MAC In Extra Dimension Collection 2013 (April 2013)

[miss0annette]

Love the lippie! You look so pretty!

Thanks Hun! That's Heroine (of course!)

 

[GlamQueen21]

Just ordered Fiery Impact and decided to skip At Dusk. It looks pretty but it looks too light for me.

 

[erine1881]

All the swatches on here are beautiful! I'm just curious are they finger swatched or done with an actual brush! Because allura beauty did all her live swatches with an eye brush and blush brush for he blushes! The eyeshadow was next to nothing and the blush was almost just as "barely nothing sheer" as well! FYI...she's an NC20!

my was with fingers.......the blush is very sheer when I tried on with the brush...

Mine were finger watches as well, no base.

I tried out this whole collection yesterday - didn't have a chance to write about it until now. Some observations: The eyeshadows are sheeeeeeer. With a paint pot underneath, they lose their sheerness right away, though, so that's good. Just building the color up without a base won't really get rid of the sheerness. I do love the sheer quality though. If you loved the pale colors of the Pressed Pigments, but didn't want to deal with all that glitter and sparkle, THESE are the shadows for you - the pale blue, pale silver and Zestful are very close to some of the Pressed Pigment colors, but much easier to apply and no glitter. What's weird about this batch of EDES is that the texture is "drier" - I can't really use a better adjective- but dry in a good way. The older formula felt thicker and moister and kicked up more powder - also was a little fussy to build up or blend down without emphasizing my eyelid texture. Those problems have been eradicated here - no crepey effect if you accidentally apply too much and none of that "too thick" looking effect that happened especially with most of the colors in the first batch.  I loved all the colors but Zestful, Smokey Mauve, and Triple Impact especially stand out (I think I'm going to get them all except for the silver and the Opalesse). One cool thing about the sheerness and smoothness level on these: I was wearing Siahi f/l when I was trying them on and with Dimensional Blue over it, it looked extra bluish, but with Zestful over, Siahi turned a gorgeous emerald green. So basically, layering these over colored bases is going to come up with many beautiful combos! The blushes also had that drier but not powdery texture and are all really something to behold. One thing people were complaining about was lack of pigmentation, especially in the lighter colors. This isn't exactly accurate!!! The main thing is, just like the shadows, these blushes really change when worn over foundation. Ones that were barely visible without foundation took on a phenomenal natural effect over the Mineralize foundation (which is what I tested them over). You know how a lot of the newer Mineralize Blushes don't look quite right over foundation but melt into the skin and look beautiful and naturally satiny over bare skin? Well, these blushes are like the opposite - they're all a little "meh" over bare skin, but over foundation, they look just like MBs  without foundation, in other words, super natural stains of color with plenty of controllable pigmentation. If you normally wear foundation and never like the look of MBs and maybe sometimes struggle with the powderiness of standard blushes, these just might turn into Holy Grail material. I didn't think MAC could possibly come up with yet another blush that could grab my eye after last year, but they did it. As far as blush colors go, Flaming Chic looks just like Marine Life on my skin tone - so cute! I really liked Bareness too, because like the Apres Chic MBs - it just brightens up your whole face without adding obvious color and no shimmer, like you'd get from a Pearlmatte. At Dusk was another one that really came through better over foundation, but also worked without foundation, just very subtly. Another option that brings the color of these blushes out is applying them over the EDSFs, but then you are adding shimmer which you might not want.

Glad I'm not the only one liking them! I don't find them sheer or lacking pigment at all either. It seems to me that people are gravitating to colours that are too light for their skintones, which would cause a "lack of pigmentation" situation. :dunno:

 

[Haven]

Thank you for your swatches!

 

[cindypltnm81]

Mine were finger watches as well, no base. Glad I'm not the only one liking them! I don't find them sheer or lacking pigment at all either. It seems to me that people are gravitating to colours that are too light for their skintones, which would cause a "lack of pigmentation" situation. :dunno:

That may be true... I will have my final determination when my product arrives! lol I based my previous observation off a trusted beauty blogger and a excellent youtuber with live swatches using an actual brush (which most use with their applications)! She is a NC 20 and was working hard for even a sheer wash of color to show! So it has nothing to do with skintone dear! In my opinion, they were just not up to par.

 

[Haven]

I ended up ordering 4 blushes and 2 eyeshadows from this collection. DH is going to have me committed after this last black box arrives - LOL.
Between this collection and my random Fashion Sets orders my makeup budget is blown for the month. Thankfully I am not really interested in the Baking Beauties collection. That collection is looking like a total skip for me.


I contacted MAC CS about the skinfinishes and was told that they do not know if or when a restock will occur. So did I blink and miss them being in stock on the U.S. site?

 

[cindypltnm81]

I ended up ordering 4 blushes and 2 eyeshadows from this collection.  DH is going to have me committed after this last black box arrives - LOL.  Between this collection and my random Fashion Sets orders my makeup budget is blown for the month.   Thankfully I am not really interested in the Baking Beauties collection.  That collection is looking like a total skip for me. I contacted MAC CS about the skinfinishes and was told that they do not know if or when a restock will occur.  So did I blink and miss them being in stock on the U.S. site?

No...don't say that! I was totally waiting for the other 2 skin finishes! Never seen them in stock to begin with! That's cray cray!!

 

[liba]

That may be true... I will have my final determination when my product arrives! I based my previous observation off a trusted beauty blogger and a excellent youtuber with live swatches using an actual brush (which most use with applications) on her skintone! She is a NC 20 and she was working hard for even a sheer wash of color to show! Has nothing to do with skintone! In my opinion, they were just not up to par!

I'm NC15 and I tried every color with the dual fiber brush that is being repro-ed with the collection. Bareness, At Dusk and Blazing Heat really did not show up well on me on bare skin. Flaming Chic and Fiery Impact did, but quite softly - they did build a bit, though, as did Blazing Heat. With foundation on, all of them showed up with excellent pigmentation in one swipe, except for Bareness, which stayed super subtle (but then again, that one is supposed to be a very subtle brightener anyhow - the effect is very nice over foundation). Also, applying the blushes on top of the Skin Finishes made all the colors come out much more strongly, also with one swipe, but that made them all look shimmery, because the shimmer of the EDSF would come through from underneath. Maybe people can try applying regular face powder or an MSFN and then putting these blushes over, if they don't want to use foundation. Another possibility I didn't experiment with would be applying them with a damp brush or applying them dry then misting with Fix+. I'm sure you could apply them over a cream blush or a cream color base and get the pigmentation to come through then, too.

The shadows are the same way - sheer sheer sheer and not buildable to opacity unless over a base, after which you just need one regular layer and boom- total opacity and color popping.

Oh, the weird technology!

 

[Haven]

I'm NC15 and I tried every color with the dual fiber brush that is being repro-ed with the collection. Bareness, At Dusk and Blazing Heat really did not show up well on me on bare skin. Flaming Chic and Fiery Impact did, but quite softly - they did build a bit, though, as did Blazing Heat. With foundation on, all of them showed up with excellent pigmentation in one swipe, except for Bareness, which stayed super subtle (but then again, that one is supposed to be a very subtle brightener anyhow - the effect is very nice over foundation). Also, applying the blushes on top of the Skin Finishes made all the colors come out much more strongly, also with one swipe, but that made them all look shimmery, because the shimmer of the EDSF would come through from underneath. Maybe people can try applying regular face powder or an MSFN and then putting these blushes over, if they don't want to use foundation. Another possibility I didn't experiment with would be applying them with a damp brush or applying them dry then misting with Fix+. I'm sure you could apply them over a cream blush or a cream color base and get the pigmentation to come through then, too.

The shadows are the same way - sheer sheer sheer and not buildable to opacity unless over a base, after which you just need one regular layer and boom- total opacity and color popping.

Oh, the weird technology!

I apologize if I missed this in your review, but did the pro store have the missing skinfinishes in stock? I am wondering if they are worth tracking down if they are/will be available.

 

[cindypltnm81]

I'm NC15 and I tried every color with the dual fiber brush that is being repro-ed with the collection. Bareness, At Dusk and Blazing Heat really did not show up well on me on bare skin. Flaming Chic and Fiery Impact did, but quite softly - they did build a bit, though, as did Blazing Heat. With foundation on, all of them showed up with excellent pigmentation in one swipe, except for Bareness, which stayed super subtle (but then again, that one is supposed to be a very subtle brightener anyhow - the effect is very nice over foundation). Also, applying the blushes on top of the Skin Finishes made all the colors come out much more strongly, also with one swipe, but that made them all look shimmery, because the shimmer of the EDSF would come through from underneath. Maybe people can try applying regular face powder or an MSFN and then putting these blushes over, if they don't want to use foundation. Another possibility I didn't experiment with would be applying them with a damp brush or applying them dry then misting with Fix+. I'm sure you could apply them over a cream blush or a cream color base and get the pigmentation to come through then, too.  The shadows are the same way - sheer sheer sheer and not buildable to opacity unless over a base, after which you just need one regular layer and boom- total opacity and color popping. Oh, the weird technology!

I'm definitely open to see how FI and BH (as these were the only 2 of the 5 I assumed would look decent on my skin tone) will look after my foundation is applied! I just disagree with the other person stating a product won't work because of deeper skintone trying to use lighter colors ! I have so many blushes and highlighters that are reviewed only for light to medium skin tones! I can make anything work and look great

 

[Icecaramellatte]

I'm NC15 and I tried every color with the dual fiber brush that is being repro-ed with the collection. Bareness, At Dusk and Blazing Heat really did not show up well on me on bare skin. Flaming Chic and Fiery Impact did, but quite softly - they did build a bit, though, as did Blazing Heat. With foundation on, all of them showed up with excellent pigmentation in one swipe, except for Bareness, which stayed super subtle (but then again, that one is supposed to be a very subtle brightener anyhow - the effect is very nice over foundation). Also, applying the blushes on top of the Skin Finishes made all the colors come out much more strongly, also with one swipe, but that made them all look shimmery, because the shimmer of the EDSF would come through from underneath. Maybe people can try applying regular face powder or an MSFN and then putting these blushes over, if they don't want to use foundation. Another possibility I didn't experiment with would be applying them with a damp brush or applying them dry then misting with Fix+. I'm sure you could apply them over a cream blush or a cream color base and get the pigmentation to come through then, too.

The shadows are the same way - sheer sheer sheer and not buildable to opacity unless over a base, after which you just need one regular layer and boom- total opacity and color popping.

Oh, the weird technology!

Which side did you use when you used the duo fiber brush for cheeks? I still haven't got the hang of those brushes and rarely use them.

 

[Prettypackages]

I tried out this whole collection yesterday - didn't have a chance to write about it until now.

Some observations:

The eyeshadows are sheeeeeeer. With a paint pot underneath, they lose their sheerness right away, though, so that's good. Just building the color up without a base won't really get rid of the sheerness. I do love the sheer quality though. If you loved the pale colors of the Pressed Pigments, but didn't want to deal with all that glitter and sparkle, THESE are the shadows for you - the pale blue, pale silver and Zestful are very close to some of the Pressed Pigment colors, but much easier to apply and no glitter. What's weird about this batch of EDES is that the texture is "drier" - I can't really use a better adjective- but dry in a good way. The older formula felt thicker and moister and kicked up more powder - also was a little fussy to build up or blend down without emphasizing my eyelid texture. Those problems have been eradicated here - no crepey effect if you accidentally apply too much and none of that "too thick" looking effect that happened especially with most of the colors in the first batch.

I loved all the colors but Zestful, Smokey Mauve, and Triple Impact especially stand out (I think I'm going to get them all except for the silver and the Opalesse). One cool thing about the sheerness and smoothness level on these: I was wearing Siahi f/l when I was trying them on and with Dimensional Blue over it, it looked extra bluish, but with Zestful over, Siahi turned a gorgeous emerald green. So basically, layering these over colored bases is going to come up with many beautiful combos!

The blushes also had that drier but not powdery texture and are all really something to behold. One thing people were complaining about was lack of pigmentation, especially in the lighter colors. This isn't exactly accurate!!! The main thing is, just like the shadows, these blushes really change when worn over foundation. Ones that were barely visible without foundation took on a phenomenal natural effect over the Mineralize foundation (which is what I tested them over). You know how a lot of the newer Mineralize Blushes don't look quite right over foundation but melt into the skin and look beautiful and naturally satiny over bare skin? Well, these blushes are like the opposite - they're all a little "meh" over bare skin, but over foundation, they look just like MBs without foundation, in other words, super natural stains of color with plenty of controllable pigmentation. If you normally wear foundation and never like the look of MBs and maybe sometimes struggle with the powderiness of standard blushes, these just might turn into Holy Grail material. I didn't think MAC could possibly come up with yet another blush that could grab my eye after last year, but they did it.

As far as blush colors go, Flaming Chic looks just like Marine Life on my skin tone - so cute! I really liked Bareness too, because like the Apres Chic MBs - it just brightens up your whole face without adding obvious color and no shimmer, like you'd get from a Pearlmatte. At Dusk was another one that really came through better over foundation, but also worked without foundation, just very subtly. Another option that brings the color of these blushes out is applying them over the EDSFs, but then you are adding shimmer which you might not want.

sigh... just spent up all my money...

 

[liba]

I apologize if I missed this in your review, but did the pro store have the missing skinfinishes in stock? I am wondering if they are worth tracking down if they are/will be available.

I wasn't at a pro store - I was at my local freestanding store, where they're nice and let me peek at collections in advance. They DID tell me they only got their skin finishes in yesterday, when they'd gotten all the blushes and shadows more than a week ago, so maybe there's something going on with that?

I'd say don't sweat it and just go to a counter or freestanding store next Thurs. when the collection comes out. If you get there in the morning, I'd think you'd be able to get what you wanted, but I didn't get the impression they were going to have much stock on the skin finishes - still, it seemed like there will be more stock than they're getting in for Baking Beauties.

 

[Lipstickdiva420]

Zestful dry and wet, Opalese dry and wet

I'm so excited about zestful and it's exactly the color I've been looking for

and the pigmentation is not as bad as I thought it would be.

 

[User38]

I am taken back in time and place..

 

[cindypltnm81]

Zestful dry and wet, Opalese dry and wet I'm so excited about zestful and it's exactly the color I've been looking for 

 and the pigmentation is not as bad as I thought it would be.

Zestful looks pretty against your skin!

 

[Lipstickdiva420]

Zestful looks pretty against your skin!

thank you! I love it!

 

[Pretty Honeybee]

Zestful dry and wet, Opalese dry and wet I'm so excited about zestful and it's exactly the color I've been looking for 

 and the pigmentation is not as bad as I thought it would be.

I like!!!! Waiting on mines...

 

[Pretty Honeybee]

Zestful dry and wet, Opalese dry and wet I'm so excited about zestful and it's exactly the color I've been looking for 

 and the pigmentation is not as bad as I thought it would be.

bring on the blushes and msf!!!! Lol.. What shade are you in Mac? Those look really nice on your skin

 

[Lipstickdiva420]

bring on the blushes and msf!!!! Lol.. What shade are you in Mac? Those look really nice on your skin

thank you! I'm a NW45