January 2013 MAC Matters: More Than Meets the Eye

Before I share what I purchased for this month's installment of MAC Matters, here's a brief recap of what this whole shindig is about:

This series is the brain child of the fabulous Pam of Pammy Blogs Beauty. She basically decided that instead of continuing a subscription to a beauty box service, she'd use the money ($21) to build a core collection of products from MAC Cosmetics. I read about it and immediately asked if I could do it with her.
Here are the rules for the MAC Matters Makeup Challenge:

Goal: Build a core MAC Collection using an average of $21.00 per month. (Pam came up with this amount because it is what she was spending on a monthly subscription service that she decided to cancel.)Purchase at least one item a month: If the item is under $21, save the remainder for the next month. While there are many items priced under $21, there are plenty that are over the $21 range that we can save for. Some months, we will be "saving" the $21 to go towards a bigger MAC purchase.

Do a monthly blog post to share what we purchased! The goal is to continue this series for 12 months to see what kind of core collection we each can build! (I also think it will be very interesting to see the difference in the products we choose to purchase and what constitutes a "core collection" for us individually.)

If this series is popular, we will continue it with another brand once the 12 months of MAC are completed. There are already discussions as to what the next brand challenge should be! We're thinking that a drugstore line could be fun! Perhaps NYX? Pam has already suggested the title "NYX Fix" which I think is super cute! 

Here's what I've acquired so far to build my "core collection":

November 2012: an empty Pro Palette Eye Shadow x 4 and All That Glitters eye shadow

December 2012: MAC's Blacktrack Fluidline gel eyeliner

And this month I purchased:

MAC Eye Kohl in Teddy!

MAC's Eye Kohl's are legendary for their easy gliding, non pulling formula and ease of use, so this selection was a no brainer for me. I have no idea what took me so long to finally purchase it. Each rich and vibrant shade (there are about 10 in the permanent collection) is "a soft-on pencil liner that lines, defines and shades the eyes with rich colour and a silky-smooth, matte/pearl finish." Score! 

I picked this up for a few reasons, but mostly because of its ability to multipurpose; honestly a brown pencil is a vital tool in any woman's makeup kit. It's a must have in my makeup bag-in a pinch, it can be used to do multiple things. I could use it to lightly fill in my brows, line my eyes, smudge a bit into the outer vee of my eyelids to add some depth and definition, AND to line my lips (or combine with lip balm to create a lip color). Such a handy dandy item, huh?

Actually, the biggest impetus for purchasing it for me, is my desire to start trying new things with my makeup look. We all know I'm obsessed with black liquid liner for my upper eyelids, and often times I use a black pencil liner for my lower lid. But with my small eyes, sometimes that's just too much black and it works to make them look smaller, which is really not the business. So I want to try using a dark brown liner on my lower lash line to see if perhaps that opens up my eye a bit without sacrificing the "completed" look I like from using eyeliner on the bottom lid.

So once again, a very practical purchase for me, but honestly I think that's sort of the purpose of this series. I'm trying to build a "core collection" of makeup items that I can really work with on a daily basis.  MAC's Eye Kohl's are only $15, and I already had an overage from last month, so my budget this month was actually $27. By underspending again, I've left myself with a total of $33 to spend next month so I've got some big plans (though they are always subject to change).  Can you guess what I might splurge on? What would you get; I'd love to hear your recommendations! And don't forget to go see what Pam purchased this month. Until next time...