MAC To the Beach Collection — Marine Life High-Light Powder Review, Photos, Swatches
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

MAC Marine Life High-Light Powder
MAC To the Beach Collection — Marine Life High-Light Powder Review, Photos, Swatches
MAC To the Beach is much anticipated, but I think the Marine Life High-Light Powder is easily the item most coveted. With its raised seahorse pattern and metallic look, I’m not at all surprised that it sparked a lot of interest. As many of you already know, the metallic finish is just an overspray. There are two distinct colors that remain — an orange-coral and a light baby pink. The overlay is a metallic bronze, but a few swipes or sweeps and it’s gone.
Oddly enough, I really don’t feel the overspray did very much to the color, which is really a good thing. It made the color a little more orange-y and obviously imparted a more shimmery finish. Without the overspray, it’s more of a coral-pink with a smidgen of shimmer. It’s decently pigmented though not overwhelmingly so. It’s surprisingly pigmented, however, for something called a highlight.
It’s not like Instant Chic. It’s not like Hipness. It’s really not. Instant Chic is lighter, subtler, and has a peachiness to it that neither Hipness nor Marine Life have. Hipness is noticeably pinker and less intense than Marine Life.
I like it. If you even think you might like this, I would snatch it up right away–and I mean the day it goes online or in-store for sale. It will sell out. And I’m also not talking selling out in a matter of days but hours.
See more photos & swatches!

MAC Marine Life High-Light Powder

MAC Marine Life High-Light Powder

MAC Marine Life High-Light Powder

MAC Marine Life High-Light Powder

MAC Marine Life High-Light Powder

Swirled (with overspray); top half; bottom half

MAC Marine Life High-Light Powder

Bye-bye overspray!
Disclosure
This review contains a sample product sent for consideration by the brand or its PR firm. Our priority is to you, and we honor that commitment by being honest! We don't do paid reviews or guarantee reviews. We're going to give you the truth and nothing but! For more information, please read our editorial/review policies.
I recently got all into mac and so obviously I missed out on this collection. I decided to order it thru eBay and I'm afraid that was a mistake. The description of the item said BRAND NEW IN THE BOX NEVER BEEN USED OR TESTED. well the item I received barely has any gold in it. I contacted the seller and her response was it is a new item but that some of this products had less overpray than others :( like I said the one I received barely has any gold over spray.
Shoot... I really wanted this but this collection came out WAYYY before I got hooked onto makeup... is there ANY blush from UD or MAC or any cruelty-free brand that resembles this?
I love highlighting colours but I only have drugstore makeup near me and I can't order it online and I also missed the whole collection so I'm very upset> :(
I love my sea life powder, but My friend dropped it and it broke into pieces (two days after i bought it). I somehow separated the dark pink from the lightpink and put all the pieces in jars, but I lost a lot of product and its not pretty anymore..
The only thing I wanted was Marine Life and it sold out before I could order it online. To add insult to injury they have free shipping right now as well.
Pretty but not a must have for me after seeing it in the store. They had 2 left, but I decided I have colors similar to the two colors already. Plus I am not really into buying makeup just to look at it. Sweet N Punchy may go back since I have Rated R, even though I do need a backup. Thrills was a must have for me. The color is gorgeous and I think I have a MAC pigment close to firecracker so I am still debating that one. Pretty collection but if you have been buying MAC for over 10 years hard to buy more stuff when you have so many pigments,etc to mix and match to make these colors....
I feel guilty for going to ebay to buy one, and am now purchasing a second just so I can have one to put away, and one to use. I really wish they would have swirled the gold throughout it, but it's nothing a little dab of too faced candlelight or a bit of added golden pigment won't cure I'm sure. Mac must be kicking themselves for not making more of these. They have to have made a bundle off the ones they did have.
AAHH! I got the last one from the Macy's nearby! The lady told me that they only had 7 for their MAC stand
MAC needs to consider making the darker color in marine life a blush of its own. i know this is the standout piece of the collection, with the sea horse on it, but i feel like the lighter color at the bottom is a waste of time.
Do you think this is a must have? I feel I only want it because of the seahorse design and because of that I probably won't use it lol and how is this compared to Benefit Coralista?
I wouldn't pay $50+ for it by any means. Here is Coralista compared to Marine Life - http://www.temptalia.com/mac-marine-life-dupes-sorry-keep-looking
OMG SO I ORDERED THIS YESTERDAY BEFORE IT OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED ONLINE AND I GOT AN EMAIL THAT ITS ON BACK ORDER :( BOOO. GUESS I HAVE TO WAIT 2WKS TO GET MINE :( I HOPE THE SAME THING DOESNT HAPPEN WHEN I ORDER STEREO ROSE IN JULY.. I NEED IT ASAP!!LOL
hi christine, is this highlighter really shimmery? im kinda done with frosty/shimmery blushes/highlighters, but im looking for this peachy/coral color... but this one is so prettttty :) im nc42, which one would you recommend, the highlighter or hipness??
i forgot to mention if i do plan to get it i will definitely remove the overspray but i would like to know if its still shimmery after i do that.
Thanks for the pics and reviews, does Marine life highlighter and Hipness blush compare to Chanel In Love blush?
I just called my local MAC store, to ask if they could set one aside for me, whiii ^^ They start selling this Saturday, but seeing as our 2-week studyperiod before the exams starts this saturday as well, I won't be able to go (parents will be home and won't be to happy with me losing time by going of to shop for my makeup goodies :P) so I'll probably have to go pick it up sometime next week (when the parentals are at work (rebel me! ^^))... Hopefully! Unless I can find a victim ... My family doesn't really get my makeup addiction, nor my spending money on it :P All right, enough ranting! ^^
LOL! Awww! I'm glad you were able to ask them to set one aside for you! Good luck on your exams, Stephanie!
So pretty! Maybe I'm just crazy, but did anyone else notice that the powder looks different in promotional pics? In the promo pics (here: http://www.temptalia.com/mac-to-the-beach-collection-for-summer-2010 ) I've seen, the top half is lighter pink, and the bottom is darker. But IRL, the product appears to be reversed. As far as I know, there aren't two versions of this powder, are there?
There's just one, but so far what I've heard is that they all look like the one pictured in this post (the real life one, not the promo pic), so the promo pic may just be using an early sample, so maybe that's why it's different!
Ah, that makes sense. I seriously thought I was going crazy, and that maybe I hadn't heard that there were 2, lol.
Hi Christine, LOVE the posts on this collection!! I just noticed that the official promo photos for Marine Life has the colours flipped (2/3 pink and 1/3 coral) compared to your photos (1/3 pink and 2/3 coral). Do you think the are variations in the colour pattern for this powder?
Christine, I have a dilemna. I have to choose between either getting MAC ripe peach of ebay or getting marine life . I am an NC 50 ( Jeniffer Hudson complexion.) I can only choose one because ripe peach is eighty bucks on ebay! which do you think would you choose if you were me?
I wouldn't spend $80 on Ripe Peach, ever! I think Marine Life would show up much better on you. Have you tried Estee Lauder's Nuance? It's supposed to be a Ripe Peach dupe.
such a lovely shade! too bad the overspray goes away, but after seeing your swatches, i'm convinced that it's still a gem!
Thanks Christine for all the great posts on To the beach! I'm NC15 and I'm wondering if marine life will be too dark and/or orange for me; perhaps hipness is a better (but less pretty) option-what do you think?
It is so beautiful! Even if it does have an overspray but what highlighter doesn't have one? Im going to be in Texas when To The Beach Collection launches so I am just going to beg my mom or sister for their car so I can get up early and get this before it goes bye bye and I am left with tears!
AAAwww, so pretty. I am getting mine 9 days early, at a MAC party. I think I might just get two of the Marine Life.
hey christine, this is sooo pretty but i have a question. Im about the color of gabrielle union and i was wondering if i should buy this item? like would it show up and what could i use it for? blush? or? anyways thnx and love the site :-)
Christine, do you know how it compares to Joyous Beauty Powder Blush? The swatches remind me a lot of that one.

Discussion and debate are highly encouraged, and we expect community members to participate respectfully. When asking a question, please check the FAQ section (above) for information about purchasing, price, dupes, and the like. If you have general feedback or need technical support, please contact us.
Comments that include advertisements, self-promotion, insults, etc. may be in violation of our comment policy and subject to deletion. Please see our comment policy for more information.