This is a continuation of my initial post where I reviewed 19 MAC blushes. Since that time, I have bought several more (because I am insane) and wanted to share them here. In my previous MAC post, I purchased the shades I thought would suit me best, but this post has the blush colors I knew in advance I’d be taking a risk on.
Powder Blushes
Mocha is a “Soft Plum-Pink” matte. It’s not far off in color from Melba, but I have an easier time getting this to show on my skin tone. Although I can wear it, I think this shade was intended for those with light to medium-tan complexions. I was a bit surprised, considering products named Mocha tend to be very dark-skin friendly, but I’m glad I can still wear it and I like how it looks.
Peachykeen is a “very baby peach” sheertone shimmer blush. This is the kind of shade for someone who likes Peachtwist but wishes it had more of a pink tone. Although it looks very pigmented in the swatch, building up this shade leaves me with a lot of shimmer and a little bit of a pink tint that is easier to see in person than on camera. The base color would likely appear more strongly on someone with a lighter skin tone.
Breath of Plum is a “light plum” sheertone blush. Though it’s a sheertone matte, it can be applied heavier for more color payoff.
Plum Foolery is a “faintly plum” sheertone shimmer formula blush only available in the Pro Refill pans. Just as it was with Peachykeen, when I apply this shade heavily, the shimmer is what shows up more than the base color. Though it doesn’t come across as well on camera, in person, a heavy application looks very intense.
Sweet As Cocoa is a “chocolate brown with gold pearl,” sheertone shimmer blush only available in the Pro Refill pans. It closely resembles the frost shade called Format, but Sweet as Cocoa has a little more red to it.
Frankly Scarlet is a “vivid rose-red” matte shade and was a last minute addition to this post.
This truly is a rosy color. I wanted to show how sheer an intense shade like this could be applied onto the cheeks. The texture of this blush is unlike most of the others within the matte powder formula. It wants to stay on the cheek in the spot wherever you first apply it, so I recommend using a large fluffy brush in order to disperse the product in a wider, more evenly blended way. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to prefer smaller and more precise blush brushes, but a smaller brush takes a lot more time and effort to get the same amount of color across the entire cheek. Plus, a larger brush requires less dips into the pan (1-2) whereas my smaller brushes take 3-4; and with each dip into the pan it risks applying too much in a single area.
Extra Dimension Blushes
Sweets For My Sweet is a “mid tone yellow pink.” When I first bought Cheeky Bits, which is described as a “mid tone pinky coral,” I thought it would be the perfect kind of shade I love. When it didn’t look the way I hoped, I decided to give Sweets For My Sweet a try considering the similarities in color. I do like this one more.
Faux Sure is described as a “warm pinky mauve,” but I consider it to be a dark copper shade. It’s very similar to Hushed Tone, which was previously my #1 favorite blush shade from MAC, but I believe this one suits me even better. Within the Extra Dimension Blush line is a brown blush shade that I believe goes even deeper than this (you never know for sure with MAC’s product photos) called Hard to Get.
Mineralize Blushes
Gentle is a “raspberry with gold pearl.” MAC’s Powder formula blushes appear darker on the cheeks than it looks in the pan, but I find that the Mineralize formula blushes do the opposite.
There are light and plum toned blushes from MAC that I believe work for me, but something about this particular shade seems too cool and almost ashy on my skin.
Happy-Go-Rosy is a “midtone rosy pink,” that looks incredibly vibrant in the pan, but doesn’t appear that way on my cheek. It still brightens my face a little bit, but I’m not happy with how it looks on me. I think it could be stunning on someone else.
Like Me, Love Me is a “bright orange coral,” that I wanted desperately to like. However, it comes off a little ashy on me as well. Mineral powder products tend to look this way on me, but I had hoped things would be different among MAC’s line.
Love Thing is a “dirty burgundy with gold pearl.” This is definitely suitable for darker skin tones, so it looks the nicest on me among the four shades in this formula that I tried. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first, but the more I use it the more it has been growing on me. However, I’m still not a fan of how any of the mineralize blushes sit on my skin.
Comparisons
Even when I find similar shades, if I love the colors, I want to keep them all! This is how I’ve ended up with 31 MAC Blushes before I had the strength to give my sister a few of them. I even have another blush on the way (the shade Peaches) as my free birthday gift from MAC! I was going to postpone this post until I received it, but I’m pretty sure that shade will be too light for me, so I will either give it to a friend or sell it.
As of November 21st, everything except pro palettes and inserts are 30% off on MAC’s site for customers at a certain tier level within their reward program. Now would be a great time to get something if you’re interested!
Final Thoughts
Although part of me still wants to try MAC’s Glowplay blushes, I know that I have far more than I need already. I also purchased a lot of cream blushes this year, which don’t have a long shelf life, so I should put getting anything else on hold.
The Powder blushes and Extra Dimension Blushes are still my favorites. I have normal to dry skin (mostly leaning on the dry side), which may play a part in why I don’t care for the formula of the Mineralize blushes. Even the one flattering shade, Love Thing, looks a little more textured and dry on my cheeks in person.
Out of the 12 shades discussed today, Faux Sure and Frankly Scarlet are my favorites, followed closely by Peachykeen. As much as I like the majority of this round of blushes, Faux Sure and Frankly Scarlet are the only ones I’d repurchase immediately if they were gone from my collection.
I hope that these MAC posts have been helpful. The way that MAC shows their blushes is very confusing for determining which colors would work for me. There are so many shades I thought would be too dark or too light based on the pictures and descriptions, but they looked so different in person.
My hope, for those who don’t have easy access to a MAC store, is that you won’t have to purchase a ton of shades to find the right color for you!
Thank you for reading! Since this is my last post before the Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales hit, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday!
-Lili ❤
Lili's Beauty Blog 