Mini Limited Edition MAC Haul

Last year, my friend Jo-Anna and I went to an event hosted by Estee Lauder for the Ronald McDonald House Charity, a non-profit organisation that provides assistance to seriously ill children and their families. It was an opportunity to purchase makeup at a discounted price while also supporting a good charity (the entry fee went directly to the charity), although Jo and I weren't quite sure what to expect. We didn't know if it would include whole collections or just bits and pieces -- there was a limit to the amount that you could spend, so we thought that it might be really busy and everything would sell out really quickly. The one thing that we did know was that we were going to get there early and have a good time!

We didn't get there early -- in fact, we got lost -- and it wasn't anything like we expected. It was quiet, and there were products from brands including Clinique, Bobbi Brown and Estee Lauder at a decent discount -- but it was MAC that I was interested in the most. The stock appeared to mostly be discontinued limited edition stock, some from collections such as MAC is Beauty and MAC Bao Bao Wan, and some from collections that I knew nothing about! There were even some MAC RiRi Hearts MAC brushes there that made my heart sing (you can read about that here) but I was on a strict budget and sadly had to turn them down.

I did, however, pick up a few pieces from previous collections, all of which I coveted and kept me under budget!

L to R: MAC Alluring Aquatic, MAC Toledo, MAC Cinderella

MAC Alluring Aquatic Nail Varnish - "Neptune" || This is a really beautiful antique gold nail polish that can last a long time with the right products! It can be a little streaky when applied, and it's not quite opaque, so I need three careful layers to achieve the look I want. Paired with an Essie base coat and a Sally Hansen top coat, this nail polish lasted way longer on me than when I wore it without -- it was also less prone to flaking and peeling. I particularly love the packaging with this; the little beads of water on the packaging makes it looks as though it was recovered from an underwater sea chest!

MAC Toledo Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner - "Designer Purple" || Please ignore that the swatch photo says "Designer Violet" -- I stuffed up! There were plenty of MAC Toledo products at the event (but, sadly, none of them were lipsticks), and I was umming and ahhing about a good number of them. I remember wanting virtually every piece when I'd seen the press releases, so how was I going to decide? Swatching the liner was what did it for me. I saw that gorgeous, glittery purple and went, "Yup, that's going into my basket."

MAC Cinderella Fluidline - "Little Black Bow" || You may remember that earlier last year I cut off my arm and spent a small fortune purchasing as many pieces of the MAC Cinderella collection as possible. This fluidline was the only MAC Cinderella product there, and I walked past it several times -- that is, until I got too nervous that someone was going to snatch it up, and grabbed it myself! It's a shimmery blackened grey that I think will apply quite nicely for a softer alternative to the traditional black wing.

Unboxed: MAC Alluring Aquatic, MAC Toledo, MAC Cinderella

Swatches: MAC Toledo, MAC Cinderella

That's all that I picked from the Estee Lauder event last year! There was plenty of makeup there -- particularly limited edition MAC lip glasses -- but I had a budget to stick to, and I happily did! It's definitely an event that I will go to again in the future, if not to pick up some discounted quality makeup but to window shop while supporting a good cause.

Did you manage to pick up any of these items while they were available? Would you go to an event like this to help support a charity? Let me know!

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Mecca Beauty Loop L1 Unboxing

Hello, beautiful people! Today brings another unboxing post into the forefront -- this time, one from Mecca. I haven't frequented Mecca in quite a while, so there will come a time where I will likely stop receiving these. My financial goals for 2016 are to be more sensible for my spending, so splurges at Mecca are going to be a rare occurrence.

Mecca Cosmetica To Save Face SPF50+ Superscreen || You can never have too much sunscreen, right? I have a larger sample size of Mecca Cosmetica's SPF30+ facial sunscreen, so I was slightly disappointed to get such a small sample for this -- but hey, you can't win them all. I'm still quite excited for this; I like its small size, because it'll be better for travelling than my other samples. A 75ml tube costs $40, and I received a 5ml tube worth about $2.67.

Josie Maran Pure Argan Milk Intensive Hydrating Treatment || I'm pretty excited to get this as well! I've wanted something from the Josie Maran line ever since it launched, but with the whole "trying to be fiscally responsible" thing, I have abstained. This product is called a "treatment" -- I'm going to say that's a fancy word for "moisturiser". Regardless, I am going to savour every drop of this product. Who knows how long it will be before I can afford something like this? A 30ml bottle of this retails for $79, and I received a 2ml sachet worth about $5.27.

Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil || YAY! Another product that I'm excited to try! Bumble and Bumble is another one of those brands that I have longed to try, but the reason behind this particular abstinence is that I could never quite work out which product would be right. This will give me a real chance to try a product that I have heard about before, and see if it's something that I would like to add to my still-developing hair care routine. A 100ml bottle retails for $56, and my sample is 30ml, which works out to be worth about $16.80.

Clinique Smart Custom-Repair Eye Treatment || Another high end brand (of course), but one that I don't often give much thought to. This sachet might be small, but it promises to be powerful: this treatment is meant to repair the eye area and promote youthfulness. Obviously the issue of youth isn't something that I need to worry about, but I've used some eye moisturisers in the past that have actually dried out that area of my face! I think it will be nice to use this, especially with the number of long, study-filled nights ahead of me. A 15ml tube of this is $65, making my 1ml sachet worth about $4.33.

Beauty Loop Box Value: $29.07

That's all that was in the Level 1 box for this quarter! I'm excited to use every single product in it, and if I could purchase all of the things... Let's face it, I probably would. Have you used any of these products before? Or anything from these brands? Let me know!

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