First Impressions: New MECCA Makeup

In August I shared a post with the items on my MECCA Beauty Wishlist that were currently sitting in my online bag. I culled that down by half and ended up purchasing four of the seven things on my list last week. The items I purchased are all pretty much new brands to me apart from Urban Decay as I won one of their lipsticks through a blog giveaway a few years ago.

The shipping was so quick! I ordered on Monday evening and the order arrived on Wednesday afternoon. I got free shipping and received three samples with my order, one of which I will use and the other two will go in my giveaway pile.

Products listed in order of application:

Products with (N) are new items.

1. Olay Complete UV Lotion Sensitive

2. Too Faced Hangover Primer (N)

3. Rimmel Professional Brow Pencil in 002 Hazel

4. Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 010 Light Porcelain

5. Urban Decay Primer Potion (N)

6. MAC StudioFinish Concealer in NW10

7. The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01 Light Matte

8. MAC Tan Pigment

9. Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara – 003 Extreme Black

10. NARS Mini Orgasm Blush Highlight Duo (N)

11. MAC Syrup

First Impressions:

• Too Faced Hangover Primer – The coconut scent is faint and fades almost instantly which is good. I’m not a fan of coconut and it’s barely there with this primer. The primer feels very cooling on the skin and is more of a creamy consistency. It doesn’t contain any silicone so it doesn’t feel oily or slippy. The rest of my makeup applied nicely over the top and my skin feels soft. I’ll have to give this a few more tries to see if I like it more than my Makeup Revolution primer.
• Urban Decay Primer Potion – I was surprised to find out this tube has a doe foot applicator inside it, I thought you squeezed product out! I decided to apply this before my concealer to give it a few minutes to sit on the eyelid before doing my eye makeup. I used my ring finger to apply a light wash of The Body Shop bronzer to my eyelid as a base on top of the primer and the bronzer did stick well. I dabbed MAC’s Tan pigment with the same finger over top and the pigment looks more sparkly than it usually does. The pigment didn’t fade throughout the day or sink into creases on my eyelid. Loving this already!
• NARS Mini Orgasm Blush Highlight Duo – I finger swatched these the day before applying them and they definitely show up more pigmented on the face – in a good way. I used one side of my Real Techniques Setting Brush for Orgasm and the other side of the brush for the Orgasm highlighter. I don’t often wear blush and highlighter together but these two are so glowy and beautiful and they give a lovely, healthy shine to my cheeks.

The Finished Look:

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Have you purchased any new makeup recently? Was it a hit or a miss?

Have you tried any of the products I purchased from MECCA before?

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MECCA Beauty Wishlist

MECCA is the Australia/New Zealand equivalent of Sephora (we have Sephora too, online at least) and the beauty retailer stocks and carries popular brands that aren’t all available elsewhere in New Zealand. I thought it would be fun to show you what’s currently in my cart and the items I’d like to add to my collection and try. Some brands I haven’t tried but I have heard many good things about in the beauty world!

Soap & Glory Hand Food | $5.00

Hand cream is one of my beauty staples and $5.00 for 50ml from Soap & Glory compared to $10 for 30ml from The Body Shop is a good deal. The hand cream contains shea butter, macadamia oil and marshmallow and features Soap & Glory’s original pink rose and bergamont scent.

Why I don’t need it: I want to use up the hand creams I’ve got before I buy more.

Urban Decay Original Primer Potion | $22.00

This is a classic among beauty lovers and one of Rachael’s – whose opinion I trust very much – personal favourites. I’ve never tried eye primer before and I personally don’t see it as a necessity in my beauty routine but I’d like to try this to see what the hype is about and maybe afterwards I will be converted.

Why I don’t need it: I often use concealer as my eye primer and I’ve already got a NYX eyeshadow base as well.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara | $36.00

I’ve tried the L’Oreal dupe for this mascara (Lash Paradise/Paradise Extatic) and it’s pretty damn amazing but it would be interesting to see how it compares to this mascara and if it’s worth paying twice the price for the Too Faced.

Why I don’t need it: I could get two tubes of L’Oreal’s Lash Paradise for the price of one of these and I’ve got two brand new tubes of my favourite Rimmel mascara waiting in the wings.

MAC Sized To Go Strobe Cream | $25.00

This product aims to refresh, perfect, hydrate and brighten skin, smooth texture and replenish moisture. The travel size comes in the shade Pinklite. Not only does this keep your complexion looking fresh and flawless, the cream is infused with powerful botanicals, vitamins and green tea. The sized to go Studio Moisture Cream lasts me a while and the small size means you get a good amount to try to decide whether or not you like the product.

Why I don’t need it: I see myself picking this up sometime in the near future to use as a base under foundation instead of primer.

NARS Mini Orgasm Blush Highlight Duo | $38.00

NARS seems like such a high quality, well-loved brand and their Orgasm blush is another classic for bloggers. I have a dupe of Orgasm and it is one of my favourite makeup items out of everything I own. The blush gives such a lovely flush to the cheeks and a little goes a long way.

Why I don’t need it: Again, I can also see myself picking up this duo. My favourite blush is a dupe for Orgasm and to have a backup and be able to try the real thing would be cool. The highlight in the duo, Hot Sand, also looks stunning.

MAC Prep + Prime Fix+ | $22.00

Lately with face mists I have been enjoying applying the mist to my face before moisturiser and massaging the face mist in alongside the moisturiser to give my skin more hydration. With warmer weather on the horizon this product would help set my makeup and keep it in place during the day. I also want to try the trick of spritzing an eyeshadow brush with Fix+ to really pack on shimmery shadows.

Why I don’t need it: I’m using one of the new face mists from The Body Shop but I can see myself picking this up once that’s done.

Too Faced Hangover Primer | $23.00

Fellow New Zealand blogger, Angela, loves this primer and I’d like to try it after hearing her mention it on her blog. One thing that does worry me though is the coconut scent, does it linger after application?

Why I don’t need it: I wouldn’t buy this primer and the MAC Strobe Cream. I don’t need both if I use the strobe cream as a primer.

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Have you tried any of these products? What’s on your makeup wishlist?

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Redhead Rambles #24

Hello everyone and welcome to ‘Redhead Rambles’. The series does what it says on the tin, it is a redhead (me) rambling about her week. I share what I’ve been up to each week, how I’ve been feeling and what I’ve been listening to or watching. Occasionally I will my share favourite blog posts and links I’ve found useful or interesting.

• In my last Redhead Rambles I talked about an unpleasant doctor’s visit. Last Friday I still wasn’t better so I got an appointment with a different doctor. I got prescribed antibiotics and prednisone to help with my breathing (I am an asthmatic). Health is so important and whatever it is, it can benefit to get a second opinion if it gives you peace of mind and helps you get well again.
• I only started getting my tastebuds back last week as well so after my visit to the doctor I was naughty and had a pie for lunch! It was mince and cheese (my favourite) and it was SO GOOD!
• At the weekend Mum and I went for a test drive in my neighbours little Nissan hatchback and I decided to buy the car. They have owned the car for 10 years and never had trouble so we know it’s reliable and it was a good price as well.
• Sunday evening I spent browsing the Mecca Maxima website after hearing about it from a work colleague. There are lots of brands I’d love to try but the prices aren’t the most affordable…
• On Monday I officially bought the car, handed over the money and changed the ownership into my name. I am excited and slightly nervous but it gives me something to focus on and look forward to achieving.
• I made a small online order from The Body Shop. I don’t think I’ve purchased anything from The Body Shop so far this year. My order arrived on Wednesday and I got a Strawberry Smoothing Face Mist, an Early Harvest Raspberry body butter and something for my blog giveaway when I reach 1,000 followers.
• Children are off school this week and next so work has been busy and the supermarket was pretty manic too. Mum and I do our weekly shop on a Tuesday after I finish work and we still managed to get everything we needed which was good.
• My brother came down to stay on Thursday. He bought donuts from Krispy Kreme with him; Vanilla Slice and Apple Custard Crumble. We also had fish and chips for dinner on Thursday evening!

How was your week?

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