My Eyebrow Routine

I've been wearing makeup since I was about 12, and until recently I've never quite realized how important eyebrows are! They're the finishing touch, they just frame your face and make it look "complete" even if you're wearing very minimal makeup.

I Hit Pan!

 I'm not even going to try and blame this on my blog because I would still hoard makeup if I weren't writing Massachusetts Mask, but considering the crap ton amount of eyeshadows I own, this is quite the accomplishment!

Broken Finger, Giveaway Winner, New Camera!

Hi guys!

Sorry the winner of my End of Summer Giveaway has been so delayed, a combination of a massive amount of people entering and winners not responding to emails within 24 hours has made it a bit difficult!

But I've finally gotten someone to respond, so I'm happy to announce the winner is the lovely Christine, and I hope she's enjoying all her new goodies :)

I love that so many people entered and I can't wait to do another giveaway soon, you guys are so great and deserve it!

In other news, I broke my finger! Well, I didn't break it, little monster Ollie broke it when we were rough housing. Its only the tip of it so luckily I don't need to wear a full-finger brace, but its still hard adjusting to typing and all that with a big foam brace.

I've also bought myself a new camera, a Nikon D3100 to be exact. I bought it 2 weeks ago and I'm still too scared to take it out of the box haha! But I'm super excited to upgrade my photos on this blog and I really hope investing in that camera is going to product great pictures.

So bear with me for a little bit while I'm getting used to having a finger brace and a new camera, I promise things will get back on track!

Burt's Bees Hand Salve: Review & Photos

Have super-dry hands? This all-natural salve knows how to handle it. Brimming with botanical oils, herbs and Beeswax, your hard-working hands can finally find sweet relief.

• Moisturizes rough, dry hands with botanical oils and Beeswax
• Herbal scent
• Perfect for both men and women

Ingredients: prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d'abeille), helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, lavendula hybrida (lavandin) oil, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, eucalyptus globulus oil, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) flower oil, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil (huile de culza), linalool, limonene.

For best results, gently massage the salve into skin daily before and after gardening and other outdoor activates.

Where to Buy: Drugstore.com, $8.99

I had picked up the Burt's Bees Hand Salve sometime in February in hopes of it helping with the rough dry patches on my skin and have been using it on and off ever since.

Guest Post: Wendy's Top 5 MAC Neutral Eyeshadows for Fall!

Today's Lovely Guest:

 Hi, I'm Wendy from Fashionable Heart! Emily asked me to do a guest blog and I jumped at the chance. This is my first time doing a guest blog, so I'm pretty excited about it and hope it is worthy. I thought I would share my favorite neutral eyeshadows from MAC that are perfect for fall! 

Top row: Tempting, Romp, and Woodwinked. Bottom row: Satin Taupe and Sable. Satin Taupe is probably my favorite MAC eyeshadow of all time and I feel like it can work on just about anyone. It's so beautiful as an all-over eye color! These are all so easy to use as just lid colors or crease colors. And if you have blue eyes like me, you need to own Woodwinked because it really makes them stand out! Hope you guys enjoyed my guest post! :)

Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr!

 

I've finally gotten with the program and made myself a Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr page! I'm taking it slow so it'll be a little bit before I get over to the newer sites such as Instagram and Pinterest since having too many sites to manage overwhelms me a bit haha, but hopefully this will allow me to interact with you guys better! I'm also working on getting buttons for the sidebar of blog that will show you where you can find me.

On my Twitter I'm going to be tweeting about my daily adventures and of course everything beauty! There's a lot of things I never get to share with you guys because I'm picky about my photos and doing posts, so this will allow me to just be more personal. Expect lots of adorable Ollie pictures as well ;)!

Find me: HERE

Facebook is pretty new to me when I'm using it as an admin to a page, so I'm still getting the hang of getting it to look the way I want. Its connected to my personal Facebook so I always see any activity on the page so that's going to be a great way for anyone to get in touch with me any time!

Fine me: HERE

I've always been a fan of Tumblr, so having one completely dedicated to makeup and beauty photos is so very fun for me to do! I'm so amazed at all the creative people on this website that take such amazing photos with things as simple as their smart phones. I'll be posting a lot of my original photos that don't make the cut for this blog/ones that are edited!

Find me: HERE

So these are all the ways you can get in contact with me outside of this blog, come and say hi :)!

MAC Styleseeker Fall 2012 Collection

  

Online: August 16, 2012

U.S./Canada Launch Date: August 23, 2012
International Launch Date: September 2012

 M·A·C interprets a vivid fall colour collection in tones influenced by the spirit and style of a global wanderer. Translucent, buildable, Powder Blush adds glow. Eye Shadow Duos create brilliant, sultry effects punctuated with Fluidline. Classic Mattene Lipstick is revived for dramatic, dense colour that lasts for hours. Lipglass gets fresh flair in new shades, and Nail Lacquer in jewel tones and metallics extend the opulence to the tips of the fingers.

$6.50 Lipstick Storage!

 This weekend I took a little trip to Bath & Body Works to grab some refills of my favorite scents, and happened to stumble across these little gems!

Smashbox Master Class Eyeshadow Quad in Hazel: Review, Photos, & Swatches

What it is:
A beautiful palette of four earth-toned eye shadows.

What it does:
Handpicked by Smashbox pros to play up brown beauties, these flattering shades can also work with any eye color to create everything from naturally pretty to high-glam smoky looks.

 Where to Buy: Sephora.com, $10.00

 Smashbox Master Class Eyeshadow Quad in Hazel ($10.00 for 0.273 oz.) is a limited edition online exclusive palette that consists of a matte baby pink,  a matte deep purple, a shimmery taupe, and a dark grey with multicolored shimmer.

How-to Leave Great Comments on Beauty Blogs

 
This is one of those posts that no blogger ever wants to write or bring attention to, but it has to be done.

Smashbox Master Class Eyeshadow Quad in Brown: Review, Photos, & Swatches

 What it is:
A beautiful palette of four earth-toned eye shadows.

What it does:
Handpicked by Smashbox pros to play up brown beauties, these flattering shades can also work with any eye color to create everything from naturally pretty to high-glam smoky looks.

 Where to Buy: Sephora.com, $10.00

 Smashbox Master Class Eyeshadow Quad in Brown ($10.00 for 0.273 oz.) is a limited edition online exclusive palette that consists of a matte skin tone, a matte navy, a shimmery deep bronze, and a shimmery wine shade.

Haulin' It!

 

I recently finished up a few makeup items (an empties post coming soon!) so I treated myself to a little online Sephora order after lusting over some items, and got around to using a gift card Apothica they so kindly sent me!

Guest Post: Yu's Best of the British High Street

Today's Lovely Guest:

Well hello, lovely readers of Massachusetts Mask! I'm guessing it's already pretty obvious that I've hijacked Emily's blog for the day - this is Yu from Let's MakeYuUp. As a reader from across the pond, I thought I'd take this opportunity to bring you the best of the British high street. Visiting the UK? Here for the Olympics? Live here? Look no further.

My favourite British brand has be Rimmel. Okay, yes, it's available in the US but hidden amongst the seemingly universal brand are specific items that are only available in certain countries. My must-have? The Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Nude Delight. It's a perfect nude for us midtoned gals that find MAC Myth and Creme d'Nude a bit too.. corpse bride? Give this a shot if you can get your hands on it - will change your life forever ;)

Another fave has to be MUA - Make Up Academy. They are SO ridiculously affordable! Available exclusively at Superdrug, their items start from a mere £1. I think my favourite from them has to be their lip balms, that came out with their Love Hearts collection* - they're available online for £2 if you're interested! Their eyeshadow palettes are also a hit amongst us British bloggers - but I'm a bit behind and haven't tried them myself!

 

The last but not least is WHSmith - no, it's not a drugstore you've never heard of, it's actually a stationary store! But it has a firm place in the British beauty blogging world as many bloggers' first and possibly favourite storage option. Their biggest hit are their stationary drawers that have the perfect sized compartments for blusher, eyeliners, and eyeshadows. I wonder when WHSmith will catch on that their sales are not going to school girls, but a few dozen beauty addicts?

There's so much to be said about the British high street. It's great. I'm not from Britain, so I can tell you truly that your first experience on it will be - UHmazing. It's not quite a mall, and it's not quite an outdoor market. It's somewhere inbetween, and an experience to be had. And with these three recommendations, you're bound to love it as much as myself.

Until then - CHEERIO! *in a pathetic attempt at an English accent*

<3yu

*The yellow MUA lip balm was received for consideration. The other was purchased with my own money

July Favorites!

Is it weird that I'm glad summer is winding down and coming to an end? My birthday is in July, so of course its my favorite month, but I think I'm just ready for boots, scarves, and all the gorgeous jewel toned colors that come with fall! But until then (we still have a way to go before the seasons change), here are the things I've been enjoying in July: