MAC Nutcracker Sweet Holiday 2016 Gift Sets: The Smoky Eye Compact Eye Shadow X 9

Band ten hut!

Yes, I was a band geek, and yes, I was also, to sound even more band geekier (?), a squad leader, so I knew all of the commands and stuff. 🙂

Ugh! I shouldn’t have admitted that in print, but hey, the packaging for this MAC Nutcracker Sweet Smoky Eye Compact Eye Shadow X 9 looks like a bad uniform (I spent a majority of my teenage years in one).

It’s one of three eye palettes in the Nutcracker Sweet holiday collection, and it’s the smoky one. There’s also a cool-toned one and a warm-toned one.

As usual for a MAC holiday collection, there are lots of kits and sets. MAC goes hawd during the holidays, and I’m just kind of marching my way (haha, band reference) through all of them.

M∙A∙C Nutcracker Sweet
Available online October 20, 2016
Available in stores on October 27, 2016 through December 8, 2016
#MACNutcrackerSweet

OK, first things first…but don’t these look a little like the Urban Decay Naked palettes? Especially this one with the neutral colors?

I don’t know… *shoulder shrug* I’m not saying that anybody did any copycatting, but I think there’s a resemblance.

The Smoky Eye Compact Eye Shadow X 9 ($39.50) — Too-dle-oo (Frost), Deception (Frost), Sweet Dreams (Matte), Kid (Veluxe), Dewdrop (Lustre), Cake & Biscuits (Matte), Swiss Chocolate (Matte), Dance in the Dark (Matte), Licorice Lane (Matte)

The set also comes with…

The 214/213 Dual-Ended Brush

There are nine powder eyeshadows in this one, and they’re all designed to work together in smoky eye looks.

That’s the reason I picked this one up first, because you know me when it comes to smoky. It’s my thing.

Some of the eyeshadows are mattes and some are shimmers. A few of them, I recognize from days gone by, like Swiss Chocolate, an old fave from the permanent collection (love), and a lighter brown called Kid, which was part of the permanent line at one time but seems to have quietly disappeared.

I know some people who freaked out about that because Kid was a good color, so I’m glad to see it again.

To be honest, the eyeshadow palettes in MAC’s holiday sets usually make me a grumpy goat because — and I’m just gonna say it — they haven’t always performed as well as the single shadows in the regular MAC line.

Some years, it’s been really, really obvious, but some years have been better than others, like this year. I think these shadows are a little better than usual for a MAC holiday palette.

Are they fantastically great? Well…let’s just say that I’m a little less grumpy goat than usual.

Like Swiss Chocolate, which I also have as an individual pan. The one here blends nicely — I’d say it’s comparable to my other Swiss Chocolate, but I still don’t think it’s as pigmented. Generally, I feel like all of these could a little more punch.

This 15-minute look involved a lot of layering and blending, and it’s still a tad patchy. Plus, I got some fallout.

Thank goodness I did my eyes first…

Another thing, though — the brush? Didn’t hate it! I usually end up tossing the dual-ended brushes that come with some MAC palettes, but this one will do in a pinch.

Overall, is this palette worth it? Well, I wouldn’t go chasing waterfalls for it, but it could be, especially if you don’t already have these colors.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen