MAC Glitter and Ice

MAC’s 2011 holiday collection is Glitter and Ice, a collaboration with figure skater Johnny Weir. I thought we’d start with the collection’s individual items before delving into the sets.

The collection includes six new mineralize eyeshadows ($21), and I was surprised to find that the colors swatch rather differently than what they look like in the pan.

As a baseline, these are all quite sparkly, but Winterized is the smoothest/lowest sparkle. It’s a delightfully pigmented sparkly satin/shimmer denim blue-black with fine pink, blue, purple, and green sparkles. Hold that Pose! is a frosty/shimmery sparkly very silver blue-purple. Snow Season is a shimmery, sparkly peach with multicolored shimmer. Fresh Ice is a soft white, shimmery and sparkly like snow in sunlight. Frozen Blue is a pale, greyed, faded blue shimmer. Shimmermint is much more blue than I expected. It’s a greened blue (or a very blued green) with some blue sparkles and a few silver sparkles. The sparkle is a little larger in Shimmermint, and it seemed a bit more prone to fallout. These were all swatched dry on a bare arm (no base or primer).

There are three new Paint Pots ($18.50). For Effect is sheer black with silver sparkles. Morning Frost is a frosty/shimmery rose bronze. Let’s Skate! is sheer white with tons of gold and pink sparkle.

There are two new Beauty Powders ($24). They’re both lovely and extremely delicate — it would be difficult to apply them heavily enough to make them frosty. Snowglobe is a very finely shimmery pale (snowy) pink. How Beautiful! is a very finely shimmery peach-bronze.

There are three new nail polishes (each $16). Get Noticed! is a berry red (a pinked red). Unconditionally Fabulous is a clear gel/jelly formula with dense round silver/pastel-rainbow holographic glitter. I don’t think my photo quite captured the colors of the pastel rainbow — I suspect Unconditionally Fabulous resembles another polish I’ve been coveting for years: Revlon Streetwear in Silver Locket. Festive Finery is a beautiful greyed, muted purple.

There are also six new Technakohl mechanical eyeliners ($16). Going for Gold is a dirty (almost bronzed) gold shimmer. Seasonally Spicy is a warm nutty/chocolate brown with a very slight shimmer. Fancy Moves is a sheeny royal orchid purple with a few silver sparkles. Silver Skates is a sheeny grey-silver. Practice Makes Perfect is turquoise teal. Smooth Manoeuvre is a nearly black blued-green with very tiny silver sparkles.

There are six lipsticks (each $15.50). Double Spin (Cremesheen) is a very pale milky white-pink. Whirls & Twirls (Glaze) is a shimmery blush pink with gold shimmer. Such Flare (Matte) is a cool, matte, blue-red. Eloquent Air (Glaze) is a cool silver shimmer. Soft Sable (Frost) is a purple-brown with silver shimmer. What Joy! (Satin) is a berry violet.

The glosses are all the Dazzleglass formula ($19.50). Dressed to Dazzle is a super-sheer pink with pink and yellow sparkles. Glitter and Ice is a very sheer peach-beige nude with silver sparkles. Love Alert is a repromote (previously swatched here and here), a sheer bright electric-cherry pink with pink sparkles. Pleasure Principle is clear with aqua (blue-green) and blue-purple sparkles. She-Zam is also a repromote, sheer grey with mostly silver and some pink sparkles. Spanking Rich is also a repromote, a sheer magenta with deep pink sparkles.

Has Glitter and Ice captured your heart, or are you saving yourself for the sets?