MAC In the Spotlight: Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Soft Frost, Double-Gleam, Beaming Blush, and Show Gold

Last Thursday, MAC launched a new collection called In the Spotlight, which is dedicated to "radiant skin in a flash, no matter what the lighting conditions are." It will include 11 products, of which nine are new and permanent, and two are re-promotes. In the Spotlight sees the launch of four new and permanent shades of Extra Dimension Skinfinish, which is described as a "liquid-powder highlighter, with prismatic reflections, [that] is designed to sculpt and highlight your face, leaving a luminous, well-defined finish. The creamy powder formula lasts up to ten hours." They are housed in regular round black compacts with clear lids. Each Extra Dimension Skinfinish contains 9 grams of product, and retails for $38.
Clockwise from left: Soft Frost, Double-Gleam, Beaming Blush, and Show Gold
Natural lighting: Soft Frost, Double-Gleam, Beaming Blush, and Show Gold
In direct sunlight: Soft Frost, Double-Gleam, Beaming Blush, and Show Gold

Soft Frost is a light cool white-beige with pink-lavender duochrome in a luminous pearlized finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a lightweight, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. There is nothing similar to this in MAC's permanent range.

Double-Gleam is a light champagne-beige with silver-champagne duochrome in a luminous pearlized finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a lightweight, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more gold than Soft and Gentle, and much lighter and warmer than Lightscapade.

Beaming Blush is a light-medium warm peachy pink with gold-champagne duochrome in a luminous pearlized finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a lightweight, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is warmer and more gold than Show Gold, and more gold than Soft and Gentle.

Show Gold is a light-medium warm peachy gold with pink duochrome sparkle in a luminous pearlized finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a lightweight, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more pink than Beaming Blush, and warmer and more pink than Soft and Gentle.

We have been waiting with bated breath for MAC to finally release Extra Dimension Skinfinishes permanently, and that day has now come. These four shades are all brand new, so don't be expecting classic coveted shades like Whisper of Gilt or Oh, Darling here. They still have that smooth, silky, weightless texture with incredible colour pay-off and blendability that the formula is known for, but what makes these different than older shades is that they have a pearlized duochrome finish, so each one has a colour-shift that will reflect differently on the skin in different lighting and angles. (You really have to experience them in real life rather than in online swatches to really appreciate their multi-faceted dimensions.) This will appeal to many and not so much to others, as this is what I like to call an "advanced highlighter" — if you are someone who knows and loves brighter, metallic highlighters and likes to look seriously pearlized, these will be right up your alley. These are not going to be for those looking for softer, more muted, or more natural-looking highlighters. Soft Frost and Double-Gleam will work well on fair to medium skintones and Beaming Blush and Show Gold will work beautifully on all skintones (and actually, Soft Frost will leave a stunning violet glow on darker complexions without looking too ashy because it has a sheerer base). And since I'm a highlighter fiend... well, as far as I'm concerned, all of these are must-haves.