MAC x Zac Posen Haute Contour Powder Blush Duo Review, Photos, Swatches
MAC Haute Contour Powder Blush Duo
MAC Haute Contour Powder Blush Duo ($29.00 for 0.35 oz.) is a split-pan product with one shade being more of your traditional bronzer and the other being a pink-coral. Neither shade performed well, but the more blush-like shade had a really firm, hard press that required jabbing at the powder’s surface to get decent color out of it. This is at least the third time in recent memory that MAC has released a mid-tone brown/pink-coral blush duo, and I wonder why they haven’t been able to jump out of the box–it’s becoming like NARS Laguna/Orgasm over here.
Haute Contour (Bronzer) is a muted, medium brown with warm, orange-yellow tones and a satin finish. It was firmly packed in the pan, which made getting color out of it a little more challenging, and when I did, some of it came away in larger chunks–almost like sand. The consistency was fairly blendable on the skin, and the harder chunks dusted away (didn’t notice them applied). It lasted for seven hours before fading. bareMinerals The Skinny Dip (PiP, $24.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar). MAC Satin Shimmer (LE, $34.00) is darker (90% similar). MAC Sunny Side (LE, $34.00) is brighter (90% similar). Dolce and Gabbana Desert (P, $51.00) is darker (90% similar). Guerlain Natural / Brunettes (03) (P, $53.00) is lighter (90% similar). Flower Beauty Cinnamon (P, $9.99) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (85% similar). bareMinerals The High Dive (PiP, $24.00) is more shimmery, darker (85% similar). Burberry Dark Earthy (P, $42.00) is darker, cooler (85% similar). Urban Decay Naked Flushed Bronzer (-, ) is darker (85% similar). See comparison swatches / view dupes side-by-side.
Haute Contour (Blush) is a light-medium, pink-coral with warm undertones and a golden shimmer. You wouldn’t know what the color was by going off the swatch, but with enough jabbing and prodding of the powder, I was able to get enough powder to loosen to apply to cheeks to show it in a photo. The shimmer didn’t emphasize pores, and the color itself lasted for six and a half hours before fading on me. Makeup Geek Romance (DC, $9.99) is more shimmery, more pigmented (90% similar). NYX Rose Gold (P, $6.50) is more pigmented, warmer (90% similar). MAC Stereo Rose (LE, $34.00) is more pigmented, warmer (90% similar). NYX Menage a Trois (P, $15.00) is more pigmented, warmer (85% similar). Becca Lychee/Opal (P, $27.00) is more shimmery, more pigmented, warmer (85% similar). NARS Orgasm (P, $30.00) is more pigmented, cooler (85% similar). See comparison swatches / view dupes side-by-side.
Haute Contour
LELimited Edition. $29.00.
Haute Contour (Bronzer)
LELimited Edition.
Haute Contour (Blush)
LELimited Edition.
See more photos & swatches!
MAC Haute Contour Powder Blush Duo
MAC Haute Contour Powder Blush Duo
MAC Haute Contour Powder Blush Duo
MAC Haute Contour Powder Blush Duo
MAC Haute Contour Powder Blush Duo
MAC Haute Contour (Bronzer) Powder Blush
MAC Haute Contour (Bronzer) Powder Blush
MAC Haute Contour (Bronzer) Powder Blush
MAC Haute Contour (Blush) Powder Blush
MAC Haute Contour (Blush) Powder Blush
MAC Haute Contour (Blush) Powder Blush
Yikes! Your earrings are really pretty though! lol
Well, at least there’s that 😉 Happy birthday, by the way! Missed saying that yesterday!
Thank you! 🙂
Oh boo, what a disappointment. That they even dared to label that pink as a BLUSH lol…
The texture is just so brutal!
What an epic disappointment for such a highly anticipated product!
The strange thing is that MAC can do a good blush/bronzer, and they have done this combo again and again, yet none of them are that great.
D: D: D:
🙁
F. 🙁 How about the balm eyes? 🙂
Yeah, it’s not a great duo!
Wow, it shouldn’t be that hard to get product out of the pan! Kudos to you for trying and I do like the combined colour on the cheek. But is it worth the money with all that faff? Nope!
They can be pretty for sure, but I wish they were easier to use!
And again, my wallet is happy. Thank you Christine! I just can’t believe how poorly this did…that’s almost an art.
No problem, Kristi!
After reading the review I don’t feel nearly so bad being completely uninspired by this collection.
I wish they would do something other than brown/coral as a duo!
Oh yikes, how awful! First agree it’s been kind of repetitive with these blush/bronzer duos that MAC has been releasing, but when you have to stab it like a serial killer to get any color, it’s sad 🙁
lol!
Katherine, that last part of your comment made me laugh out loud! 🙂
Well, this is an easy pass. I think “Haute Contour” is a cute play on “Haute Couture,” but even if it were a good product, that “contour” seems way too yellow.
I thought it was a little weird, because it’s not a contour color (and it sounds and looks more like a bronzer).
I’m glad I come to your blog first before splurging. Most people who do beauty reviews aren’t this honest/looking at all aspects…especially when it comes to MAC products. I’m sad half this collection so far performed so poorly…
Thank you, Melissa!
No problem 😀
First thought I had was, haven’t we just seen something like this with the EG collection? Except that one performed much better and looked nicer, too. This ZP one is just sad.
Yep! And in one of the RiRi Loves MAC iterations. Maybe not exactly the same but still the brown/coral vein.
I am shocked of the poor quality associated with Zac Posen’s name. Don’t cosmetic companies test items out with focus groups before release? I’m equally embarassed that this is a MAC product. Too bad.
It just seems really compacted in there… like it takes so much work to break the surface 🙁
I really don’t get that, either..
So many wrong about this: the color, the payoff, the texture. I can’t get over how yellow it is :S
It is a yellow-toned bronzer for sure!
I’ve literally seen finishing powders with more pigment!
I wish they didn’t press it so firmly!
Weird! Surely MAC knows how to do better than this!
They do!
I never liked MAC bronzers but their blushes are usually workhorses in my routine. Dang it MAC- this isn’t rocket science! Sometimes I just want to take a lousy product & mash it up in my spice grinder. Then I have a good reason for trashing it, telling myself “Oh, it didn’t work as well as I thought it would as a loose powder”.
They can do a good blush, but this was a real doozy!
Nope – no good at all. Love your eye look.
Thanks, Genevieve!
Wow the pigmentation is HORRIBLE. Why does mac keep releasing this junk?!
I don’t know 🙁
pretty disappointing 🙁 specially the pink, that isn’t even pink ..
Agreed!
Thanks Christine 🙂 What a shame that this underperformed but you saved me some money, so thumbs up for that!
No problem, Cathy!
What a sad thing! It’s insulting.. 🙁
It was sad to see!
Where is the quality controle, MAC?
You do make it work, though, Christine!
Ok, so putting aside this crappy MAC product, your eye makeup looks stunning. Your eyes look so beautiful in that last photo 🙂
Not good(