mac glitter and ice collection

Video Review: MAC Glitter & Ice

First impressions and live swatches of MAC’s Glitter & Ice collection!

MAC Dressed to Dazzle Dazzleglass

MAC Glitter & Ice Dazzleglasses

MAC Glitter & Ice Dazzleglasses ($19.50 for 0.06 oz. each) include six limited edition shades: Dressed to Dazzle (pale dirty pink red and gold pearl), Glitter & Ice (light nude with white and gold pearl), Love Alert (raspberry red with red pearl), Pleasure Principle (clear white violet, teal, and white pearl), She-zam (sheer silver with silver and red pearl), and Spanking Rich (raspberry pink with red and gold pearl). The collection is slated to hit stores on October 27th.

• Dressed to Dazzle is a pale, pink-tinted gloss with silver sparkle. It adds a pink tinge but mostly glossy shine and some sparkle.
• Glitter & Ice is a pale, beige-tinted gloss with silver sparkle. On me, it doesn’t impart much color, but it gives shine and sparkle.
• Love Alert is a pinky-red with fuchsia sparkle. This is one of the more opaque Dazzleglasses, and it is semi-opaque on me. This is part of the permanent range.
• Pleasure Principle is a yellow-tinted gloss (which shows up virtually clear) with multi-colored sparkle (the sparkle matches the nail polish from this launch). This one has the most interesting sparkle, because it is multi-colored so it dazzles more than the others.
• She-zam is a clear color base with silver sparkle. It gives my lips a cooler-tone overall.
• Spanking Rich is a darkened raspberry red with silver and fuchsia sparkle. It is semi-sheer with less color payoff than Love Alert but more than the other four. Dior Outrageous Fuchsia is similar but seems less pink.

Dazzleglasses have a medium-thick consistency with micro-glitter and shimmer. They tend to be sheerer in color with more oomph coming from the dazzle than the base color. The big catch with Dazzleglasses is that despite the seemingly-large tube, each contains only 0.06 oz. (as compared to 0.17 oz. in a Lipglass). When it comes to dupes, just browse through the Sheer Lipgloss Swatch Gallery, because they are, inevitably, similar to each other. I think Pleasure Principle is the most complex of the six, and it will be nice for layering. Love Alert is better for those who want a punch of color, while She-zam may get you closer to foil-like lips for the holidays, so it’s a fun shade.

The Glossover

	MAC Glitter & Ice Dazzleglasses Reviews, Photos, Swatches B
	I think Pleasure Principle is the most complex of the six, and it will be nice for layering. Love Alert is better for those who want a punch of color, while She-zam may get you closer to foil-like lips for the holidays, so it's a fun shade.
	Product 8.5/10 Pigmentation 8.5/10 Texture 8.5/10 Longevity 8.5/10 Application 4/5
	Loading ... Where to Buy
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!

See more photos & swatches! Continue reading →

MAC Double Spin Lipstick

MAC Glitter & Ice Lipsticks

MAC Glitter & Ice Lipsticks ($15.50 for 0.10 oz. each) include six limited edition shades: Double Spin (pale mauve pink), Eloquent Air (sheer white silver), Soft Sable (cool frosted taupe), Such Flare! (true red), What Joy! (deep berry), and Whirls & Twirls (sheer pink with gold pearl). The collection is slated to hit stores on October 27th.

• Double Spin is a pale, milky pink with a subtly pearled finish. It has a cremesheen finish and delivers mostly opaque color. You’ll want to ensure you exfoliate your lips prior to applying this, because it will catch and show every imperfection on the lip. It’s similar to MAC Mlle.
• Eloquent Air is a bright silver shimmered shade. It’s more shimmer than an actual base color (think glitter polish suspended in a clear base). It has a glaze finish. MAC Metal Maven was more opaque and applied more evenly. MAC Bubbles was lighter.
• Soft Sable is a muted, rosy taupe with silver and brown shimmer It has a frost finish. On my lips, it made them darker, browner, and a little mauve with a frosted shimmer finish. It’s more daunting in the tube than worn, because of the semi-sheer color, it will mix and work with your natural lip color.
• Such Flare! is a medium-dark red with mostly opaque color (you can just see the shadowing of my lip freckle peeking through). It has a matte finish, though there is a subtle shine to it–it’s not as matte as Ruby Woo (also darker than Russian Red). It’s very similar to many, many reds with blue undertones.
• What Joy! is a berry-red with subtle micro-shimmer and shine. It has a satin finish with mostly opaque color coverage. It’s not as red as Guerlain Gigolo, but lighter than MAC Endless Drama. It seems like it similar to Hang-Up as well.
• Whirls & Twirls is a pale rose-gold shimmer-sheen. It has a glaze finish, which means it’s rather sheer overall. It gives a lot of shimmer, and this is something that would look really lovely on more pigmented lips–it’ll really play well with the natural redness without trying to cover it.

MAC Lipsticks are vanilla-scented but taste-free. The pigmentation and texture often depend on the actual finish, as it can vary from finish to finish (and there is some variation within finish as well). I find Glazes to have a bit of a dry, thin texture and wear off quickly (two hours), while Cremesheens have a thicker, creamier texture, I do still find that they are drying when worn and last for around four hours. Satin finishes tend to be more opaque with really creamy, saturated color that wears four to six hours easily. Matte finishes tend to be creamy but dry and wear well (four to six hours), though Such Flare! isn’t dry at all.

The Glossover

	MAC Glitter & Ice Lipsticks Reviews, Photos, Swatches B
	Three of the six have more drying textures (Glazes and Cremesheens), so they're less comfortable to wear. The Glazes also wear off quickly--as in two hours or so--which is what brought down the average overall. Shades like What Joy! and Such Flare! were comfortable and easy to apply as well as wear well.
	Product 8/10 Pigmentation 9/10 Texture 8.5/10 Longevity 8.5/10 Application 4/5
	Loading ... Where to Buy
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!

See more photos & swatches! Continue reading →

MAC Technakohl Liners: Fancy Moves, Going for Gold, Practice Makes Perfect, Seasonally Spicy, Silver Skates, Smooth Manoeuvre

MAC Glitter & Ice Technakohl Liners

MAC Glitter & Ice Technakhol Liners ($16.00 for 0.012 oz. each) include six limited edition shades: Fancy Moves (purple with pearl), Going for Gold (gold with pearl), Practice Makes Perfect (blue with pearl), Seasonally Spicy (brown with pearl), Silver Skates (silver with pearl), andSmooth Manoeuvre (black with pearl). The collection is slated to hit stores on October 27th.

• Fancy Moves is an eggplant purple with silver sparkle. It’s dry, stiff, and not well-pigmented. It’s closer to Urban Decay 1999, though it is purpler, less burgundy. It’s closest to Make Up For Ever #4L, which doesn’t have shimmer.
• Going for Gold is a darkened, yellow-based gold with gold sparkle. It’s dry, stiff, and isn’t opaque in a single stroke. It’s a bit darker than Urban Decay Eldorado.
• Practice Makes Perfect is a medium-dark blue with a hint of teal. It’s not quite as teal as NARS Kaliste, but it is reminiscent of it. This shade was one of the best performing ones, as it didn’t apply unevenly when you went to build up the color, though it was still on the drier side.
• Seasonally Spicy is a warm, medium-dark chocoalte brown with subtle burgundy-brown shimmer. It’s a bit warmer than MAC Brownborder. This one had the creamiest texture, though it was still drier than other Technakohls. The color payoff was better, too.
• Silver Skates is a light silver with a metallic finish. It is, quite possibly, the most underperforming silver eyeliner I have ever come across. The pigmentation was poor, and the texture was stiff and dry, so it tugged at the lash line. Consider one of these silvers instead.
• Smooth Manoeuvre is a dark black with silver sparkle. I like that it can be built up without causing the color to become uneven, but it does need a few passes to be opaque. I couldn’t think of a dupe for this one (it appears I just have a metric ton of non-shimmery black eyeliner).

I like the Technakohl formula a lot; I used to use Graphblack exclusively, because it was a nice black, smooth, creamy, and wore well. I don’t know what happened with these. The soft, glide-on creaminess of the formula is completely missing from all six of these. MAC touts these not only as “soft and creamy,” but that you should expect “intense, rich colour deposit.” I’m majorly disappointed by these, because they’re nothing like the formula I know.  The good news is at least they’re still long-wearing (eight hours no smudging, budging, or migrating).

The texture is just such a miss here, and the lack of color payoff on some is just the kicker of it all.  You want an eyeliner that glides across the lash line in a fluid, even motion that deposits even color (and opaque, preferably!) without tugging, pulling, dragging, or skipping.  It’s like a scaredy-cat eyeliner, too skittish to move, so it jerks and skids when you force it to go from one side to the other.

The Glossover

	MAC Glitter & Ice Technakohl Liners Reviews, Photos, Swatches D
	The eye area is delicate, and the last thing you want is a dry, stiff eyeliner that pulls, tugs, and skips on the lash line that you need to go over two or three times to get decent color payoff.
	Product 6.5/10 Pigmentation 5/10 Texture 6/10 Longevity 9/10 Application 3/5
	Loading ... Where to Buy
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!

See more photos & swatches! Continue reading →

MAC Fresh Ice Mineralize Eyeshadow

MAC Glitter & Ice Mineralize Eyeshadows

MAC Glitter & Ice Beauty Mineralize Eyeshadows ($21.00 for 0.07 oz. each) include six limited edition shades: Fresh Ice (white silver melange), Frozen Blue (blue silver melange), Hold That Pose! (pale mauve melange), Shimmermint (pale green melange), Snow Season (soft taupe melange), and Winterized (dirty purple with silver, indigo, and pink melange). The collection is slated to hit stores on October 27th.

• Fresh Ice is a cool-toned, icy pink with a strong, white frost. When applied dry, it’s a little powdery and semi-opaque, but when applied damp, it’s much smoother and opaque. I couldn’t think of a dupe for this one–everything I thought of was darker, pinker, or too purple. It is a little reminiscent of Pink Opal pigment, but it’s cooler-toned and doesn’t have the duochrome shimmer of Pink Opal.
• Frozen Blue is a bluish-gray with a frosted finish. Like Fresh Ice, it comes together when applied damp, though it’s still less than fully pigmented when used damp. Urban Decay Crystal is similar in color but suffers from payoff problems as well. It’s much lighter and less brown compared to MAC Hint of Sapphire.
• Hold That Pose! is a grayish mauve with a frosted finish that borders on metallic when it is applied damp. It’s a little gritty to work with, and it was still on the sheerer side when applied damp. It reminded me of theBalm Come Hither. Bare Escentuals Romp is deeper and purpler. MAC Shale is similar but a touch browner.
• Shimmermint is more like a minty blue than a minty green with silver sparkle. It’s a cool-toned aqua blue with a touch of gray. It’s very sparkly and frosted. Giorgio Armani Airy Jade is lighter and bluer. Wet ‘n’ Wild Enter a New Realm is less aqua.
• Snow Season is a rosy champagne with a golden shimmer and sheen. It has a frosted, almost metallic-like finish. It’s pinker than Urban Decay Sin.
• Winterized is a muted plum with brown edges. It has a soft, frosted finish–more of a pearl reflection than lots of shimmer. It is similar to Bare Escentuals Romp. Lancome Zip Me Up is purpler.

I haven’t been a fan of Mineralize Eyeshadows, and these six haven’t converted me yet.  I’d love to come to the other side–truly, I would–because they always look so stunning in their pots, but the quality isn’t there for me.  Most of these shades were sheer when applied dry, which means you have to use it with a good base, whether it is a sticky cream eyeshadow or water or mixing medium.  I find that using it dampened with water helps to give more intense color payoff, but once it dries, it looks faded from how it did initially, and the color continues to fade over the next six to eight hours.  

I used three of the six in a look (and over a paint pot) and all three were a faded disappointment after four hours. I’ve tested this product range more than most products by brands, and yet I still find them lacking. I don’t enjoy writing negative reviews–it means I’ve wasted my time and, in this case, my money. I have better results using mixing medium, especially in combating fall out, but it’s still not quite there.  I had fall out issues with Hold That Pose! and Shimmermint, while Fresh Ice and Frozen Blue were the best of the six.

P.S. — What’s with all the recycled names?  Hold That Pose was a lipstick, while Shimmermint was a shadestick.

The Glossover

	MAC Glitter & Ice Mineralize Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches C
	The most frustrating issue with these is the lasting power, even over a base! You shouldn't have to worry about your eyeshadow looking faded after a few hours at this price point. Some of these shades perform better than others, but the fading I found was across the board.
	Product 8/10 Pigmentation 7/10 Texture 8.5/10 Longevity 7/10 Application 3.5/5
	Loading ... Where to Buy
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!

See more photos & swatches! Continue reading →

MAC How Beautiful! Beauty Powder

MAC Glitter & Ice Beauty Powders

MAC Glitter & Ice Beauty Powders ($24.00 for 0.35 oz. each) include two, limited edition shades: How Beautiful! (pale shimmering beige) and Snowglobe (frosty pink beige). The collection is slated to hit stores on October 27th. Beauty powders are soft, sheer to semi-sheer products that can be used on the face as a highlighter or finishing powder, but occasionally they’ll be pigmented enough (or your skin tone may be light enough) for them to be used as a bronzer/blusher. The two featured in this launch lend themselves more as highlighters, even on lighter complexions.

How Beautiful! is a light-medium beige-bronze with a satiny shimmer-sheen. It’s warmer and less frosted compared to MAC Belightful. It’s very, very sheer. It may be a subtle bronzer on the most porcelain of skin tones, but even that may be a stretch. My arm, which is around NC20, barely shows the product once it is blended out. It’s a nice way to add a hint of warmth (without being orange or gold) to the skin, and the sheerness should allow for easy application for both cool and warm skin tones. I will caution that on medium to dark skin tones, the effect is minimal, so you may prefer something with more oomph.

Snowglobe is a pale pink-white with a satiny shimmer-sheen. It’s even sheerer than How Beautiful! because even the heavy swatch looks sheer. It’s pinker than MAC Lightscapade but lighter than MAC Light Sunshine. The upside of something this sheer is that despite its overall paleness in color, it doesn’t appear chalky or powdery, just because there is little product to be seen.  It’s not too cool-toned that it cannot be worn by warmer complexions, and even if it leaned that way, the sheerness makes it fuss-free no matter the tone.  I could see this working as a light finishing powder on paler beauties.

Both of them had soft textures that leaned on the drier side, but this seemed to be minimized when applied with a brush.  The packaging is a glossy white with silver lettering, and inside the compact is a full-sized mirror.  I was only able to achieve six hours of good wear with these, but by the eighth hour, most of the product had disappeared.

The Glossover

	MAC How Beautiful & Snowglobe Beauty Powders Reviews, Photos, Swatches B
	The major issue with this product was the shorter wear time, which isn't even a full work day (or school day)! The texture could be a smidgen softer to enable more product to loosen and be applied, so perhaps it would become more buildable. I felt like I had to really layer it on to get it to show on my skin tone.
	Product 9/10 Pigmentation 8.5/10 Texture 9/10 Longevity 8/10 Application 4/5
	Loading ... Where to Buy
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!

See more photos & swatches! Continue reading →