MAC Colour Craft Collection Review – Part 2

Date: Thursday, July 9th, 2009 Author:


Smooth Merge Mineralize Skinfinish

MAC Cosmetics Colour Craft Collection Review – Part 2

OVERALL, the mineralize blushes were smooth and soft in texture with soft sheens. They all felt pigmented without being overly intense. (Personally, I want a blush that is buildable but is never sheer–hey, I can be heavy handed, so ultra pigmented blushes are not my forte!) I think MAC did a good job of providing shades that are wearable for a range of skin tones, rather than all warm-toned or cool-toned. Some felt like they would work just as well on both cool and warm-toned folks, while others ran a bit warmer. I didn’t feel like any ran particularly cool, though.

Reference

Colour Craft: Colour | Official Information/Promo Photos
Colour Craft: Face | Official Information/Promo Photos
Temptalia Product Photos (Eyeshadows, Lipglasses, Lipsticks)
Temptalia Product Photos (Blushes and Mineralize Skinfinishes)
Swatches

The mineralize skinfinishes include five brand spankin’ new shades with just one repromote (Porcelain Pink). Again, keeping with the theme of the collection, these are smooth and soft in texture and have more of a soft sheen in finish than a glittery appearance. (Yay!) I don’t feel like any of these would earn the title “glitterbomb!” I also loved that Sunny By Nature was nearly matte in finish–really great to see something like that released. And of course, yay! for the repromotion of the 226!

Temptalia Recommendations

Must-Haves: Daft Pink, Hand-finish mineralize blushes; Sunny By Nature, Smooth Merge, Warm Blend mineralize skinfinishes

Nice-to-Haves: Cheek & Cheerful, Improvise mineralize blushes; Cheeky Bronze, Porcelain Pink mineralize skinfinishes

Skip: Triple Fusion mineralize skinfinish

See detailed, in-depth reviews of individual products…


Cheek & Cheerful, Daft Pink, Fad-dabulous, Hand-finish Mineralize Blushes


Improvise, Style Demon Mineralize Blushes; Porcelain Pink, Cheeky Bronze Mineralize Skinfinishes

Mineralize Blush ($21.00 U.S./$25.00 CDN)

  • Cheek & Cheerful is a coppery-bronze with a soft and smooth texture and a pearly sheen finish. It’s quite pigmented, and it didn’t feel like I needed to layer to get it to show up at all. It may be a bit too coppery/orange for some, though.
  • Daft Pink is a soft pink with peachy sheen and soft sheen. It feels smooth to the touch, and it is fairly pigmented.
  • Fad-dabulous is a warm adobe brown with earthy undertones. It has low level shimmer which appears mostly bronze-gold, and it has a softer sheen than blushes like Cheek & Cheerful.
  • Hand-finish is a soft, subdued peachy shade. It’s not bright, but it’s still pigmented. I found this one to feel really unique amongst the six released today.
  • Improvise is a soft peachy shade with a bit of pinky-coral undertones with a soft gold sheen finish. Smooth and pigmented, it looked pretty and seems like it will be flattering on a variety of skin tones.
  • Style Demon is a muted reddish-brick shade with gold shimmer and soft sheen. It feels like a redder version of Fad-dabulous.

Mineralize Skinfinish ($27.00 U.S./$32.50 CDN)

  • Cheeky Bronze is a apricot-bronze shade with gold sheen and slight shimmer. It feels like it has a more pearly look to it than frosty shimmer.
  • Porcelain Pink is a soft, pale pink with a little bit of peach to it. It has soft silver-pink shimmer. Mine didn’t have a lot of gold swirls in it, so you might want to ask to pick yours. (Hey, for MSF addicts, this is the norm!)
  • Sunny By Nature is a semi-matte sunny bronze-tan. I like that it has more of a matte finish while still delivering the smooth, soft texture of a mineralize skinfinish.
  • Smooth Merge is a trio of shades including a soft, silvery-pink, apricot-pink, and whitish-bronze. When mixed, they create a lovely shade of medium berry-pink. It’s not a deep raspberry like Petticoat can be for some, but it’s a softer, subtler raspberry color. It has a soft texture with a light pearly sheen. It didn’t feel too shimmery as it did pearly.
  • Triple Fusion features a trio of soft golden yellow, light peach, light raspberry pink. Together, they can be mixed to give a soft golden bronze with a light pink tone to it. I didn’t love it when swirled together, just because the color seems a bit muted and more like a highlighter. Like Smooth Merge, it has a soft, smooth texture with more of a sheen in appearance than shimmer.
  • Warm Blend contains a trio of rich, warm bronzy-brown, slightly richer bronze brown, and a golden bronze. When swirled together, you’ll find a rich, warm-toned brown with soft gold sheen and just a touch of gold shimmer. This one is really quite stunning (reminded me of Natural Flare mineralize eyeshadow!), but I’m not entirely sure just how wearable this is going to be on cheeks. I felt this way with So Ceylon mineralize skinfinish, though, and I know that one is a huge hit amongst MSF fans.


Cheeky Bronze, Porcelain Pink, Sunny By Nature Mineralize Skinfinishes


Smooth Merge Mineralize Skinfinish


Triple Fusion Mineralize Skinfinish


Warm Blend Mineralize Skinfinish

Brushes

  • 226 is a small, tapered crease brush made out of natural fibres. It is amazing. Get it. Seriously! You can read my much lengthier review here.
  • 131 is a medium-sized, duo fibre brush designed to be used with mineralize skinfinishes and blushes. I asked my favorite artist, Thang, at my local MAC what he was loving it for, and he said it was great for blushes and mineralize skinfinishes. Since I just got this, it’s hard to really tell you what it works best with–yet. It is incredibly soft, and it is fairly fluffy. It’s kind of like a flatter, thinner 129 mixed with the bristles of the 187 with the fluffiness of the 184. If that makes any sense to you at all, kudos!

143 thoughts on “MAC Colour Craft Collection Review – Part 2

  1. slave2beauty says:

    Warm Blend Mineralize Skinfinish looks amazing.

  2. tes says:

    i’m nc40 with mac foundations… what would u recommend for me on the msf’s… smooth merge is on my list right now… i’ll be heading to mac pro tonight… just can’t decide… i know for sure i want the 131 brush… a couple eyeshadows.. and a lipstick… i want the msf’s i’ll be getting two but just can’t decide… any suggestions?

  3. Lindsey says:

    I was gonna get Triple Fusion, now I decided not to. My wallet thanks you!

  4. binnie says:

    smooth merge an d arm blend look interesting!

  5. Kate M. says:

    Hey Christine,

    I was wondering why you don’t like Triple Fusion? I thought it looked like Redhead from the BBR collection and since I missed that one, I was thinking about Triple Fusion instead. Can I get some thoughts on the negatives? Maybe my wallet will thank you =D

    Thanks!!

  6. Meredith says:

    I just got a few things from the collection at Nordstrom. The mineralize blushes are very sparkly. I was kind of surprised. I wound uo buying Fab Dabulous which wasn’t what I had planned, but it looked best on my skin tone. I got Odd Bits eye quad and Pretty Pattern lipglass. I always buy pink, pink, pink, but the Pretty Pattern color has a little more brownish and creamy looking. Overall, the eye quads are very small. I like MAC reg. eyeshadows because they have more pigment. Good collection though, may go back after pay day for more.

    • Christine says:

      Yes, the mineralize eyeshadows are a bit on the small side — with four shades. They’re the same size as they’ve always been, they just divided it up further!

      • Meredith says:

        Haha Christine, you are so right. I just compared to one of my reg size mineral ES and yes, the case is same size. My eyes played such tricks on me in the store, because the color is seperated into tiny sections, it made the whole thing look smaller!

  7. nicole says:

    i still want smooth merge *sigh*
    cmon (:
    i mean, one thing from mac…
    just ONE thing!

    my wallet is limited.

  8. MC says:

    I got Triple Fusion and I think it’s B-E-A-U-TIFUL! It’s a coraly-pinky-goldy on my n5/nc15 skintone and it looks really unique with a nice shimmer and no “sparkle”.

    I thought the blushes were glittery. I only swatched 3, but all had very dominant sparkle particles. The colors were so pretty! I only wish they hadn’t been so BAM! on the sparkles…

    • Christine says:

      How funny – when I swatched, they didn’t seem really glittery!

    • Ms Trendy says:

      i agree! Triple Fusion is georgeous and you can achieve 3 different looks and depending what quantity you blend the colours together you can achieve a warmer or cooler effect. I found the smooth merge ran too pink for me – almost fuschia looking.

  9. MC says:

    Hmmmm… I’m considering going back in a few days to ask for a Porcelain Pink with more gold veining… the one on display didn’t have very much, maybe that’s why it didn’t show well on me…

  10. Hanna says:

    Do you think Cheeky Bronze would be to orangy on a NW20 skin?

    Also is Smooth Merge in the same colour family as the Blonde MSF?

    Really trying to make my list a bit shorter here;0)

  11. Hanna says:

    ….daft Pink? isn’t it a slighly lighter version of Love Rock?

  12. Annie says:

    Hi Christine, do you think Warm Blend would look too dark as a bronzer on NC35 skin? Or should I go with Sunny by Nature or Cheeky Bronze?
    Thanks =D

    • Christine says:

      I’d probably vote Sunny By Nature as a bronzer. I’m just not sure how workable Warm Blend is going to be. I think with a light hand, it would work for you, though :)

      • Enna says:

        I agree with Christine, go for Sunny by nature ´cause it is matt, that color you can apply on the whole face and maybe use warm blend only on your cheeks:

  13. Annie says:

    I was actually disappointed. I think Triple Fusion has a lot of glitter to it, and Smooth Merge was too pink on me (I’m NW25) and I wear more coral blushes now. I also thought the sheen was too intense, and accentuated my flaws! Oh well, more money for me!

  14. I knew it! My list changed after reading this and the other post of your reviews for Colour Craft lol, thanks Christine! :)

  15. Megan says:

    Thanks so much for the swatches Christine. Im going to MAC tomorrow and I think I gonna give Warm Blend and Smooth Merge MSF a go. I have the Brunette MSF and its pretty be it seems too glittery for my taste so I was glad to hear the these didnt feel as glittery to you. I will also check out the eyeshadows and glosses (which I thought I was gonna skip)

    • Christine says:

      My pleasure, Megan! I hope they were helpful in some way, ha ;)

      Let me know what you think once you’ve had a chance to check it out at your store!

      • Megan says:

        I went to MAC and bought Sunny by Nature which was surprisingly beautiful on my skin, which is around NW 45. Sunny by Nature is what I wished Warmed MSF would look like.Smooth Merge and Warm Blend didn’t grab me like I thought they would. I also bought Girlish Romp e/s and two non collection e/s in Da Bling and Sable. Also Style Demon is not as similar as Merrily on me as I thought it would be, so that one may be next!

  16. Ydania says:

    awesome review christine .. i agree completely .. i purchased Daft Pink, Improvise (bcuz i felt it was so unique), Porcelain Pink, and the 109 .. Heh Heh .. i knew i was gonna spend alot on this collection.. i also picked up one of the lippies.. it was a great collection .. and i feel like once you swatch it .. you can really tell if its for you or not.. take care =]

    • Christine says:

      Thanks, Ydania! It is great to hear that you had a similar experience with this launch :) Sometimes I get nervous and feel like maybe I was the only one thought this or that, lol!

      You will love the 109 for sure. Great brush purchase :)

  17. Angie says:

    Hmm, well I know i’m picking up some MSF’s, but now I feel like I need Hand-finish blush! Haha. Now I don’t know if I need a 131….looks interesting but I don’t know if its something I will regret NOT getting or not.

    • Christine says:

      I don’t think the 131 is really a must-have unless you’re *really* into brushes. Me, I am slightly obsessed now, so I am going to grab pretty much any and all brushes that come out these days :P

      However, I think the 116 will do just as nice of a job as the 131. Or stick with the original duo fibre 187 brush! It will likely sell out, though. I’ve heard it is sold out on the Canadian website!

  18. Faheema says:

    Welll I have made a list of all that I MUST buy :)
    Thankss so much for the swatches and details Christine! Its really helped me narrow down what I should get! & I don’t like odd bits either haa

  19. dadadaaa says:

    Smooth merge has a darker rosey shade compared to Blonde.

    Also triple fusion is way glittery, but Improvised is very similiar to it and to cheeky bronze but a bit cheaper.

  20. samaya says:

    thank you soo much for reviews…pls update your thoughts on warm blend whn u use it on ur eyes….

  21. Shaina says:

    i have warm blend.. do u thnk cheeky bronze is too light for NC 45? Thanks!!

    • Christine says:

      No, I don’t think so! I think it will, though, only give you *slight* color vs. a ton.

    • Enna says:

      Shaina, how does warm blend look on you? do you like it? I am nc 43.5 and I took cheeky bronze, it show on me, but I was wondering if I should also buby warm blend for the night, do you like it?

      • sugarcrumb says:

        Heya,
        i’m NC 43 too; Cheeky Bronze is a peachy bronzy shade (a more intense Margin blush, for comparison’s sake); i thought it was great. Warm Blend was waaay too dark for me – it was a deep cocoa-ish brown rather than a golden bronzy shade. 3 different MAs at 3 different MAC counters all commented that it was rather dark for me the moment i swatched it. If you really want a bronzed, deep shade look (perhaps like the new Illamasqua pics in Christine’s post about them being available in US Sephora), then perhaps it will work.

      • Shaina says:

        Hey Enna i LOVEE Warm blend.. am NC 45 and its hawtness!! haha if u like the bronzy look its perfect:).. and like someone said.. this will propbably be one of those MSF’s tht ppl didint get at first but regretted later!

  22. DevilishDoll says:

    Now I know that I definitely want Triple Fusion and Smooth Merge. They are so pretty, and I only have 1 other MSF so far. None of the blushes for me.

    • Christine says:

      Aw :( What’s on your list now?

      • DevilishDoll says:

        Well, I had enough money on my credit card to order 1 thing, so I got Girlish Romp MEs. After the 17th, I’m going to Nordstrom and I’ll probably get Fashion Patch and Eccentricity MEs, the 2 MSFs, Eclectic Edge, Miss Marble, Colour Crafted and Trimming Talk. Then I’ll take some swatches myself and decide which one I want between Crazy Haute, Funky Fusion and Nice Mix Up. And hope I can keep myself from buying all 3. I already had to cut out the Fresh Cut palette from Graphic Garden due to all of the Colour Craft stuff I want, lol.

        • Christine says:

          You can do it! You can resist, I know it :)

          • DevilishDoll says:

            Crazy me, I changed my mind again after looking at your Graphic Gardens swatches and comparing them to this. So now I’m skipping Fashion Patch and getting Fresh Cut. And if I get a third lipglass, I decided on Crazy Haute since it will go great with my Rose Romance lipstick. Plus it looks quite pigmented. Now stop me from changing my mind again, please! LOL

  23. francesca says:

    Thanks, Christine! I’m looking for a mineralize blush that can remind me of Mac’s Style blush: is there anything similar in this collection? I’m a NW25, FYI!

  24. Kate M. says:

    Christine,

    I was wondering how similar Triple Fusion and Redhead MSFs were? I’m looking for something peachy and I did end up buying Triple Fusion but I really like Improvise too!

    Thanks!!

  25. NuNu says:

    I had Hand-finish on my list, when I got there yesterday I picked it up and I put it back down, I picked it up again and I put it down again *repeat 10 times*
    I just keep thinking it’s too frosty to be used as a blush?

    • Christine says:

      It definitely has a high sheen to it, so I can see why for some, it’ll be too much on cheeks! I think it’ll depend more on whether you can get the color to show up on your cheeks or not. More color, less OTT, I think!

    • Enna says:

      I agree with you NuNu, it had the same effect on me, I kept taking it and puting it back until I decided to try, I am NC43.5, it looks odd as a blush but as a highlighter is looks AWESOME! I use on my cheekbones. Now, I don´t know if it is me, but I think it looks exactly like porcelain pink, just with more glitter, what do you think Christine?

  26. Jas says:

    I’d better pick Warm Blend up before it gets sold out, – i predict that it will be huge…

  27. kristie says:

    Thanks so much for the swatches Christine! Do you know which MSF is closest to warmed MSF? I miss out on that one and is looking for a replacement.

  28. Katy says:

    Hi Christine!

    Just wanted to tell you that you have a wonderful site, and wanted to thank you for the swatches. Out of curiosity, I’m really liking the look of Hand Finish and Improvise, and I’m wondering if they’re different enough to warrant getting both, ’cause they look similar with swatches. What are the differences between them? Thank you!

    • Christine says:

      Thanks, Katy! :)

      Hand-finish has more of a pinky undertone, it’s a little lighter, less colored than Improvise. Improvise has more orange-coral to it. If you’re on a budget, I’d probably just get Improvise and use it lightly to get something similar to Hand-finish!

  29. Princess says:

    Hey, could you possible match up which Mineralize Skinfinish is closest to the one in this photo:
    http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff105/xlivluvx/makeup.jpg
    (sorry for the double post, I just don’t think my previous one posted!)
    Thank you

  30. meagan says:

    Hand-finish is gorgeous! Its very unique and shows up really well on my NW20 skintone. This was a great collection!

  31. Luda says:

    love love love the triple fusion
    love Hand-finish
    love Improvise

    I’m absolutely in love with everything i got

    the biggest disappointment were the glosses, no matter how many times i swatched it just didn’t look good but I still got the via veneto from the euristocrats II ( i know i butchered it) collection

  32. Carolyn says:

    Hi Christine, do you think that Smooth Merge would be too ‘cool’ on my NC35 skintone? And would one use it as a blush? Thanks!!

  33. Hawwww when I swatched the trio MSFs they didn’t look well, I mean the color is beautiful but it was a bit “chunky”… maybe I should try another time lol

    • Christine says:

      lol! It seems like some say they’re chunky, some say they’re not. It’s definitely a go-see-in-person launch if you are on the fence about mineralized products by MAC.

  34. Christy says:

    Love the swatches & review! I skipped all of the lipsticks on swatching, but picked up Eclectic Edge l/g, Crazy Haute l/g, Funky Fusion l/g, Handfinish MB (gorgeous!!!) , Fab-Dabulous MB, Style Demon MB, Improvise MB (gorgeous!!!), Cheek & Cheerful MB, 131 brush, 226 brush (since I didn’t get it during BBR), Cheeky Bronze MSF, Sunny by Nature MSF, Smooth Merge MSF and Triple Fusion MSF. I skipped Warm Blend MSF, it looked too dark for me. I also skipped on Daft Pink, since it didn’t draw me in much. Oh well, still a pretty happy haul for me. =)

  35. Raquel says:

    Hi Christine!!

    First, I just wanted to say you are a-ma-zing for putting together this fantastic website!!! Thank you thank you thank you! I really wanted your opinion on Style Demon MB (for reference I use MACs MSFN in medium). Do you think this color might be too much for my skin tone?? I got it yesterday, but now I’m having second thoughts… I have very few blushers (MACs well dressed and gentle MB) and think I might end up going over board w/ this one… So, in your opinion, which mineralized blush should I go trade it for?? I also got smooth merge and triple fusion MSFs and I thought smooth merge was a little close to daft-pink and opted not to get daft-pink. Okay, I’m blabing now! Thanks again!

    • raquel says:

      Hi Christine! It’s me again! You know what… I gave Style Demon a try… And I absolutely LOVE it! I just need to be very light handed and I’ve also noticed that once I apply my Fix+, it kind of tones the blush intensity down and just leaves the prettiest flush of peachy red on my cheeks. I also tried Triple Fusion MSF on top of it after applying Fix+ and it looked AMAZING! Love it! hahaha! Thanks again for putting Temptalia together, I can’t live a day without checking your posts out!
      xoxo
      r.

    • Christine says:

      Thanks, Raquel! :) I’m glad you’re liking the site! Hope you continue to enjoy it!

      Style Demon is pretty intense, but if you build itu p, I think you could make it work well for you :)

  36. Emilie says:

    Thanks so much for this awesome review Christine!
    You are always the first to post on MAC collections, i love your blog!!

    I was wondering, in your opinion, do you think that Smooth Merge is unique enough compared to Blonde MSF to justify getting it?

    I already have Blonde MSF and if Smooth Merge nearly gives the same look, I think it would be a waste for me to purchase it.
    What do you think? :)
    - I’m a student so I don’t have as much money as I’d like! Lol :)

  37. abby says:

    Hi Christine!!! thank you for all the swatches. Hand finish looks gorgeous!! would you compare it to dainty, or perfect topping?

  38. Cassie says:

    I just purchased my very first highlighter- triple fusion. I’m not sure that I like it. It could be that I don’t like how a highlighter looks on me or it could be the actual product that I don’t like. Triple fusion is my first msf. It is really shimmery. I think it beautiful in the pan though. I’m not sure if I should return it. I’m torn!

  39. Meri says:

    Hi there :) I am thinking to get Daft Pink but I am afraid that it’s all about shimmer, doesn’t show any pinky shade at all. Do u think it will look nice on fair asian skin ? Really need you suggestion >.< Thanks btw :)

  40. Jacquelyn says:

    The swatches are amazing! I’m dying to get Cheek & Cheerful, Fabdabulous, Style Demon, Smooth Merge MSF. I’m loving both the 226 and the 131 brushes by far! I think I might need to buy a second 226 and 131 brushes!!

  41. Emily says:

    Thanks Christine! What do you think would be better for olive, asian skin.. daft pink or improvise?

  42. GucciGirl1229 says:

    Hey Christine, I am starting to build my kit and I was wondering if you would suggest getting the 131 brush? I would hate to not get it and it turns out to be the must have brush and on the other hand I dont want to get it and its nothing special. Any input would be appreciated.

  43. Annie says:

    Would you suggest the 131 brush? I don’t have a duo-fiber brush yet, only a factory-made from HK, So would you say I should get this one before 187,188?! TIA!

  44. eureka says:

    I am an NW43. Which skinfinish would you suggest to give me that glow?

  45. Nadia says:

    Help! I can’t decide between triple fusion and warm blend – I’m an nC40 and I already own intenso, gleeful and gold deposit!

  46. Elle says:

    What is the difference between Cheek & Cheerful and So Ceylon? They look similar in the swatches

    I’m NW20, what would you suggest as a good bronzer from the collection?

  47. smut says:

    Okay so I wasn’t going to buy any make up until the Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection came out (I want that green quad!) but today I broke down. I wanted a turquoise shadow so I went with Shimmermoss. I wanted a new blush as well and the person who was helping me tried Hand-Finish on me, which I liked. The thing is it was sold out everywhere so she gave me the tester which is pretty much brand new!! My first official freebie from MAC. She really liked how it looked on me so maybe that helped as well!