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MAC Dazzleshadow Eyeshadow Review, Photos, Swatches (Part 2)

MAC Dazzleshadow
MAC Dazzleshadow

MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow ($20.00 for 0.03 oz.) is described as a “peach beige with pink sparkles.” It’s a light, yellowed peach that shifts to more of a pink-orange sheen. The texture was soft and lightly emollient, but it tended to crumble if you weren’t careful. Applied dry, it was chunkier and semi-sheer, while damp application was semi-opaque but buildable to full coverage with two to three layers. It started to crease and had a lot of fall out by six hours when used dry, and it lasted closer to eight hours when used damp with slightly less fall out. Used over a glitter adhesive, I only saw minimal fall out and no creasing or fading after a ten-hour wear period. ColourPop Shark Attack (P, $5.00) is less shimmery, darker. Makeup Geek In the Spotlight (P, $9.99) is darker, brighter, warmer. Makeup Geek In the Spotlight (P, $9.99) is darker, brighter, warmer. ColourPop Too Soon (LE, $5.00) is less shimmery, warmer. Urban Decay Fireball (P, $18.00) is less shimmery, darker. bareMinerals Future (P, ) is less shimmery, warmer. Make Up For Ever I520 Pinky Sand (P, $21.00) is less shimmery, warmer. Tom Ford Beauty In the Pink #3 (LE, ) is warmer. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow ($20.00 for 0.03 oz.) is described as a “bronze with red sparkles.” It’s a muted, rosy brown with copper and pink sparkles. The texture was noticeably grittier and more prone to looking “dry” on the skin–almost like the formula was separating the sparkles from the color base as it was applied to the skin, which made it harder to work with dry (and it lasted for five and a half hours before creasing). When I used it damp, it was a little easier to apply, though the best way was to pat it in place with a fairly dampened brush, and this helped it to last seven hours before fading. There was a lot of fall out dry, a fair amount damp, and then minimal (and ten-hour wear) with a glitter adhesive. Tom Ford Beauty Pink Haze (LE, $42.00) is less shimmery, cooler. L’Oreal Amber Rush (P, $7.99) is darker. Tarte Rose to the Top (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker. Chanel Laurier Rose (127) (LE, $34.00) is less shimmery. Chanel New Moon (97) (LE, $36.00) is less shimmery, darker. Urban Decay Dive (LE, $18.00) is less shimmery. Urban Decay Toxic (LE, $18.00) is warmer. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

MAC Let’s Roll Dazzleshadow ($20.00 for 0.03 oz.) is described as a “red bronze with sparkles.” It’s a brightened, medium copper-red with warm, orange undertones and a slew of pink and copper sparkle. The texture has that slightly wet-feel to it, but it goes on more like a powder and certainly blends like one. It had semi-opaque coverage dry and full coverage damp. The wear dry came in at six and a half hours, while damp got me closer to eight, though there was significant fall out either way (less with damp application). When applied over a glitter adhesive, it stayed on for ten hours without fading or creasing, and the fall out was minimal. MAC Spicy Smoke (LE, $32.50) is less shimmery, darker. Zoeva Warm Notes (P, ) is less shimmery, darker. Sephora + Pantone Universe Marsala Glitter (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker. Urban Decay Sonic (LE, $18.00) is less shimmery. Urban Decay Toxic (LE, $18.00) is less shimmery, lighter, more muted. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

MAC Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop Dazzleshadow ($20.00 for 0.03 oz.) is described as a “deep plum purple with sparkles.” It’s a brightened, coppery plum with warm undertones and lighter pink and purple sparkle and flecks of shimmer. Applied dry, it was semi-sheer, while damp application yielded much richer, opaque coverage. It wore for six hours before creasing with a lot of fall out dry; eight hours with fading and some fall out damp; and ten hours with no fading or creasing and minimal fall out over a glitter adhesive. Urban Decay Last Call (P, $18.00) is less shimmery. MAC Plummed (LE, $16.00) is less shimmery, warmer. Tarte Plum Away With Me (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker, warmer. Make Up For Ever ME840 Pink Chrome (P, $21.00) is less shimmery. NARS Desdemona (P, $29.00) is less shimmery. Buxom Wild Nights (P, $12.00) is less shimmery, warmer. Anastasia Sangria (P, $12.00) is less shimmery, warmer. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow ($20.00 for 0.03 oz.) is described as a “deep blue green with sparkles.” It’s a muted, medium-dark bluish-green with cooler undertones and warmer olive-gold and blue sparkle over a metallic sheen. It had so-so pigmentation applied dry, but it was very sparkly and chunky to work with, so it didn’t go on as evenly and the sparkle tended to look more like “dirt” on the skin when it wasn’t catching the light. The color lasted for six hours dry but had a ton of fall out to deal with. When I applied using a dampened brush, it was smoother and the sparkle embedded better with the base color, and the color stayed on for eight hours but still had a moderate amount of fall out. I had the best luck applying it over a glitter adhesive, which minimized fall out and extended wear to ten hours. ColourPop Krinkle (P, $5.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler. Sleek MakeUP Hocus Pocus (LE, $9.99) is less shimmery, darker. Marc Jacobs Beauty Shoshanna (414) (P, $28.00) is less shimmery, brighter. MAC Legendary Lure (P, $20.00) is less shimmery, darker. Chanel Jade Shore (LE, $34.00) is warmer. Giorgio Armani #16 (P, $33.00) is darker. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

MAC Let’s Boogie Dazzleshadow ($20.00 for 0.03 oz.) is described as a “black with sparkles.” It’s a muted, charcoal black with gold and silver sparkle and flecks of shimmer. The texture on this one was noticeably grittier than the other shades, which made it very mess to work with, especially if you did more than just pat it into the skin. It had semi-opaque coverage both damp and dry, but it was smoother damp. Applied dry, it lasted for six hours before creasing with a lot of fall out, while damp application yielded no creasing but some fading after eight hours and moderate fall out. When applied over a glitter adhesive, there was minimal fall out and no fading after ten hours of wear. Marc Jacobs Beauty Blacklight (306) (LE, $32.00) is brighter. Urban Decay Moonspoon (P, $20.00) is more shimmery, less pigmented, warmer. MAC Jet Couture (P, $21.00) is more shimmery, darker. Tom Ford Beauty Black Oyster (Cream) (LE, $42.00) is less shimmery, cooler. Urban Decay Scorpio (P, $20.00) is warmer. ColourPop Deck (P, $5.00) is lighter. ColourPop Friskie (P, $5.00) is darker. Givenchy Inattendue #2 (P, ) is less pigmented, warmer. Viseart Diane (P, ) is less shimmery. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Formula Summary: The texture has a slightly emollient feel, but it is primarily a powder eyeshadow. It’s not really gritty, as the sparkles are flatter and less textured, but it’s not quite smooth like your traditional powder eyeshadow, because it is packed with sparkle. The wear is poor when used dry; there is a fair amount of fall out as well as creasing within six hours, and there’s a tendency for the color to sheer out as it is blended on the lid. Even just applying the eyeshadow with a damp brush improves the wear to eight hours with minor creasing and less fall out but still a moderate amount. I also used Too Faced’s Glitter Glue, which these are harder to blend over (workable but requires extra brushes), but the primer intensifies the base color while making the finish appear more sparkly. I think they’re an improvement as far as your standard powder eyeshadow that has sparkle or glitter in it (think of MAC Lustres as a good example), but it’s not a perfect formula. You’ll still want to use a good, slightly tacky base underneath to maximize the performance of both color payoff as well as wear. Check out part one for a full overview of the formula.

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Dazzleshadow
MAC Dazzleshadow

MAC Dazzleshadow
MAC Dazzleshadow

MAC Dazzleshadow
MAC Dazzleshadow

MAC Dazzleshadow
MAC Dazzleshadow

MAC Dazzleshadow
MAC Dazzleshadow

MAC Dazzleshadow
MAC Dazzleshadow

MAC Dazzleshadow
MAC Dazzleshadow

MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow
MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow

MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow
MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow

MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow
MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow

MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow
MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow

MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow
MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow

MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow
MAC Last Dance Dazzleshadow

MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow
MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow

MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow
MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow

MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow
MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow

MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow
MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow

MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow
MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow

MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow
MAC Slow/Fast/Slow Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Roll Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Roll Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Roll Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Roll Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Roll Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Roll Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Roll Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Roll Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Roll Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Roll Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Roll Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Roll Dazzleshadow

MAC Can't Stop, Don't Stop Dazzleshadow
MAC Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop Dazzleshadow

MAC Can't Stop, Don't Stop Dazzleshadow
MAC Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop Dazzleshadow

MAC Can't Stop, Don't Stop Dazzleshadow
MAC Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop Dazzleshadow

MAC Can't Stop, Don't Stop Dazzleshadow
MAC Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop Dazzleshadow

MAC Can't Stop, Don't Stop Dazzleshadow
MAC Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Dazzleshadow

MAC Can't Stop, Don't Stop Dazzleshadow
MAC Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop Dazzleshadow

MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow
MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow

MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow
MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow

MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow
MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow

MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow
MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow

MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow
MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow

MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow
MAC Try Me On Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Boogie Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Boogie Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Boogie Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Boogie Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Boogie Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Boogie Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Boogie Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Boogie Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Boogie Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Boogie Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Boogie Dazzleshadow
MAC Let’s Boogie Dazzleshadow

MAC Let's Roll Dazzleshadow
Dry: MAC Last Dance (inner lid), Slow/Fast/Slow (middle of lid), Let’s Roll (outer lid),
Can’t Stop Don’t Stop (crease), Try Me On (lower lash line)

MAC Let's Roll Dazzleshadow
Dry: MAC Last Dance (inner lid), Slow/Fast/Slow (middle of lid), Let’s Roll (outer lid),
Can’t Stop Don’t Stop (crease), Try Me On (lower lash line)

MAC Say It Isn't So Dazzleshadow
Damp: MAC Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop (inner lid), She Sparkles (middle of lid), Get Physical (outer lid),
Let’s Boogie (crease), Sephora My Boyfriend’s Jeans Eyeliner (lower lash line), Say It Isn’t so (lower lash line)

MAC Say It Isn't So Dazzleshadow
Damp: MAC Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop (inner lid), She Sparkles (middle of lid), Get Physical (outer lid),
Let’s Boogie (crease), Sephora My Boyfriend’s Jeans Eyeliner (lower lash line), Say It Isn’t so (lower lash line)

MAC Say It Isn't So Dazzleshadow
Over Too Faced Glitter Glue: MAC Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop (inner lid), She Sparkles (middle of lid), Get Physical (outer lid),
Let’s Boogie (crease), Sephora My Boyfriend’s Jeans Eyeliner (lower lash line), Say It Isn’t so (lower lash line)

MAC Say It Isn't So Dazzleshadow
Over Too Faced Glitter Glue: MAC Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop (inner lid), She Sparkles (middle of lid), Get Physical (outer lid),
Let’s Boogie (crease), Sephora My Boyfriend’s Jeans Eyeliner (lower lash line), Say It Isn’t so (lower lash line)

66 Comments

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Katherine T. Avatar

Oh no! I’m heartbroken over Try Me On 🙁 The color looks so unique, but the glitter looks like dirt and it has tons of fallout?? I’m now eyeing the dupes. Or maybe I can mix a gray and green shadow, then pop a sparkly Colour Pop on top to dupe it.

Katherine T. Avatar

Oh man, I already have problems getting REGULAR shadows to stick on my oily lids. With these, I’m probably going to look like a disco ball LOL

Lotus Avatar

Hi Katharine! If you google Chanel Epatant, the majority, and what I have and experienced, gives me the color of Try me on! And it’s GOEGEOUS, zero fallout., for a shifty color with minimum shimmer, MAC Tilt is exactly like it! I think you might be able to find something similar from either of those! I hope so! 😀

Lotus Avatar

Thank you! I think so! (In eyeliner form!) I was just playing with old UD, and I think the drain I got hooked to ETK intense is because they were the closest in texture to the old velvets of UD! 😛 I’m glad there are so many options, color and topping wise in your dupes, because I think so many, myself included, we’re hoping for that miracle breakthrough from MAC! Other than Alluring Aquatics & some Rocky Horror & Back 2 MAC, I don’t buy their makeup ever.. I looked up to them.. Just located misplaced postcards collected! I looked at them and just shook my head going.. What happened? Do you think they’re spending more money on packaging & LE campaigning instead of putting it into their products?

Christine Avatar

I don’t have them now, and I wasn’t able to order through maccosmetics.com. For whatever reason (which I already reported to MAC), I can’t remove items from my bag, and I have about $60 worth of stuff in there that I’d really not spend (because I already bought them elsewhere) for no reason. I tried to place a phone order, and they said they couldn’t do so for me.

Helene Avatar

How annoying! I think they should look over their customer service a bit. I’ll get one or two of the Dazzleglasses, I like the formula so it can’t be a total fail, right? Right!?

Christine Avatar

I was really confused why they couldn’t just do a phone order (when I was having issues and had already tried a few things to resolve, I figured I’d just call because I wanted to get the noon EST cut-off for overnight, since it was on Thursday AM when I was trying). I reached out to my contacts at MAC (for press and the like) about the experience, and they’re sending what they can, but they don’t have the Dazzleglasses (that’s why I didn’t get them with the eyeshadows — MAC is pretty good about sending a full launch, except when they don’t any samples of that shade left). I’m going to try again on Monday to see if things get resolved from a technical standpoint!

Helene Avatar

I hope you manage to get things resolved on Monday. The things you have to do for us! So much we don’t see, or know.
Thank you for all the work you do!

Catherine Avatar

It’s so sad that MAC really seems to have dropped the disco ball on this one. The concept, with it’s dazzling color shifts, had so much potential but they went and blew it with a mediocre formula.
-Am I alone in thinking our friends in California’s City of Angels *coughColourPop!cough* could take this theme and do what they do FABULOUSLY…put out some glitterlicious shadows in rich duochromes that would trump MAC from here to Sunday for 1/4 the price? O, from my lips to Venus’s ears!!!! *grin*

Christine Avatar

What is interesting to me is that ColourPop’s glittery eyeshadows are some of the better-wearing glitter-tastic products I’ve tried without some sort of helper, though their SUPER glittery ones tend to have application problems and some fall out – but way less than these dry.

Catherine Avatar

Agreed that the ColourPop super-metallics can be hard to apply perfectly and have some fallout issues, but personally find these issues easy to forgive and work around, considering other positives and their incredibly reasonable price point. Add in the company’s commitment to No Animal Testing and “buy local” sensibility, I’ll happily put up with wiping flecks of stray glitter off my crepey eyebags, LOL! But as always, YMMV, and am still fervently praying that the MAC Disco Dazzleglasses aren’t a total fizzle!

WARPAINTandUnicorns Avatar

I have a question about performance. MAC Try Me On is still catching my eye despite the need for a glitter base. I was wondering if Urban Decays Moondust shadow formula out performs this Dazzleshadow one with the base or are they about the same.

I honestly wasn’t happy with the shades in the Moondust range other than Stargazer (love this one). Zodiac I was able to try in person, but it’s really too dark on my skin and it loses its green glow. 🙁

Amalia Avatar

What are they trying to do? Duplicating Tom Ford’s frosted eyeshadows? Not even close! Why they don’t re launch the Mega Metal eyeshadows?

Sandra JT Avatar

*wet raspberry* I can’t help but view MAC as a joke with the incessant flops they continue to pump out like horny rabbits. No pride left in this company that I can see, sadly, because I’m old enough to remember when there was nothing that seemed to be able to touch MAC’s quality. Way to go, Estee Lauder….you guys have managed to completely destroy the reputation of a once stellar brand. How can their employees even hold their heads up & say ‘I work for MAC’, like it actually is something to be proud of? They no longer have standards which translate into quality on the customer’s end. They just vomit out collection after crap collection without perfecting what’s already on their shelves. Yet they expect not only their makeup artists to pimp this garbage, but for us to open our wallets to them. When is somebody in charge of the company going to say ‘Enough crap-in-a-compact. Let’s put out some products this company can be proud to put our name on’? Of course, it would take some time to regain former fans’ trust, but they could do it. Hire a consultant that absolutely lives, breathes and eats quality cosmetics, pay them well, and then actually *listen* to that person when in comes to formulations, number of LE releases/year, quality packaging rather than cheap & cheesy, pricing, volume, quality across formats (same quality of single shadows, for example Shadowy Lady *rubbish*, as in their palettes) etc. Well, I suppose they do *that* at least, because their singles are now just as abysmal as their equivalents in palettes. Herp a derp……

Katie Avatar

I’m really happy I didn’t get let’s roll. I was so upset when it sold out! I’ve been looking everywhere and almost paid $38 for it! Now seeing your reviews I’m sooooo glad I didn’t. I think 20 and buying a glitter adhesive would of been okay, not 38! Plus I have toxic which you’ve listed as a dupe. Seriously I don’t know what I’d do without your reviews! You’re a god send!

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