Gettin' Cheeky

I rekindled an old flame this past week - with MAC makeup. Throughout high school and until the first years of college, I was completely obsessed with MAC makeup products. Every day I'd read each new post in the Livejournal MAC community, and absorb all I could about the huge variety of products, colors, collections, etc that MAC had to offer. I adored the company for its extensive color range, affordability, and general sense of playfulness and fun. It was the beginning of my foray into girly-girl world (growing up, I'd been more tomboy-ish and focused on sports) and it showed me one of the many benefits of being a girl - experimenting and playing around with makeup! My friend Eveline got equally hooked and described MAC in my favorite way ever, calling them her "Weapons of Mass Attraction" =D

I amassed a good-sized collection of MAC but over time sold them off since they were sitting around uselessly. However, I held onto several favorite eyeshadows, face brushes, and most importantly, my BLUSHES. Who knows why, but I simply adore blushes and have accumulated more than my two cheeks can handle. I really believe blush makes a big difference on appearance and can make you look alive. I also don't discriminate; I have equal love for bronzers and highlighters as well.

My cheeky collection. Top row: Shu Uemura blushes (P Orange 58D, P Peach 47, Harmonious Orange, and P Pink 30), Bobbi Brown Gold Shimmerbrick in middle. Starting from 12 o' clock position clockwise: MAC Stereo Rose, MAC Trace Gold, Nars Orgasm, MAC Uncommon Cremeblush, Cargo Medium Matte Bronzer, MAC Summerlily Cremeblush, MAC for Hello Kitty Fun & Games, MAC Shimpagne. Inner circle L to R: MSF Natural in Medium, MAC Refined Golden Bronze

Anyway, so what brought me back to MAC was the re-release of one of my favorite beauty products of all time - Stereo Rose Mineralized Skinfinish, or MSF's as MAC addicts refer to them. I bought it when it first came out, before I knew that it would hyped and elevated to cult status. It came out with the Goldplay collection in 2005, and everyone in the LJ community was going crazy over the MSFs, which are baked in Italy and then imported overseas. Naturally, I had to check it out and fell in love with the marble-ized color, which is a coral gold and imparts a shimmery sunkissed glow. It reminds me of Nars Orgasm but the glitter is much more refined and sophisticated.

Lighting is a little off here, but it's very warm-toned. My dome is flattening =(

Stereo Rose quickly sold out and although there were similar colors produced in later collections (Petticoat comes to mind), the marketing geniuses at MAC chose to hide this product away until now. Unsurprisingly, this sold out in stores on the first day of launch. I was a slowpoke and didn't get to a counter until a week later. I did however pick up an MSF Natural after reading Michelle's reviews and am still weighing how I feel about it.

I'm sad I missed out on the Stereo Rose train, but glad it made me bring out my beloved original version and use it again after putting it in storage/hoarding! Here it is (lightly or it kinda melted away under the NY humidity) along with MSF Natural over Prescriptives Virtual Matte foundation and the Cargo Bronzer. I usually apply MSFs with the skunk brush, which picks up the lightest layer and deposits the product gently, since MSFs can be quite shimmery.

For application of any face product, my favorite brush is the MAC 187; I got two so I can go longer without cleaning them =P The short kabuki brush was the most expensive brush I have but I don't know if I would buy it all over again, it's not absolutely necessary to get a smooth application. Frankly, I love the Sonia Kashuk and Sephora fluffy brushes, quality is great without breaking the bank!

MAC 187 aka skunk brush (x2), Sonia Kashuk powder brush, Sephora powder brush that I use for blush, MAC SE 152, MAC SE 168, MAC 182 aka kabuki brush

I'm always interested in adding to my blush collection - do you have any must-get recs?

Blushes: Uncapped version.