#dazzlesphere

[mycosmeticaddiction-blog]

It's finally Christmas, and my order from MAC has finally arrived.

First of all, this order arrived so quick from the States - I ordered it on a Tuesday and received it that Sunday, I'm very impressed with HopShopGo's shipping times.

I love the two products that I received both from the Glitter and Ice Collection - one MAC Mineralise Eyeshadow in "Frozen Blue" and the neutral coloured Dazzle Sphere which consists of two cremesheen glosses, "Boy Bait" and "Over Indulgence" and two dazzleglass colours, "Get Rich Quick" and "Bare Necessity".

Is it me, or is MAC making their mineralise eyeshadows less crumbly? The past two that I have purchased have been really hard with hardly any fall out and great colour payoff. My other three mineralise eyeshadows are so crumbly, every time I apply them, even with a base, they just fall all over my face and I'm left with glittery cheeks.

I love Frozen Blue, the colour is so nice. It's like a silvery blue which isn't very frosty. You can get away with wearing this one to work and keep it on after for a night out. I'm disappointed I didn't order more mineralise shadows from this collection because this one is so great!

Frozen Blue is a special edition colour which retails for USD$21 and AUD$42

As for the Dazzlesphere, I'm really, really happy with the lip glosses that I received. They're all so beautiful and natural - as I'm not a fan of "out there" lip colour.

Boy Bait - is a soft light, natural cremesheen colour which adds a bit of gloss to your lips without over colouring them. Great for a look with dramatic eyes.

Over Indulgence - is a darker cremesheen which goes that extra step further by adding a brownish colour to your lips. I'm a big advocate for nautral colours to the lips and I LOVE this colour.

Bare Necessity - is a very glittery dazzleglass in a neutral colour. It adds gloss and shine to the lips, without adding overly too much colour.

Get Rich Quick - has to be my favourite colour included in the dazzlesphere. It is a dazzleglass and one of the darkest glosses in the set. It is glittery and adds a beautiful full colour to the lips and doesn't feel as sticky as dazzleglasses usually do.

The Dazzlesphere retails for USD$32.50 and AUD$65

The Glitter and Ice collection is my absolute FAVOURITE for this year, I just wish I purchased more products in the collection.

[makeupbox]

Holiday Gift Idea #2: MAC Crushed Metallic Pigment Dazzlespheres (Swatches and Review for Smoky Plum set)

---

Overview:

My second suggestion for a cool beauty gift this holiday season is one of MAC's Limited Edition Dazzlespheres. They look like over-sized tree ornament, but what wowed me were the actual pigments contained within. Out of the 3 available Dazzlespheres (Temptalia has a good run-down of all 3), my choice was the Smoky Plum stack. 

I liked some shades in each of the stacks, but not all 4 colors except in the Smoky Plum quartet, so I gave the other 2 a miss. This doesn't mean you won't like all 4 shades in the other sets, so if you love strong metallic pigments, definitely check these out in the stores before they sell out.

(Smoky Berry is a mix of red, pink and neutrals, while the Smoky Blue set is a mix of deep indigo blue, white, slate-silver and sparkly black.)

Crushed Metallic Pigments clockwise from top left: Misty, Grape, Light Violet, Seasonally Cool

 ---

Performance:

I was never a fan of crushed metallic pigments as I find them a bit gimicky, and harder to work with than regular pigments. And now, even though I like the Smoky Plum set a lot, I'd still say they apply easier with fingers than with brushes as they don't adhere to dry bristles very well.

What I can say is that crushed metallic pigments tend to be more multi-dimensional than regular pigments, which means they need more binders in the formula, and that is probably the reason they are so gritty.

If you want to wear them lightly, use your fingers. If you want them intense, wet your brush. Either way, wear a good eye shadow base to prevent messes. 

---

Shades:

Swatches (L-to-R): Misty, Seasonally Cool, Light Violet, and Grape

Misty: Bright silver metallic with a slight neutral undertone. This pigment is fine-grained with minimal sparkle/glitter, and sheers out quite well when blended. If you have deeper skin tone or find most true silvers too harsh, this might be a good one to check out as there is a slight beige undertone which makes it more flattering than other silvers. Can be worn sheer.

Seasonally Cool: I always love a beautiful brown neutral, especially when it has personality. Seasonally Cool is a sparkly, warm bronze-brown without any brassiness or green undertones. It's not grey enough to be a taupe, and the sparkles are quite multidimensional (think of MAC's Lip Gelees with their multicolored micro-sparkles). This can be worn sheer as a soft beautiful neutral wash or packed on for flattering drama. If you have very deep skin, this would make a wicked highlighter as well.

Light Violet: The most gritty of the bunch, Light Violet is a soft lilac made up of large, sparkly flecks. It's more chunky and hard to work with than the other pigments due to the texture, so a base would be needed if you want to increase its intensity and avoid fall-out. It can work as a sparkly highlighter, but I'd suggest applying it with your ring finger and gently smoothing it out to a light sparkly veil, as brushes do not pick this up well.

Grape: The most intense of the 4 shades, Grape is a deep true purple with just a hint of burgundy/wine undertones. Like Misty, it does not have sparkly bits, but its sheen is more muted than Misty. I'd call it a Pearl finish rather than Metallic. Definitely a dramatic shade that will look better when packed out as an intense smoky eye or worn as a liner. (Wearing it really sheer might make you look a bit bruised.)