MAC Après Chic: Mineralize Eyeshadows

Last Thursday, MAC released their first post-holiday colour collection called Après Chic. It is inspired by "natural glamour [that] appears effortless." This collection is comprised of 30 products —19 of which is new and limited edition, three of which are re-promotes, five of which are new and permanent, and three of which are permanent. Après Chic sees the release of five shades of Mineralize Eyeshadow, all of which are new and limited edition. Mineralize Blush is "refined powder formula to provide exceptionally sheer and lightweight application. Colour builds lightly, layer after layer, without heavy coverage." Each Mineralize Eyeshadow comes in regular black packaging with a clear lid, contains 2.2 grams of product, and retails for $25.

Clockwise from left: Ice, Winter Pursuit, Fireside, Silver Birch, and Frost at Midnight

Swatches (dry): Ice, Winter Pursuit, Fireside, Silver Birch, and Frost at Midnight

Swatches (wet): Ice, Winter Pursuit, Fireside, Silver Birch, and Frost at Midnight

Ice is a light peachy beige with shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. When used wet, both the colour and the metallic finish become more intense. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is less pink than Phloof!, and more peach than Dazzlelight.

Winter Pursuit is a medium orange-copper with shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish  It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. When used wet, both the colour and the metallic finish become more intense. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and less orange than Coppering, and more orange than Mythology. 

Fireside is a dark bronze-plum with shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. When used wet, both the colour and the metallic finish become more intense. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more bronze than Sketch, and darker and less pink than Star Violet.

Silver Birch is a medium silvered grey with green undertones with shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. When used wet, both the colour and the metallic finish become more intense. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more grey than Greensmoke. 

Frost at Midnight is a medium-dark dirty periwinkle blue with purple undertones with shimmer-sheen in a metallic finish. It has a soft texture, but is slightly gritty so it goes on a bit patchy. It has medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque colour pay-off. When used wet, both the colour and the metallic finish become more intense. It can be layered and blended out easily. There is no similar dupes in MAC's permanent eyeshadow range.

For those who are looking for intense, pigmented eyeshadows that go on and blend out without any effort, Mineralize Eyeshadows are not for you. Oh, and if you prefer matte eyeshadows, these aren't for you, either. Mineralize Eyeshadows are meant to be buildable and layerable to achieve different opacities, and these all have metallic finishes. I don't think any of them are necessarily must-haves, but my favourites Winter Pursuit and Fireside, both of which look absolutely stunning used both dry or wet. I must also note that Mineralize Eyeshadows perform significantly better with an emollient eye primer or base, and a flatter, more dense brush for packing on colour because these do kick up quite a bit of powder. Those who are fans of Mineralize Eyeshadow should take a look at these to see if there are some new, interesting shades to pick up that they don't already have. Those who don't like Mineralize Eyeshadows can keep walking — these won't change your mind.