MAC Naughty Nauticals: First Impressions

Shockingly I didn't rush out to my counter yesterday to purchase MAC's newest collection, Nauguty Nauticals. I'm unsure whether I should be proud of myself for showing such willpower or maybe just honest and admit that I just got too busy to actually get to the counter!

However, today nothing could hold me back, not even Prom! It appears it's Prom Night for some schools in my area tonight! Who would have guessed? It's so bloody early for Prom isn't it?? Prom Night has caused mayhem at the MAC counter this evening! I was happily doing a little jig at the array of yum that was Naughty Nauticals while patiently waiting for my regular MA to help me with my selections. Even though my mate Jamie was nagging me about having to wait I wouldn't let anything ruin my first glance at Mutiny! It was love at first sight!

I just stepped in from seeing Iron Man and going to dinner with friends (more on Iron Man later) and it's really late and I'm really tired but I can't help but blog this now for you guys!

MAC's Naughty Nauticals is a fantastic collection and there are absolutely a few essential items you'll most definately want to pick up from this! I was very pleased in particular with the pigment selection! A total of four pigments were released with the collection but only three are brand new. Lovely Lily was a previous release so I safely skipped it. If you missed Lovely Lily the last round you'll definately want to grab a jar as it's a gorgeous, shimmering Lilac. My absolute favorite pigment of the bunch and the one I highly recommend you grab would be Mutiny (you might need two as this is a brilliant color!). Mutiny is described as sky blue on the MAC site but I beg to differ! It's much more of a tranquil, light aqua. It reminds me of the ocean in the Caribbean! Simply gorgeous and by far the best of all the pigments in this collection! Bell Bottom Blue has a few folks scratching their heads and wondering if they really need it. It's a bit of an intimidating color as it's such a dark, true navy blue but I'd say definately pick it up as it goes wonderfully well with one of the shadows released with the collection and will also compliment well with any Blue Storm shadows you might have hauled! It is dark but it can easily be tamed down! Lastly I got Lark About which I originally thought might be a shimmering white but I'm happy to report it's more of a dirty white, almost gray with iridescent blue running through it! Lark About is also worth picking up in my humblest as it compliments the other pigments in the collection (aside from Lovely Lily) perfectly and will make a rather good base to tone down Bell Bottom Blue!

Lovely Lily


Bell-Bottom Blue


Lark About


Mutiny






I was a little stingy when it came to making my lippie and lipgloss selection simply because I was also hauling DazzleGlass today and decided it was best to be a bit caution as I knew I'd be doing a bit of damage with DazzleGlass as well!

4 Lustreglass were released and 4 Lipsticks. I ended up with two of the lipsticks and one Lustreglass. The first lipstick that deserves to be mentioned is Port Red. You might know that I don't favor reds so well and only ever fell in love with one red from MAC which was released this Holiday entitled Queen's Sin. I am now officially in lust and love with Port Red. It's actually a very good dupe to Queen's Sin so if you missed the color now is your chance to own a pretty nice dupe of it. If you already own Queen's Sin I'd say pick up Port Red anyway as it has little differences that are actually very pleasing! Queen's Sin feels to me more like a maroon where as Port Red is a truer, bright red with a metallic sheen! It's absolutely stunning and will look gorgeous with a blue eye look! The other lipstick I purchased was Party Mate which is an off color pink! For me these were the two best colors in the lot of colors released!

Party Mate


Port Red






Port Red Vs Queen's Sin




I only ended up with one LustreGlass which was Hey, Sailor. I think paired up with Party Mate this will look rather fantastic! It's a plummy pink that reminds me of some of the Viva Glam releases. This style of pink is always very flattering with my skin tone! The other Lustreglasses were very nice but I was saving myself for DazzleGlass so I only got the one!

Hey, Sailor!


Sadly, I wasn't too thrilled with the eyeshadow selection. Meet the Fleet was a matte dark purple that I couldn't see myself wearing and I know I'd have a bloody hell of a time blending with it and Pandemonium is a repromote so I skipped that!



Shore Leave


Illegal Cargo


Submarine Blue


I'm in love with Shore Leave. I'm always on the hunt for a perfect highbrow highlighter and Shore Leave fits the bill perfectly. It's a frosty cream that will go wonderfully with all the colors in this collection! Submarine is my second favorite shadow from the releases. It's a clean, off blue color that reminds me of MAC eyeshadow in Freshwater. And finally I picked up Illegal Cargo which is my least favorite of the eyeshadows but I thought it would go well with Lovely Lily. This is a dirty lilac color with traces of gray!





The entire collection has some sincerely wonderful items and I'm quite pleased with what I ended up purchasing! MAC did an excellent job with this Color Story!

MAC Naughty Nauticals is most definately Muse Approved for purchase!



How about you?

What did you haul from this collection?

Love the pigments?

Love the shadows?

Tell the Muse!

Stay tuned for my DazzleGlass entry! Coming Soon!



Click here to see what MAC made it onto my Year End Review list!

Click here to watch some MuseTV on the MAC Antiquitease Collection!

Click here to take a blast through the past and see last year's awesome C-Shock Collection!

Click here to step back into the present and discover the joys of MAC DressCamp!

Click here to enjoy my babblings and first impressions of Fafi for MAC!

Cick here to view an FOTD using MAC Eyeshadow in Submarine Blue, MAC Lipstick in Port Red, and other items from the MAC Naughty Nauticals Collection!

Click here to enjoy an FOTD with MAC Dazzleglass and MAC Naughty Nauticals!

Click here to see my FOTD using Mutiny!

The Weekly Beauty Read

Spoiled Pretty is giving away $1,400 worth of beauty products to one lucky bride-to-be. And if you're a future wedding belle from the Philadelphia area, we've got something for you too. Enter right away - contest ends May 4th.

Find out how The Daily Cookie gets her flawless face with Clinique!

SugarShock Beauty has fallen in love with Greek natural beauty line Korres's new Body Butters, which come in a pump-tube, so it's super-easy moisturizing for us time-pressed gals.

Raging Rouge tests dozens and dozens of pink lipsticks and glosses, and narrows the field down to the best pink lip colors of Spring 2008.

Beauty Anonymous shows you new colors of the DiorKiss Lip Gloss Line!

StyleBell uncovers simple and easy tips to help manage and control curly hair.

A Touch of Blusher reviews ck Calvin Klein's new mineral-based loose powder.

Product Girl is giving away 2 pairs of Tweezerman's Animal Print Slant tweezers!

Find out what Beauty Blogging Junkie recommends for achieving shimmery shoulders for summer.

Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog interviews MAC Cosmetics Senior Makeup Artist Jennifer Karsten and gets the skinny on how it's like to work with Kanye West.

The Makeup Divas reviews Bath and Body Works Hello Sugar! shimmering body lotion.

The Beauty of Life no longer has to suffer from lash envy with the Dior Black Lash Kit.

Toya from The Life of A Ladybug got sucked in by Darac Beauty's Sifted Blur Powder and TorQuam brush! She doesn't want you to get sucked in, too!

Kyle at Face Candy gives you a peek at her favorite Makeup Minis.

Don't know why you should be rocking the sunscreen every day? Beauty411 reminds us that May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month!

makeup loves me introduces you to a non-chocolate truffle that she is confident you will still love!

Beauty Banter dishes on the top concealers on the market! Everything you need to know about covering-up and having a glowing complexion!

Glossypink reveals an essential warm-weather item to give your skin its sexiest glow ever!

Pursebuzz.com shows you how to create long lasting curls with just a few products. It's called the Wavy Waves.

Cybelesays introduces us to a new line of mineral makeup.

Kitiya from Mischo Beauty loves REN’s Mayblossom and Konjac Balancing Moisturiser and tells you why!

Does lipgloss cause skin cancer? Makeup Moxie gives you the lowdown.

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic checks out the new Essie Summer 2008 Colors!

Total Beauty Web Tour

The Beauty of Life no longer has to suffer from lash envy with the Dior Black Lash Kit.

Monique at Beauty Girl Musings has a new favorite lipgloss.

Beauty Anonymous reviews on ck Calvin Klein's Eyeshadow and Crème Lipstick!

It may have been Jeanne's birthday at Periodic Style, but she's the one giving away a package of limited edition goodies...

Toya from The Life of A Ladybug got sucked in by Darac Beauty's Sifted Blur Powder and TorQuam brush! She doesn't want you to get sucked in, too!

Looking for a new pressed powder? Find out which brand debuted it's pressed mineral powder at the Spring/Summer 2008 New York Fashion Week. A Mom in Red High Heels takes it with her to cut the shine!

The girls over at Beauty in Real Life are having another giveaway. Click here to get the details and enter the contest.

Don't know why you should be rocking the sunscreen every day? Beauty411 reminds us that May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month!

Beauty's Spot loves the Blueberry Soy Sugar Scrub by Eminence Organics.

Meredith at Daily Dose of Coffee remembers why she loved Benefit's 10 for her summer look last year.

Kitiya from Mischo Beauty loves REN’s Mayblossom and Konjac Balancing Moisturiser and tells you why!
Bold Italic Underline Color and Style Ordered List Unordered List Horizontal Rule Insert Link Remove Link Insert Images and Files Embed Widget Insert Table Insert Special Character Insert Code Cancel
none

Etude House Peach Skin Pact & Pore Erasing Peach Base: Detailed Review

Since using the Etude House Peach Skin Pact and Pore Erasing Peach Base I felt like the two items deserved a revisit and deeper review than the short blurb I posted in my original post.

Yesterday morning as you may have previously read I used just the Peach Skin Pact and Pore Erasing Peach Base as my sole foundation routine. I did use a touch of concealer under my eyes but aside from that I only prepped and primed my skin with the base and set it with the powder.

To my delight the entire look I created came out very fresh, fun, and natural it also happened to last all day long which is why I felt the two items needed more of a detailed review.

I'll start with the Etude House Pore Erasing Peach Base which everyone was quite excited about in my comment box. You're right to be excited as it's a wonderful, brilliant primer and the price is ridiculously inexpensive for such a great product.

I had the original idea that this might be like Benefit Erase Paste doubling not only as a primer but also as a concealer. Turns out that's not the case at all. It's very difficult to explain the exact texture and formula of this product. It's a cross between matte and moisturizing. It's of medium thickness and works well when "warmed" prior to use. I found that working it into the back of my hand and applying to my face seemed to make the blending process a bit easier.

When it first touches your face it feels very moisturizing and it quickly blends into the skin and has a similar texture as Smashbox Photofinish Primer however it does not pill like Photofinish does. If you're unfamiliar with the term "pill" it simply means that the primer "balls" up and rolls off the skin in gross, sort of flaky balls. Photofinish does this for me constantly and it also happens to break me out rather badly. Pore Erasing Peach Base does not do either. No break outs and no pilling as I blend. It simply seeps naturally into the skin creating a smooth, flawless finish to the skin while prepping it for your foundation or in my case the Peach Skin Pact. As I had mentioned in my previous post the primer does carry the scent of peaches which I don't mind in the least however if you're sensitive to scents or just don't enjoy your products scented this might be something you wish to avoid.



I don't have particularly large pores however I can imagine this will do a brilliant job of filling pores while allowing your skin to breath. It feels natural and fresh on and is in no way heavy! If you have oily skin this will be an excellent solution for creating a matte finish.



With my first application of the base I did notice that my skin turned a ghostly white but after applying the powder it seemed to settle down well. I didn't mind so much as I am always looking for ways to whiten up my skin as you already know from reading my previous article on whitening your skin!

The Peach Skin Pact is the perfect follow up treatment to the base. After applying the base I simply pat the powder on top to create a beautiful finish to my skin. I can already see that both the base and the powder will become a daily part of my routine in the Summer when I don't want a ton of foundation laying on my skin!



The powder, like the base, carries the scent of peaches. The color is a universally flattering beige with a tiny hint of peach to it. It should work well on cooler skin tones including fair and medium but won't work well on darker or tanned skin.

The powder is very light, airy, and silky. It applies beautifully and blends well. You can happily use it as your sole foundation when paired up with the Pore Erasing Peach Base which is exactly what I did yesterday morning!

The good news is I applied my makeup at 5:45 AM in the morning and it lasted, without touch ups, until about 6:00 PM in the evening! It began to fade a bit around 6:30 or so. I was shocked as I've never had my makeup last this long!

All and all I'm extremely pleased with both products and they are, as of now, most definately holy grail products for me!

On a different note I know many of you are wondering where I got the haul and such. I briefly explained to a few commentors that I had got my items from a friend who lives in Korea. I did some research around and I haven't located a single online shop that sells Etude House cosmetics sadly.

However, the good news is I did run across several sellers on E-bay. The best one I came across was GinsengSeafood Beauty HK. She appears to be in China and has a small stash of Etude Cosmetics for sale. Her prices range seems to be about $5 USD on top of retail. If you're interested you can click here to browse her selection of Etude House.

The other option I suggest is checking MUA and seeing if anyone would be willing to do a CP that is located in Korea.

Finally I would suggest visiting Facial-Shop as per my recommendation of this online shop in my Guide to Shopping for Japanese Cosmetics. The girl who runs the shop, Vivian, had once offered to have some Etude items but I never took her up on the offer. Maybe visit with her and ask if she has anything available.

I hope this helps!

Happy Shopping!

UPDATE: Thanks to one of my gorgeous readers, Humming, we now have another E-bay Seller. It appears this seller has the entire Peach Collection. Sadly the prices are SUPER jacked up but if your lemming is strong have a click here to gather up the Etude House Peach Collection for yourself! Example: The Pore Base is $34.99 USD and retails for $11 USD. Ouchy!

Etude House Spring Collection 2008: Peach Makeup Collection Review

Etude House released a rather interesting Spring Collection this year and of course the Muse couldn't resist picking up most of it for herself!

The Collection consisted of an array of "Peach" Themed items. One item in particular that caught my eye was the Pore Erasing Peach Base. This quite reminded me of Benefit Erase Paste which I didn't have the best experience with. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment but I decided that I needed to try the Pore Erasing Base because I had convinced myself that it had to be better than Benefit's version! It's 11,000 Won for the entire jar that's under $10 USD! It's freaking huge at 0.88oz!



I tested it this morning and it's not anything like Erase Paste. It's a pre-makeup primer through and through and sadly my hope that it would have some concealing benefits were quickly dashed as soon as I got it on my skin. I don't have large pores however this is perfect for creating a smooth, matte finish on your face prior to foundation and makeup. This carries a beautiful scent of peaches as well. Understandably some girls prefer cosmetics without scent but I don't mind in the least! Whether this allows my makeup to last longer throughout the day remains to be seen but right now I'm loving this as a pre-foundation prep! The texture is quite like Smashbox Photofinish Primer but I felt like it was a bit more moisturizing and blended easier plus I didn't get a breakout after using it where as with Smashbox's primer pimples crop up! I did notice although it wasn't concealing it did lighten my face up a tad bit and almost made me appear ghost like but after applying the next stage of my makeup that effect was gone thankfully.





For the price I think it's well worth looking into and trying out if you can get your hands on it! The good news is I got a small sample of this with my purchase and I'm giving it away to the first person that comments and is willing to review it for Musings of a Muse. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this so if you're willing to review it give a yell! The first person who comments I'll ship it out to and I'll expect a review back within a week or so explaining if you loved it, hated it, etc...!

Sample of Etude House Peach Pore Erasing Base for Review!


I also got the Peach Skin Pact which is best used for setting the Pore Erasing Base. The formula is obviously very good for oily skin types and offers very nice matte coverage. Good for touch ups and setting your foundation plus the compact is so bloody cute it's no great chore to tote this around with you! I'll make proper use of this come Summer when my skin decides to take a field trip from dry and venture into oily!

My entire routine for makeup this morning consisted of using the Etude House Pore Peach Base and setting it with the Peach Skin Pact. I used no other foundation in my makeup process as I wanted to dupe the entire look from the video how to on the Etude House website. I don't normally use powder as my sole foundation since I feel like I need better coverage plus powder wears off very quickly throughout the day! I'm curious if the base will keep the powder intact all day which is why I'm experimenting going without my normal foundation! If it works I'll be doing this all Summer long as my makeup feels very light today which will be perfect for Summer! This, like the pore base, carries the sweet scent of peaches which I absolutely adore!









I got two of the Peach Cheek Blushers as well which are basically an exact dupe of Lorac's Cheek Stamp that was released last season. These appear to be very sheer but they are not. They hold a beautiful pigmentation for an item that's so cheap! The formula is a bit chalky but that's simply because it's catering to an Asian skin type that may be oily. The concept and idea of a cheek stamp is of course awesome not only for ease of application but for the cute factor! I've personally never tried Lorac's version so I couldn't say how good it is but I'm glad I decided to give these a shot. If you're unfamiliar with the concept I'll briefly explain. Basically this is a circle sponge that has blusher in the lid of the product. The sponge is saturated with the powder and you can pop it out and "stamp" it onto your cheeks for a pinch of color!













Lorac's Cheek Stamp


I ended up purchasing the eyeshadow quad that was used in the Etude video as well. It's actually not LE and is part of the normal collection but I was so juiced over the look they created using everything that I wanted to try and dupe the entire look thus this palette got tucked into my shopping list! It's basically a quad of four shimmering shades that are very sheer but can be built up. They have about the same pigmentation as a Majolica Majorca Majolook palette. The shades in this particular palette are white, baby pink, light blue, and yellow. The shadows do have the standard chalky texture most Asian brands sport but I don't mind as I'm used to this from various Japanese brands. They hold a beautiful shimmer and blend very well!







I also got the Peach Beam Blusher which reminds me of a MAC MSF. It has a metallic shimmer finish that's applies as a highlight but is pigmented enough to act as a blush! The effect is a beautiful glow! If you enjoy tanned skin during the Summer I imagine this will be very fitting for not only highlighting your cheeks but giving you a beautiful peach kissed look!







Color Me Nude Lip Concealer also ended up on my shopping list! MAC makes a similar lip concealer but in a pot form. Basically it concealers your lips and primes them for lipstick or gloss. Supposedly when your lips are primed with a concealer your glosses and lipsticks appear more vibrant and bright! As I said MAC's version comes in a pot and this just seems easier and convenient in stick form! I haven't yet tried this and will be doing a review of it shortly!







Staying on track with dupes Etude House also released Tear Drop Lash which is identical to Givenchy's Lash Sparkles and Dior's Lash Pearls. This is basically a wand that distributes little tear drops onto your lashes for a bit of an interesting "teardrop" effect! The applicator appears to be thought out a bit better than both Dior and Givenchy's version! It's a flat square plastic applicator with a tiny hole. It works quite well at disturbing the product and applying it right on the tips of the lashes! Very nice effect! I wish I can get a really close up image of my eyes so you can see the effect!



Finally I got the Peach Water Gloss which smells amazing and tastes just as good! I used it this morning and I love how well it applies. It's a bit sheer but the formula is nice and watery which makes it feel very light on the lips and not tacky or sticky on the lips!





I got some cool freebies as well which were a cellular phone charm that houses an Etude gloss and a mini toner/lotion set.



All and all I'm thrilled to bits with the collection and it cost me under $85 USD for the entire lot of goodies I got. Inexpensive cosmetics that actually work well totally make the Muse's day!

This morning as I mentioned I used almost all the collection to create a beautiful peachy pink look that's both fresh, fun, and girly! I love how the peach contrasts so beautifully with the pink in my FOTD! I'd normally never pair up peaches and pinks but this came out so well that I'll be doing so from now on!



My attempt to dupe the Etude look as seen on the video!









What I Used:

Eyes
Etude House Cute and Sexy Eye Quad
KATE Gel Mascara
Etude House Tear Drop Lash

Face
Etude House Pore Erasing Peach Base
Etude House Peach Skin Pact
Etude House Peach Beam Blusher
Etude House Peach Cheek Blusher

Lips
Etude House Peach Water Gloss

The Peach Makeup Collection from Etude House is most definately Muse Approved!





Click here to learn more about Etude House and other brilliant Korean Brands!