MAC has some really cute sets out for the holiday season! I’ve ordered a few as gifts this year and and ordered the Velvet Teddy’s Party Crew Vault ($80, value of $145) for myself! I managed to buy it before it sold out at Ulta and Macy’s last week and today it just launched online at MAC Cosmetics. If you have your eye on this neutral lip set act fast! I suspect it will sell out very soon.
All the colors in this set fall under the same neutral color family with slight variations in undertone and finish. I really love the Velvet Teddy Matte Lipstick color so I knew I had to get this set. Love that each one is full-sized and I think the pink and gold case is really cute! So far Velvet Teddy and Teddy 2.0 are both available individually, the other shades are exclusive to this set.
The difference in undertone is more noticeable and visible in real life. In the photos they all look very similar with subtle differences. Colors and formulas include:
Teddy 2.0 Powder Kiss Lipstick – this is a soft diffused matte with an almost airbrush finish, it has medium coverage
Velvet Teddy Matte Lipstick – full coverage matte long-wear lipstick
Very Teddy Love Me Lipstick – satin slightly glossy finish with a nourishing creamy feel
Love Teddy Love Me Liquid Lip Colour – a comfortable glossy liquid lipstick with a beautiful shine (this one pulls more neutral-cool on me)
Velveteen Teddy Retro Matte Liquid – liquid lipstick with a matte dry down, budge proof once it sets
Teddy Kiss Powder Kiss Liquid Lip Colour – a soft whipped matte liquid lip with an airbrushed smooth powdery look, this is the deepest and pulls more of a rose tone
Colors are swatched below with different lighting, the combination of flash + lights reflect on the glossy finish of some of the formulas. I think the stock swatch photo online at MAC does a great job at showing the differences in undertone. I also added a few MAC Lip Pencil swatches in Boldly Bare, Whirl, Spice and Soar for reference.
Overall love. I have so many neutral nude lipsticks at this point I don’t need another one but I love MAC’s holiday twist on their classic Velvet Teddy lip color. Out of all the formulas I think they’re all really good. I have a soft spot for the Love Me Lipstick and Love Me Liquid Lip Colour since I’m a glossy lip lover at heart.
It’s officially summer so to celebrate I’m rounding up some of my summer beauty favorites to kick off the season! I’ve been putting quite a few new makeup launches to the test for eyes, lips and cheeks. Today I’m partnering with Nordstrom to share my top picks for bronzers, peachy lips and shimmery eyeshadows.
NARS Laguna + Laguna Matte
So many of you have asked for bronzer recommendations! I have several tried-and-true favorites but always like playing with the new launches. NARS Laguna Bronzer has been a go-to for years. This year they launched an extensive collection with shimmers and also added a Matte Version. I prefer shimmer in my bronzer for a bit of glow but the NARS Laguna Matte is a really nice true brown/bronze alternative for those who need something without any shine.
Although I love shimmery bronzers I just hauled the new MAC Radiant Matte Bronzing Powders in Beiging Beauty and Totally Taupeless and think I’ve found my new holy grail mattes. They have a very tiny bit of radiance in the powder but apply on the skin like a matte. The formula is creamy powder with a natural super smooth buildable finish. Beiging Beauty is the lighter slightly warmer option while Totally Taupeless is a deeper neutral-cool toned bronze.
A number of you had the new MAC Strobe Body Lotion in Bronzelite on your radar and when it finally popped up online at Nordstrom I ordered it immediately! I find it challenging to find a good smooth body shimmer that isn’t too glittery. The MAC Strobe Body Lotion has an ultra fine glow so it leaves your skin looking skin is radiant versus looking like a disco ball. It has a soft light peachy glow with a hint of bronze pearl. It’s a lotion so it is hydrating but lightweight and also has the signature strobe cream scent.
Peachy Lips
I love a good peachy lip of any undertone, intensity and finish. There are so many variations for light peach, coral, shimmer, cream, sheer, gel etc. I pulled quite a few to swatch and compare for you. Everyone seems to have a different color in mind when they think of a peachy color!
Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss in 744 Subtil and 166 Physical are two peachy shimmers, Subtil has more of a pink/gold undertone while Physical has a more orange/gold tone
Armani Ecstasy Mirror Lip Gloss in 101 Beyond is like a jelly gloss liquid lipstick, this is a pink peach with buildable coverage, once it sets it is budge-proof like a liquid lipstick but with the shine
Last but not least, a bronzey shimmery eye for summer is an absolute must-have for me. I love layering and mixing coppers and bronze shades over regular powder eyeshadows for added depth and glow. Sometimes I can just use one of these all over the lid and then add a liner + mascara for an easy everyday look. My favorites include:
Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Stick in Copper for a nice all over wash of warmth + shimmer, once it sets and dries it does not budge
Hourglass Scattered Light Eyeshadows are my most-worn eyeshadows as toppers! I sometimes mix colors together or layer them with other powders, Foil is a metallic gold, Burnish is a pretty bronze, Ray is a sparkling taupe bronze
Chantecaille Luminescent Eye Shades are some of the prettiest eye shimmers I’ve tried! I like applying these with a finger to pat and blend, Lion is a pretty golden shade and Giraffe is a deeper bronze shimmer (I want to order all of them!)
That wraps up my beauty favorites to kick off summer! I hope you found some inspiration for new beauty launches to try or add to your routine. Do you have any favorite bronzers, shimmery eyeshadows or peachy lips?
You can find all of my picks available at Nordstrom. Don’t forget to check out their Gift With Purchase page if you’re shopping online!
Shop my summer beauty favorites:
Summer sandals, favorite sun hat + sunnies below:
Many thanks to Nordstrom for partnering to sponsor this post. As always all opinions are my own.
I have a MAC haul to share today with swatches and a few beauty looks! I haven’t been this excited about a MAC launch in a long time and I have a MAC Loud and Clear + Glow Play Blush haul today. Several things have already sold out so if you haven’t checked out the collections yet you may have to do a bit of hunting. If you have your eye on anything I highly recommend buying sooner than later. I found mostly hits with the two collection launches and have a few misses.
Glow Play Blush
The Glow Play Blushes ($30 each) are a unique cushiony creamy blush. They have almost a bouncy feel and apply like a hybrid cream-powder. The colors are buildable and also easy to blend out but there were a couple of shades that didn’t show up on my medium skin. Colors I hauled:
Totally Synced is a pale lavender, I swatched with a very heavy hand below, on my face it is quite a bit more sheer, for this one to show up I have to layer heavily and once layered, the purple pink is a bit odd on my complexion
So Natural is a gorgeous natural beige with a hint of shimmer, this is a very natural color, I also have to layer heavily for this to show up, but I really like that it gives a super natural contour on my face
Blush Please is a really pretty natural mauve rose with a slight sheen
Cheeky Devil is an ultra pale pink, it’s sheer so it barely shows up on my skin
Cheer Up is another light pink, this is also lighter on my complexion and is most likely going to be best for fair to light skin tones
That’s Peachy is a pretty soft peach (my favorite!)
Groovy is a bright coral peach that I think will be perfect for summer
On my skin I found they lasted all day and blended in seamlessly to the face. They have a slightly creamy feel but dry down to a powdery finish. Texture is really quite nice! My only hope is that the formula won’t dry out in the compact eventually as it’s not sealed 100% and these do feel like creams.
Loud and Clear Lipglass
I am in love with all of the Loud and Clear Lipglass colors ($18.50 each) – some of the colors are a bit light for my pigmented lips but they layer so well with lipsticks or a liner.
Deco A-G0-Go is a pale milky beige, best when layered with a lipstick to soften the color
Female Gaze is the prettiest sheer shimmery beige
Heart Heist is a pale milky blue-based pink
Painted Lady is a perfect light peach
Voyeur Is Me is a 90s like pink brown cream
Loud and Clear Lipsticks
By the time I ordered the Loud and Clear lipsticks a lot of the colors were sold out. Colors I picked are all full coverage, creamy, smooth and last long on the lips:
Sugar Sweet Cameo is a pale peach, this is a bit light for my skin, I pair it with a slightly deeper liner and blend with Stripdown, Whirl or Boldy Bare
Fleur D’Coral is a bold coral pink
Yash is a repromote and part of the regular lineup, this is one of my favorite nudes
Baroque the Internet is the prettiest rose pink matte
Loud and Clear Eyeshadows
Most of the Loud and Clear Eyeshadows looked like mattes and they seemed similar to existing colors. I picked two to try and I found these to be disappointing in texture. They feel ultra dry and aren’t the easiest to blend. They’re more pack on and pat kind of colors for me. I was able to use these to smoke out the eye and pigment is decent. I’m calling these a miss mainly because of the texture.
Omega is a repromote which is a matte grey
Bougie Babe is a matte brick red brown
Loud and Clear Extra Dimension Skinfinishes
The best items in the collection for me are the Extra Dimension Skinfinishes. These have a really pretty flattering undertone and the shimmer is just perfect! Finish is smooth, pigment is medium but buildable, shimmer isn’t too strong.
Post Modernist Peach is a shimmery champagne gold
Hot Damnoiselle D’Avignon is a shimmery peach gold
Overall some really lovely easy to wear launches for spring! My top picks are the Glow Play Blushes in So Natural, That’s Peachy and Groovy alongside the Extra Dimension Skinfinishes in both colors! I think the lip colors can be easily duped although I do like how the lipsticks and lipglasses layer together in this collection.
You can find the MAC Glow Play Blushes and Loud and Clear Collection out now. I hauled my picks from Nordstrom and MAC.
Have you checked out anything from these launches yet? What did you think?
MAC launched the perfect color palette of neutrals with their Electric Wonder Collection for summer and it’s truly beautiful! I think everything is stunning from the pink marble electric packaging to the actual product colors. If you’re looking for an updated palette of neutrals with shimmer there are some great value options in this collection. I have most of everything swatched today including:
Lipsticks ($19.50 each) in Feelin’ Sedimental, Let’s Mesa Around, Life in Sepia and Natural Born Leader
Lipglass ($18.50 each) in Marble Faun, Nature Freak, Coral of the Wild and Rock Starz
There are two eyeshadow palettes in a warmer option Natural Vice and a cooler option called Desert Lightning. Both have 12 shades and are offered at a really great value price. 12 pans are hit and miss with some shades being patchy/sheer and others being more pigmented. Both of these seem to be a significant improvement across the board with every color applying with smooth easy to layer pigment. I cannot pick a favorite and I usually gravitate towards the warmer ones, but both are really beautiful. Color adheres well to the lids and pigment is very very good.
Desert Lightning has a mix of matte, satin, shimmers. There are a few repromoted shades but most of the colors are newer.
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Natural Vice is the one I think feels more like a neutral summer palette. It has mattes, shimmers and satiny colors. Everything applies beautifully.
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Lipstick and Lipglass
There are five Lipsticks and five Lipglasses in this launch and I have four of each swatched today. I really love Let’s Mesa Around and Natural Born Leader. The other shades are ok quality-wise but on me require mixing and layering for my skin tone.
Let’s Mesa Around Lustre Lipstick is a glossy mauve semi-sheer (looks deeper on my lips because I have naturally pigmented lips which show through)
Feelin’ Sedimental Satin Lipstick is a pale beige peach
Life in Sepia Matte Lipstick is a cool toned brown
Natural Born Leader Matte Lipstick is a plum
Marble Faun Lipglass is a sparkly white
Nature Freak Lipglass is a sparkly yellow gold
Coral of the Wild Lipglass is a milky pale peach
Rock Starz Lipglass is a shimmery silvery taupe
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Cheek Palette
The Ignite Wonder Cheek Palette has six almost creamy feeling powders. They apply with a natural sheen on the skin if you use a lighter/fluffy brush like the 126 SE brush but you can layer for more color and pigment. I love that these aren’t too frosty on my skin and because they’re almost cream like they adhere to the skin but don’t feel emollient. It’s very glowy and most of the palette is highlighter material, even the deeper shades, rather than blush.
They swatch frosty on the arm but on the face they apply with a more smooth soft and subtle finish. Colors include a pale champagne shimmer, pale ivory gold shimmer, medium peach tan, pale pink shimmer, medium peach and soft metallic rose.
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Bronzer + Highlighter
There are two Next to Nothing Bronzing Powders which feel like smooth skin but better. I’ve loved their regular Next to Nothing Face Powders and am not sure if this is the first time they launched the formula in bronzer form but the texture is lovely. Canyon Dreamin’ is a cooler toned bronze and Sun-Soaked Strip is a warmer matte option. I think these make for lovely contour powders. You only need a soft swipe with these.
There are also two new Iridescent Powders which have a swirled marble finish. Upon swatching these on the fingers and arms I thought both would be glittery messes on the face. They surprised me! They’re a lot more wearable than I anticipated and have this beautiful multi-dimensional sheen. Serenity Seeker is a soft champagne and Into Eternity is a warmer rose shimmer.
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Brush
There are two brushes in a split fiber form with this collection, I received 126 SE as a press sample and it’s so soft it feels like a soft cloud brushing against your skin. I think it’s a beautiful well made brush for soft powder application.
Look below wearing Natural Vice Eyeshadow Palette, Next to Nothing Bronzer in Sun-Soaked Strip, Ignite Wonder Face Palette highlighters in Any Wonder and Girl Wonder, Matte Lipstick in Natural Born Leader.
Overall thoughts: I think the collection is beautiful! Easy to wear pieces with just the right amount of shimmer and glow. Stand outs are the eyeshadow palettes, Next to Nothing Bronzers and the duo fiber brush for me. A number of you have been asking for recommendations on non-shimmer bronzers and I think these Next to Nothing options are beautiful, I love the deeper one. I do wish they came in a couple lighter shade options for light to fair skin tones though.
I’ve been a bit MIA recently because we just moved! I’m so exhausted as we’ve been up packing non-stop but am so excited we’ve moved to St. Pete. We were in the area nearly every weekend and lived in several beach houses when we did our moving around our first year here. We spent the last week packing and moving and did most of it ourselves (eeps!). We are nearly done but it’s been quite intense. I have lots of new beauty posts I’ve been working on in the meantime to share with you soon. Posting was put on hold for a little while as we have been moving furniture and boxes etc. The fur babies are settling in well 🙂
MAC’s latest is the Boom, Boom, Bloom Collection which has some of the prettiest cherry blossom petal packaging I think I’ve ever seen. The limited-edition collection feature a lot of pink tones for lips and cheeks along with a neutral shimmer x9 eyeshadow palette. I have swatches of all the new items. They’ve also repromoted one of their Strobe Creams which I didn’t swatch for the post but you can see my original post on these here. In the Boom, Boom, Bloom Collection:
The best thing in the collection is the Eyeshadow x9 Palette in Kabuki Doll. It has a beautiful mix of neutrals and warmer brown gold shimmers and one pinkish bronze. It’s neutral warm but isn’t too warm, pink or red. The shimmers have a really good color payoff and smooth shimmer. To me it has the perfect mix of colors and has everything I need for a complete eye look. If you check out one thing I highly recommend this one.
For the face there is a lightly scented Prep + Prime Fix+ which has a very soft cherry blossom scent. As a huge fan of the Fix+ (original and scented ones) I think this is another must. The packaging is so pretty and it’s not too strong in the smell. I use this to either prime the skin before I apply my base. I also like to use it as a setting spray to reduce the powdery look of my setting powder. There are are also two High-Light Powders which have a pretty overspray on top of a semi-matte satin powder. Fleur Real is a pale light pink. It’s too matte and light for me to wear as a highlighter, I can kinda pass it off as a blush but it’s on the light side (scroll to bottom for how this one looks on the face). Spring Bling is a soft medium brown that looks a little dirty on my skin right now. Once I have my tan back I think it will make a nice contour powder.
The lips are hit or miss for me. I think the concept and color scheme had such potential to be perfect spring pinks but since they are so opaque they are a little hard for me to pull off. I do like the Heartmelter Lipglass but the others are just ok on my skintone. Boom Boom Bloom Lipglasses include:
For the Frill of It is a pale shimmery pearly pink
Pink A Boo is a pastel pink cream
Cherry Mochi is a bright raspberry pink
Heartmelter is a mauve rose pink cream
Boom Boom Bloom Lipsticks are all super opaque and a little flat looking on me. Also I can’t wear a lot of pink colors that have a blue undertone because it clashes with my olive/yellow/gold skin tone. The formula is really good coverage-wise. It has smooth full opaque finish as most of these are the matte finish. Colors include:
Hey Kiss Me! is a pastel pink
Wagasa Twirl is a medium rose pink
Hi Fructease is a peachy mod pink
Framboise Moi is a raspberry pink
Tsk Tsk is a bright fuchsia pink
Below wearing:
Natasha Denona Transformatte Foundation in 30W
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
MAC Highlight Powder in Fleur Powder
MAC Lipglass in Cherry Mochi
MAC Eyeshadow x9 Palette in Kabuki Doll
Overall my top two favorites I think are musts are the Kabuki Doll Eyeshadow Palette and Cherry Blossom Fix+. The Lipglasses in For the Frill of It and Heartmelter are also really pretty but not must-haves in my opinion. All the lipsticks were a miss for my complexion but I usually find super opaque pastel-like pinks or anything with a blueish undertone are a miss on my skin tone. Formula-wise everything is well made and excellent. For me the misses were a matter of color preference.
You can find the MAC Boom, Boom, Bloom Collection out now. Available at MAC Cosmetics, Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, Bloomingdale’s and all other MAC counters and stores. Have you checked out the collection yet? What did you think?
MAC Boom Boom Bloom products provided for review consideration.
MAC recently launched their MAC in Monochrome Collection featuring coordinating colors for eyes, lips and cheeks for some of their best selling lip colors. One of the best everyday neutrals for lips is their Velvet Teddy Matte Lipstick and I was beyond excited to see that they had a matching lipglass! I ran to my MAC store the week it launched and picked up one of everything except the glitter. I have swatches today, but I’ll say up front I think you should go buy the lipglass now. What I hauled, swatches + thoughts. For those wondering, my usual MAC Shade is NC35. Right now I’m in between colors, NC30 is too yellow, NC25 is too pale, NC37 is more on the neutral side but too dark.
Velvet Teddy Matte Lipstick and Best Teddy Lipglass
Velvet Teddy Matte Lipstick $19.50 is the same as their classic Velvet Teddy in the black tubes, this one has special limited-edition packaging in a pretty peachy nude to match the lipstick. If you already own this you don’t need the new one unless you’re like me and love the packaging! On me it pulls more pink on the lips than what I see in the tube. It’s a versatile neutral.
Best Teddy Lipglass $17.50 is a creamy pink nude, has semi-thick coverage, high shine and looks like my perfect everyday neutral, not too warm, not too cool – just right in between! I really love this color. It’s not as warm as Lust and Spice.
Swatches, I do think the lipstick is a little weird on me. Sometimes it looks more neutral, other times it pulls more cool-pink-brown. It shifts on me depending on the seasons when my skintone changes.
Swatch comparisons below. I just realized that I don’t have as many of the classic neutrals from MAC anymore. I purged a bunch of older tubes and gave the empties to my niece so she could use them for Back2MAC and pick out her own colors. Swatched left to right:
Sur Satin Blush $24 is a semi-sheer brown mauve, this pulls a little too brown on my skin right now, I’ve lost my tan and feel a little on the sallow side, coverage is buildable, but I prefer other brand formulas of blush these days. I find that Charlotte Tilbury Sex on Fire is the color that works best for me for mauve-brown shades. MAC Plum Foolery is shimmery, more pigmented and has no brown. A few other neutrals swatched below:
Soft Teddy Matte Eyeshadow is a warm neutral brown and Dear Teddy Frost Eyeshadow is a warm reddish brown shimmer. Both are sheer to medium in coverage. These days I’m more used to higher impact shadows with rich pigment. These will layer for more color if you apply over a creamy base. They’re on the sheer side for me, which isn’t necessarily bad. I think Soft Teddy is a nice all over lid shade for a contour or depth. Swatches below next to a few other shades:
Overall nice everyday neutral colors you can wear for any occasion. I really love the Velvet Teddy lipstick color and am glad they made a coordinating lipglass. The blush and eyeshadows are wearable, but these days I think there are better formulas out there. Again I don’t want to say that sheer is necessarily bad, sometimes it’s nice to have something softer that you can use as a blending shade or more subtle. I do think the eyeshadow colors are really nice and easy to wear although I would have preferred more color payoff for the shimmer.
Lasting power and quality of everything is true to MAC. Lipsticks and lipglasses last for hours without budging. I can’t go long enough without drinking or snacking to put it to the all-day test, there will be transfer. Although it did stay put for around 5 hours without fading on me while we were out running errands the other day. Blush color fades within a few hours on my skin, but most of their satin formula blushes fade on me by the end of the day. Eyeshadows did stay put without budging though!
The entire collection is limited-edition. You can also find the MAC in Monochrome in other cult classic colors like Heroine, See Sheer, Diva, Candy Yum and Ruby Woo. The See Sheer colors looked really pretty for summer. I might order the lipglass soon. For now I’m really happy with the Velvet Teddy theme.
MAC launched a new formula of matte lip color called Powder Kiss Lipstick ($19 each for 3 g/0.1 oz, made in Italy). These were seen all over the backstage beauty photos in recent fashion week coverage and I thought these were going to be too trendy for me but was pleasantly surprised. Long time readers know I really do not like matte lips. These are described as, “A moisture-matte weightless lipstick that delivers a romantic blur of effortless soft-focus colour.” Depending on your lipstick finish preference these are going to be hit or miss for you. For me these are a solid win.
The Powder Kiss Lipstick has a soft blurred matte finish without looking or feeling dry. They have a weightless texture and finish that almost feels like it’s wearing an airy cloud on the lips. The finish is cushiony with full smooth coverage and I am truly surprised at how lightweight it is. MAC describes these as having moisture-coated powder pigments which seems so interesting to me. They’re not really as hydrating as a lip balm, but I do think they have some moisture in them given the fact that they do not look dry on the lips.
I tried these individually on their own. I suspect with some of the lighter shades you can mix and blend together for an ombre lip or to create your own custom color. There is only one shade that didn’t work for me by itself which is the palest option Best of Me. Still it applied smoothly without any patchy issues.
The packaging is just like the regular MAC Lipsticks but it has a slightly matte finish resembling the finish of the lipstick formula. Some have commented on the scent of these. I didn’t notice it while swatching or playing with them until I gave them a good whiff right out of the tube. It has MAC lipstick scent with a powdery slightly rubber smell. It’s not strong enough to bother me but it is noticeable. I consider my nose to be sensitive and it did not bother me.
First a look at all the shades plus descriptions:
Best of Me is a pale milky beige
Influentially It is a pale nude beige
Impulsive is a medium warm brown
Sweet No Sugar is a light warm pink
My Tweedy is a peachy pink blush nude
Scattered Petals is a medium pink
Sultriness is a cool toned pink
Mull It Over is a peach pink-brown
Devoted to Chili is a brick red brown
Mandarin O is a bright orange
A Little Tamed is a muted pink rose
Lasting Passion is a bright red with blue pink tones
Style Shocked is a vibrant coral orange
Fall In Love is a hot pink
Shocking Revelation is a hot pink red
Burning Love is a perfect plum
A closer look at the lighter neutrals, Best of Me, Influentially It, Impulsive, Sweet No Sugar, My Tweedy, Scattered Petals, Sultriness and Mull it Over.
Deeper bold shades including Devoted to Chili, Mandarin O, A Little Tamed, Lasting Passion, Style Shocked, Fall In Love, Shocking Revelation, Burning Love.
Bottom line I’m impressed, especially since I’m a glossy lip girl. I really like how these glide on and give a blurred lip effect without looking or feeling dry. There’s no tugging at the lip when you apply. I also love the weightless feel. They did not dry out my lips. Lasting power is very good, it stays on and adheres well without fading for hours. Color isn’t transfer-proof though. My top 3 picks: Burning Love, My Tweedy and Sultriness.
A few thoughts on this formula compared to a few others I’ve tried and like. MAC Matte Lipsticks are heavier and more opaque in finish with a thicker feel. Pat McGrath Matte Trance has more impact pigment-wise, it has more weight to it while the MAC Powder Kiss feels like air. Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution almost feels like it drags on the lips by comparison, and in reality it doesn’t really drag on my lips, but if you swipe it compared to the MAC Powder Kiss, the MAC glides on easier/smoother.
