The Clinique Nutcracker Suite Act I Three-Piece Holiday Collection Is Totally En Pointe

Even though the pink and glitter in The Nutcracker Suite, Clinique’s new ballet-inspired holiday collection, are totally en pointe, they will not help you pirouette your way to ballet greatness.

Wearing the Eye and Cheek Compact, Chubby Stick Baby Tint and Blended Face Powder from the Clinique Nutcracker Act I, part of The Nutcracker Suite holiday collection

But I can see why you might think they should…

After all, it does make a certain kind of sense to think that since your makeup looks like a ballerina’s from The Nutcracker, you should probably be able to dance like one, too, and then you bust out some plies on your creaky knees and scowl at your ballet teacher when she says something snarky about your butt sticking out too far!

Er, well…maybe that’s just me and my childhood dance trauma.

The Clinique Nutcracker Act 1, part one of two sub-collections in the Clinique holiday collection

Clinique worked with the American Ballet Theater to choreograph the collection’s color palette, mining the ballet company’s Nutcracker costume archives for inspiration.

The five-piece Nutcracker Suite collection is divided into two parts ? Act I and Act II ? with lots of dainty pinks and plums and a sprinkling of silver glitter finer than the finest snowflakes.

The products I’m looking at today are from Act I, which was inspired by the Waltz of the Snowflakes sequence in The Nutcracker.

Two words: pink and glitter.

The Nutcracker Act I Compact ($36)

Truth be told, I was afraid there was going to be entirely too much pink up in the mix with these three pieces ? and I’m a girl who loves pink! ? but there’s a lot of it here.

In The Nutcracker Suite Act I compact ($36), for instance, there’s a shimmery pink eyeshadow with silver glitter and a rosy pink blush with a satin finish.

Then there’s the creamy light pink Chubby Stick Baby Tint Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Budding Blossom ($17).

And then there’s the Blended Face Powder in Snowflake Dreams ($24), a bluish pink highlighter/body powder with large flecks of silver glitter.

Yo, it’s a LOT of pink.

The Snowflake Dreams Blended Face Powder, $24

But beside the other colors in The Nutcracker Suite Act I compact, I think the preponderance of pink makes sense, where it acts as a supporting background color, kind of like the dancers in the chorus, for the shimmery, silvery taupe eyeshadow (like a less frosty version of MAC Satin Taupe), the glittery grayish black eyeshadow (super pretty when it’s blended on top of a creamy black kohl base) and the frosty whitish beige eyeshadow.

Altogether, they aren’t your typical red/gold/black holiday steeze, and I like ‘em for that.

The Budding Blossom Chubby Stick Baby Tint Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm ($17)

With glittery eyeshadows like these, you run the risk of some fallout, but Clinique dialed the glitter down a few notches here, and it prevents any full-scale glitter bombs. I notice very little fallout from any of the shadows in the compact.

Swatches from the left of the beige, pink, taupe and black eyeshadows in the Act I compact; the pink blush from the Act I compact; and the Snowflake Dreams Face Powder and Budding Blossom Chubby Stick Baby Tint

The only time I’ve felt a little iffy about the glitter sitch in Act I has been while using the Blended Face Powder.

That piece is CRAZY glittery.

Like, if you aren’t careful when you apply it and wear it during the daytime outside, people might assume that you were out all night clubbing and just haven’t had time to go home and wash your face yet.

So yeah…use a light touch with the Blended Face Powder.

I’m also wearing Eyelure Texure 117 false lashes

I also think the glitter in the collection is offset by the smooth, satin pink blush (not patchy at all) and the sheer, moisturizing, light pink lip balm (lasts a couple of hours), both which should see a lot of use through winter and into the spring.

If you’d like to take a twirl with The Nutcracker Suite, you can find the entire collection pirouetting now on Clinique counters and online.

Gurl! It’s that time of year when I can’t go into a Trader Joe’s without leaving with at least a little something tasty and holiday-themed.

You have GOT to try these holiday teas if you haven’t already. They’re so tasty! Plus, the only way I seem to be able to finish everything I need to finish during the day now is if I’m caffeinated up to here.

LOL! It’s true though…

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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