AG Viva Glam & Velvet Teddy || My Experience with Shipito

Late last year I heard about Ariana Grande working with Mac to create a Viva Glam lippie with her. And of course me being a massive fan of her music I was dying to grab my hands on it and it was also a bonus to know that the shade was a dark berry shade which is one of my favourite shade stop wear on a night out if I decide to go all out!

I saw her posting on Instagram a couple months after that her viva glam lipstick had released and I rushed onto the MAC website to go grab it while I could but sadly being in Australia, it is a tad bit slower for new releases to come so I did end up going on the US Mac website to purchase it through Shipito.

For those who don't know, Shipito is a forwarding company that allows you to purchase items from any website that don't ship to your country. They give you one of a few warehouse addresses they own which the items you've purchased gets sent to the address which then gets sent to you.

I've only tried one other forwarding company PriceUSA, which I used to use all the time when I didnt have paypal. You can check out the post I did on my Mac Purchase with PriceUSA here.

So I did get my order last month so excuse the late post on this but it arrived safely in the original Mac postage box.

I forgot to mention while browsing through the Mac website, I was tempted to go buy a couple more shades of lipsticks but held myself down so I ended up just buying 2 lipsticks, Ariana Grandes Viva Glam and Velvet Teddy which I've always wanted to try and see what the hype was about!

I'll be posting more details about these gorgeous lippies in a future post, so there isn't a swatch in this post but I can say they are definitely shades that I won't be dumping at the back of my lipstick collection!

Signing up with Shipito they let you choose between 4 addresses depending on what you want, like shipping rates, photo updates, more storage for more packages and etc. I chose the Hawthorne address which has a lower shipping costs and fast speed. After that I purchased my Mac order on the website and used the Hawthorne address for them to send it there. I had to pay through Paypal which I find is easier for me to track the costs.

Mac took a day to process my order so they sent a day after and arrived at the Shipito warehouse within a week.

I got an email from Shipito saying that the order arrived and they also included a picture of the package which is what I love about it!

After it arrives, you choose the shipping option and there are loads you can choose from. I chose the cheapest shipping which also meant it took up to a month to arrive but you do have the option of more expensive rates for quicker shipping and/or a tracking number.

I don't remember which one I chose but I did choose the shipping that was fairly cheap (under $10) that included tracking and didnt take a long time to arrive.

The package did arrive in 2 weeks though which Im alright with.

The entire thing took 3 weeks to arrive to me from ordering to the shipping which is pretty quick. 

I highly recommend people try out this site as they do send you email updates on when they receive your order, receive payment and when they ship your items to you. 

I found the website to be hella easy to use compared to PriceUSA and you always save money ordering from the US Mac website paying the USD price. Though the more products you buy the more you do save. I personally spent about $58AUD through Shipito which is about $29 per lipstick so I did save $14.

Summary:

14th Jan - Ordered from Mac ($37.06 USD)

15th Jan - Mac shipped to Shipito

20th Jan - Order arrived at Shipito

21st Jan - Shipito shipped order to me ($4.97 USD for postage)

2nd Feb - Arrived at my doorstep

Days: 19 days     Price: $43.03 USD / $58.43 AUD

Have you used a forwarding website? What are your thoughts on Shipito?

Disclaimer: Not sponsered, purchased the Mac products with my own money!

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack

Finally after years of seeing MAC products pop out of every youtube beauty gurus videos and also strolling past the MAC counter and crying on the inside from all the prices. I did buy a few MAC products that I recieved a few months ago, back in my PriceUSA post here if you havent read it.

I find eyeliners somewhat of a long treacherous journey to review since I have to use it for a long time and see how it lasts in heat, sweat, oil and rain. 

I have been using this gel liner for about 3 months now and I can say that it is the best gel liner I've used but it is pretty average for an eyeliner.

I think the last time that I used a gel liner was back in 2011 when I was still a beginner in makeup. I still have photos back then of all the makeup mishaps and one of them was the panda eyes that I would get especially from gel liners, so I have strayed away from gel liners until this year I thought I would give it another try but with a gel liner that has the best reviews and raves.

I have tried most of the drugstore gel liners back in the days (WetnWild, Maybelline, Essence, ELF) but yes they were all horrible at staying on my super oily lids, they just did not last the heat or sweat but they did last the rain but not my watery eyes sadly.

I actually really love mac packaging, it just looks so sleek but yet somewhat simple. I absolutely love the matte design of the lid and even the matte packaging of the lipsticks and their other products (sounds silly but it makes it look like a good quality product).

The texture of the liner is sososo creamy but I find that it isnt as pigmented as I would like it to be so I usually go over the liner twice. But I love how versatile it is, I can smoke out the liner or do a nice crisp line with it.

My everyday eyeliner consists of winging the ends out either straight or winging it up. I use the Real Techniques Silicone Liner brush to do my gel liner. 

Im going to try my best and keep this short by saying that this eyeliner just did not last very well during the hot days, it always transferred down under my bottom lash line giving a very obvious ring on the bottom lashline. Even with primer it still transferred down so I found that I had to not wing out my eyeliner and keep it as a simple line.

On the normal days I found that the wings faded after 5 hours of school and it also slightly transferred down and it just made my eyebags look so dark. Primer did slightly help but I still got transferal.

As for the colder weather, the eyeliner does stay put and very slightly fades without primer, and slightly transfers but with primer it lasts a long time.

Though I find that the eyeliner does not last near the ends of my eyes (where it gets water) it leaves a black liquidy streak inbetween where I have to use a cotton bud or my fingers to wipe off everytime I visit the bathroom or look into a mirror.

But I can say that the eyeliner does last around 3 hours before it starts to smudge and fade when Im out at school or with friends but I find that it lasts past the 5 hour mark if I'm not doing much for example, working or going out shopping by myself.

Gel liner does take longer to apply but it is easier to use than liquid. If I wake up late for school I dont reach for this liner since I know I will probably take around 5 minutes trying to perfect the wing.

The picture above is actually after 5 hours of wearing it out with primer underneath it (have no idea if it was after work or after shopping). It slightly faded on the ends and at the start and it also slightly transferred. I assume it was during a normal day no heat nor rain. 

I have been using it most of the time I go out for 3 months and the eyeliner hasnt started drying up nor has it reached the bottom, I still have tons left that will last a year or so before it starts drying I assume. 

TIP: after dipping the brush in, leave the liner upside down until you need to dip your brush in again to avoid it drying up quickly.

I would definitely recommend this liner for people who dont have problems with eyeliner smudging or oily lids since it will last a lot longer. I will keep using this liner up and probably go back to liquid when I'm done.