MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow Refresh: Single Mélange Eyeshadows

A couple weeks ago, MAC launched their annual Mineralize Eyeshadow Refresh. There is no official "collection launch" for this, as the products from these "refreshes" are available for a full 12 months before MAC changes them. This year, MAC has released ten new Mineralize Eyeshadows, five of which are single mélange shades and five of which are duos, which will replace last year's six duos. (Last year's duos will still be available until stock runs out, so if there were any shades you liked, you still have a chance to pick them up!) This post will feature the five single mélange shades from this refresh. Each eyeshadow comes in regular black packaging, contains 2.2 grams of product, and retails for $24.

Gilt By Association, Smutty Green, Blue Flame, Young Punk, and Cinderfella

Gilt By Association is a blend of blackened brown and dark olive-gold. When swirled together, it's a dark olive-brown with olive-gold sparkle. It is a re-promoted shade from 2009's Style Black collection, and will be permanent for one year going forward. The texture is soft and smooth, and it has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. There is some fall-out due to the amount of glitter, but it is minimal. When used wet, the colour becomes much more intense and it looks much more metallic. It is darker and more bronze than Sumptuous Olive.

Smutty Green is a blend of black and dark forest green with silver, gold, and red shimmer. When swirled together, it's a blackened forest green with cool-toned green sparkle. It is a new shade, and will be permanent for one year going forward. The texture is fairly gritty due to the larger glitter used in this so there is some fall-out and unevenness when applied dry. When used wet, the colour becomes much more intense and the green metallic sheen really comes out. It is much darker than Humid.

Blue Flame is a blend of black, navy blue, and silver. When swirled together, it's a dark navy blue with blue sparkle. It is a re-promoted shade from 2009's Style Black collection, and will be permanent for one year going forward. The texture is soft and smooth, and it has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. There is some fall-out due to the amount of glitter, but it is minimal. When used wet, the colour becomes much more intense and the blue metallic sheen really comes out. It is darker than Contrast.

Young Punk is a blend of black, purple, and pink-purple. When swirled together, it's a black with purple shimmer. It is a re-promoted shade from 2009's Style Black collection, and will be permanent for one year going forward. The texture is fairly gritty due to the larger glitter used in this so there is some fall-out, chalkiness, and unevenness when applied dry. When used wet, the colour becomes much more intense and the purple metallic sheen really comes out. It is darker than Nocturnelle.

Cinderfella is a blend of blackened brown, silver, and grey. When swirled together, it's a black with gunmetal and silver shimmer. It is a re-promoted shade from 2009's Style Black collection, and will be permanent for one year going forward. The texture is soft and smooth, and it has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. There is some fall-out due to the amount of glitter, but it is minimal. When used wet, the colour becomes much more intense and the silver metallic sheen really comes out. It's like a much more intense and metallic version of Black Tied.

Mineralize eyeshadows tend to go on more sheer and uneven when used dry, and these are really no different. They're not difficult to use, but they tend to have more fall-out and patchiness than your average eyeshadow, and they do require some layering. But when used wet, they have this gorgeous, dazzling, metallic effect with jewel-like sparkles and super-intense colour. That is to say, they are entirely worth working with, because the result is stunning. I like to dampen a MAC #239 brush with Fix+, and put it directly onto the eyeshadow — Mineralize eyeshadows are actually made to be used both dry and wet, unlike many of MAC's other eyeshadows. Those who like Mineralize eyeshadows will like these, and those who don't probably won't change their mind. But for those who like darker colours, these are definitely worth looking into.