Last Friday, MAC released their annual Boxing Day collection, called Lightness of Being. It is inspired by the movement of dancers and "whimsical flights of fancy": "Poetic colour ushers in a new vitality following winter's deep chill, as uninhibited shades dance across the face in a free-spirited collection... Liberate yourself from darkened tones... [with] expressive colour for the modern spirit." This collection sees the launch of 27 products, 16 of which are new and limited edition, three of which are re-promotes, and eight of which are permanent. Lightness of Being includes the release of two shades of Mineralize Blush. Each Mineralize Blush comes in a regular black compact with a clear lid, but with a special edition weave knit pattern engraved into the powder. Each compact comes with 3.2 grams of product, and retails for $32.
Uplifting is a medium muted orange-peach with a metallic sheen and soft silver sparkle. This is a new and limited edition 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 orange and more sparkly than Warm Soul, darker and more orange than New Romance, more muted and more sparkly than Modern Mandarin, and darker and more sparkly than Style.
Please Yourself is a medium-dark cool-toned plummy pink with a frosted sheen and soft silver sparkle. This is a new and limited edition 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 slightly cooler and more sparkly than Gentle, much cooler and more sparkly than Whole Lotta Love, darker and more sparkly than I'm A Lover, and darker, brighter, and more sparkly than Dame.
Y'all know I have a lot of love for MAC's Mineralize Blushes, and when I first saw these, I immediately knew I had to get them. Aside from the cute weave knit pattern engraved on the powders (again, I don't know how this pattern is relevant to the theme of this collection), both of these feel soft and finely-milled, go on smoothly with high colour pay-off, and look absolutely gorgeous on the skin. However, these are different from the typical Mineralize Blush because they are both sparkly, almost as if a Mineralize Blush and a Mineralize Skinfinish had a baby. These both have frosted finishes with Uplifting having an almost metallic finish, so they can emphasize skin texture if you layer too much. That having been said, it looks positively illuminating on the skin (something I strive for in the winter months), almost as if they had built-in highlighters. If you like your blushes with sparkle and shine, these are definite must-haves.
I don't mind sparkly other products, but I tend to prefer just the regular mineralize blushes - glow vs. actual sparkle. It's a shame, because that pink is so cheerful!
ReplyDeleteFair enough! I like the sparkles for this time of year, when I want my skin to look more... magical, LOL. In general, I prefer the original Mineralize blushes more. If you like Please Yourself, check out Gentle -- it's similar to this shade, but in the original Mineralize formula. :)
DeleteI went to check these guys out ASAP but thought the blushes were too gritty. (You know I prefer the really finely milled stuff!) The shades are gorgeous though and the weave pattern was almost too irresistible. I don't know how I managed.
ReplyDeleteI actually find them to look really nice on the skin; I think swatching them will feel grittier, but it's quite smooth in application. :) But ya, it's that weave pattern that really got me. :P
DeleteI don't like sparkly much in my cheek products, but I DO like a good illuminating blush in the winter, like you - it just looks so damn good. Even a friend's hubby said to me last week that I had a 'glow' about me - and it wasn't from the pregnancy, I just had a shimmery bronzer + blush on ;) So now I've been pulling out all my shimmery blushes (admittedly I don't have many) to wear for the season. Bring on the shimmer!
ReplyDeleteI loooove shimmery blush. I don't know how anyone wears mattes all the time. Like, when I wear a matte shade, I just wanna put a highlighter on top to make it glowy, lol.
DeleteAnd I don't think I actually said this to you yet, so forgive me for the lateness, but: CONGRATS!!!