What I'm Not Buying: MAC Nutcracker Sweet Copper Face Compact Holiday 2016

With their Nutcracker Sweet holiday 2016 collection, MAC has released the Copper Face Compact, which contains incredibly popular highlighter Whisper of Gilt and blush Pleasure Model. 

And I won't be buying. 

Frankly it doesn't matter that I won't be buying this product as it sold out very quickly. But I wanted to get my thoughts out there for anyone who wasn't able to get their hands on this and wanted to. 

Here's the thing. Products with specific names are just that. They are products, full stop. They do not change your life. They do not suddenly make right all the wrongs that are happening. They work like most other products. Just because this one highlighter has the name "Whisper of Gilt" does not make it substantially better than all other highlighters. 

This is a thing that I think we all get really hung up on, and it's to the benefit of the cosmetic industry, not to us personally. We could have a great product that performs perfectly and looks exactly the same as Whisper of Gilt, but since it's not called "Whisper of Gilt," we feel like we are somehow lacking. Thing is, absolutely no one on the street will know the name of your highlighter. They might see your overall complexion and think you look lovely, but they are not going to look at you and say, "Oh my gosh, you are wearing Whisper of Gilt!"

Whisper of Gilt is a warm yellow-gold highlighter. Much like Becca Opal:

And Becca Champagne Pop:

And Summer from the Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sun Dipped:

And theBalm's Mary Lou-Manizer:

And as I've said many, many times at this point, a highlighter is a highlighter is a highlighter. And Whisper of Gilt isn't a unique shade like silver or ice with a blue shift. It is a warm-toned yellow-gold. That is probably one of the most common, least unique highlight colors available. And honestly, from the swatches I've seen, I really don't understand the hype with this one. It's just nothing special. 

In my own collection, I have Becca's Opal and Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sun Dipped. Between those two products, I can absolutely achieve exact or very similar results to Whisper of Gilt. But more importantly, I don't think Whisper of Gilt would really flatter my skin tone. All warm gold highlights looks a little too intense on me and make it obvious that I have product on my face. I think warm gold highlights, like Whisper of Gilt, are best suited for medium to deep skin tones.

As far as the blush, the color just would not flatter me. It's the kind of color that would make me look like I have a sunburn. 

Pleasure Model looks nearly identical to MAC Love Joy:

Photo: Temptalia

And Becca Blushed Copper:

Photo: Temptalia

I guess the general point I'm trying to make here is that these products are not unique. When applied onto the skin, stripped of their packaging, name, and how they look when heavily swatched with a finger onto a hand, they look like so many other things. 

I'd like to take a moment a discuss the evolution of hype within the makeup community, at least how I've seen it. Years ago, MAC released an incredibly hyped limited edition lipstick called Lavender Whip. 

It was a cool lavender color that towed the line between wearable and unwearable for many. People went crazy for this color because at the time, bold and unusual lipstick colors weren't very common and readily available. There weren't several dupes for this color. People couldn't look at their collections and see several iterations of the same thing. Lavender Whip was released soon after I first became interested in makeup, and since it was such a bold color, I had no interest in it. And I probably wouldn't have interest in it today since I tend to wear very neutral lip colors. But I can understand where the hype came from because it truly was a unique item at the time. I can understand why people tried so desperately to get their hands on it. 

But I don't understand the hype around Sweet Copper, or at least Whisper of Gilt. The compact contains a blush and a highlighter. That's it. And if you already have a few blushes and highlighters that flatter you, you really don't need more. The only reason I can think for desperately wanting this item is if you are a collector and really wanted this specific product in the specific holiday packaging. Otherwise, if you're just a person who really likes the colors, the good news is that there are so many products that you can get that have the same color and perform just as good if not better. 

And I say all of this because I admit that when I hear specific names, especially of hyped, limited edition products, sometimes all logic leaves me and I hone in on the fact that I want that item. And at least for me, that has to stop. And for people who may be new to makeup and are building their collections, it may be overwhelming to hear of a hyped product and feel it is something so special that you have to own. I have been very invested in makeup for over seven years, and there have rarely been products so unique and special that they are worth the stress and headache trying to get. And even then, makeup items have expiration dates, and there will always be the next big, hyped item, and people will forget about the last one. 

Finally, the hysteria surrounding a lot of MAC's limited edition items is only to benefit them. Do you think if they made some of their most famous and coveted items permanent or at least released them a couple times a year they would be so coveted? Of course not! The more widely available something is, the less value it has in these kinds of scenarios. Brands want there to be a cult-like hype surrounding their products so that when they choose to rerelease, people will buy for the name alone. And I think that's exactly what happened here with the inclusion of Whisper of Gilt. 

At the end of the day, this is a blush and highlighter duo. Neither color is very special or hard to find. The colors are certainly pretty, but I'm not engaging with the hype on this one, because they just aren't that special. And I won't be buying (or caring that I couldn't buy).