MAC Apres Chic: Gentle

MAC Gentle Mineralize Blush ($23.50 for 0.10 oz.) is described as “raspberry with gold pearl.” It’s a plum-tinged pink with fine gold shimmer. MAC Stay Pretty is lighter, pinker, and has much less shimmer. Tom Ford Wicked is cooler-toned and richer. Illamasqua Ambition is more muted, more plum. MAC Giggly is purpler.

It has good color payoff, though it is a little dusty. The texture is soft, lightweight, and finely-milled, which makes it easy to apply, and it’s even easier to blend out. It can be layered to get mostly true-to-pan color. The gold shimmer gives off a soft, warm sheen, but there are a few bits of shimmer on the skin. Gentle wore the best on me, out of the three here, and it lasted a full six and a half hours with only minor fading after seven hours.  This shade reads only slightly cool-toned, while the golden shimmer adds a veil of warmth, so it should work well on both cool and warm skin tones.

P.S. — According to MAC’s site, it’s permanent and not limited edition.

The Glossover

P	Gentle B+
	This shade reads only slightly cool-toned, while the golden shimmer adds a veil of warmth, so it should work well on both cool and warm skin tones.
	Product 9/10 Pigmentation 9/10 Texture 9/10 Longevity 7/10 Application 5/5
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MAC Gentle Mineralize Blush

MAC Gentle Mineralize Blush

MAC Gentle Mineralize Blush

MAC Gentle Mineralize Blush

MAC Gentle Mineralize Blush

MAC Gentle Mineralize Blush

MAC Gentle Mineralize Blush

MAC Apres Chic: Amber Glow

MAC Amber Glow Mineralize Blush ($23.50 for 0.10 oz.) is described as “warm peach.” It is a soft peach with a hint of pink–almost apricot-like–with a pale champagne shimmer. NARS Sex Appeal is a touch pinker, and it doesn’t have any shimmer. MAC By Candlelight is warmer, rosier, and very metallic in comparison. MAC Porcelain Pink is pinker and appears much more metallic on the skin.

This has a soft, luminous finish to it that works well on the skin. It’s not frosted, and it’s not too shimmery, so it doesn’t emphasize pores or skin imperfections. Though it seems plenty pigmented, the color blends out quickly, so depending on the intensity you want, you may have to pat and very lightly blend along the edges.  The texture is finely-milled, but it is also powdery. Those with natural redness in their cheeks may find this a quick and easy way to neutralize it without adding too much color.  I only wish Amber Glow lasted longer once applied–I get a mere six hours; by seven, it’s half gone!

The Glossover

LE	Amber Glow B
	Those with natural redness in their cheeks may find this a quick and easy way to neutralize it without adding too much color. I only wish Amber Glow lasted longer once applied--I get a mere six hours; by seven, it's half gone!
	Product 8.5/10 Pigmentation 9/10 Texture 8.5/10 Longevity 6.5/10 Application 5/5
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MAC Amber Glow Mineralize Blush

MAC Amber Glow Mineralize Blush

MAC Amber Glow Mineralize Blush

MAC Amber Glow Mineralize Blush

MAC Amber Glow Mineralize Blush

MAC Amber Glow Mineralize Blush

MAC Amber Glow Mineralize Blush

MAC Apres Chic: Alpine Bronze

MAC Alpine Bronze Mineralize Blush ($23.50 for 0.10 oz.) is described as “mid-tone caramel.” It’s a orange-tan with a pale champagne shimmer-sheen. It has subtle warm undertones, though for something that looks orange at a glance, it’s not incredibly warm-toned. MAC Lush-Light is darker, redder-toned. NARS Luster is a lot more orange and has a stronger gold shimmer and sheen. MAC Center of the Universe is more frosted, slightly more orange. MAC Soft Sand is a bit browner.

It has more of a brown-base, than a red one, so it should be wearable on cool and warm skin tones.  The finish isn’t too shimmery, and it translated as more of a luminous sheen than anything frosted (not like the Mineralize Skinfinishes from this collection).  It has a soft, finely milled texture that kicks up just a smidgen of excess powder.  Alpine Bronze had a good level of pigmentation; enough to get true-to-pan color but blendable so that sheerer color was readily achieved.  When testing it, the wear was only six and a half hours, and by seven hours, there was noticeable fading.

The Glossover

	MAC Alpine Bronze Mineralize Blush Review, Photos, Swatches A-
	The texture is soft, finely-milled, and the color is true-to-pan but easily blended out if a softer look is desired. The major problem with this product is that it only lasts for just over six hours.
	Product 9/10 Pigmentation 10/10 Texture 9.5/10 Longevity 7/10 Application 5/5
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MAC Alpine Bronze Mineralize Blush

MAC Alpine Bronze Mineralize Blush

MAC Alpine Bronze Mineralize Blush

MAC Alpine Bronze Mineralize Blush

MAC Alpine Bronze Mineralize Blush

MAC Alpine Bronze Mineralize Blush

MAC Alpine Bronze Mineralize Blush

MAC Supernova Mineralize Blush

MAC Supernova Mineralize Blush ($23.50 for 0.10 oz.) is described as a “magenta and burnished gold melange.” It’s a brightened raspberry pink with subtle blue undertones and a subtle sheen. It contains swirls of golden peach-orange and neon magenta pink. MAC Weekend Getaway is similar in color when used softly. Tom Ford Wicked is cooler-toned, frostier, and lighter. Tarte Amused is much brighter and bluer-based. Illamasqua Seduce is similar, slightly more plum. MAC Feeling Flush is a bit lighter and cooler-toned. MAC Amazonian Princess is comparable, slightly redder. MAC Full Fuchsia is a bit more fuchsia.

This shade applied smoothly without emphasizing pores or any imperfections of my skin’s texture, but it wasn’t quite as blendable as I’d expect. It’s not stubborn, but I wouldn’t say it’s easily blended and diffused–just so-so there. It’s very pigmented, so a light hand is a must, and if you want something soft and sheer, I’d recommend using a stippling brush like MAC’s 188. Because it’s not super blue-based, it should work well across under tones, and the intense color payoff means it will be viable on the lightest and deepest complexions. Supernova wore seven and a half hours on me before starting to fade noticeably.

The Glossover

LE	Supernova B+
	Because it's not super blue-based, it should work well across under tones, and the intense color payoff means it will be viable on the lightest and deepest complexions.
	Product 9/10 Pigmentation 10/10 Texture 9/10 Longevity 8/10 Application 4/5
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MAC Supernova Mineralize Blush

MAC Supernova Mineralize Blush

MAC Supernova Mineralize Blush

MAC Supernova Mineralize Blush

MAC Supernova Mineralize Blush

MAC Supernova Mineralize Blush (Diffused Flash)

MAC Supernova Mineralize Blush (Studio Lighting)

MAC Stratus Mineralize Blush

MAC Stratus Mineralize Blush ($23.50 for 0.10 oz.) is described as a “amethyst and gold brown melange.” It’s a plummy brown with a satiny sheen. The compact contains two swirls of darkened peach-brown and plum. This is one of the lesser shimmered shades of the cheek products in this launch. On cheeks, it looked more plum than brown, so it ended up looking more different than alike once applied than Earthshine (which almost seemed like a dupe), which is darker and much browner. MAC Buddy Up is lighter. NARS G-Spot is redder. MAC Darkly My Dear is browner. Chanel Plum Attraction is more plum, more subdued. MAC Notable is lighter and more muted.

Stratus had a fairly smooth texture without being too dry or too powdery (could be a bit more blendable), and the finish was less metallic/frosted, so I didn’t feel like it turned my pores into beacons in the night.  There was some slight emphasis but very subtle and probably not noticeable to anyone but myself up-close.  The color can be very intense, so I recommend using a light hand when applying if you have light to medium coloring; you can be less careful on deeper complexions, but it will build up very nicely and be stunning on medium-dark to dark skin tones.  When I tested the wear, Stratus wore for six and a half hours well, but it looked noticeably faded after seven hours.

The Glossover

LE	Stratus B+
	The color can be very intense, so I recommend using a light hand when applying if you have light to medium coloring; you can be less careful on deeper complexions, but it will build up very nicely and be stunning on medium-dark to dark skin tones.
	Product 9/10 Pigmentation 10/10 Texture 9/10 Longevity 7/10 Application 4/5
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MAC Stratus Mineralize Blush

MAC Stratus Mineralize Blush

MAC Stratus Mineralize Blush

MAC Stratus Mineralize Blush

MAC Stratus Mineralize Blush

MAC Stratus Mineralize Blush (Diffused Flash)

MAC Stratus Mineralize Blush (Studio Lighting)

MAC Solar Ray Mineralize Blush

MAC Solar Ray Mineralize Blush ($23.50 for 0.10 oz.) is described as a “peach and gold melange.” The colors swirled together create a warm, peach-shimmered orange; reminded me of apricots. The individual shades are a orange-gold and a pink-peach. It’s surprisingly similar to MAC Warmth of Coral, which is nearly identical in color but has a much more matte finish. Illamasqua Lover is slightly darker and matte.

The finish isn’t over-the-top once applied, though there was some emphasis of pores/texture, because it has a more metallic sheen. I did not care for the overall texture of the blush, as it was a little gritty from the excess sparkle (see the golden orange vein–you can see the roughness of the vein itself in the photos!). A lot of the individual sparkles seem to get lost in the bristles of the brush rather than being applied to the face, which may be good or bad, depending on your tastes.

I had to build up the color quite a bit to get it to show up enough for photos. There’s just something about the texture that makes it all too easily blended out, so you might want to use a flatter and denser brush for application. Solar Ray didn’t perform well when worn; it only lasted for six hours before I saw separation and fading. It was interesting to see the different timelines of all four cheek products!

The Glossover

LE	Solar Ray C+
	Solar Ray does require heavier application to show up on medium to dark skin tones, though it should be just fine for lighter complexions. It's very warm toned, but there is some peach in it, so it may work for both cool and warm skin tones.
	Product 7.5/10 Pigmentation 8.5/10 Texture 7.5/10 Longevity 7/10 Application 4/5
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MAC Solar Ray Mineralize Blush

MAC Solar Ray Mineralize Blush

MAC Solar Ray Mineralize Blush

MAC Solar Ray Mineralize Blush

MAC Solar Ray Mineralize Blush

MAC Solar Ray Mineralize Blush (Diffused Flash)

MAC Solar Ray Mineralize Blush (Studio Lighting)