Mac christmas gift sets. Holiday Artisan Mac and Cheese Basket and a Free Printable Recipe Card

Holiday Artisan Mac and Cheese Basket and a Free Printable Recipe Card

One of my holiday traditions is delivering gifts to the neighbors, something to make their day a little better, a little brighter and a lot creamier.

And to be completely transparent, it doesn’t hurt to build a little good will for those times we forget to bring in the garbage cans, or when my husband’s outdoor speakers are left on all night, because let’s face it, not everyone likes to slumber the summer nights away to Led Zeppelin. Hand held high!

And that’s why this year I’ll be delivering a Mac ‘n Cheese Gift Basket to some of my favorite friends in the ‘hood. It’s a gift that’s perfect for families in need of an easy meal after hitting the school holiday sing along or for contributing to the cheesy spirit at the neighborhood Ugly Sweater Party. Whoa, pun totally intended! Cheesy.

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Mac ‘n Cheese Basket

This basket brings together some of my favorite things (cue to you again, Madame O) and stars Wisconsin Cheese.

The “basket” is truly functional and has all the fixins’ for a killer mac and cheese party. I place it all in a simple white baking dish that works for every occasion and a fun holiday towel helps with clean up. Then it’s time to add in a few helpers for cooking: a package of my favorite shell pasta nestled in a brightly colored strainer, a cheese grater for the ultimate meltable cheese, my favorite balled whisk that won’t scratch the saucepan, and little holiday ornament to send some cheer.

Next I assemble a few melty Wisconsin cheeses, like Swiss-style Emmentelar, melty gouda and Montamore. Then, for added flavor, I toss in an aged cheddar and salty Parmesan. They’ll all gel together for a great Mac Cheese dinner, or a weeklong snackfest for sandwiches.

Where to Find Wisconsin Cheese

But what to do if you’re not in Wisconsin?

It’s easy and deliverable right to your door thanks to School House Artisan Cheese. I can order my favorite artisan cheeses from some of the award winning cheesemakers I’ve met on my visits to Wisconsin like Joe Widmer of Widmer’s Cheese Cellars and Sid Cook of Carr Valley Cheese. And I’m telling you, you’re not going to want to miss the Marieke’s Foenugreek Gouda, with nutty little foenugreek seeds in each delicious bite.

School House Artisan Cheese is offering 10% off all of their cheese gift boxes and mail order cheese now through December 31. Simply enter “share2014” at check out.

Editable and Printable Recipe Card Download

The final piece of this Mac ‘n Cheese puzzle is to deliver a recipe to entice the neighbors along with the fixins. I’ve created a downloadable recipe card for you to fill in either in your own personalized handwriting, or I’ve created it as a form that you can fill in with Adobe Acrobat.

To download the editable 3 X 5 recipe card above, click here.

To edit the recipe card and fill in the recipe on your computer, simply open in Adobe Acrobat and place the type cursor in the blank areas. A cursor will appear for you to begin typing your recipe. Save and print.

NOTE: If you download the recipe card image and don’t go through the CLICK HERE LINK above, the recipe card is not editable. But feel free to handwrite to make it all the more personable.

Mac ‘n Cheese Recipes Sure to Impress

Use your own favorite Mac ‘n Cheese recipe or maybe you’ll consider one of mine, like:

Comfort food that is sure to impress with my Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese,

Or put yourself in a cheese coma with the ultra luxe, super cheesy Obsessed with Cheese Mac and Cheese.

I know, right? I mean, who wants to be my neighbor now? Led Zeppelin and all?

Cheese Gift Ideas

I was asked by Wisconsin Cheese to create this basket for their holiday issue of Grate. Pair. Share. Mine is just one of the cheese giving gift ideas among those from a few of other food blogging friends, like:

Homemade Cheese Spread Gift Basket from Little Rusted Ladle

Wisconsin Cheese Board Gift Basket from Annie’s Eats

Check it all out in the holiday issue of Grate. Pair. Share. below.

What Mac ‘n Cheese recipe would you want to share—or better yet, to receive—this holiday season? Would love to hear in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев below.

If you give a Mac ‘n Cheese basket or use the recipe card to share a recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or with #foodiecrush!

Make it a great day friends, and cook something good.

This post is sponsored by Wisconsin Cheese. As always, thank you for reading and for supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. All opinions are always my own.

Are you following me on Instagram. and ? Thanks for reading and subscribe to FoodieCrush to have each post delivered straight to your e-mail box.

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There is a reason why I bought a Mac, it was not to be one of the cool kids that wanted the best of the best. No it was because of the music production I do on it. Hours and hours sitting in front of my Mac copying, pasting, moving, deleting, hour after hour just beating on my Mac in a endless assault to get my work done. That is the key part, my work. I work from home, it is great, but even if it is from home it is still work and it still needs to get done. So my Mac, I have it because it is fast, gets the job done and comes back for more. But what happens when it doesn’t want to do those things anymore? I move around massive amounts of information and yes even on the almighty Mac this can cause a problem after a while. Things fragment, programs get corrupted issues come up. My light speed Mac slows down to a crawl and all of the sudden I simply can not get any work done. Because I work from home there is no IT guy to call and ask to come fix it. No instead I have to figure out what is wrong. I am lucky, I did, but not after trying everything under the sun first and wasting countless hours looking for one program that can do what I needed instead of ten programs. One program to lead them all….okay that was a lame Lord of the rings reference, but that program was/is Detox My Mac. A simple to use program that did not just fix my issues, it put my Mac on overdrive again. A few clicks and my Mac was clean and ready to rock and roll again. Read more here:- http://detox-my-mac.com?vhbshygdf398432

My ant makes MAC and CHEESE for me but I did not like this recipe. It looks like a great pasta because I love pasta…

This is a GREAT gift idea….one tragic complaint…the link to the stovetop pesto mac w/ corn sundried tomatoes is inactive and now this 7-month pregnant mama needs to make it for dinner tonight and can’t! I tried searching your recipes, but can’t find it! Please share. 🙂 It looks amazing!

I would totally forgive the late night music if I received this gift! Love me some mac cheese, so far I’ve not met a mac cheese that I haven’t liked!

This is such a great gift idea! Must make your lobster mac and cheese soon- maybe for Christmas eve. Thanks!

Oh how I wish we were neighbors. Who wouldn’t LOVE to get this as a gift. Such a fun and delicious idea, Heidi!!

So, the items in this basket start at 131, withouth the cheese or ingredients for the mac cheese recipe! Even if the cheese and other ingredients only cost 19, that is a 150 for this gift basket! You really give your neighbors gifts for 150?! No buying into that.

Oh man! This is better than any kind of cookie or brownie or hot chocolate mix you could gift! Also, my husband would loooooooove the Led Zeppelin!

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MAC Cosmetics Holiday 2020 – Frosted Firework Collection

Growing up, moving from drugstore makeup to MAC Cosmetics felt like a right of passage. Then, after I graduated college, one of my best friends was a MAC Makeup Artist. Which just solidified that MAC makeup was created by experts for experts. With that being said, MAC Holiday collections are extra special to me. Not only do you get amazing MAC products, but you also get minis and a lot of extra sparkle. Furthermore, the new MAC Cosmetics Holiday 2020 – Frosted Firework Collection does not disappoint.

Of course full collections contain a lot of products. For this reason, I built you a little table of contents! Click the links below to jump directly to the products you want to check out.

Collection Overview

The MAC Frosted Firework Holiday 2020 Collection consists of 11 products full of spectacular sparkle. It is available for VIP Early Access on October 9th at 10a EST. Of course it will launch to the public at a later date. (I’ll update with an official date as soon as I know more.) If this year is like years past, the full collection will be available in stores with a select number of products available at Nordstrom and Ulta stores. In fact, this first launch of products might not even be the full collection. Sometimes the majority of the collection is launched mid-October with a few additional mini sets or lip and eye sets launching closer to the holidays.

This year, the collection theme is Frosted Firework. To be sure, the shades and names embody the sparkly warmth you’d expect from a frosted firework. In this collection you’ll find lots of whites and silvers, but a lot of reds, golds, and darker pinks as well. Of course the MAC Frosted Firework collection includes the basics like eyeshadow, lipstick, lip gloss, and the classic Mac mini sets, but this year there is a new double ended eyeliner pencil and tons of limited edition shades.

Eye Products

Rocket to Fame Eye Shadow x 12 Palette – 39.50 (117 value). To be sure, MAC Eyeshadows are in my top 3 eyeshadow formulas of all time. This limited edition MAC Holiday eyeshadow palette is full of stunning pinks, purples, and neutrals. In fact, I really love this color story. There are enough neutrals to create every day looks and helpful transition shades, but also enough bold and fun colors to really make your holiday looks pop.

Shades include: Disco Snowball – Cool blue with green pearl (Frost) Share My Blanket – Frosty white nude (Matte) Snow Globetrotter – Pearly bright white (Frost) Pyromancer – Reddish pink with red pearl (Frost) Sparks And Rec – White pink with pink pearl (Frost) Ride My Slay – Deep aubergine (Matte) Lit My Sparkler – Intense pink with blue pearl (Frost) Frost Smitten – Icey cool lilac (Frost) Plum Darling – Cool gunmetal with pearl (Frost) Catch My Snowdrift – Intense purple (Frost) Carbon – Matte black (Matte) Shook My Snow Globe – Glistening peachy nude (Frost).

Powerpoint Eye Pencil (Dual) / Frosted Firework – 20. The new dual ended eyeliner pencils are perfect to take your holiday looks to the next level. In fact, if you’re not feeling brave enough to create a bold eyeshadow look, using a bold, fun, or sparkly eyeliner can be just as impressive. Out of the three shade combos, I think Dark Spark/Bitter In Glitter (black and brown combo) is the most universally useful, but Zenith/Can You Chill? (gunmetal and navy combo) is the most fun. Navy eyeliner can be super flattering and silver is a lot more flattering than white.

Shades include: Zenith / Can You Chill? (gunmetal / navy blue with large particle pearl), Short Fuse / Be Cool BB (purple with multicolored pearl / bright white with pearl), Dark Spark / Bitter In Glitter (black with pearl / brown with multicolored pearl).

Extra Dimension Foil Eye Shadow – 21. Although 21 is a lot of money for one eyeshadow, MAC formulas are almost always worth the cost. The pigmentation, color payoff, and wear are oh so great. And these limited edition shades are super fun and extra sparkly. Sparktacular and Explosive Chemistry are my favorites.

Shades include: Explosive Chemistry – pink, Firewerk The Room – red, Cooler Than Being Cool – white with multicolored pearl, Silver Bells – metallic silver, Sparktacular – sheer nude.

Lip Products

Surefire Hit Mini Lipstick x 12 Vault – 74.50 (158 value). I love these mini lipstick vaults every year. To be sure, if you’re a MAC fan, you’ve already heard of most of these shades before. But that’s because the vaults are always a collection of MAC’s biggest hit. However, if you bought mini vaults in the past, you may already have some of these shades. Out of all of the shades, Mehr is my favorite.

Shades include: Vegas Volt – Vibrant pink coral (Amplified), Mocha – Peachy yellow-brown (Satin), Ruby Woo – Very matte vivid blue red (Retro Matte), Dubonnet – Deep brownish red (Amplified), Brick-O-La – Warm rose red (Amplified), Lady Danger – Vivid coral red (Matte), Rebel – Vivid reddish purple (Satin), Mehr – Dirty mauvey pink (Matte), Snob – Light dirty cool pink (Satin), Politely Pink – Dirty plum pink (Lustre), Plumful – Rose-plum (Lustre), Breathing Fire – Neon cool fuchsia (Matte).

Fireworked Like A Charm Mini Lipstick Kit – 29.50 (41 value). Of course it’s not a MAC Holiday collection without some minis! This year’s mini lipstick kit comes in two varieties – red and pink. All of the shades are limited edition and each kit comes with a tinsel-esque little bag.

Shades include: Pink Kit – Snow Boundaries (Warm light pink – Lustre), Beaujolais Slay – (Cool deep pink – Matte), Igloo’dTo You (Frosty purple – Frost). Red shades – Rocket Woman (Blood red – Lustre), Boisterous (Vibrant pinky red – Matte), Burst On The Scene (Brownie pink nude – Matte).

Fireworked Like A Charm Mini Lipglass Kit – 24.50 (41 value). The second mini lip kit in the MAC Cosmetics Holiday 2020 Collection is the mini lipglass kit! Again, we have two options – pink or neutral. Each comes with a mini tinsel-esque pouch. I’m really obsessing over the pink kit. Plus I love that there is a light, medium, and deeper shade in each kit.

Shades include: Neutral shades – Frozen Mocha (Browny bronze with pink pearl), Ginger Snapped (Dirty cool rose), Toasty Inside (Brownie pink nude). Pink shades – Melt 4 U, Flashy Lady, Roll in the Chalet.

Lipglass / Frosted Firework – 19. Full size limited edition Lipglass shades with soft pink limited edition packaging.

Shades include: Snow In Love (blue pink with pearl), Break The Ice (peachy pink with pearl), Set Me Off (purple with pearl), Spark Joy (translucent white with pearl), Twinsies (pinky nude).

Lipstick / Frosted Firework – 20. Full size limited edition lipstick shades in soft pink limited edition packaging.

Shades include: Heart Goes Boom (fuchsia), #Snowfilter (dark rosy pink), Once Bitten, Ice Shy (sheer white with pearl), Out With A Bang (deep rich Burgundy).

Face and Tools

Flashing Ice Extra Dimension Skinfinish Trio – 39.50. These highlighter palettes are so pretty. But I really love that the medium/deep palette includes a blush shade and wish the light palette would have swapped the middle shade with a blush as well.

Shades Include: Light – There She Glow (light gold), Glitzed Out (frosty white with multi-colored pearl), Out On The Tinseltown (light pink with pink and gold pearl). Medium/Deep – Gold Me Closer (warm gold), Desire Fire (medium tone bronze), Call Me Sugar Plum (cool plum).

Sparkler Starter Kit: Brushes – 49.50 (125 value). MAC brushes are some of the best brushes I’ve ever used. In fact, some of my every day brushes are still my original MAC brushes from like a hundred years ago. Plus this pink packaging is adorable. However, these are mini/travel size brushes. So the handles are a lot shorter than a full size brush.

Brushes include: 423SES Sculpting Foundation Brush, 424SES Angled Blush/Highlighter Brush, 512SES Essential Shading Brush, 513SES Small Multi-Purpose Sculpted Brush, 514SES Bent Detail Brush.

Extra Dimension Skinfinish / Frosted Firework – 37. I think these highlighter shades are super pretty. And I love that they came out with two shades instead of one “universal” shade like a lot of other brands did this holiday seasonso, I love that there is a cool tone and a warm tone option and not just “lighter and darker”. Plus I feel like this pan size would last a really long time.

Shades include: Flare For The Dramatic (warm golden bronze), Let It Glow (frosty white).

Department Store Exclusives

Last but not least, we have the MAC Cosmetics Holiday 2020 Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Dillards exclusives. Unsurprisingly, each department store has one or two different exclusives that can’t even be purchased directly from MAC. Of course each store also has the full holiday collection. However, to get the exclusives, you’ll have to go straight to the source.

First let’s start with Nordstrom – the MAC Showstopper Powder Kiss Lipstick Set (69.50). To be sure, this lipstick set is stunning. Although I’m a huge fan of the traditional MAC black packaging, I’m kind of obsessed with packaging that matches the color of the product. Especially when it comes to lipsticks. Honestly, I have no idea how many lip products are currently in my handbag and it would be nice to know which one I’m looking for at a quick glance. The shades in this set are: Stay Curious, Fall In Love, Werk, Werk, Werk, Devoted to Chili, Mull It Over. (Like I said, you can also shop the full collection at Nordstrom as well.)

Next up, Macys – 3 piece Frosted Firework Sleigh All Day Lipstick Set (22.50 – a 57 value). This lipstick kit includes minis of the classic favorites Velvet Teddy, Chili, and Lady Danger. Although this is the only Macy’s exclusive, you can still shop the full collection at Macys.

Finally, Dillards. Despite Macys and Nordstrom only having one exclusive each, Dillards has not one but two! First we have the Frosted Firework Collection Firelit Face Kit in Gold (42.50). This set includes a gold highlighter, a large brush that looks like a blush brush/fan brush combo, and a cute little pink makeup bag. I really love this set, but I really really wish they would have made this with at least two different highlighter shades. I have yet to find one single highlighter shade that looks great on everyone.

The second Dillards exclusive is the MAC Frosted Firework Collection Grand Spectacle Eye Shadow x 25 Palette (75). Now THIS is how you do a holiday palette, people! I am obsessed. Although I wish the mirror was a full mirror and not the little round circle. It seems like it leaves a lot of wasted space. However, these shades are incredible. It has neutrals. It has cool winter tones and fiery warm tones. And you KNOW that blue is calling my name. Don’t forget you can also shop the full collection at Dillards too!)

MAC Frosted Firework Collection Grand Spectacle Eye Shadow x 25 Palette Shades include:

Carbon – Matte black, Flurry Up – Electric metallic blue, I Like 2 Watch – Green grey with silver/green pearl, Stone Cold Fox – Metallic silver, Pretty Jazzed – Milky light pink with silver pearl, Pleasing to the Eye – Dusty beige rose, Flash Freeze – Deep navy blue with pearl, Where There’s Smoke – Charcoal grey, Cherry Topped – Fuchsia pink, Wedge – Soft muted beige taupe, Gold Front – Light sparkly yellow gold, Ready, Set, Fuego – Metallic smokey red, Dance In The Dark – Ashy dark brown, Frozen Assets – Intense bronze, I’m Into It – Dark red brown, Creative Copper – Metallic copper. Oh So Gilty – Yellow gold, Last Dance – Peach beige with pink sparkles, Nutcracker – Pink with blue pearl, Naval – Matte true navy, Swing Out – True violet, Numb And Numb-er – Baby blue with silver pearl, S’more Please – Metallic chocolate brown, Special Snowflake – Bright pearly white, Polar Opposite – Dark purple with pink pearl

Honestly, if I’m spending 75 on a holiday palette, I would buy this one over the Pat McGrath Labs 78 eighteen pan eyeshadow palette. (You can check out that palette in my PMG Holiday Preview here.) And you know how much I love Pat McGrath. But this color story is everything and MAC shadows are some of the best.

Overall Thoughts

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any MAC products. Especially when it comes to the holiday collection. However, this year, nothing’s really calling my name. I think the eyeshadow palette’s color story is super pretty. And I always love minis. But this year, there aren’t any products that make me want to get online the second the collection launches. Now that I’ve seen the MAC Cosmetics Holiday 2020 exclusives, I have to change my tune on this. I would definitely buy the Dillards Exclusive 25x eyeshadow palette. It’s gorgeous.

What do you think? Are any of the products in the MAC Cosmetics Holiday 2020 collection on your list? Let me know in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев below!

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MAC Holiday 2021 Collection Reveal!

I’m a big fan of MAC, so I always look forward to their holiday collections each year. The MAC Holiday 2021 Collection is this year’s Christmas Collection, and it’s a pretty huge collection, which will be launching in mini collections between now and November.

We’ve already had a peek at the MAC Advent Calendar 2021. which is part of the Hypnotizing Holiday collection, and today I have a whole host of beauty gift sets and palettes to share with you, so keep on reading to find what’s instore for the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection.

MAC Holiday 2021 Collection

Everything in the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection features a Hypnotizing Holiday theme, with psychedelic prints on the packaging and boxes of every single product. I think this year’s collection is the biggest MAC holiday collection I’ve seen in at least five years, and I’m totally here for it.

Last year’s collection was (understandably) paired back, so it’s good to see MAC doing what they do best, with huge, diverse collections and something for everyone.

First up in the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection is the MAC Cosmetics Advent Calendar 2021, which is also being called the MAC Box of Tricks Advent Calendar 2021, to complement the hypnotizing theme of the entire Christmas collection.

The MAC Cosmetics Advent Calendar 2021 is going to be on sale for £135, and the contents inside this year’s version of the MAC advent calendar will be worth £340, giving you more than £200 extra value, which is just incredible.

So, shall we take a look at all of the products within the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection? Keep on reading to find out more, and see swatches…

The first product I have to show you is the MAC Hypnotizing Holiday Hyper Real Glow Highlighter, and this highlighter is available in two different shades.

“Step bright up to this holiday-exclusive M·A·C highlighter compact that packs two hues for supercharged radiance. With an irresistibly cream-like powder formula, the shades blend effortlessly to leave an ultra-reflective yet flawlessly smooth sheen. With an embossed spiral design, the highlighter is all dressed in hypnotic optical-illusion packaging.“

They’re both powder highlighters in the same red and white swirl pattern as the palettes, and they’re both pretty unique compared to the usual MAC Holiday Highlighters.

The first of the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection Highlighter is the shade Fortune Teller / Blizzard Wizard, and it featured swirls of rose gold, with icy champagne, allowing you to use them individually or blend together.

The second MAC Hypnotizing Holiday Hyper Real Glow Highlighter shade is Step Bright / Alche-ME, which features swirls of yellow gold and a pink toned champagne shade.

My absolute favourite items from the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection, without a doubt have to be the MAC Hypnotizing Holiday Shadeshifter Duochrome Eye Shadows. They look out of this world, and I want all five shades.

“Instantly transform your holiday look with bold, shade-shifting eye shadow colors loaded with the power to presto-chango right in front of your very eyes. This duochrome eye shadow delivers kaleidoscopic, magical color with ultra-gliding multi-pearlescent pigments.

As the multidimensional shadow catches the light, it sparkles with chromatic reflections for a mesmerizing, chameleonic effect on skin. All dressed in hypnotic optical-illusion packaging.”

Each of the five duochrome shadows within the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection, are packaged within bright red plastic compacts, with the swirl pattern on the clear plastic lid.

The five shades on offer are;

I don’t think the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection would be complete without a set of lashes, and of course, the MAC Hypnotizing Holiday collection features a set of lashes.

This year’s holiday lashes come with a clear lash case, with the same red swirl design, with accents of black. They look so pretty, with a super fine lash Band, and a layered, wispy design, with longer lash fibres scattered throughout, for a fluttery finish.

The MAC Holiday 2021 Collection includes two different six-pan eyeshadow palettes. They’re the MAC Surprise Eyes palettes, with a circular disc shaped compact, and six round pans, and a holographic spinner design on the lid.

It’s very different for MAC, and will be divisive, I’m sure. It does fit their theme, but to me, it kinda looks like child’s makeup with the spinning lid design.

It’s good seeing MAC doing something totally different, but these two palettes don’t look appealing to me, and I’m surprised that they’re both pink palettes too. The two palettes on offer are;

This is the MAC Surprise Eyes Rich Palette, and it’s a pretty pink themed palette with the following six shades;

• Beaux-Jolais
• Hypnoteyes
• Flashy Lady
• Call Me By My Flame
• Bows Before Beaus
• Honey Swoon

This is the MAC Surprise Eyes Cool Palette, and it’s a cool toned pink and grey palette with the following six shades;

• Mind Boggling
• V.I.Pearl
• Malt
• Made You Blink
• Fact or Fiction
• Deception

We then have the lipsticks. Again, it wouldn’t be a MAC holiday collection without some lipsticks, and the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection features five beautiful shades, in the black, white and red swirled packaging.

“A stacked deck of five holiday-exclusive Matte, Cremesheen and Frost shades. M·A·C Lipstick is the iconic product that made M·A·C famous. All dressed in hypnotic optical-illusion packaging.“

The five shades of the MAC Hypnotizing Holiday Lipsticks are;

No MAC Holiday 2021 Collection would be complete without a brush set, and this year’s collection features the MAC Wave Your Wand Brush Kit 49.50, which comes with a brush pouch and four brushes.

“Perform the ultimate magic trick with this stacked hand of four fundamental brushes. Includes cosmetic bag, the 496SES Flat Foundation Buffing Brush, 553SES Dual-Ended Brow Brush, 495SES Multi-Purpose Powder Blush Brush, and 587SES Eye Bullet Brush. All dressed in hypnotic optical-illusion packaging.“

The MAC Holiday 2021 Collection Brush Set is packaged within an amazing pink and white psychedelic box, with a ‘to and from’ panel for you to complete prior to gifting the set, which is cute. Included within the box, you get the following brushes;

• 496 SES Flat Foundation Buffing Brush
• 553 SES Dual-Ended Brow Brush
• 495 SES Multi-Purpose Powder Blush Brush
• 587 SES Eye Bullet Brush

Each of the brushes have black bristles, black glossy bristles, and patterned brush handles. The pouch is cute too, with two zips, which can be used to store your brushes when travelling.

The next product in the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection is a collection of eyeliner pencils. The MAC Hypnotizing Holiday Powerpoint Eye Pencils are 21, and there’s five beautiful shades.

“A full suite of five waterproof, long-wearing, holiday-exclusive Powerpoint Eye Pencil shades in pearlescent and matte finishes. Smooth to apply. Won’t transfer, smudge or budge. Draws the line. Powers your eyes. Makes its point. Lasts and lasts. All dressed in star-topped, hypnotic optical-illusion packaging.“

Each of the eyeliner pencils have a star shape on the top of the white plastic lids, which I love. The five shades are;

If you prefer a gloss, the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection also features five shades of lip gloss too. The MAC Hypnotizing Holiday Lipglass collection have clear plastic tubes, and white, black and red swirled lids, and doefoot applicators.

“Transform lips with shade-shifting, pearlescent glossy colors that will leave them spellbound. Five holiday-exclusive hues can create a high-gloss, glass-like finish or a subtle sheen. “

The five shades on offer are;

Another staple in the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection, and is something that launches every year, and it’s the MAC Mystic Mist Fix Kit, featuring two full size 100ml / 3.4 fl.oz bottles of MAC Fix.

It’s a lovely face mist, which doesn’t prolong the longevity of your makeup, but it does a nice job at refreshing the skin, and helps reduce any powderiness or cakeiness too. I also like to use mine for mixing with loose pigments, and it’s just as nice on bare skin.

The MAC Holiday 2021 Collection includes two face palettes, each of which contains three shades. Whenever MAC launches face palettes as part of their holiday collections, they’re always popular, and both shades of the palette look beautiful.

“A limited-edition highlighter palette featuring a trio of prismatic Extra Dimension Skinfinish highlighters in all-new Light or Medium/Deep shades.“

Each of the two palettes have ripples and swirled designs in the pans, and they do look super metallic. The shades of the individual highlighters in each palette are as follows;

• Light: Lights On Lavender / Freeze! / In The Spirit
• Medium / Deep : Overt Trickery / Where The Magic Happens / In On The Secret

It’s a cute set of twelve bestselling mini MAC lipsticks in a mix of finishes, with Cremesheen, Matte, Retro Matte, Satin and Amplified. There isn’t a list of the specific shades within the set yet, but you can find out more about this MAC holiday lipstick set right here.

We then have two three-piece lipstick sets. The MAC Tiny Tricks Mini Lipsticks Trios are 27.50, and each feature three miniature MAC lipsticks, with the same packaging design as the rest of the collection, with the psychedelic swirly pattern.

Described as being a holiday-exclusive lip kit of little Lipstick trios in limited-edition Neutral or Red shades. It looks like the lipstick sets feature both MAC Matte and MAC Amplified finishes.

The last products in the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection, for the first drop of the collection, are two pretty MAC lip gloss sets. There’s lots more holiday launches coming, but this round of the collection is mostly about the sets.

“A holiday-exclusive lip kit of little Lipglass trios in limited-edition Cool or Warm shades.”

So, that’s everything in the first drop of the MAC Holiday 2021 Collection. I am going to continue to add more products to this mammoth posts, whenever further products launch, so bookmark it and keep checking back, to see what else will be launching.

All images belong to MAC and / or Dominic Skinner MUA.

Hi, my name is Gemma, and I’m the owner of MakeupMuddle.com. I’m a true beauty obsessive, and love writing about anything to do with beauty – I have been a beauty writer since 2012.

As well as owning Makeup Muddle, I also own GemmaEtc.com, and love sharing my thoughts and feelings about the greatest (and not so great) beauty products!

Posted on Published: 08/10/2021. Last updated: 01/11/2021

Welcome to Makeup Muddle. My name is Gemma, and here you’ll find the hottest beauty news and in-depth reviews. Click here to find out all about me.

My MAC Christmas

A few months ago my friend Karla, who travels the world with her job on cruise ships, sent me a text that said:

“Hi de hi I am in New York in ten days. Shopping here I come. Off to Macy’s. Let me know if you have a wish list x”.

Seriously?! Aggh. What a good mate (she’s done this before, I call Karla my Makeup Pimp). After getting over mini heart palpitations I sent back a very enthusiastic email with an image of my wish list that I designed in Polyore. Polyvore, for Pete’s sake (if you haven’t heard of Polyvore but you are creative/like shopping then check it out – you can create neat design boards). Choosing what to get was like all my Christmases had come at once. Is anyone else like me: The option to buy is just as exciting as having bought?

I knew exactly what I wanted: I’d done hours of beauty research ahead of Karla letting me know she was going to Las Vegas last year (I’d received a similar heart attack inducing text). I had to draw a line in the sand and demonstrate some self constraint on that makeup haul, so it was a no brainer this time that I’d get everything that didn’t make the cut in Vegas. Easy.

At this point I need to add that I don’t usually like blog posts with beauty hauls, I always think to myself “don’t tell me what you got, tell me if it’s good”, but in this case: a) I’m excited and need to share and b) I’ve tried out nearly all of these products out so I know what I’ve got myself into!

How did I know what to get? I’m a vigilant beauty consumer. I usually do some kind of research before hitting the checkout. That research might be as informal as poking around the MAC store, getting them to try stuff on me so I can wait and see how it works on my skin. Or, I simply watch a You Tuber (like Tanya Burr, that girl is BAD for my wallet) and I’m so captivated by the makeover/transformation that I make a note on my ‘Have to have’ list (I have these all over the place: One on my iPad, one on my iPhone and there’s a notebook in my handbag!). On other occasions, particularly if I’m buying something fairly big, like an eyeshadow palette, I’ll poke around to see what other bloggers or makeup artists thought (noting I’m always a tad suspicious of beauty bloggers waxing lyrical on products that comes with the disclaimer “This was a PR sample”.)

Anyhow, here’s what I got, it’s all MAC. It’s Christmas for me.

MAC Prunella Eye Kohl

This is my third Prunella eyeliner – one ran out, and one got lost… And, because of Sod’s Law, I knew that as my new Prunella was about to arrive I’d find the lost one. Well, guess what? I found it under the passenger seat of my car last week. Sigh. This eyeliner is a must have in particular for green-eyed/hazel eyed gals, it’s a slightly shimmery dark brown liner with burgundy/plum undertones that really makes green eyes pop. That said, it’s a universally flattering colour on all skin tones and eye colours and it’s my most reached for eyeliner. I love it smudged on the lash line paired with a medium shimmery bronze eyeshadow, or with any of the eyeshadows in my Naked 3 palette.

MAC Costa Riche

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that this warm red/brown eyeliner made my wish list after I saw a photo of (cough) Kim Kardashian wearing it on her waterline. It looked stunning. I wore it out last night and it was as gorgeous as I’d hoped. Just in case you are thinking I’m mad for buying two brown MAC eyeliners, here’s a swatch of Costa Riche and Prunella, with MAC’s Coffee so you can see that MAC’s brown eyeliners are definitely not created equal.

MAC Mineralise Skin Finish in Soft Gentle

I’m guessing all makeup geeks will have heard of this cult product. Soft and Gentle is a face product which I’ll be using as a cheek highlighter. A light brush of this over my blush for a glow, or above my blush, on the very top of my cheekbones and I’m going to look like I’m glowing from within. My friend has this and I’ve borrowed it a few times. It’s simply stunning.

MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus

My ‘go to’ pressed powder, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, has nearly gone to heaven so I thought I’d try a higher end version to see if Rimmel is as good as I know it is! I’ll be lightly dusting this over my foundation to lock my base into place. With my oily skin, if I don’t set my foundation with a powder, my foundation has practically vanished by early afternoon, even if I have used a foundation primer.

MAC Prep Prime Highlighter pens

I got two of these, one in Bright Forecast, which is a back up version of one I already have (I mentioned it in this blog post). I use this in my under the eye area in place of concealer. It is brilliant on olive/Mediterranean skin tones to brighten and miminise any discolouration. I also got Light Boost because Tanya Burr uses it when she highlights and contours and I’m always in envy of her flawless makeup finish. Thought I’d give it a go.

MAC Syrup Lipstick

I know I don’t need any more nude-toned lipsticks, but I couldn’t resist, I’ve wanted Syrup for ages. It’s a gorgeous muted mauve pink that’ll go with ANY makeup. It’s a tad similar to my beloved Art Deco 35 Passion lipstick.

MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush

Yes, another fluffy blending brush. I don’t think I’ve ever done an eyeshadow look without using a brush like this to finish off the look: Take a clean fluffy brush and blend out the edges of your eyeshadow to eliminate any harsh lines. This makes such a difference. This isn’t as soft as I was expecting which was surprising, I’ve just given it a wash, hopefully that softens it up a bit… Hmmmm.

Alright, let’s get right into the detail: How much did this cost?

NZ249 – Yes, yikes, but that’s exactly why I took advantage of Karla’s Makeup Pimp offer. All of these exact products would have stun me NZ367 if I’d bought them here in NZ. Yup: I saved 118. Whilst I love supporting NZ retailers, the opportunity to save some coin, and big coin at that, is often too hard to resist. This is precisely why NZ shoppers are increasingly turning to on-forwarding services like NZ Post’s You Shop (or in my case, Karla my Makeup Pimp).

I can’t wait to get stuck into these products. Talk about way to make me happy! Thanks Karla. x

PS: I’ve been advised that Santa isn’t bringing me any presents this year. Lucky my birthday is also at Christmas time.

If you aren’t familiar with You Shop, here’s a rundown:

• You Shop is a service offered by NZ Post which allows you buy online internationally from websites that don’t offer shipping to NZ.
• When you register with You Shop you enter your own NZ address and then register for an address in the USA or the UK, This USA/UK addrses is the address you give when you are ordering online.
• As part of of your UK/USA address you get your own unique identifier so that when the item arrives at NZ Post’s UK/USA warehouse they know it’s yours. Clever!
• When the parcel arrives with You Shop they will contact you say “we’ve got your parcel here and here’s an invoice for your postage”. You jump online, fill out their invoice template thingy. When NZ Post gets the payment they biff in the post to you in NZ (to the address you gave when you registered with You Shop). Easy.
• A couple of things to note: International You Shop postage can be, well, pricey, so you need to take this into consideration. importantly, you need to be very mindful of NZ Custom’s duties and charges so you don’t stung for duty or GST when your goodies arrive in NZ. I’ve heard some horror stories on this, but so far, by keeping any purchases under NZ220 I’ve got off scot free (touch wood).
• Lastly, check out You Shop’s list of what you can – and can’t – ship to NZ. I tried to get some awesome nail polish without reading the detail: This is on the verboten list and they wouldn’t send it to me. Agh.

The New MAC Objects of Affection Lip Gloss Sets in Nude and Red, Pink and Plum, and Nude and Coral

You tear open an oddly shaped present with shiny reindeer wrapping paper and find a plastic banana holder.

You consider this for a moment…

Do you jump up and down with enthusiasm, so happy to finally have a place to store a banana?

No, you do not, and I can say this with certainty because I actually did receive a plastic banana holder last year as a gift, and I did not jump up and down with enthusiasm.

Now, had I opened the same present and found one of the three new MAC Objects of Affection Lip Gloss Sets instead (35 each, 42 CAD), things would have been different. I would have leaped and kicked and danced in my flannel pajamas because unlike MAC’s regular holiday eyeshadow palettes and brush sets, which can be hit or miss, their gloss sets tend to consistently delight me.

In my experience, the glosses in their holiday sets are right up their with the glosses in MAC’s permanent line in terms of quality, making them good bets for gift giving.

I’ve gifted past MAC holiday gloss sets to beauty gals of all ages over the years, from my teenage cousins to my 80-something-year-old glam granny, and they’ve always been hits. Even my BFF Cindy, who’s aggressively anti-makeup, hasn’t groaned when I’ve given her one of them. That has to tell you something.

This year, there are three lip gloss sets in the MAC holiday collection — Nude and Red, Pink and Plum, and Nude and Coral. Each one comes with three mini Cremesheen Glasses and a mini Dazzleglass.

I love these two formulas, especially during the cooler months. Unlike the Lipglasses, they aren’t sticky, so my hair doesn’t get stuck to my lips when it’s windy. They’re also moisturizing and shiny, to boot.

I don’t mind having to reapply them every two to three hours because of how good they feel on my lips, like Zella hoodies in gloss form.

The three MAC Objects of Affection Lip Gloss Sets: Overview

• If you’re looking for variety, grab the Nude and Coral set. It has a good mix of sheer and fully pigmented shades.
• If you want glosses for layering, go for Pink and Plum. Its three sheerest shades really come into their own when layered on top of lipsticks. There’s also a more intensely pigmented bright blue pink in the set for a fun pop of color.
• If you go gaga for classic makeup looks, don’t miss Nude and Red. Its three neutral nudes and bright raspberry red go well with makeup standards like cat eyeliner and smokey eyes.

The Pink and Plum Lip Gloss Set

The Nude and Red Lip Gloss Set

Really, though, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these sets (but the Nude and Coral one is my fave).

Whenever MAC releases new holiday gloss sets, I usually react the same way as I do when I’m flipping through the channels and see a Lifetime movie involving a woman in peril fighting some form of demon possession… For real, though! There’s something about a homegirl battling the supernatural that gets me every time.

Same goes for these gloss sets.

The three limited edition sets will be available online October 27, and at North American MAC counters and stores November 6 through January 1 (internationally, some time during November).

PRICE: 35 each, 42 CAD AVAILABILITY: Limited edition, online October 27, and at North American MAC counters and stores November 6 through January 1 (internationally, some time during November) MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

For the makeup-loving film buffs among us, there’s a new documentary coming out next month called It’s Not Over, a feature-length film made possible by the MAC Aids Fund.

The film follows three young people in India, South Africa and the U.S. facing different challenges involving HIV/AIDS.

It airs November 19 in the U.S. on Netflix, SnagFilms and Pivot TV, and then worldwide on World AIDS Day, December 1. I’ve always respected MAC for their work on the MAC Aids Fund, so I just made a note on my calendar to watch it.

I wonder if I’ll be done with all seven seasons of The Gilmore Girls by then. Hmm…

The New MAC Objects of Affection Lip Gloss Sets in Nude and Red, Pink and Plum, and Nude and Coral / Originally published October 22nd, 2014

The products in this entry were provided by the manufacturer for consideration. For information about my posting policy, please see my Disclaimer.

Reader Interactions

Комментарии и мнения владельцев

I like the nude and coral the best. What was in the plastic banana holder? Was it one of those holders that you attach to half a banana to keep it from turning brown?

There was nothing in the banana holder, LOL! It was plastic and hollow, and you were supposed to put a single banana in it. It was super weird. I’m actually wearing Stately Shimmer from the Nude and Coral set right now! What makeup are you rockin’ today? Hi to Tulip!

I have Mac Yield to Love on with Sigma’s Vivid Lip Vex on top. I had an 8 o’clock meeting this morning and Tulip the cat forgot to wake me up so I had to hurry this morning. I was only able to do MUF Duo Mat and Anastasia brow wiz this morning. Your banana things is really weird. I thought maybe it would have that game bananagrams in it at least. What will Tabs be for Halloween? Tulip will be a witch this year. I bought her a hat. Last year she was a ladybug and the year before that a pumpkin

Oh these will be such great christmas gifts! I thought of getting one for my mom, I actually thought of a brush set but you seem to love these gloss sets more than the brush sets so maybe these will be better for her. I’ll definitely check these out! How was your day so far? Love, Stefi http://www.brighteyesandglossylips.com

Hello sweet Stefi! The brush sets are OK; the Mineralize one from this year was good, but the rest are eh. I think you’ll definitely get more cool daughter points if you give your mom a gloss set (plus maybe she’ll let you borrow one of the colors, LOL!). My day has been good so far, thank you for asking! I just finished trying on some costumes on Tabs, and let’s just say it involved a LOT of food bribery. Do you have any pets? Hope you’re having a nice day, too!

hahaha I know what you mean! I have two cats and a dog – which is the same size as the cats if not smaller so kinda like three cats or more like three babies ️ I don’t have any costumes for my cats – except for a reindeer and a santa costume but that’s another story :)) – but I have a looot of costumes, dresses, jackets and others for my dog. It’s just too cute to see a 5kg dog-kinda thing wearing a pink sweather. I actually just bought a new one (the last one I’ll buy in a long time, I promise!) yesterday and I’ll totally tag you on instagram when I’ll dress her up – she’s not very happy wearing things but I loooove it, so so so cute! ️ :)) What kind of costumes do you have for Tabs? :

Hi Karen! waves Erm, was there some mistake for the hand swatches? I thought I saw the nude and red instead of the nude and pink swatch there.

Hi Jen, Oopsie! Thank you for letting me know. I just fixed it. Do any of these sets catch your eye (haha, I almost wrote “cat your eye”… such a CCL!)? Hope you’re having a nice day so far!

Hi Karen, Yes it did! I was eyeing the nude and coral colors,which is why I caught it! It really does seem to have a nice variety of pigment, yums. I’ve been reading your blog for quite some time, love your lip swatches! I’ve quite pigmented lips too, so these swatches are really really helpful. My day’s ok so far,hope you have a good one as well!

I mean mix of pigmented vs sheer colors. and I’m not really good at using the reply function, oops.

I’m glad you like them, Karen! I do like a good gloss but I don’t wear shimmer well, so these sets are not for me I’m afraid.

Very glosserific! I sort of like the Reds and Plums best but all the shades are pretty of you, of course. That is too funny about the banana holder. I thought you meant one of those banana hooks that sit on the counter and you hang the whole bunch of bananas on it. The fact that it’s basically a travel case for a single banana is quite funny to me. HAHA!

These look pretty, but I can count the number of glosses I’ve actually purchased (as opposed to collected because I got a sample of them) on one finger, and I don’t wear that often. I think it’s because my lips are very full, so by the time I’ve applied color, which really brightens up my face, they look plenty big, without any extra shine or shimmer on top. I’ve only got four shimmery lipsticks, and two of them came as part of a set and don’t get used often. Oops! There is one other (stick) gloss that I actually bought and do love, NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in New Lover, but that also came as part of a set. It has both shimmer and shine, so I wear it alone rather than over a pencil or lipstick, it has just enough pigment along with the shimmer and shine to work for me, and is just such a beautiful color, it always gets me compliments. If the pinks and plums set was more pigmented (so that I could wear them on their own) it would tempt me to try more glosses. Nude colors are mostly not my thing, I’m too cool/light-skinned/faded/old already. But the other issue is that I don’t often get opportunities to re-apply lip products in the course of doing elder care. I like something that I have to re-apply only after eating. It’s just more practical for me to wear on a daily basis.

I buy one these sets every year for my MAC loving niece. Last time I brought her a nude set. I brought a purple set a few years ago, it came in a pretty round box with a bow. I might get the Nude red set for me and the Nude coral for my niece this year.

I am not really a fan of lipglosses – however I do love your eye makeup. What were you wearing? It looks terrific on you. The colours are beautiful.

I just picked up the Nude red set a few days ago and I LOVE IT. I think I’m going to go back and buy another set for my Birthday. these colors look awesome on you. I am a darker brown skin, so I was a little nervous about how they would look on me. I’m glad I bought the set, I can’t keep the lip gloss off my lips. LOL

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog! My name is Karen, and I’m a freelance writer obsessed with makeup.

Makeup and Beauty Blog features daily product reviews, makeup tips and beauty news — like an interactive version of a monthly print magazine, except with occasional pictures of my cat.