MAC Dark Spark/Bitter in Glitter Dual-Ended Powerpoint Eye Pencil Review & Swatches
Dark Spark/Bitter in Glitter
MAC Dark Spark/Bitter in Glitter Powerpoint Eye Pencil (Dual-Ended) ($20.00 for 0.04 oz.) includes a semi-matte, softer black with a slightly shimmery, warmer plum. Dark Spark was one of the better-performers from the recently-released, dual eye pencils, but it was still harder to work with and nowhere near as effortless to use as a myriad of formulas on the market. Bitter in Glitter was a total disappointment aside from wear (which was decent).
Ingredients
Dark Spark/Bitter in Glitter
LELimited Edition. $20.00.
Dark Spark
Dark Spark is a medium-dark black with cooler undertones and faint micro-shimmer over a more matte finish. It did not look that shimmery when applied to the lash line, so it was more of a softer black to use. The texture was waxier, which gave it some glide, but it was a bit stiffer to work with that it didn’t move along the lash line as fluidly.
The waxiness without enough glide is apparent in how ragged the edge looks when applied in a single stroke. It had semi-opaque pigmentation that could be built up to nearly opaque coverage, but it did not layer as evenly as it should have. The color stayed on decently for eight hours before fading/thinning.
Top Dupes
- Urban Decay Cosmic Speed (LE, $22.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- Tarina Tarantino Rockstar Love (DC, $15.00) is more shimmery, warmer (95% similar).
- MAC Black Swan (P, $15.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Fenty Beauty Black Card (P, $22.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Sephora Clubbing Stilettos (02) (P, $11.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- KVD Beauty Black Metal Love (PiP, $10.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop XOXO (LE, $7.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Maybelline Metallic Nights (P, $9.99) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop From Downtown (LE, $7.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (85% similar).
- Sephora Cushion Cut (P, $14.00) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
Ingredients
Cyclopentasiloxane, Synthetic Wax, Polybutene, Isododecane, Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ceresin, Ozokerite, Microcrystalline WaxCera MicrocristallinaCire Microcristalline, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Aluminum Powder (Ci 77000), Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Carmine (Ci 75470), Chromium Hydroxide Green (Ci 77289), Chromium Oxide Greens (Ci 77288), Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide (Ci 77510), Ferric Ferrocyanide (Ci 77510), Manganese Violet (Ci 77742), Ultramarines (Ci 77007), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140)]
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Dark Spark
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Bitter in Glitter
Bitter in Glitter is a muted, medium-dark plum with moderate, warm undertones and slightly cooler, more purplish pearl. It had sheer pigmentation in one stroke, which could be built to more medium coverage, though it built up unevenly and had a tendency to push around product already applied. The texture felt drier and didn’t have as much glide as expected, as it still felt waxier, but it was just firmer and didn’t seem to warm up against my skin. It wore for eight hours before fading visibly.
Top Dupes
- Chanel Bois Noir (58) (LE, $34.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Boys & Berry (LE, $26.00) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- About Face Devil's Diary (P, $13.00) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Zoeva Rock 'n' Roll Bride (P, $7.50) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- Estee Lauder Burgundy Suede (P, $28.00) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
- Urban Decay Corrupt (P, $22.00) is more shimmery, warmer (85% similar).
- MAC Short Fuse (LE, $16.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (80% similar).
- ColourPop Trick or Treat (LE, $7.00) is more shimmery, lighter, brighter (80% similar).
- Chanel Charme (887) (LE, $34.00) (80% similar).
- Fenty Beauty Purple Stuff (P, $22.00) (80% similar).
Ingredients
Cyclopentasiloxane, Synthetic Wax, Polybutene, Isododecane, Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ceresin, Ozokerite, Microcrystalline WaxCera MicrocristallinaCire Microcristalline, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Aluminum Powder (Ci 77000), Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Carmine (Ci 75470), Chromium Hydroxide Green (Ci 77289), Chromium Oxide Greens (Ci 77288), Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide (Ci 77510), Ferric Ferrocyanide (Ci 77510), Manganese Violet (Ci 77742), Ultramarines (Ci 77007), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140)]
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
These are utterly awful. Then again, I’ve been spoiled using far superior performing eye pencils by Urban Decay, Sephora Contour Pencils, Nyx, and including some of MAC’s own!
Oh dear, oh dear. I always feel a sense of shame (for them, not for me) when MAC really louses it up as they’ve done with these pencils. Pencil liners should be a no-brainer for them!
Not again! Thank god I have enough liners to draw my way from Boston to DC. They have been my top weakness, until recently….
This is a sad release for MAC. When an entire release is this bad, you have to ask yourself why? Who is doing their development and in a world where MAC’s brand is not getting any accolades, how does this help your business?
OMG – MAC – what are doing to us? So, so bad are these pencils. Straight to the Most Disappointed list for the end of the year.
Well if bitter in glitter didn’t sum me up to a T, I don’t know what does 🤣
I was halfway in love with the name myself 🙁
Wow, you can only wonder what went wrong?
What a disappointing little thing, this double pencil is.
I would love to have a really good Bitter in Glitter, so I-m going to study the dupelist carefully. I really like the colour and the name a lot.
As soon as I read the name, it made me smile so much!!