MAC Glitter & Ice Mineralize Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches
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.
MAC Glitter & Ice Mineralize Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches
MAC Fresh Ice Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Fresh Ice Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Fresh Ice Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Fresh Ice Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Fresh Ice Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Frozen Blue Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Frozen Blue Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Frozen Blue Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Frozen Blue Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Frozen Blue Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Hold That Pose! Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Hold That Pose! Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Hold That Pose! Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Hold That Pose! Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Hold That Pose! Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Shimmermint Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Shimmermint Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Shimmermint Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Shimmermint Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Shimmermint Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Snow Season Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Snow Season Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Snow Season Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Snow Season Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Snow Season Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Winterized Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Winterized Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Winterized Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Winterized Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Winterized Mineralize Eyeshadow
I just love it! Perfect!
I ll skip these :\
Thats disappointing, I was going to get 3of them – now Im not getting any after seeing this – thank you for the swatches =D
I agree. I saw these at Nordstrom. They had them in a private room and were doing presales, but I didn’t want to get any without first seeing the reviews here. I think I’ll skip these. For the price, they should be more pigmented and stay longer.
Snow Season looks pretty……….and then it stops there :/ Come on R&D–put some time into coming up with a better mineralized eyeshadow formula!
I was thinking the same thing about the names!
No matter how gorgeous this eyeshadows look I will never EVER buy another mineralize shadow from mac. I have 3 from the Semi-precious collection (that is about $84) and they are all HORRIBLE!!!!
Agree the dark shades seem to be the best for some reason but the lighter LE shades seem to preform poorly everytime.
got 2 mineralize shadows from MAC too, color pay-off– horrible! and they don’t ever stay in your lids!
I’m glad I’m not alone! I routinely have people just tell me I don’t work hard enough/don’t try enough/must not use mineralize eyeshadows when I have done so, repeatedly, every single launch, ad nauseam!
You don’t work hard enough? Well if that isn’t the understatement of the year! I wish I had a fourth of the detail you take into swatching and photographing for reviews.
These mineralize shadows just suck…lol. The last set that came out were so shiny (in a bad way) and not anything like what they look like in the pan. I’m surprised MAC still makes these.
I’m sure they meant not hard enough to make these work, not necessarily on the site, lol! 🙂
Eh, you shouldn’t have to struggle to “make” a product work anyways. These are garbage.
I really hate this “you don’t try hard enough to make it work” argument. I’m sure you could make ANYTHING work if you tried hard enough, but is that the point of cosmetics? To spend hard-earned money on a badly made product and then waste time on trying to make it work? Cosmetic companies have proven over and over again that they can make great, from time to time even innovative products. Giving cosmetics companies the impression that we love and purchase even cheaply developed things that lack quality control is a horrible idea to go by!
(also, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of a review?)
You shouldn’t have to work so hard if you pay that much for a shadow! If I wanna jump thru hoops to make something work, it better save me some cash at least! lol
MAC’s mineralize shadows are definitely an example of how not every product works for everyone.
They work beautifully for me — even dry — with no fading or fallout. It did take me some playing with the application technique to get it, but they look amazing on my eyes. I personally loved the Semi-Precious ones — I own all of them and even bought another of one with different veining so I could have “two” colors.
I have bought other products that have gotten bad reviews on this site only to find that they worked perfectly for me and bought things with excellent reviews on Temptalia that wore terribly on me.
I’m lucky enough to live in a major metro area where I can find most brands so I can test in person. Online reviews are helpful, but I know that what works for reviewers does not always work for me (and vice versa).
I’m glad they work for you! I actually have no problem if something works out for others – I just don’t think it’s fair for others to accuse me of not doing due diligence with respect to my reviews. 🙂
Oh, absolutely, Christine! My point was, I think readers often forget that just because something works for them, it doesn’t mean it will work for you (and therefore have a positive review). 🙂
Reviews are an excellent resource, but products are not one-size-fits-all, and I think people often forget that. Plus, it’s never fun to see a product you love get bad reviews — I can totally understand that. But if it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work for you. 🙂
I totally agree with you Christine!Your blog is a testament of your hard work 🙂 We’re all made unique and different, so there has to be some deviation in between, especially with how chemicals (like makeup) react to different skin compositions. That’s why people like me, check blogs often, before we dish out our buck on any product, to see how well it works or does not work, in some cases, and also find out the similarities in reactions to different kinds of users. It really does help a lot in the decision-making process of buying makeup. 🙂
I agree – I think absolutely the same – and I love all these colours and it will be hard for me to choose 2 or 3 because I want them all 😉
The only one I like out of these is Winterized because it’s brown with some plum…makes for a nice shimmery neutral.
They all look really great in the container but when swatched they don’t deliver. You have saved me ALOT of money over like the past year and a half. Thnx for that! xx
LOL, well, at least you can save! 🙂 MAC holiday always costs me an arm, leg, and a foot! But as long as I can save you and other readers money (or spend it more wisely), I’m happy!
That’s one of the best things about Temptalia in my opinion…the honestly helps me decide whether or not products are “worth it”, especially if they are expensive.
Suuuper pretty! Disappointing that they don’t last long.
How disappointing! They look so pretty in their pots, I was really excited for these. I hate when you have to put a lot of effort into a product to get it to work. They should just work on their own!
hmm i like winterized but i’d rather go buy be for $9 more, get a just as good (if not better) shadow, along with 3 others. mac has really disappointed me as of the past few months 🙁
Meh… another MAC release that is nothing new or exciting… I like the mineralize shadows when they are richly pigmented and have that nice creamy texture… these look so “seen before” to me
Fresh Ice is tempting…pretty in the pan, and still pretty applied. Maybe I’ll just get that one!
It’s so weird to hear you’ve all had such disappointing experiences with Mac Mineralize Eyeshadows! I don’t know why, but I do love them. I loved the semi precious collection and bought 5 of those mineralize eyeshadows. For some reason, I find they work well on me, are very pigmented (even when dry, are much more pigmented than the semi precious swatches in Temptalia), very blendable and don’t fade over time. However, I don’t think I’ll be buying any Glitter & Ice MES, I don’t find the colors appealing/wearable enough for me.
I could totally see Snow Season working as an MSF though haha!
Shimmermint looks pretty!
snow season looks similar to ud’s scratch…
🙁 they all look silver.
How disappointing.. I literally had a big list of things I wanted before the swatches came out – and.. After the eyeshadows, lipsticks etc – there isn’t one thing from this collection I would consider getting for the product itself… -Sigh- And that packaging is so pretty, too. Thanks, Christine. :} Now my wallet is sighing out of relief.
Funny. When I swatched Shimmermint it wasn’t sheer at all. I must be a heavy swatcher lol.
Very pretty, but none of these would work well with my skin tone. Moving along….
Phew! Im so glad that i did not order these when my local Macy’s was doing their pre-sale. I will gladly be passing these up and saving my money for a better Holiday collection this year.
Well! Wasn’t keen on buying any, but thanks for reeling me away!! Besides, I’m more excited for wet n wild’s baked shadows that are LE at walgreens!!!
Im bummed out about the quality of these shadows. I was hoping the quality would be like the some of the eyeshadows from Semi Precious. Colors like Blue Sheen and Smoked Ruby from that collection had amazing color pay off and staying power, the texture was great. I had Shimmermint on my list, but if there’s gonna be fall out I’m just gonna skip them altogehter.
Total “fail” for me and I do like MES’s (especially the good’uns from Semi Precious). As for the recycled names….what the heck is with that, indeed? Ego eye shadow…are we talking about the pink one from a few years ago or the more recent GREEN one from Peacocky? Way to confuse things, MAC.
The Milani baked eyeshadows look MUCH nicer, for a fraction of the price!!
Hi Christine. Thanks so much for all of the swatches. Could you please tell me if Hold that pose is similar to Prance from Peacocky? Also, is Winterized similar to Satin Taupe? Thanks!!
I have and adore Prance, and I bought Hold That Pose! precisely because it reminded me of it so much. I think they’re similar enough where you don’t have to buy it, but I wanted a color similar to Prance as a back-up. 🙂 Hold That Pose! is just a tad bit more purple.
The pigmentation doesn’t look bad to me in the swatches but the fading is a dealbreaker. I really wish the formula were better. They look so tempting in the pots.
I really like the look of Hold That Pose–I don’t own anything that’s just like it!
Oh no limited special packaging… I always fall for it!
Winterized looks interesting!
Christine, do you think Fresh Ice could be used as a highlighter? Would it give a similar effect as Lightscapade?
Maybe, though it’s much more metallic!
Never tried a mineralized eyeshadow before, and I don’t think I ever will. xD Winterized is the only one that looks nice imo.
I’ll skip this
I like all of them but I think I might only get Hold That Pose!
OHH YES!!! Am so loving the eyeshadows the most out of this WHOLE COLLECTION. I really don’t know which one I want I like them all.
I will be passing on these.
Christine have you tried Fyrinnae’s pixie epoxy as a base?~
It is the best base when it comes to pigments and mineralize eyeshadows~!!
I have to say I read your previous Semi precious mineralize eyeshadow review and I skipped. but after awhile I went crazy over not getting them so I had to buy from ebay at a much higher price because it was too late and it was sold out. I really have to say mineralize eyeshadow is really multycolered, that is why I love it so much~! you have to use the right base for it~!!
so if you are having trouble with these eyeshadows, use urban decay primer potion than fyrinnae’s pixie epoxy
than it will not crease and have no fall out~!(of course if you pack tooo much on there will be a fall out)
I live in South Korea that is why when it is sold out, there is no way of getting it. I really want to get all of these new mineralize eyeshadows~
I really love your site Christine~! and I thank you so much for the wonderful swatches of eyeshadows~!
but I do think mineralize eyeshadows deserve an A. That is my opinion ofcourse 🙂
Christine please try it over Pixie epoxy~~~I’m begging you!~
you will see a difference~!
if it is possible I wish you could swatch it over pixie epoxy~ the colors are much more vibrant~!~
Wow, two primers? Crazy that a $21 product needs two more products to make them work! I also do not currently purchase from Fyrinnae as their site is always down, sorry, but I have used many other sticky bases and haven’t found it to work exceptionally well. Just FYI, I do not swatch products over primer for reviews – that sort of defeats the purpose, IMO.
Pixie epoxy is NOT a primer, it acts as a “glue” for pigments and glitters, works for MES as well. It’s designed to make pigments and glitters stay put and minimize fall out and makes the colors more vibrant. Since it isn’t a primer, you have to use a different primer under it to make your shadows last. So you’re not using 2 primers.
Hard to find an official description when their site is always down, unfortunately! Thanks for clarifying. I’m surprised that for such a product that it doesn’t last on its own though – a lot of other adhesive bases I know of (e.g. MAC Mixing Medium) do both!
Thank you for reminding me why I don’t pay $21 for eyeshadow! It’s a work of art in the pan, but not so special for actual application. I think looking at the marbleized shadows tricks my mind into thinking that the resulting color will be very complex, like a wild duochrome or something.
These just look like a glittery mess when swatched. It’s too bad that they’re such low quality. Twenty-one dollars is way too much for something that’s just going to be a pretty shelf decoration.
I’m not exactly wild about these colours!
Only Shimmermint for me, although I would also like Snow Season.
OMG! they all look the same…i never liked the mineralized shadows from mac.
I think this time I’m skipping these:( they are nothing like I expected they’d be:(
I want winterized!
Wow, the swatch of Hold That Pose looks like it couldn’t possibly have come from that pot lol! I like MES because they give a kind of ethereal, translucent sparkle which fits a winter collection to me. But I understand the frustration with pigmentation. My main complaint about them is that you really have to pick them up in person to ensure you get one with decent veining. Otherwise you run the risk of getting a pure glitterbomb.
Wow, the brown ones are gorgeous!! I might just get them!
Big like. They look much more pigmented than the regular mineralize eyeshadows, am I right? I like Winterized zhe most!
Yuck. Hopefully MAC takes a few pointers from the open letters and cuts back on collections and works on opacity and quality of products.
It’s funny, I never have any problems with MAC’s Mineralize e/s. Some are more pigmented than others, but they go on smoothly for me and as long as I apply them over a primer, they last all day like any other shadow. Also, where I live the weather is pretty much always hot and it’s not easy to get your makeup to stay put. I have a lot of these shadows from different collections and I like all of them. Maybe I’ve just been lucky enough to choose the shades that aren’t duds? Anyway, I always appreciate your swatches & reviews. Thank you.
Hello Christine, thanks for your awesome reviews! I need your advise, I love frozen blue I´m searching this kind of bluish-gray shade . But do you think that strip from UD will be a better choice? In the swatch gallery seems a good dupe? Thanks a lot!
Strip is wayyy better!
You´re so sweet!!!! Thanks!!!
I agree that you have to work really hard to get these to show up, but I found that when I used them over a Paint Pot (I use Painterly under nearly all of my eyeshadows) that I’m a little more successful. It’s pretty unfortunate, given that I fell in love with Snow Season and Fresh Ice and bought them right away, before reading any reviews! 🙂
I know I’m a little late to post but I just want to add that I use them over Too Faced Glitter Glue and have zero fading or creasing. I find that most baked, glittery, or loose shadows need a sticky base to work well on my oily lids. Urban Decay shadow pencils also work well as a base for these types of shadows.
I agree with your reviews Christine! MAC mineralize shadows are a shame:( They always look so lovely in the pans and then are a shimmery disaster once applied, or the color doesn’t show up at all. Such a disappointment!!
I bought all 6 shadows and they are so pretty. I love the mineralize shadows. I have never had a problem with staying power, and I have oily eyelids. I also use them dry and have excellent color payoff. If I were to rate these I would give them and A. I love them and these are my favorite colors so far.
hi Jamie,
i am thinking of getting the mes which do u recommend if u could only pick 3
Hi, Rosie sorry this is so late, but if I had to get 3 of these I would get Winterized, Fresh Ice, and Snow Season.
How does hold that pose compare to satin taupe?
They are much different. Hold that Pose is more metallic and has more purple than Satin Taupe.