MAC Cosmetics Nutcracker Sweet Holiday 2016 Collection: You’ll Want It ALL!

I don’t often pay attention to MAC collections EXCEPT at Holiday time! This collection caught my attention with the simple word ‘sweet’–it conjured up images of pink cupcakes, fluffy frosting and sprinkles. Okay, maybe I was hungry at the time. A dash of plum, pink and gold packaging and my blogging friends great reviews I was a goner. Bye Felicia, get me to the counter!

The MAC Nutcracker Sweet Collection is THE big Holiday Limited Edition offering.  The collection is extensive with many parts and pieces including some new products and, as is typical of MAC, some re-promotes. The collection includes everything from eye pencils to pigments to lipsticks and highlighters. The palettes and kits are the stars of this candy store but I wasn’t in need of any (like that matters) so I chose a tasting of three products before I go all fan girl and purchase the whole kit and caboodle! Warning: you’re going to want it ALL!

The packaging is so fun and reminds me of a party! The packaging features stripes, polka dots and stars in shades of purple, pink and gold. It’s darling and I love it!

Magic Dust Powder ($28) – I have to thank (or curse) Brooke of Blushing Noir because I would NOT have tried this if I hadn’t read her review. I expected this to be super frosty like the Skin Finishes and they are not. There are two shades: Yum Yum (soft pink with gold pearl) and Sweet Vision (peachy pink with gold pearl). Sweet Vision is what I wanted NARS Orgasm to be–peachy pink or pinky peach whichever way you see it are my fav blushes to wear and the addition of the gold pearl is like getting a blush and gorgeous highlighter in one. No disco ball glitter here, just a lovely radiant glow. Sweet Vision works well with my warm skin tone, Yum Yum will work for cooler toned skin, but I may pick it up anyway because I love these so much! Oh, I almost forgot to mention the pretty embossed star design on the powder, isn’t it purdy?

MAC Magic Dust Eye Shadow in Forward March ($23) – not only am I a sucker for cute packaging, but also for peachy eye shadows. Forward March is a stunning peach with a gold shimmer shift. It’s soft, pigmented and makes eye glow which is perfect for the holidays!

 The other eye shadows in the collection are:

• Dance Flowers Dance – shimmery light pink
• Pretty Dainty – shimmery coral pink
• Rabblerouser – bright, hot pink
• Dark Lullaby-deep purple

Amplified Cream in Saucy Darling ($18) – MAC describes this as a red coral and I totally disagree. I find NO red in it at all, and it definitely has more pink than coral. On my lips, it’s a warm, bright pink with a teeny hint of coral. It is nicely pigmented, though not completely opaque. I had to apply two layers to get full coverage. The finish has a light sheen and is moisturizing. At first I thought this was a typical non-descript pink lipstick but after wearing it for a few hours, I love how it brightens up my face. Good news for over 40 gals–this lipstick did not bleed or feather into my lip lines!

I have to mention the Kohl Power Eye Pencils ($16.50) – two re-promotes: Powersurge, bronze with gold shimmer and Prunella, a plum purple happen to be some of my favorite eyeliners in the entire MAC line–if you don’t have them they are worth an in-store test drive.

Bottom Line: I’m so happy with my MAC Nutcracker Sweet purchases! I cherry-picked the collection and I think I got the best of the best. I wasn’t impressed with the eye shadow palettes, especially the warm one. They gave me a ‘been there done that’ feeling. The Face Compacts are very pretty but too frosty for this old face. The lips are always great if you want to try a few lip products and the brush kits are great if you need a starter set. If I had to recommend just ONE item (oh horror) that is a must-have, it would be one of the Magic Dust Powders.