Hey everyone! Here’s a quick swatch post for one of the few holiday items I ended up buying this year (I’ve been good, I swear!). I’ve gone crazy overboard last year, so I am taking my makeup purchases very seriously this year. This wasn’t supposed to be a purchase, since I am trying to cut down on eyeshadows and a 20-pc. set is not a step in the right direction, but I asked Sarie to look out for it for me in CA, since the set was on sale from $79 to $49 online and in actual bareMinerals stores (not counters). Luckily, she was able to find a set on one of her last few days out there.
Similar to last year’s set, A Vision in Velvet (review), this set contains 20 eyecolors, but Degrees of Dazzling is such a way better deal, in my opinion, since the 20 colors come in 4 different finishes, whereas last year’s colors were divided into just two: mattes (or velvets) and satins. The swatches will be divided according to finish.
VELVETS — these are basically matte colors. There are two duplicates here from A Vision in Velvet: Velvet Mauve and Velvet Charcoal.
“Surrender to the rush, the high, the incredible feeling of velvet eyecolors. Ultra smooth and unbelievably blendable, these velvety, stay-true shades can be applied dry for rich color or wet for a high-sheen “foiled” effect. Experiment, mix and match…it’s just the beginning.”
L-R, swatched: Velvet Mauve, Velvet Emerald, Velvet Lavender, Velvet Nude, Velvet Charcoal
These are really nice, though they aren’t my favorite. I have a feeling Velvet Lavender will show up chalky on me, but I can’t be too sure, either, without even trying it.
HIGH SHINE — High Shines are similar to a frost finish in MAC terms. They’re buttery, rich and opaque.
“bareMinerals High Shine Eyecolor provides mega-watt, high-intensity sheen for eyes. Perfect for on-the-go vibrant shades versatile enough for day or night wear. Satiny-soft and sheer with a touch of glow. Wear it dry for whisper effects, or wet for a more opaque sheen.
L-R, swatched: Pewter, Stay Golden, Deep Sea, Iridescent Iris, Rose Gold
I have tried Pewter on my eyes—out of curiosity, mostly—and holy cow, that stuff’s powerful! There’s a hint of purple somewhere in there, which makes the silver/grey friendlier on my coloring than usual, I think. Absolutely stunning. I also can’t wait to use Iridescent Iris, and actually everything else in this category, too.
GLIMMER — glimmer is a very sparkly, very glimmery finish, like glitters without all of the chunkiness. Quite pretty on the lid. It’s one of the original bareMinerals finishes for eyecolors, if I’m not mistaken.
“Glimmer: High-intensity shimmer. Can be softer and more translucent when worn dry, but creates an opaque wash of high sheen, known as foiling, when worn wet.”
L-R, swatched: Silver Dollar, Ginger Sugar, Violet Spell, Golden Pear, Strawberry Mousse
I’m super in love with this set, but I’m not too crazy about using bM’s glimmers in general, since the shimmer is SO FINE. This gets everywhere. I can’t wait to use Ginger Sugar, Golden Pear, and Strawberry Mousse, though.
LINER SHADOWS — these are the deeper shades that are supposed to be used for liner, but they are apparently multi-purpose. I’m not sure why they are “different,” since bareMinerals does have a Liner/Shadow range, so I’ll have to look into that.
100% pure bareMinerals® Liner Shadows from bareMinerals® offer intense, radiant color for a variety of eye-defining effects. Wear Liner Shadow dry for soft, subtle or smoky looks, or wear it wet for a more intense, fine line. Longer wearing than a traditional waxy pencil, bareMinerals® Liner Shadow applies velvety smooth and won’t smudge, run or fade off for stay-true color that lasts all day.
L-R, swatched: Black Leather, Starry Night, Toasted Espresso, Lagoon, Yoga
These are some of the most stunning colors in the set. Black Leather is a matte black with some silver glitters in it, kind of suspended over the color. Lagoon is a beautiful, deep navy, and Yoga is such a rich burgundy-purple color. I’ve tried Toasted Espresso on dry and it’s a little light, but I’ll keep working at it.
I noticed that I had a Velvet Nude in this set, so I decided to compare it to A Vision in Velvet’s Satin Nude:
Exact same color in a different finish. 🙂 I like using Velvet Nude as sort of a buffer, transition shade.
All the swatches together:
And, for your reference, here are the shades from last year’s A Vision in Velvet, over Etude House’s Proof 10 Eye Primer:
Velvets
Satins
What did I tell you about this set being superior? If I didn’t already say, these swatches from Degrees of Dazzling were made on bare skin, sans primer. Holla! I love it when products WORK SO DAMN WELL.
I’m still playing with this set, but I can tell how much love it’s going to get from me. The colors are smaller than the full-size bareMinerals shadows you can buy individually, but it still has a lot of mileage.
I’m just posting this now, because you can still get the set from Sephora ($79) and bareMinerals ($49). As far as I can tell, these colors are exclusive to this set.
I’m quite a pleased little pea.
Softly Sometimes 
Reblogged this on The Pretty Canary.
Deep sea and Rose gold are beautiful!
Glad you think so, Pat 🙂
Eep, these are soo nice! But I can only appreciate because try as I might, I cant use eye shadows as much as I want to. Great stash!! 🙂
Grabe, para siyang masayang ritual for me. Haha, thanks Ae!
The dark liner shades look super nice and are my faves in this set. Especially Toasted Espresso and Yoga! 🙂 As usual, cant wait to see looks!
😀 I’m so excited to play!
Starry Night and Toasted Espresso look amazing, as do all the High Shine colours (love Deep Sea)! This is a lovely set – good find, and good bargain!
Thank you! Glad you think so, too. 🙂
Wow, what a steal! I’ve been eyeing this set but I just can’t convince myself to get it. Now I do. Haha! I love Toasted Espresso and Rose Gold! UGH!
It’s on sale now (as far as I know)! 🙂
these are really pretty! but i am sorta mostly scared of loose shadows. and trying to be better with my purchases in 2014… we’ll see how that goes!
Good luck!
Oh my gosh these are so gorgeous!!!
Glad you think so too, Olivia! 🙂
Holy crap, that’s an amazing set of eyeshadows. Have fun with them!
Thanks, Natalie!
Gorgeous shades! I think Lagoon and Yoga are calling my name… loudly! 🙂
Go answer! Hehe 🙂
AMAZEBALLS. I’m even more amazed that you don’t need primer for them to show up as pigmented as they appear here. I like that there’s a few jewel tones and neutral tones in each finish. It’s totally the all-in-one eyeshadow set!
Right? I love that there are four finishes this time around!
Wooow I love the swatches very pigmented! I love the velvets and satins! Can’t wait for your look! 🙂
Thanks Genzel! I’ll put some up soon. 😀
I like the sparkly ones. The really sparkly ones.
Thanks, Marisa! They like you too. 😀
Haha! 🙂
Pingback: One Week bareMinerals Degrees of Dazzling: 7 Looks | Softly Sometimes