Haul | LUSH and MAC

Just before Christmas, I went to the mall to do some last minute shopping. Of course, I did a lot of shopping for myself. Hey, I'm entitled to a Christmas present for myself, right? So, of course I went to my two favorite places: LUSH and the MAC counter in Macy's.

I went knowing exactly what I wanted. Two things: the MAC natural mineralize skin finish and the 217 blending brush...We shall talk about where else this went after I talk about those two things, haha.

Every beauty blogger has raved about those two products. I have used them several times since I bought it and I can see why everyone loves them. The mineralize skin finish is amazing! I will do a detailed review at some other time.

The MAC 217 brush is absolutely necessary for blending colors in the middle of the lid and crease, as well as the outer corners. It is an all-purpose brush and does an awesome job blending.

So naturally, the sales lady at the MAC counter sold me brush cleaner. I have never used the MAC brush cleaner before, as I have heard mixed reviews about it; it's not worth the money or it doesn't work as well as it should. As far as I can tell in the various times I've used it, I love it! I think it's use is primarily for on-the-go cleaning; when switching eyeshadow colors, or to quickly rinse brushes off. Is this the right cleaner for a deep brush cleaning? Probably not. However, it does work well for the moment. You just dab some on a paper towel and rub the brush on it, and voila!

A sort of impulse purchase after this was the double sided MAC pro palette. AGHH! I have my own MAC palette and 2014 WILL be the year that I fill it up. I am so excited!

So the first two colors I bought were 'Sketch' and 'Woodwinked,' two VERY popular colors for the Holiday season. I have since then bought two more, which may or may not be featured in a post tomorrow, haha. I have used these since then so much and I love them!

They are highly pigmented and long lasting on the eyelid. I absolutely adore these shades.

Now on to LUSH....

Featured in the top knot, was a present for my mother, who also loves LUSH. Since it is after Christmas and she's already opened the gift, I can tell you what is it. It's a huge jug of Rose Jam (I also bought her Buffy body butter, which is not pictured).

The FUN tin, is just that; a tin of FUN. They are multi-purpose soaps that can be used a body soap, shampoo, or you can even dump it in the bath. I bought the tin for my two oldest nieces to share. The kit comes with several different colors and cookie cutters, so that they can cut them in neat shapes and play with it before they use it. I thought this was a perfect gift for them.

Santa's Lip Scrub is the perfect lip scrub for the Holiday season and I bought it for myself. It takes the dry skin off your lips while leaving it moisturized. It is cola flavored (MY FAVORITE!) and it smells and tastes absolutely delicious. It has cute little confetti hearts at the top and I just love this stuff!

Sticking to the Holiday spirit, I bought myself the Sandy Santa scrub. I thought it was adorable when I saw and I'm always looking to try new scrubs for my dry skin in the winter months. I don't like this scrub as much as I like Buffy Body Butter, which leaves a residue of moisture. Sandy Santa isn't terrible; it does the job, peeling dead skin and whatnot, but it doesn't leave your as moisturized.

I thoroughly enjoyed my little haul of gifts for other people, but mostly myself. It is nice to give yourself a little treat once in a while. I hope you guys did the same!

xxxx