We're Back! October 2013 MAC Matter Purchase

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:

June 2013 MAC Matters Purchase: A Long Time Coming!

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:

May 2013 MAC Matters Purchase: Time For Glam!

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.

MAC MATTERS: A Long Overdue Update!

I know, I know! I've been a bad girl {and now I have a Robin Thicke song stuck in my head}. I haven't done a MAC Matters post since April, and to be honest with you, I have no idea why. Chalk it up to life, a lack of motivation, and a hitch in my planning schedule, but I'm trying to get things back on track! So here's a bit of an update...

April 2013 MAC Matters Purchase: Almost There!

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.

March 2013 MAC Matters Purchase: It's Lippie Time!

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.

February 2013 MAC Matters Purchase: Give Good Face!

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.

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.

December 2012 MAC Matters Purchase-The Eyes Have It Again!

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.)

Last month, my first MAC Matters purchase was an empty Pro Palette Eye Shadow x 4 and All That Glitters eye shadow...

Keep reading to see what I purchased this month!

November 2012 MAC Matters Purchase! AKA-It Begins!

Previously on Mama Fashionista...

My fellow Beauty Blog Coalition and Metro Atlanta Beauty Bloggers member, Pammy Blogs Beauty came up with the *genius* idea of doing a monthly blog series where she would, piece by piece, build a "core collection" of makeup basics from MAC Cosmetics. She set a budget of $21 a month (the fee that she was paying for a beauty box subscription that she was canceling) and MAC Matters was born! I immediately wanted to play when I read her post about it (here), so now we will be coordinating our monthly posts, sharing what we have selected each month to build a collection of basics/staples from the popular brand.

Being the eye shadow fanatic that I am, of course my first purchase had to be a great eye shadow shade that could be worn solo, but also would be great with other shades. With my $21, I decided to get All That Glitters, a beautiful warm, beige with a gold pearl sheen (it's a Veluxe Pearl finish, which means that it is a very pigmented formula, with a metallic/pearlescent shimmer). I also chose the Pro Palette Eye Shadow x 4, because I figure that for a well rounded collection, I need at least four basic eye shadow colors, AND it's $3 cheaper to get the Pro Pan Refills as opposed to the regular shadows (though you can't Back to MAC empty pans like these). So I suppose you can look at this as a bit of a hint as to what at least 3 months' worth of purchases will be.

The shadow cost $12 and the palette cost $9, so I used my whole $21 this month. Some months I will purposely spend under my allowance so that I can carry over the remainder for items to be purchased in the following month(s). I'm not going to lie, I sort of have the whole year planned out, but it's a loose plan, so that I can adjust it to fit whatever suggestions I get from you lovelies, as well as to account for items that may scream out to me as necessities in the many Limited Edition collections that MAC puts out (quite frequently). Part of me feels that I should only purchase products that are part of the permanent collection, that way my core collection will be something that is timeless and easy for someone else to replicate. Another part of me just loves pretty makeup and can't make any promises that an LE item may not make it into the bunch at some point. I guess we shall see!

So what do you think of my picks for this month? What do you suggest that I add next month? What would you purchase if you were building a "core collection" of makeup basics from the brand? My inquiring mind wants to know! Leave a comment below and let me know what you think. And don't forget to go see what Pam picked out for her first month in the MAC Matters series! Until next time...