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MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder
MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder ($28.00 for 0.42 oz.) is described as a “peach pressed powder with gold hibiscus flower overspray.” I would consider it more like an overlay than an overspray, because it’s a significant amount of gold laid on top of the actual powder. I had to rub away a good deal to see whether it went through or not, and then wised up and dug out an actual chunk (as shown later in this post) to show that underneath is the darker orange-red. The base color of the blush is a brightened, medium-dark orange red, and the gold overspray mixes in to create a soft orange with an orange-gold shimmer and sheen.

The texture is decent but has this thin, dusty feel–despite being pigmented, the color dusts away easily, which means that it also blends out that way. Depending on how much of the overspray you get on the brush, the shimmer content will go up or down (and the less shimmer you get, the darker the color will be, too). I do recommend going easy on the overspray, because it adds up quickly.  You’re getting a good amount of product, though–nearly triple the size of your typical blush.

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder
MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder
MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder
MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder
MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder
MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder
MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder
MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder
MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder
MAC My Paradise Surf Baby Cheek Powder

109 Comments

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Jennifer Avatar

It kind of reminds me of Virgin Isle CCB but in a powder.

And I’m liking your makeup here Christine. Very cute and summery 🙂

Julia Avatar

Hmmm… Too warm for me, but this looks like it would be a gorgeous color on olive-skin tones. Thanks so much Christine for your hard work in posting these for us! I can’t wait to see the rest of the swatches!!

laura Avatar

I have this blush/cheek powder and it’s beautiful! I have warm undertones and light skin (but I’m going to get tan in the summer)…this is the perfect color for me and it’s buildable so you can use it lightly or more heavily!

Katrina Avatar

Hi Christine, I really like that you dug through the overspray to see the color underneath. So informative!! Thanks for the in-depth review!! 🙂

snm Avatar

the swatch on the left is gorgeous but it may look way too orange on my skin without the golden sheen:/ btw,whats up with the 12g of product? I think it is just way too much.I am not a fan of oversized products,especially when it comes to powder products(eyeshadows,blushes etc),since they are very hard to use up and all we get is a higher price tag.

Jensyn Avatar

Bust Out! rocks on you!! It kind of reminds me of Playtime though. Do you see the similarities with the two of them? Maybe a comparison of the two and Style Curve if you have it. I may have to skip since it looks so similar. Tx Christine!

Jessi Avatar

I love the color but the overspray thing bothers me. It wish it either went all the way through or was easier to just wipe away. It’s a completely different blush once the gold is gone.

Christine Avatar

I totally agree, Jessi! I don’t really care if there’s an overspray but this is much thicker, which is GREAT but then the colors are so drastically different that it’s more like one of those duos where one side is huge and the other is tiny, haha.

Ana G. Avatar

I have it already and love it!! I’m a NC 40 and it’s just the right orange for me. I don’t feel like it washes out easily. I leave in the morning at 8.30 and arrive home at 19.00 and it’s till on, without using a primer. I do seal it with powder though 🙂 I totally recommend it, specially for the warmer-toned beauties!!

Sarah Avatar

I saw it, i loved it, i wanted it and couldn’t wait to buy it.
Saw the swatch, and now im not going to bother, Love the initial look with the gold, but i wouldn’t wear it once the gold had gone, such a shame as it looked so good!

Lauriel Avatar

i already have it and i totally adore it! i’m almost lighter than nc15 and on me looks very fresh and glowy almost like i spent some time in the sun gardening, not burned or anything just i don’t know- healthy. i love it <3

Szlamizita Avatar

I live in Hungary and it came out earlier than in the usa. Don’t ask me why,the collections are usually late here (a month late actually) so this is not regular…

Pamela Avatar

I thought I’d pass on this but now that i’ve seen your review and pics I’m going to get it. But probably not two of them like I did with Marine Life last year.

Lauriel Avatar

surf, baby has already been released in most of europe as far as i know. i don’t know about other continents but germany, austria etc got it already 😉

Sam Avatar

It came out online in the UK on Tuesday & I’m guessing Thursday in stores. I’ve ordered one and can’t wait for it to arrive 🙂

Destiny Avatar

Orange blush looks amazing on darker skin tones, so I think this is a must have for me! This sorta reminds me of NARS Taj Mahal.

Carrie Ann Avatar

Thanks for your awesome review. I wouldn’t have the guts to dig out the gold portion and ruin that pretty hibiscus design :). I’m glad it isn’t just a thin layer of gold that will be gone after a couple of uses.

Darlene Avatar

This looks lovely but I just picked up NARS Taj Mahal – similar in your opinion? Thanks – great review as always 🙂

Dana Avatar

Thanks for getting the collection reviews up so fast! Just wondering if you knew why they called this a “cheek powder” instead of a “blush”? It’s gorgeous regardless!

meme Avatar

I wear blushes with peach in them well. But this one is too intense for my fair/light coloring. I know I would have trouble keeping it toned down. But it looks GREAT on you! Thanks so much. I wish I lived close by to come over and play with your stash of products! But then don’t most of us who are avid readers!!!

Szlamizita Avatar

I already have it and I’m nc15 with blue eyes,it works and I’m very surprised because it looks too orange in the pot but putting it on is another story.

Stephy Avatar

Thanks for the wonderful review! I think I’m going to skip out on this one, I’m not sure yet, I have nw15 skin and it might be too orange for me.
This gives you a beautiful glow Christine!

Jenny Avatar

I just wondered if you knew how long this collection was going to ‘run’ for, as it were…. If an item sells out are MAC likely to replace it or is it gone?

Hannah Avatar

These colors separately are quite reminiscent of NARS TAJ MAHAL (GOLD W/ IT) & NARS EXHIBIT A (W/O GOLD). What do you think Christine?

espresso Avatar

You dug in it! You’re my hero!
.. Seriously I think it’s just great that you do this for this review that tons of people will read to get informed.
For example I wanted to purchase a product a while ago, found several reviews, several sponsored, but no one had dug into it even a little to be able to tell if the color was an overlay on a one-color powder or went all through it, making it a blush.
And I’m not complaining about that, I just want to say how great I find how thorough you always are with your reviews!

xxx

fabiola Avatar

hi Cristine, do you think it look a little bit like nars taj majal? it looks gorgeous on you. thanks again for all your hard work, i don’t know how you do it.

Caitlin Avatar

Hi Christine! As always- great job of posting swaches of everything and I really appriciate all of the hardwork that you put into your blog! I was wondering how this blush compares to MAC peaches?

Shortie Avatar

Lol can’t believe how many people compared this to taj mahal (me included!). I don’t know if I’d get this now that I’ve seen swatches. I’m kind of disappointed. Thought it’d be more pinky coral. Boo!

Maggie Avatar

I’m actually glad for my wallet’s sake that this is so orange – it’s a gorgeous color on you, but on my NW-too-pale-for-the-scale skin I think it would look bizarre, especially once the gold disappeared 🙂

Also, just wanted to say I think it’s awesome that you chiseled away a bit of the design to see how deep it went. I so appreciate how thorough you are in your reviews!

Kylie Avatar

I’m a very pale girl, NW15 is sometimes too dark, and with the gold overspray I am able to pull this off. However, once the gold is gone, I’m not sure I will be able to wear this, which makes me incredibly sad, as it will just sit and look pretty in my makeup drawers.

margot Avatar

Too orange for me. Too bad, it looks so pretty with the golden overlay. I wish they had just repromoted Marine Life, more my color type

Rachy Avatar

What skintone would look best in this… i realy like it but i’ve never worn blush (i just am naturaly red in the cheeks)

Alejandra Avatar

Thank goodness I already have enough coral/orange blushes in my stash because Im a little on the broke side as of the moment.haha
Will only be picking up Hibiscus Lipstick and Krazy Kahuna Lipglass.

Lorraine Avatar

I Love the blush ! Maybe you should put a nude lipstick with this look :S Do you think the blush can fit for black skintones ? Thank you christine <3

TLC Avatar

I actually like the way this looks. I usually only wear pink blushes but this looks very pretty and I would wear it. Just not sure if it would be worth $28 though.

Sulah Avatar

How would you compare the color without the gold overlay to tarte amazonian blush in tipsy? If similar I do not want to waste money on it :/

kerry Avatar

I picked up surfin usa and my paradise from the collection and Im really glad to see the quality of the products are as they should be…the bounce shadows were SOOO disappointing!

Arlene Avatar

I purchased My Paradise and I absolutely love it. I have fair skin and pink undertones and it looks great. It goes on very sheer– so don’t be worried about it looking super bright. It does indeed feel a bit dusty BUT that is actually perfect for hot humid weather (I live in Miami, FL). The powdery-ness of the blush holds up under any kind of sweat much better– cream blushes tend to look like shiny beams of light. As a small test I went running on the beach today and decided to wear it to see how it held up. By the end of my run I still had a good amount of product on. I also wore some of the Surf the Ocean pigments and they were pretty much intact.
Just for reference: I have normal to slightly oily (in my t-zone) skin.

cytaormina Avatar

My Paradise is absolutely GAWGEOUS!!! If you are looking for this shade without the gold iridescence MAC Peaches blush is a good dupe. It is a very flat color but the same shade w/out the iridescence.

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