MAC Nutcracker Sweet: Face Compact in Peach and Copper

Last Thursday, MAC launched their holiday collection called Nutcracker Sweet. It was inspired by the story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King: "Leap into a magical land that's a bit nutty, a little naughty, bursting with whimsy. Lose yourself in an eccentric kingdom of oversized treats and rosy-cheeked nutcrackers. Twist, turn, and tumble deeper into the land of dolls. Our story has only begun..." In previous years, MAC released their holiday collection in two parts; the first part for the colour collection and bag sets, and the second part for kits. This year, they have been released all together under the same collection name, so what you see in stores and online now is Nutcracker Sweet in its entirety. 

Nutcracker Sweet sees the release of two face compacts, each containing one Extra Dimension Blush and one Extra Dimension Skinfinish. They are housed in special edition neon coral and dark purple striped mirrored compacts with a gold embroidered design on the fronts, with matching secondary card stock packaging. Both the blush and the highlighter are embossed with roped loop design. Each Face Compact contains a total of 9 grams of product (4.5 grams each for the blush and the highlighter), and retails for $42.
Nutcracker Sweet Peach Face Compact
Nutcracker Sweet Peach Face Compact: Tutu and At Dusk

Tutu is a light brightened warm beige with iridescent pearl in a metallic finish. 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 lighter than Soft and Gentle, warmer and more metallic than Lightscapade, and lighter than Double-Gleam.

At Dusk is a medium muted neutral-warm rose pink with a soft sheen in a satin finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2013's In Extra Dimension collection, and is limited edition. 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. It is warmer than Dame, lighter and more muted than Mocha, and cooler than Dainty.

Nutcracker Sweet Copper Face Compact
Nutcracker Sweet Copper Face Compact: Whisper of Gilt and Pleasure Model

Whisper of Gilt is a light-medium champagne gold with with iridescent pearl in a metallic finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2012's In Extra Dimension collection, and is limited edition. 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 gold than Global Glow, lighter and less orange than Gold Deposit, and darker and more gold than Double-Gleam.

Pleasure Model is a medium-dark warm terracotta peach with a soft sheen in a satin finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2013's Magnetic Nude collection, and is limited edition. 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 brighter than Coppertone, darker and more orange than Sunbasque, and more orange than Peachtwist.

Oh, yes, folks, Whisper of Gilt is back! People have been waiting for four years for this to be re-released, so the Copper Face Compact will undoubtedly be the first thing to sell out from Nutcracker Sweet. (And if you had your eyes set on it, I would run to your closest MAC retailer because it is sold out online. And most stores, for that matter.) I've always been a huge fan of the Extra Dimension formula in all forms (eyeshadows, blushes, highlighters) for its lightweight, super-smooth, ultra-silky texture, incredible pigmentation and blendability — and these are no different. In fact, it seems like the blushes here are smoother and more pigmented than older variations. The Extra Dimension Blushes have a satin finish with a soft sheen that sits smoothly on the skin and doesn't emphasize skin texture, whereas the Extra Dimension Skinfinishes have a very high-shine, metallic, almost wet-looking glow that can be buffed out to the most luminous, dewy finish (a formula, in fact, that has spawned dozens of imitations from huge brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills and Laura Mercier). Both face compacts are absolutely stunning, with the Peach one designed for fair to medium complexions and the Copper one designed for medium to dark complexions, and are without a doubt the stars of this year's holiday collection.