Sunday 27 May 2012

MAC In Extra Dimension

I would like to start this post with a disclaimer that what you are about to see does represent a horrendous amount for me to have spent on make-up at one time, but what can I say?  I was feeling quite stressed the week I bought all of this and buying make-up calms me down!!

MAC released a collection called In Extra Dimension about a month ago which comprised three Skin Finishes, ten eyeshadows, and a couple of brushes.  They’re mostly still available online so if you’re interested in this collection there’s still time to check it out.  I was quite interested after seeing the initial promotional pics and the trickle of initial reviews on the blogosphere so I thought I’d pick up a couple of items.  Well, in the end I bought three eyeshadows (£16.50 each) and a skinfinish (£20.50) then sat there wondering how long I’d have to skim a bit off my lunch money each day to pay for it all lol.  These products are ridiculously expensive but at the time I had to have them.  Anyway onto some pics.

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Genuine MAC products never have the shade name printed on the box; instead they have a sticker with the shade name on it, as with the box above. The containers themselves also have a sticker on the back with the shade name.

Above, clockwise from left: eyeshadow in Grand Galaxy, skinfinish in Whisper of Gilt, eyeshadow in Havana, eyeshadow in Modern Pewter.

Below, clockwise from top: eyeshadows in Modern Pewter, Grand Galaxy and Havana.

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The colours are all quite neutral and all are very shiny.  The product comes in an interesting raised wave design on the lower half with the letters MAC pressed into the top half.  It looks pretty cool on the products when they’re new…

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Above: Havana eyeshadow

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Above: Modern Pewter eyeshadow

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Above: Whisper of Gilt skinfinish

As you can see from the photos above, the smooth texture of the design is tarnished from the first use of the product, and I don’t think it actually looks attractive at all the way it wears.  It looks crusty and as if it’s oxidising…not very appetising at all!

Below you can see how Grand Galaxy looked brand new and after one finger swipe that I made to do a swatch.  The MAC writing has clearly been erased where my finger touched the product.

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Anyway, packaging and design is one thing; how do these products actually wear on the skin?  Here are swatches on my arm.

Left to right: Whisper of Gilt, Modern Pewter, Havana, Grand Galaxy

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The consistency of all the products is smooth and creamy. They are in fact being marketed as a new gel-to-powder formula…hmm, whatever.  Me, Modern Pewter and Havana have gotten along just fine each time I’ve worn them to date – the colour in the swatches above is how they appear on me when worn as eyeshadow and I have no issues with application or wear.  They last fine all day over a primer.  I like Modern Pewter in particular as it’s quite an unusual colour, an olive gold, and I don’t really have anything similar in my collection already.  Grand Galaxy I just can’t comment on as I haven’t worn it yet.

Whisper of Gilt however is a disaster on me.  I can’t even get it to last four hours on my combination skin.  I can see it when I apply it in the mornings, then by lunchtime it’s just totally disappeared.  It’s annoying and frustrating given how much I paid for it and I actually wish I hadn’t bought it.  I know that not every brand can make all of its products into hits for everybody and I had read practically nothing about this product but glowing reviews from other bloggers but with products as expensive as these it’s really not something I want to be bitten by twice.  For this reason I’m kind of sick of MAC at the moment and the inconsistent quality of the products that I’ve tried and I’m not going to be picking anything else up from them for a while.  Not that I haven’t already got enough products to keep me going for about the next ten years anyway I guess!

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