MAC's Young Venus Extra Dimension Eye Shadow. Yeah, baby, she's got it

"Goddess on the mountain top Burning like a silver flame The summit of beauty and love And Venus was her name"

I know, the cheese, right?

And you'll be thanking me later for this song getting stuck in your head.

All kidding aside, earlier this month MAC released In Extra Dimension, a 14-piece limited edition liquid-powder collection.  Unfortunately, for the girls down under, we were shorted one of the highlighters; MAC's HQ only shipped Superb and Whisper of Gilt.  To top it off, the shadows alone retailed for $50.00 a piece.  Because I didn't have the third highlighter, Glorify, to compare in store, I purchased Young Venus, a shimmery pastel pink, instead.  You might be wondering why I opted to buy an eye shadow versus a beauty powder; well, the MAC store associate inside of David Jones recommended Young Venus as a multi-tasker - eye shadow and highlighter in one. Prices are high here *continues to hammer point home* and I couldn't fathom asking what the highlighters retailed for. Young Venus will just have to do and it has!

Young Venus applies like a dream either by using your fingers or with the help of a brush. The colour is similar to NARS' Copacabana and is far more compact in size - I think it'd be great for taking it on a weekend getaway.  I didn't breakdown and buy Young Venus due to it being a liquid-powder (I didn't know this was the case at time of purchase); the reviews have been favourable, the store associate's advice was helpful and the promotional image is gorgeous!

MAC In Extra Dimension

MAC In Extra Dimension

Rose gold, navy blue and chocolatey brown equals the modern-day woman's kaleidoscope. At least it does for me.

Let's get to Young Venus and her beautifully designed pressed pan; I think I may have shed a tear as I swatched.

MAC Young Venus

MAC Young Venus

Pearly pink wave

Pearly pink wave

Extra Dimension Eye Shadow

Extra Dimension Eye Shadow

Young Venus close up

Young Venus close up

MAC Young Venus swatch

MAC Young Venus swatch

MAC Young Venus swatch

MAC Young Venus swatch

Young Venus

Young Venus

Here I am wearing it on my cheekbones, eyes and down the bridge of my nose.  Subtle, but gives you that "lit from within" look.

Eyes, cheekbones, nose..

Eyes, cheekbones, nose..

Just looking at theses pictures makes me long for my long locks.  I let my hairdresser chop off two inches or so - that's about five cm.  Yowza!  It needed to be done, because my ends were getting really dry from blowdrying my hair straight.  My hair's still past my shoulders, but I probably have the most boring haircut on record.  I'll post some pictures of my new 'do soon.

So, what do you think of MAC's Young Venus?  Comparisons have been made (see Cafe Makeup's review);  it's no wonder there's such a striking similarity, Estee Lauder is the mothership of makeup houses.  MAC just so happens to be one of its babies purchased back in 1998.

Enough makeup history for today.  Class, here's your bagful breakdown.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for MAC's Young Venus:

  • $50.00 AUS – It sells for $20.00 USD.

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 7 out of 10 bags – great multi-tasker, but I think my wallet is still whimpering.

Likelihood to purchase again:

  • I might have to buy one of the new blushes that were released in the Tres Cheek collection. Does someone want to buy it for me from the States?