MAC Extra Dimension – review, photos & swatches
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MAC takes us to makeup infinity and beyond!
photos: we heart this
Metallics appear molten. Shimmers go on like lava, melting into the skin. It isn’t enough that MAC tempts us with constant launches of new colors. Now they’re developing formulas that seem to defy the very laws of physics, and I can’t resist their pull.
With the Extra Dimension collection, MAC jumps into another universe of beauty possibilities, taking the elements I love best from creams, liquids and powders – and combining them into one formula.
Their liquid-powder technology gives new meaning to smoothness and blendability, with prismatic reflections designed to sculpt and highlight the face. And all of these features are encompassed in products that apply like a powder. Genius!
Focusing on Eye Shadows and Skinfinishes, all Extra Dimension products are manufactured through a multistep process that blends creams, liquids, powders and pearls, then removes most of the liquids, leaving pure pigment and pearl. MAC calls this “light powder technology”– light can pass through the product to the skin to show sparkle and glow…
…which I saw in full effect as a lucky tester of Extra Dimension line. The wht team received five of the ten limited edition Extra Dimension Eye Shadow ($20.00 U.S./$27.00 CDN) colors:
Dark Dare– charcoal black with a touch of shimmer (glow)
Grand Galaxy – dirty mid tone violet with blue sheen (metallic)
Warm Thunder – deep silver Grey (metallic)
Havana – mid tone brown with a copper sheen (metallic)
Rich Core – a complex color; burgundy brown with a burgundy sheen (metallic)
These shadows come in an oversized pan and are embossed with a 3D design: a wave on one side, the MAC logo on the other. The emblem is perfect for these liquid-powder reflective shadows, which apply like a wave of shimmering pigment. Their impact ranges from sheer crystallized light to a highly polished metallic effect, ALL from one shadow!
Warm Thunder
Havana
Warm Thunder, Havana
My favorite of the three shadows I tested, Warm Thunder, could be worn as a sheer or a full-on cyborg metallic. And any way I wore it, it lasted a full 6 hours without a base.
Grand Galaxy
Dark Dare
Dark Dare, Grand Galaxy
Dark Dare is billed as a ‘glow’ rather than a metallic. It has a soft sheen in the pot, but went on matte, and did double duty as a liner.
Rich Core
Havana, Rich Core
Rich Core, the dirty aubergine, glowed with gold undertones, and worked perfectly as a highlighter.
There are five other colors in the collection:
Blue Orbit – Light iridescent purple (metallic)
Lunar – Royal blue (metallic)
Sweet Heat – Bright peach champagne (metallic)
Modern Pewter – Dirty olive gold (metallic)
Young Venus – Pale white pink (metallic)
As if all these beautiful shadows weren’t enough, this release also includes a trio of limited edition Extra Dimension Highlighter Skinfinishes ($28.00 U.S./$33.50 CDN), and we received all three colors:
Glorify – copper with a golden copper shimmer
Whisper of Gilt – white gold sheen (love that name! ~Stef)
Superb – shimmering peach with multi-tone shimmer
I tested Superb and Glorify, both in big, gorgeous pans with the same almost-too-pretty-to-use embossing as the shadows. MAC calls Skinfinish a liquid-powder highlighter with prismatic reflections. The near-fluid formula creates a luminous, well-defined finish, and wears for 10 hours.
Glorify, Superb, Whisper of Gilt
Like the shadows, the Skinfinishes are extremely creamy and full of pigment. Just a touch on a brush gives a subtle glow, but a heavier hand gives some serious metallic power.
Superb, with its pink-y sheen, was my favorite. I tried it as a highlighter on my cheeks and brow bones, and all over to brighten my face. Glorify, a true metallic copper with gold sparkle, would be gorgeous on a darker complexion (or over a tan, which I can’t wait to try this summer).
MAC’s Extra Dimension formula is my idea of impressive science. Check it out before these colors fly off the shelves and out of this world.
Click here to shop the Extra Dimension collection at MAC!
Melissa loves road trips, bargain shopping, drive-in movies, lip gloss and rock ‘n’ roll. She lives in Baltimore with her precious pup Zeus.
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.
WOW! Beautiful to look at and they sound like a dream to apply!
As always, a beautifully written post by @Turboterp that makes me anxious to run to the MAC store!
Grand Galaxy and Warm Thunder look simply stunning! What a great review @Turboterp!! You and these lovely photos have convinced me to run right out and snap this up. Gorgeous!!!
Another MAC collection that’s (almost) too pretty to use! Love the embossing on these palettes! I got a look at Havana and @Turboterp is right on in her review – this eyeshadow can be applied as light and glowy or heavy and pigmented as you wish – and as always a good brush helps. Havana is a super pretty color, a nice medium brown with lots of golden glow and shimmer. It’s got lots of versatility too and can work as an base eyeshadow, in the crease and as a liner.
I really want to check out Dark Dare next – I love using powder eye shadows as liners, they last the longest on my lids – and the not quite black hue looks fab.
@tyna –There are very beautiful. I love the Sci Fi vibe they have.
Havana–just what I needed, another brown. No, seriously! It’s just the brown I needed. The shimmer is so prevalent yet so finely milled throughout that this is the most metallic-like non metal I can imagine. Silky feel is a given (just as you would expect from MAC) and wear is superlative. We need a galaxy of stars to rate this, it’s my favorite in my whole shadow box! Therefore, I”ll give it all my 5.
Oooooh Grand Galaxy looks really pretty!
I want everything in this collection, so pretty. My favorites would have to be Whisper of Gilt, Grand Galaxy, Warm Thunder, Rich Core especially.
I’ll tell you, being a MAC swatcher is a tough job! Let me rephrase that, being a MAC swatcher and having to share the products IS a tough job. Especially on a shoot like the one, where each swipe is prettier than the next.
Grand Galaxy was the shade I just couldn’t resist in the batch. It so interesting, I swear it looks different every time I put it on depending on the shades it’s next to. Sometimes it’s pure grape, other times it’s a smoky violet, and still others it’s a silvery purple. Hard to describe, but incredibly pretty!
The formula is hard to define too. It leans more powder than liquid, but it does feel more “boing-y” that standard powder. And it glides on like a dream, more like a cream. You can also apply them sheer, or layer them for an intense look.
I’m hoping the formula makes a reappearance, because it’s good…REAL good!
Grand Galaxy and Rich Core will be mine!! Totally stunning and sounds like a great formula.
Wow, these look amazing! Warm Thunder and Grand Galaxy are my favs from the pictures. I can’t wait to try them out. I am excited for the consistency… I like creamier shadows!
Grand Galaxy and Rich Core are PERFECT. And I love hearing that the wear time is so long even without a base! I have pretty oily lids, so creamier formulas like this really require a base on my part, but it would be interesting to see what my wear time would be without one.
The Skinfinishes are amazing, as always. My collection is getting too big for one person to handle!!
I love MAC but I’ve been having trouble deciding if this formula was gimmicky or if it were really revolutionary. After reading your review, @turboterp, my opinion has been swayed. I absolutely need to check these out next time I’m at the MAC counter! The swatches look fabulous :)
I really do love this new formula! I’m crossing my fingers that MAC gives us more Extra Dimension shadows in the very near future, and adds these to their permanent collection. Great stuff!