I haven’t met anybody who didn’t love MAC’s Extra Dimension Eyeshadows (EDES), and thankfully MAC answered our prayers and made 18 shades permanent. From my stash I’ve chosen the ones that are perm now and will give you both swatches and a lot of reasons why those are a great addition to any makeup junkies’ hoard of eyeshadows!

What are they?

“Extra Dimension Eye Shadow is a modern hybrid formula that combines the smoothness of a cream, the blendability of a liquid and the finish of a powder with long-wearing colour and prismatic reflections. Its creamy, silky, near-fluid formula creates luminous, well-defined eyes in finishes from sheer crystallized light to stunning metallic.”

Swatches of some of MAC's Extra-Dimension Eyeshadows: (f.l.t.r.) Legendary Lure, Stolen Moment, Rich Core & Silver Sun
Swatches of some of MAC’s Extra-Dimension Eyeshadows: (f.l.t.r.) Legendary Lure, Stolen Moment, Rich Core & Silver Sun

 

That’s what MAC says, but marketing speak aside, the EDES have truly a unique formula. Although it’s a powder formula, the shadow feels very creamy. All the shades apart from Dark Dare (a velvety matte) are heavily shimmer infused, which gives them a reflective, complex, nearly colour shifting look. It never veers into the glitter territory, and though the amount of shimmer is high, fallout is minimal. The formula doesn’t kick up dust and loose powder if you swirl your brush in the pan. In the newly permanent line-up you can find both bold and smoky and a lot of neutral shades.

 

How do they perform?

 They’re my favourite powder eyeshadows for a reason – I’ve only good things to say about the EDES. I nearly never do overly elaborate eye looks with them – they’re my resort for lazy days when I want to have a polished and made-up look without having to blend five colours. They’re my one sweep wonder – one swipe of the chosen colour, liner, mascara and you’re good to go. All the shades make for a complex look without any real effort and give a great wash of colour in no time at all.

Wear time for me is that of a normal powder eyeshadow – I always use primer, so it’s the usual 10 hour mark of my Urban Decay Primer Potion.

If you want to go all out, they blend like a dream – with their sister and brother EDES and other eyeshadow formulas as well. And did I mention the great and complex colours?

 

Swatch time!

Stolen Moment is a wonderful warm taupe, which can seem nearly silver when the light hits it right because of the silver shimmer. The effect is even more stunning because it plays with the mix of warm and cool colours and is very versatile because of that. I love it as an everyday colour that makes hazel eyes greener.

Swatches in indirect light (f.l.t.r.) Rich Core, Silver Sun, Stolen Moment, Legendary Lure (MAC Extra Dimension E/S)
Swatches in indirect light (f.l.t.r.) Rich Core, Silver Sun, Stolen Moment, Legendary Lure (MAC Extra Dimension E/S)

 

Legendary Lure has a very dark green base that borders on black. Its shimmers are a bit bigger and not as subtle as in Stolen Moment. It makes a great shadow for a smoky eye.

Swatches in sun light (f.l.t.r.): Rich Core, Silver Sun, Stolen Moment, Legendary Lure (MAC EDES)
Swatches in sunlight (f.l.t.r.): Rich Core, Silver Sun, Stolen Moment, Legendary Lure (MAC EDES)

 

Silver Sun is a seafoam green. Its base colour is not only infused with silver shimmer, but I seem to detect pinkish and golden shimmer particles as well that make this shadow not a frosty silvery affair but gives it some warmth that looks great on my warmer skintone.

And an extra pic with added sparkly goodness! (F.l.t.r.) Rich Core, Silver Sun, Stolen Moment, Legendary Lure (MAC EDES)
And an extra pic with added sparkly goodness! (f.l.t.r.) Rich Core, Silver Sun, Stolen Moment, Legendary Lure (MAC EDES)

 

Rich Core is a red leaning plum with a slightly blackened base. If the light hits it at the right angle it gets a pinkish-golden sheen while you can see the dark base colour peeking out from underneath. It’s a stunning colour again, and it compliments hazel eyes nicely, drawing out the green in them.

MAC EDES Havana
MAC EDES Havana

 

My newest acquisition is Havana (just got it this week), which is similar to Stolen Moment for me – meaning I use it for the same purpose: A great shade for a ‘one wash of colour’ application on busy mornings. It’s a cool bronzey shade with the EDES typical high sheen finish.

MAC EDES Havana in indirect light.
MAC EDES Havana in indirect light.

 

What it makes Havana special are the golden and pinkish shimmers that are a bit bigger and interspersed throughout. Again this is quite a cool leaning shade that gets its warmth from the shimmer. I’ve worn it twice by now and love it paired with a dark blue liner.

In direct light and a bit blurry so you can see the sparkles!
In direct light and a bit blurry so you can see the sparkles!

 

The complete line up

  • A Natural Flirt
  • Ready to Party
  • Stylishly Merry
  • Smoky mauve
  • Rich Core
  • Grand Galaxy
  • Amorous Alloy
  • Havana
  • Sweet Heat
  • Stolen Moment
  • Silver Sun
  • Silver Dawn
  • Lunar
  • Fathoms Deep
  • Legendary Lure
  • Sea Worship
  • Dark Dare
  • Evening Grey

(20$ in the US/ around 24€ in Europe)

 

Extra tips

Never try to depot these! They don’t come with a pan but are sitting on a kind of mesh. You’ll easily destroy them while trying!

Also you can use them wet, but I’ve never seen the point. All the shades are really saturated. If you want to make the colours pop even more, I’d suggest a good primer/base.

 

The cons

My only gripe with the EDES is the price. When they first came out, they were released in the bigger eyeshadow pans like the Pro Longwear shadows or the Mineral Eyeshadow singles. Nowadays they come in the small pans with less than half of the product (3g vs. 1,3g) with a higher price than the big pans had before. Come on MAC!

But even so, this remains my fave eyeshadow formula. There’re similar products by different brands though – Estée Lauder makes some, and from what I can see, they’ve the same formula. Nars does one as well that I’ve never tested.

Have you? And what do you think about the EDES?