Brown Thomas Extraordinary Beauty: Mac Cosmetics and Shu Uemura haul

Eyeshadow palette from Shu Uemura and lipsticks from Mac's Toledo collection

It's that time of year again, when beauty addicts find themselves captivated by the shiny new season offerings on cosmetics counters.

Brown Thomas are celebrating with their Extraordinary Beauty event. There are complimentary makeovers and makeup lessons, visiting makeup artists, and personal beauty stylists on hand.

You might have seen the Beauty magazine with today's Irish Times. Otherwise, expect to see a copy in the post if you have a BT loyalty card, or pick one up in-store.

I popped into the Dublin store on the very first day of the event, which runs until 15 March. (This also happens to be Mother's Day. Just sayin'.) Naturally, I didn't leave empty-handed.

The Mac Toledo Collection has been out for a while in the States but has just launched here, and includes some striking red lipsticks. I seem to be on mission to collect every red lipstick in the world, so couldn't resist grabbing the Opera and Victoriana shades.

They're quite similar, with Victoriana being a touch warmer, while Opera leans more a little more towards a cherry red shade. Both are strongly pigmented, with a mostly matte finish.

The eyeshadow palette from Shu Uemura is eye-wateringly expensive, but if you do the maths based on individual shadow refills, you're getting six eyeshadows free, plus the double-ended brush. (Also softening the blow when I bought it were a free lipstick, brow appointment and sample of the iconic Shu cleansing oil.)

The palette mixes shimmer and matte shades, with a great range of neutral tones from lightest to darkest. Apparently, you can swap out individual shades in the palette with refills.

I might be eating beans on toast for the next week, but at least I'll be able to look good while I do it!