Glitter and Ice

Well, my pretties, I meant for my first post-intro post to be practical, but... I picked up my MAC Glitter & Ice Collection pre-order yesterday. I haven't had a chance to make myself up with it all, I just tested them in the shop, and I'm excited. What can I say? Glitter!!

This MAC collection features Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir looking absolutely dazzling.

The collection comprises:

    6  Dazzleglasses

    6 Lipsticks
    6 Technakhol Liners

    6 Beauty Mineralize Eyeshadows
    3  Paint Pots

    2 Beauty Powders

    3 Nail Lacquers

    Lashes #7

Note that descriptions in quote or in parentheses are from the MAC web site. 

LIPSTICK

- Eloquent Air, "sheer white silver", Glaze finish

- Soft Sable, "cool frosted taupe", Frost finish

- Double Spin (pale mauve pink), Cremesheen finish

- Whirls & Twirls (sheer pink with gold pearl) , Glaze finish

- Such Flare! (true red), Matte finish, which seemed to me to be a somewhat blue-red

- What Joy! (deep berry), Satin finish with some slight sparkle

I got Eloquent Air (hey, it's winter and I need an icy silver lip) and Soft Sable, which to me seemed to be somewhat nicely mauvy. It's a pretty chilly color, but workable.

The reds were out of the question for me. I tried on Double Spin - I had thought I'd get that, because I like the lilac cast it has, but it was so pale and so opaque that I think it was not a good color on me. Perhaps a PPP with pink undertones, or a darker beauty who enjoys the contrast could make it work. I also tested Whirls & Twirls, because i like pinks with gold pearls, but it looked way too cold on my - it certainly suits the collection, but I don't need a cold pink.

DAZZLEGLASSES

- She-zam (sheer silver with silver and red pearl)
- Pleasure Principle (clear white [with] violet, teal, and white pearl)
- Glitter & Ice (light nude with white and gold pearl)
- Dressed to Dazzle (pale dirty pink [with] red and gold pearl)
- Spanking Rich (raspberry pink with red and gold pearl)
- Love Alert (raspberry red with red pearl)

I got Pleasure Principle and Dressed to Dazzle.

I had expected to get Pleasure Principle and She-zam, but they seemed far too close to me, and Pleasure Principle had more multicolored sparkle. Glitter & Ice ("light nude with white and gold pearl") was very pale and sheer, and how many pale sheer sparkly glosses do I really need? (Don't answer that!) I don't wear red or raspberry lipsticks much and I think I have enough of those colors in my makeup stash already - but if you like pinky reds one these might be for you. Then I tried on Dressed to Dazzle and it was almost a MLBB color, well, with much more sparkle, and I can see wearing this daily.

TECHNAKHOL LINERS

- Silver Skates (silver with pearl)
- Practice Makes Perfect (blue with pearl) , a dark warm blue
- Fancy Moves (purple with pearl)
- Seasonally Spicy (brown with pearl) - I'll stick to my Laura Mercier copper brown, and if I need another, I'd pick up MUFE 16L
- Going for Gold (gold with pearl)
- Smooth Manoeuvre (black with pearl)

Ouch! These were all so dry they actually hurt my eyelids! I was hoping to ge a couple of them, especially the silver, but there were all a definite pass for my sensitive eyelids.

MINERALIZE EYESHADOWS

- Fresh Ice (white silver melange)
- Frozen Blue (blue silver melange)
- Hold That Pose! (pale mauve melange)

- Winterized (dirty purple with silver, indigo, and pink melange)
- Shimmermint (pale green melange)
- Snow Season (soft taupe melange)

I find the marblized MAC Mineralize Eyeshadows all a bit frustrating. They look so glorious in the pots. But how they apply can be more than a bit hit or miss. Often when the colors are blended they end up looking muddy.

These in the Glitter & Ice collection are all quite frosty. I already have some frosted white and silver shadows in my own collection, so i didn't test Fresh Ice. I also never wear blue shadows (teals and turquoise, sometimes, but not true blues), so I passed on Frozen Blue. I tested Winterized on my hand, and it looked muddy to me. I don't recall if i tried out Hold That Pose!

I did test Shimmermint and Snow Season and may go back for one or both if they don't sell out fast. Most of the greens I own are on the warm lime side, so I could use a cool green. I used Shimmermint to line my lower lid - there was perhaps a little glitter fall out, but it was not extreme and easily brushed away. I put Snow Season on my upper lid from lash to brow and it was a winner.

PAINT POTS

- For Effect (black with pearl)
- Morning Frost (shimmering champagne taupe)
- Let’s Skate (pale pink with pearl)

For Effect was just too black and silver for me. I don't wear black liner or black shadows myself - I think they look too hard and heavy on me. I really wanted Avenue from the MAC Me Over collection - which was warm brown/black with gold glitter, but I missed out on it :-(

Morning Frost was a terrific taupe. I tested it and it looked great. I have other taupes in my stash and I don't wear taupe so often that I felt the need for another, but this is a goody, a really great frosted taupe.

Surprisingly to me, I did get Let's Skate. In the pot it is a pale pale pink, shrug. But on I felt it really brightened up my eyes, and it has a surprising amount of glitter. It makes a great base for other colors.

BEAUTY POWDERS

- How Beautiful! ("pale shimmering beige")
- Snowglobe ("frosty pink beige")

These are both more highlighters than face finishers because they are so frosty. I loved them both, but I have bought several Beauty Powders and highlighters this year, so I felt I didn't need to buy another that was not such a different color from those I already have. If you don't have any Beauty Powders and don't have enough highlighters, these are quite nice.

And finally

NAIL LACQUERS

- Unconditionally Fabulous ("super sparkle white") is clear and colorless with fine multi-colored pale glitter.

- Festive Finery ("dirty mid-tone greyed violet") has a cream finish and on me looked faintly as if it had a slight brown cast. I really liked it, but decided to pass on it.
- Get Noticed ("true bright red") is a cream polish that is not at all true red; it is a medium-dark red with blue undertones, and, well, as you have probably gathered by now, I don't wear red polish (burgundy and plum, yes, red, no)

Naturally i bought Unconditionally Fabulous. It is nice on its own (I do love glitter polish), and it's also great as a top coat over Festive Finery or Get Noticed or another dark or intensely colored polish.

[I wear glasses, so false lashes are likely not gonna work - but they look cool]

So out of 33 products I got 6. I also bought MAC Superslick Liquid Liner in Nocturnal, which is a bright metallic silver, for my own Glitter & Ice feel.

I need to add some photos. Maybe the Great Pumpkin will give me a camera this holiday season.

I recommend Temptalia's beauty blog. Here's her overview of the Glitter & Ice Collection She also has separate posts for each type of cosmetic with her swatches and tests - look for her links to them. My experiences and opinions don't match hers, and yours may differ from both of us.