MAC Glitter and Ice – review, photos & swatches

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A holiday collection on the cutting edge of cool

photos: we heart this

MAC has always caught our attention when they partner with cutting edge performers (Lady Gaga, RuPaul, Cindy Sherman) but their latest inspiration had Tyna triple toe looping for joy before we even laid eyes on the collection. This holiday season MAC took a cue from the most glamorous and dramatic sport of them all, ice skating – releasing Glitter and Ice, a limited edition series of products packaged as cool as ice and with enough theatrics to wow any judges.

Best of all, MAC teamed up with one of our very favorite ice divas ever, Johnny Weir. As an ice skating fan from Pennsylvania, it was impossible not to follow and root for the lithe, little skater since he first caught the attention of the local papers. Over the years, we cheered as the wee skater grew into a confident and glam champion with three US titles to his name. So we couldn’t think of a better artist of the ice to inspire this 32 piece collection – full of icy hues, lots of glitter and some show stopping reds – all wrapped up in sleek silver boxes and white packaging.

Mineralize eyeshadows were the perfect choice for this collection, all twirly and snow-stormy looking. Not surprisingly, they’re all on the cool and frosty side, which you’d expect for an icy launch. I like Mineralize shadows, but honestly, I usually get more from looking at them than I do wearing them! Especially the lighter shades, because they are so frosty. But when applied, especially wet, they’re a beautiful product, and these were just that. Out of the six, we got a chance to see three…

Hold That Pose! is a swirl of mauve, gray and a vein of bronze. Applied it’s a pinky gray that’s quite pretty.

Shimmermint is a minty blue-green with chunky silver white glitter. It reminds me of slightly more mint and glittertastic version of the Cakeshop shade stick.

Snow Season is a pinkish nude with touches of lavender and bronze through it. Applied, it’s a warm pink with a golden shimmer. This shade really mesmerized me.

Hold That Pose!, Shimmermint, Snow Season – applied dry, still lots of color!

We also got a chance to check out one of the three Paint Pots. I’m a HUGE paint pot fan. I collect and covet them like (insert whatever kids collect and covet these days). They’re creamy and blendable, and once dry they stay put with minimal creasing. Favorite cream shadows ever.

Let’s Skate! is a light, baby pink with gold and magenta micro shimmer that has me puzzled in the prettiest of ways. In the pot, the gold shimmer is minimal and the magenta is absolutely invisible. But applied, the pink base pretty much disappears, the gold shimmer jumps to the front and the magenta comes out of nowhere. It gives me the overwhelming desire to apply it over my whole face!

shot in sunlight, here comes the gold…

the obligatory blurry shot that shows the glitter better than any in-focus one ever could!

Smooth Manoeuvre and Silver Skates Technakohl, Let’s Skate! Paint Pot

Shown above are also the two Technakohl Liners we tested. Smooth Manoeuvre is a black with a micro fine silver pearl and a nice amount of pigment. Silver Skates is a light silver. Too light for me personally (I don’t really get light liners). But it could be pretty on the waterline. I love that these have such a fine, precise point. The long wear is a plus too.

Skating up to the Nail Lacquers, two of the three put on a show for us. Festive Finery is a medium dark greyed grape with a creme finish. And Get Noticed! is pure siren polish, a bright red with a creme finish. Both are beautiful.

Festive Finery

Get Noticed!

I’ve loved Dazzleglass ever since it came out. As the name suggests, they are rather dazzling; glitter and shimmer packed. It makes for quite the special occasion lip. We checked out two of the six in this launch: Love Alert, a pinky popsicle red with fine pink glitter, and She-zam, a clear gloss packed with fine silver glitter and a scattering of pink.

We also got a closer look at Dazzleglass’ Lipstick color counterparts. Such Flare! is a blue-based matte red. I buy versions of this shade over and over again, so obviously I love it. And Eloquent Air is a light but pure shimmery silver.

Love Alert Dazzleglass, Such Flare! Lipstick, Eloquent Air Lipstick, She-zam Dazzleglass

Here are the descriptions for the ENTIRE launch…

Paint Pot
Let’s Skate! – Pale pink with pearl
Morning Frost – Shimmering champagne taupe
For Effect – Black with pearl
$18.50 U.S./$22.00 CDN

Mineralize Eye Shadow
Fresh Ice РWhite silver m̩lange
Snow Season РSoft taupe m̩lange
Hold That Pose! РPale mauve m̩lange
Frozen Blue РBlue silver m̩lange
Shimmermint РPale green m̩lange
Winterized РDirty purple with silver, indigo, and pink m̩lange
$21 U.S./$25 CDN

Beauty Powder
Snowglobe – Frosted pinky beige
How Beautiful! – Pale shimmering taupe
$24 U.S./$29 CDN

Nail Lacquer
Unconditionally Fabulous – Super sparkle white (frost)
Get Noticed! РTrue bright red (cr̬me)
Festive Finery- Dirty mid-tone greyed violet (crème)
$16 U.S./$19 CDN

Lash 7
$15 U.S./$18 CDN

Lipstick
Whirls & Twirls – Sheer pink with gold pearl (glaze)
Double Spin- Pale mauve pink (cremesheen)
Soft Sable – Cool frosted taupe (frost)
Eloquent Air- Sheer white silver (glaze)
Such Flare- True red (matte)
What Joy! – Deep berry (satin)
$15.50 U.S./$18.50 CDN

Dazzleglass
Pleasure Principle – Clear white violet, teal, and white pearl
Dressed to Dazzle – Pale dirty pink red and gold pearl
Glitter and Ice – Light nude with white and gold pearl
She-zam – Sheer silver with silver and red pearl
Love Alert – Raspberry red with red pearl
Spanking Rich – Raspberry pink with red and gold pearl
$19.50 U.S./$23 CDN

Opulash Mascara
Bad, Bad Black – Black
$15 U.S./$18 CDN

Technakohl Liner
Silver Skates – Silver with pearl
Going for Gold – Gold with pearl
Seasonally Spicy – Brown with pearl
Fancy Moves – Violet with pearl
Practice Makes Perfect – Navy with pearl
Smooth Manoeuvre – Black with pearl
$16 U.S./$19 CDN

So readers, will you be taking any of Glitter and Ice for a twirl?

Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.

Author

  • Stef Andrews

    Stef is a plethora of things. Amongst them: co-founder of we heart this, photographer, condiment connoisseur, Philly girl in the California desert, borderline hoarder and a hardcore beauty junkie. She also has a touch of wanderlust and, arguably, the cutest dog in the whole world... skin tone: NC 25/30 skin type: oily with a fear of rosacea favorite beauty product: high end skincare and lip products

17 Comments

  1. TOE PICK!!! (Sorry. I can’t think of ice-skating without quoting up Cutting Edge…)

    I just got my first paint pot recently and I can’t believe I’ve never tried them before. they are SO versatile, and Let’s Skate! looks to die for. The glitter looks so subtle, but still shiny, perfect for a holiday party!

    And can I jsut say that I wanted to reach through the monitor and grab Festive Finery and Snow Season?!? That red is so vibrant, and the swirly colors of Snow Season…AHH! MAC, you’re killin’ me.

    1. Heh – when I was editing this post I tried to enter Toe Pick somewhere but it just wasn’t working. I wish they still showed that movie on cable all the time!

  2. I love the white theme to the traditional black MAC packaging. As much as I love looking at their mineral eyeshadow, it never holds enough of a punch for me.

    However I love Paint Pots and that pink looks gorgeous. I also want to see the champagne Morning Frost. Those along with the red lippies makes this an awesome collection.

  3. I thought the packaging and reversal of the black to white was killer too.. So pretty and reminds me of winter- Paint Pots are really fun and this pale pink with pearl is super pretty! I’m just chomping at the bit to see these in person! Great review as ALWAYS @stef!
    Being a gal from NJ- we loved ice skating Ms. Tyna.. and boy I love to Toe Pick @tyna!! :)

  4. Wow, Let’s Skate! is flooring me! It’s so beautiful, and I love the versatility of paint pots. And yeah, why is it that blurry shots are the only ones that really pick up glitter? Photo mysteries!

    I’ve got to say, I’m not thrilled with the white packaging. It’s totally a visual thing, but it makes the products look clunky to me. I’m sure it would be different in person, but I’ve not been able to stop by my local MAC counter in a while!
    And what’s up with the sliver lipstick? I’m sure someone out there is going to totally rock it, but I’d probably end up looking like the walking dead. A very glam, fabulous version of the walking dead, but still…

  5. I love that Such Flare! lipstick–I’m a big fan of blue-based reds, too, Stef–I don’t think I can ever have enough.
    That Love Alert Dazzleglass is also calling my name!
    I’m really digging on the white packaging on all of these products–they really make me think of snow and ice and the winter.

    I used to love watching ice skating when I was a kid. “Watch” being the key term in that. If they made a lipstick dedicated to my very short ice skating experience it’d be titled “Blood on the Ice”. I still have the scars, y’all.

  6. Snow Season, Such Flare, and What Joy are high on my list from this collection! They look like perfect holiday/Winter colors. Way to go MAC!!

  7. I don’t know..now I am thinking about Hold That Pose. Darn you WHT and your awesome pictures!!

  8. I was able to test out Shimmermint – sooo pretty, perfect for the holidays and I think it’d work well for any night time look as well. I also have the Silver Skates liner – it’s so appropriate for the holidays! This collection is an all around great go-to line for anyone that likes to dress up a whole lot :)

  9. I got to try Get Noticed creme nail lacquer and oh boy did I notice it! This is my new go to red, perfect for the holidays, perfect for a summer date, perfect for a glam hollywood starlet. I love this color! It was a quick 2 coats for full color, and its been holding up pretty well. I’ve been particularly hard on my nails this week though. This is a color that will stay at the top of my polish box because I will be using it again and again. Five stars all the way!

  10. I got to try out the Let’s Skate! paint pot. The color is just gorgeous– it’s fairly transparent once applied, and just looks like a warm frosty microglitter sparkle on your lids. It can add just the right amount of glam to a natural look, or add a little extra to a bold look too. It could even be patted onto your cheekbones as a highlighter, it’s so pretty. It is quite glittery, and there’s even a bit of fallout (weird, having glitter fallout on a cream product!). Still, very very pretty, and great for the holidays! MAC’s come out with another great collection, and the price is right. I’m giving it four stars :)

  11. Love Alert is my first dazzleglass and I’m completely, madly in love! I’m a red fan anyways, and this gives pretty great color payoff for a gloss. It looks more pink raspberry on my lips than the red appearance in the tube. The pink glitter/shimmer catches the light perfectly but isn’t overdone. It’s a good chameleon too, complementing different colors I wear. The formula is outstanding – moisturizing and thick yet not sticky. I’m not a fan of the brush applicator, but it’s not bad on this product – it still goes on smoothly and doesn’t smear around my lips like those bristles usually do with me, maybe because the brush is small. I love the pure vanilla scent, too – I think of baking every time I smell it! Five stars all the way on this one!

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