Depotting for the Very First Time... and Estee Lauder 'haul'

Like a saddo, as soon as I had spotted Liz's blog post, I rushed out in a pitch of feverish urgency to pick up a load of the Bronze Goddess collection. The duo pencil had definitely grabbed my attention, and is sold out on the US site so it must be good. The bronze blushes look so pretty too.

Thinking I should kill two birds with one stone, I decided I felt brave enough to embark on my first ever attempt at depotting. MAC's very functional looking pots look like they are designed to be cracked open much like a clam shell, and all those YouTube videos made it look accordingly simple. My go-to guru is Enkore, I'm sure we all know him! I've even met him when he came to London, he was such a kind person - really helpful and giving of his time.

Anyway having said that, I blame him for me butchering my Shale eyshadow (I started with my least fave: Shale has no lasting power, even though it's a very pretty colour). His was the 'No Heat' method. Koren is a dancer and is strong, he peels back that lip (of the lid I mean!) with an ease that simply did not translate to my puny hands.

I managed to flip out the shadow tray of course, but then when attempting to pull the lip down to pour my alcohol in the gap, I failed. I dug my nails, my pliers, my finger, at various regular intervals, gouging deep crevices into the poor mangled shadow. Not to mention the mess. After eventually managing to free out the poor tortured Shale, with just its little shards of life seated within the pan, I decided I'll try heat. Well I don't care if it means breathing in fumes, it works, and even an absolute novice can do it. I used a hairdryer, then I used a hot light bulb (hair dryer was better, but it's my Parlux so I'm not keen on risking ruining it).

So with my 6 empties bagged up, I went to the shopping centre to get my free MAC lipstick, and my EL collection goodies. I first went to EL. They had no idea what I was talking about. Gosh, how infuriating when you know so much more than the people behind the counter?? They were like, "Oh it's discontinued". I managed to convince them it was in fact a forthcoming collection, and eventually one looked in the staff book and it transpired that at this stage, in fact for a whole month, it's a House of Fraser exclusive. My heart sank.

But not for long: I drowned my sorrows with the new Double Wear cream eyeshadow collection. Some of these shades, arbitrarily chosen it seems, are limited edition. I know the amazing bright turquoise Green, the Gold and the Silvery taupe are limited at least; the lovely lilac at least is perm. But I couldn't resist them, and Boots currently has, as Hele pointed out, a £6 points award for two EL items. So, I got 3. Couldn't decide between the purple and the silver, and the sales lady convinced me to treat myself...! She also said, "I can see you like your brights." haha. Quite.

I have been assured that they do not crease. Certainly my swatches have been impossible to remove, great sign! Especially the dark navy, which now I wish I had got as a 4th, that would have made more sense as well, oh dear, maths has never been my strongest suit. Plus I didn't realise how useful a dark base would be. But I would certainly recommend the dark blue for definite! I'm going to try these out before I can heartily recommend them as well. I'm going to try the stunning green one first, as it's really bright so perfect as I want to do my look for MizzWorthy's contest and I had an idea!

Then I went to MAC, and thankfully they barely looked at the pots (didn't even count them, I must have an honest face!) - let alone any trouble regarding the pans being missing or any suchlike trivia. The SA spent ages going through millions of lipsticks: Twig, the bright new Colour Ready shades, a multitude of others. But after all that, I just got another of my Kinda Sexy. I am not a big fan of MAC lipsticks, they all felt either very drying, or were just too sheer. Most of their range, I believe, would suit a darker skintone. Sadly all the Hello Kitty lipsticks had gone, or I'd have got another Big Bow. But Kinda Sexy at least makes lips look really big, so I'll put up with the way it makes my lips feel like they are as shrivelled as a 90 year-old's.

PS: I also bought clothes, but I'm not sure if those would be of interest, this is strictly a makeup blog, after all. But at any rate, damage to my wallet was extensive by the close of day. And my electricity bill awaited, like some sinister harbinger of doom.

PPS: Those depotted shadows in pic above are in the wonderful ELF palette, much better than MAC 4 pan palette, this is sturdy, MAGNETISED and has a mirror! Love it, got it in a swap. In US, these are only $1!! In UK £1.50, still pretty good! Colours are Mink & Sable, Femme Noir, Contrast and the why oh why discontinued Jewel Blue. Estee Lauder colours: Silver Leaf, Sea Mist, and Lilac Petal. (Review will follow, I have high hopes for these!) N.B: There are 10 shades available in the range.