MAC Brown Down & Brun Eyeshadow Review, Swatches and Comparisons!

Have you ever hated a certain eyeshadow color, and then later on, you end up loving it? In the beginning of my blog, you may of noticed I used just about every color but brown. Now, brown seems to be all I wear every day and I can't get enough of it!

I have several brown shadows, but every time I see a nice matte, super pigmented brown, my heart starts beating a little faster and I have to get my hands on it like a bad addiction. Yep. I'm never satisfied with the browns I have. I feel like there is always another undertone, another finish, better pigmentation.

This brings me to my lastest brown addition to my brown shadow family. MAC Brown Down and Brun.

Brown Down is a teddy bear brown with a veluxe finish.

Brun is a blackish-brown with a satin finish.

MAC Eyeshadows. Left: Brun (Satin) Right: Brown Down (Veluxe)

MAC Eyeshadows. Left: Brown Down (Veluxe) Right: Brun (Satin)

I love that Brown Down isn't really anything like I have already. It's a soft, pigmented, earthy red-brown. Because of the red tone, it's an excellent color for my hazel eyes. Basically any red toned color will make green eyes really stand out. I'm sure I'll be using it often in my crease and smudged on my lower lashline.

As for Brun, it's a wonderful blackened brown with no red or yellow undertones. It makes for a great smokey eye or for a brow filler for brunettes. Many have trouble finding that right shade of brown to match their brows, that isn't too golden, red or gray and this is perfect!

Here are some comparisons to some of the browns I own:

(CLICK FOR FULL SIZE) Left to Right: Nars Mekong, Nars Coconut Grove, Nars Bali, MAC Espresso, MAC Brun, MAC Brown Down, MAC Tempting, Urban Decay Twice Baked, NYX Dark Brown.

 Sadly, I lost two of my favorite brown shadows.. MAC Cork and Nars Galapagos. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I have a bad habit of never closing my makeup bag or handbag, and I lose makeup once in a while. I'll have to purchase back ups sometime in the near future.

How to De-pot your MAC Eyeshadows + ELF Elements $1 Palette! (Pic heavy post)

De-potting an eyeshadow is basically, removing the eyeshadow pan from the pot. There are many reasons why de-potting your eyeshadow, but it depends on your preference, lifestyle, etc. For those of you that have limited space for storage, have lots & lots of shadows - & tend to neglect several of your shadows, or travel often, de-potting your shadows may be something that will benefit you. I personally, never liked the idea of de-potting my shadows and I always wanted to keep them in their little black pots. I'm not sure why, but I liked the idea of owning several shades and I didn't want to depot them all at one point and later on, wish I didn't. Now, I notice that having so many shadows is a complete nuisance when I'm trying to find a certain shade and I have to fumble through my drawers. What I've also noticed is, when I use a palette, I tend to use more shades.. and my MAC shadows have become neglected with the exception of a few.

The benefits of having your shadows in a palette is: 

• All of your shades are always handy, and you'll never have to dig for a certain shade
• Going with the previous bullet point, you won't lose eye shadows (believe it or not, I have a bad habit of never closing my makeup bags, and I've lost eye shadows, lipsticks, you name it)
• It is very handy for traveling - You can keep a small palette in your handbag for shadows you wear every day
• When a bunch of shades are in front of you, you'll see better what you have. Therefore, you'll tend to use more shades.
• A palette takes up much less space than a bunch of pots would - for both storage and travel.
• Depending on how many MAC eye shadows you have, for every 6 pots, you can "Back to MAC" them for a free lipstick or lip gloss (at counters) or eyeshadow (at MAC stores). 

There are several brands to choose from, but I'm not 100% sure which palettes will fit MAC shadows. MUFE sells palettes and there are some on http://www.camerareadycosmetics.com, but like I said, I'm not sure if any of those fit MAC shadows. Your best best are MAC palettes, as they are fairly inexpensive and are specifically for MAC shadows. There is also the ELF palette, for only a $1, which isn't bad, and the Z-palette, which I find a bit expensive - but, since there are no slots, you aren't only limited to MAC shadows.. you can use any shadows, blushes, etc. If you know of other palettes, please let me know in my comments below!

Once, you have your palette to fill, you'll need a few tools for de-potting.

• A knife that comes to a point (a butter knife doesn't work well) - or you can use a letter opener. In addition, I use a pair of tweezers.
• A flat iron
• Wax paper (optional)
• Rubbing Alcohol or Goo Gone (Goo Gone works better) and a Q-tip
• Magnets

Trying out the Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System!

"Designed by a team of dermatologists along with Olay, the Advanced Cleansing System is as effective as a system sold by skin professionals for nearly $200.* Professionally and clinically designed to cleanse 6 times better**, the Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System also sets your skin up for supersonic anti-aging moisturization." (www.olayprofessional.com)

So, this system supposedly cleans your skin 6x better than using your regular cleanser alone. And because it exfoliates your skin, all of your skincare products will be more effective on your skin. You may notice your everyday cleanser working better, your moisturizer doing a better job moisturizing, etc.

  The Advanced Cleansing System ($30) contains a 2-speed cleansing brush and an exfoliating cleanser (.68 oz). The cleansing brush is battery operated (no plug) and includes (2) AA batteries. The cleansing brush is detachable, and once your brush becomes old, you can purchase the cleansing brushes separately for around $10 for a pack of two.

 There are two buttons, an on/off button and a button that controls the speed at which the brush will rotate. 

I've been really interested in trying the Clarisonic for the past couple of years now, but ranging from $149-$225, they aren't exactly affordable. So, I decided to try the Olay Pro-X as a less expensive alternative. I purchased mine from Target for $29.77. It's about a dollar less at Walmart, and about $5-6 more expensive at CVS and Walgreens. If you're lucky enough, you might have a P&G coupon that will take a few dollars off the total price.

So far, I've only used this twice and I really like it. What's different with this and the Clarisonic is, that the Clarisonic vibrates, whereas the Olay Pro-X actually rotates. Do I think it makes a difference? Personally, I don't think so. I love that it's Water resistant, so I can use it in the shower and I love how gentle the brush is. I was a little nervous at first that it was going to be too scratchy and harsh on my skin, but it's not scratchy at all. It's actually very soft. I like using it on the higher speed, as I feel it does a better job. Also, I'm loving that it's fairly silent. It doesn't sound like I just started a lawn mower, like some of my electric shavers.. Lol. 

So far so good, and I'm very excited to use this as a part of my daily skincare routine. I broke out terribly this past week, and I haven't introduced any new products to my skin - so I think my skin was lacking major exfoliation. 

I'll keep you updated within the next few weeks of my thoughts and overall opinions with this product. 

*Have you tried one of these or similar? I know several companies now have similar battery operated cleansing brushes.. I was going to purchase a Sun Labs one a while back that can be used on the face and body, but I never ended up getting it. The only similar thing I've tried in the past is the I-Skin Intelligent Microdermabrasion System, which worked great - but the head isn't a brush, it's a sponge.. and you can't purchase replacement sponges at Sally's. How dumb is that?? And I'm not going to purchase a whole set for $30, when I only need a new sponge.

Anyway, let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

NOTD: Pastel Pink Nails with Love & Beauty Peach!

Love & Beauty Peach Nail Polish (2) Coats, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat (1) Coat.

Love & Beauty Peach Nail Polish (2) Coats, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat (1) Coat.

Love & Beauty Peach Nail Polish isn't so much Peach as it is Pink. It's an opaque, pastel pink with a warm (peach) undertone. Although I originally thought the polish was way too light for my skintone with one coat, with two coats, the color slightly deepens & looks much better (and less white). The formula isn't bad, it applies a little streaky with one coat (as many pale pastels do), but with two coats, the color seems to merge together with no streaks. I think it's a lovely shade for the Spring/Summer for most skintones. The color really brightens up my hands, which I really like.

I apologize that the majority of my NOTD posts are of Love & Beauty Polishes, but they seem to be the only nail polishes I own that I haven't posted already (and that I'm not sick of). Also, you can find swatches of most OPI, China Glaze & Essie all over google, but the swatches for Love & Beauty Polishes are more limited. I think I'll do a "mega post" where I'll swatch all of the shades I own.

 

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Here's Rocky since his hair cut in the beginning of the week. I didn't even know it was him when they brought him out to me. I was about to hop over the counter and knock someone out for trying to hand over an opossum instead of my little furball, but his new "do" seems to have settled nicely after a week, and he's looking very handsome. :)

He always stops in his tracks when I ask him "Where's Grandma?"