?  Honestly I don’t think it’s possible to ever get through my massive blush collection though.

 

At the moment I’m extra aware that I have plenty of makeup already so I didn’t buy anything new that day.  I’m so loyal to using my Ebates too, that shopping online just makes more sense.  I’d rather get 3% back by shopping through that, or buying Mac on Ulta and getting 2.5% cash back plus Ulta points.  There’s a way to do Ebates on in store purchases, but I haven’t gotten that part set up yet. Not trying to turn this into an Ebates ad lol, they have no idea who I am.  I’ve been using their website for years now though and always get mad at myself for forgetting to use them when I shop.

I will do a makeup post wearing Bronx as soon as I get a chance. Life has been a little hectic recently and I think it’s been a month since I’ve done a makeup Instagram post even, let alone blog look. Doing my best to get back to it though.  Thank you for sticking around.

-Kim