MAC Taupe Shape Blush ($19.50 for 0.21 oz.) is described as a “satiny taupe” with a satin finish. It’s a gray-tinged brown–a brownish-taupe when blended out–with a shimmer-sheen finish. MAC Pressed Amber is less gray. MAC Equilibrium is browner.
This kind of color is usually seen for contouring, but the shimmery finish is fairly reflective and nears frost-level in how shimmery/reflective it is keeps it from being a practical contouring shade. It could work as a natural shade on some complexions or when used very lightly. Taupe Shape was soft and finely-milled, though, and it was easy to blend and apply to the cheeks. I found the shimmery finish did emphasize pores, though, to a degree that was noticeable even at a “normal” viewing distance. This shade lasted seven hours on me, and it looked a bit faded after seven and a half hours.
If it didn't have shimmer, it would be an amazing contouring shade, but with the shimmer, it's more of a natural blusher/highlighter--for the right complexion.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
7.5/10
Application
5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
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MAC Poised Blush ($20.00 for 0.21 oz.) is described as a “muted pinkish brown” with a satin finish. It’s a medium brown with soft, peach-orange undertones and a shimmer-sheen finish. Burberry Earthy is browner, more neutral and matte. NARS Madly is a touch browner. Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight is very similar, perhaps a bit darker.
Poised has good color payoff, and the texture is soft, finely-milled, and blendable. It was easy to apply, and the color could be used lightly or heavily, such that it was true-to-pan with little effort. The sheen it gives off is a few steps above luminous and natural, but it isn’t frosted, and it doesn’t emphasize pores. I tested this yesterday, and it lasted for six hours well, but it was a bit faded after seven hours. Like the lipsticks from this launch, this blush (and its partner in crime) sold out within an hour or so of soft launching online, so currently, the only way to obtain one is to track it down at a freestanding MAC store.
Aside from the below-average wear, Poised is a great blush. It has lovely color payoff, a superb, finely-milled texture, and it is easy to blend on the skin.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
7/10
Application
5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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The pigmentation is incredibly rich and intense, but the biggest drawback is how dry the texture is, because it makes blending much more difficult. The blush applied unevenly and looked splotchy when I used MAC’s 116 brush (very lightly!), and I had to use my foundation brush (with excess liquid foundation on it) to buff around the edges, because it wasn’t evening out easily. It wore for eight hours with minor fading along the edges. Excellent color payoff is typically a desirable trait, but in a blush, it is imperative that it is also blendable, and that is where this blush falls short.
Excellent color payoff is typically a desirable trait, but in a blush, it is imperative that it is also blendable, and that is where this blush falls short.
Product
8/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
8/10
Longevity
8/10
Application
3/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
MAC Cosmetics on December 6th (online), December 13th (in-stores), $20.00
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Unconventional May Be More Conventional Than You Thought
MAC Unconventional Blush ($20.00 for 0.21 oz.) is described as a “pale shimmering lavender” with a frost finish. It’s a pale pink with a hint of lavender and cool under-tones; there is an almost gray pull to the color that gives it a very cool, muted appearance. For a blush listed as a frost, it is softer, more shimmer-sheen than full of shimmer; more like a mix of frost and satin. MAC Lazy Sunday is warmer, pinker. MAC Full of Joy is a touch more lavender and less frosted–but the two are very similar. Make Up For Ever Smooth Talker is a touch pinker and less shimmery.
What was really noteworthy about this blush is that despite its light and cool coloring, it didn’t turn ashy against my medium complexion as some shades in this family are prone to doing. On my complexion, it ended up looking like a cool-toned pink highlighter–so a little shimmer, sheen, and a touch of color. It had excellent color payoff and was very finely-milled, soft, and smooth to the touch and when applied. It blended out beautifully. The texture and application were both some of the best I’ve seen from MAC. The blush wore for seven and a half hours well with some light but noticeable fading after eight hours.
It had excellent color payoff and was very finely-milled, soft, and smooth to the touch and when applied. It blended out beautifully. The texture and application were both some of the best I've seen from MAC.
Product
9.5/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
8/10
Application
5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
MAC Cosmetics on December 6th (online), December 13th (in-stores), $20.00
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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MAC Divine Desire Quite Coral Kit ($70.00) contains Born to Love (blush, coral), In a Heartbeat (Lipstick, pale clean coral), and Pure Flattery (Lipglass, soft coral cream), and Photogravure (Technakohl Liner, deep chocolate brown).
The blush is 0.09 oz. (not full-size, it is about the size of the larger MAC eyeshadow pots), lipglass is 0.17 oz. (full-sized), lipstick is 0.10 oz. (full-sized), and eyeliner is 0.012 oz. (full-sized). The kit contains $53.00 worth of product, excluding the brush. The full-sized 129 retails for $35, but MAC does not sell SE brushes on their own (SE brushes are machine-made, while full-sized or SH brushes are handmade). The whole set is housed in a peach satin container with a glossy black trim and bow at the enclosure. You could use it as a very small clutch later on, as the plastic insert is removable. If it’s packaging you would reuse, then this set has more value to you than the products alone.
Born to Love is a coral-pink with a brown-ish tinge that is what gives it a subdued quality. There’s a delicate champagne-gold shimmer-sheen. The way this blush applies yields a very ethereal finish–a little glow but not a lot of frost, even it does have a frost finish officially. It is on the sheer side, though; it doesn’t add a lot of color to my medium complexion, and I layered three passes of color for swatches. For light to light-medium complexions, this will be lovely. MAC Legendary is lighter, pinker. Guerlain Peach Boy is very similar. Tom Ford Lovelust has a warmer, slightly pinker sheen, but they are similar.
In a Heartbeat is a soft, warm peach with a hint of pink–but it’s mostly peach. It has opaque color coverage, and it has Cremesheen finish. MAC Reel Sexy is a bit more coral. YSL Peach Passion is a touch darker. Illamasqua Brink is similar–more matte. is lighter.
Pure Flattery is a warm peach with multi-colored micro-shimmer (looks mostly white/champagne). On lips, it’s a soft, medium peach with semi-opaque color coverage. Guerlain Sable Show is lighter, more beige. MAC Naked Space is creamier, lighter. MAC Poetic License has less shimmer.
Photogravure is a dark chocolate brown with warm undertones. It has good payoff in a single pass and can be layered. Chanel Brun-Teak is similar. MAC Brownborder is also similar.
Born to Love is a shade I could see a lot of people wanting, and it’s a bummer that it’s part of this pricey kit and not a standalone item! I wasn’t able to get true-to-pan color, though, so darker complexions will find it acts more as a highlighter than a blusher. When I tested the wear, it lasted six hours but was noticeably faded by the seventh hour. In a Heartbeat wore for four hours, and it was just a bit drying. Pure Flattery lasted three and a half hours. Photogravure is similar to other warm brown eyeliners on the market, but it lasted for eight hours without fading.
As stated before, the included 129SE brush is similar to the full-sized version, which is already a somewhat scratchy brush. It is a little scratchier than the full-sized version, but I found it was more prone to shedding after two or three washes. It also seemed to get scratchier after washing, too, than it was when I initially opened up the kit.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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MAC Divine Desire Paramour Pink Kit ($70.00) contains Divine Desire (blush, bright pink), Heart to Heart (lipstick, mid-tone yellow pink), Warm Embrace (lipglass, cool rosy pink with pearl), Purple Dash (Technakohl, intense aubergine), and 129SE (blush brush).
The blush is 0.09 oz. (not full-size, it is about the size of the larger MAC eyeshadow pots), lipglass is 0.17 oz. (full-sized), lipstick is 0.10 oz. (full-sized), and eyeliner is 0.012 oz. (full-sized). The kit contains $53.00 worth of product, excluding the brush. The full-sized 129 retails for $35. The price point of this kit is rather high, and I don’t think that they’re really delivering on value here; at most, you’re getting what you pay for, but it’s not a value kit. Even if we give the brush $20 value, you’re only saving $3 by purchasing everything together. The whole set is housed in a pink satin container with a glossy black trim and bow at the enclosure. You could use it as a very small clutch later on, as the plastic insert is removable. If it’s packaging you would reuse, then this set has more value to you than the products alone.
Divine Desire is a cool-toned, medium pink with a shimmer-sheen finish. It has a frost finish. The texture was soft and blendable, and it lasted for eight hours without fading on my cheeks. MAC Whole Lotta Love is warmer, less blue-based. MAC Supernova is darker, pinker. MAC Weekend Getaway is a bit pinker. Tom Ford Wicked is very similar–it has a bit more of a pink sheen. MAC Feeling Flush is a bit darker.
Heart to Heart is a coral-pink with a soft, frosted sheen. It has a Cremesheen finish. This shade lasted five hours on me, but it was a little drying (Cremesheens typically are drying for me). Chanel Enjouee is darker. Guerlain Gracy is darker and brighter. MAC Force of Love is pinker. MAC Watch Me Simmer is very close, perhaps a smidgen brighter. Wet ‘n’ Wild Hot Paris Pink is similar. Chanel Phoenix has a little more red in it.
Warm Embrace is a soft, yellow-toned light pink with subtle shimmer. It yields semi-opaque color coverage, and it lasted for three and a half hours on my lips. NARS Candy Says is pinker. Chanel Caprice has gold shimmer. MAC Razzledazzler is creamier.
Purple Dash is an eggplant purple that doesn’t have a strong red undertone. There is subtle gold sparkle and a gentle sheen. It’s weak on color, and even when layered, it doesn’t build well or evenly. Make Up For Ever #4l is similar.
129SE is a dense, slightly domed blush brush. Overall, it is okay; it’s a little scratchier than the full-sized 129, but the 129 isn’t the best blush brush (not the softest, it’s a bit rough on skin). It felt softer before I washed it; once I washed it a few times, I found it shed noticeably and felt scratchy against my skin. I didn’t even realize it came with a brush until I read the press release to get the official color descriptions! In case, you, too, haven’t discovered it, the brush is held in the pouch attached to the interior of the lid.
Three of the four color products worked well. Purple Dash isn’t as opaque in a single pass as it could be, and it doesn’t build up color well–and it’s a problem that a lot of purple eyeliners suffer from. The lipstick and blush were excellent, while the lipgloss was good.
It's a good kit, but compared to a lot of holiday offerings, it may not have enough value packed into it to merit the $70 price tag. Purple Dash was disappointing, though expected since I've reviewed it before!
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
9.5/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
4.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
