Archived Post

MAC Scorching Haute and Tropical Nail Lacquers Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Temperature Rising)

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer ($18.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) is described as a “super glitter magenta.” It’s multi-sized magenta glitter suspended in a clear base; it has very small sparkle, micro-glitter, and then larger circular glitters. Zoya Carly is darker with a blacker base and less glittery. China Glaze Senorita Bonita is purpler and less glittery. Nubar Petunia Sparkle has a blacker base. Urban Decay Xanadu is not as dense, has darker purple glitter (rather than magenta). SpaRitual Shooting Star has a blacker base and shimmer rather than glitter. It’s opaque and densely-packed with glitter in two coats–and I was a bit surprised, because one coat didn’t inspire confidence it would turn opaque, but it did. That’s actually great news, as it makes it a more versatile polish–you can layer one coat over another polish or wear this alone with two coats. The consistency wasn’t too thick or too thin, and it applied well while the glitter spread evenly across the nail.

MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer ($18.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) is described as a “super glitter bronze.” It has a chocolate brown-tinted base with copper and bronze small/medium glitter suspended in it. I wasn’t able to think of any dupes for this one, and the only shade that I considered was China Glaze Ick-a-bod-y, which is larger orange glitter in a black base. I didn’t have the same luck with this shade as I did with Scorching Haute, as this one wasn’t opaque in two coats, and the glitter did not spread evenly. It tended to stick wherever the brush first was applied, but if you pulled the brush across the nail, most of the glitter stayed at the other end. I had to push it forward for more even glitter coverage. I applied one thin coat with two thicker coats on top on my middle finger, and I was able to get more opaque color but the result is on the thicker side.  The consistency was on the watery side.

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer
MAC Scorching Haute Nail Lacquer

MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer
MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer

MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer
MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer

MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer
MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer

MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer
MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer

MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer
MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer

MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer
MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer

MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer
MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer

MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer
MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer

MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer
MAC Tropical Nail Lacquer

19 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Ellen Avatar

Tropical reminds me a bit of Deborah Lippmann Superstar, but the latter I’ve had a great experience with – it goes on smoothly and evenly. It may be a bit more orange, but they’re similar (and maybe more so if you start with brown under the DL color?)

Jennifer A. Avatar

These both look like dupes to me! Scorching Haute looks like Orly in Bubbly Bombshell. Tropical Nail looks like Deborah Lippmann in Superstar (which was also duped by Wet n Wild Fast Dry in Cougar Attack).

I used to purchase MAC polishes fairly frequently, but if they can’t be unique (or apply well), I can’t justify the price.

VickyM Avatar

Oh no! This are gorgeous, my poor wallet! I´m so glad this aren´t limited edition since I want both 😀 , dare I say I even like them better than Taboo and Azure. I can´t believe what I´m saying…

VickyM Avatar

Thanks for the information Christine, I thought they were permanent 🙁 fortunately we don´t have the collection here yet, so I can save up for at least one of them

Katie Avatar

So pretty. I was actually surprised a MAC polish could even get an A. It’s been such a long time. Question: when you run your hand over your nails does it feel gritty?

Petra Avatar

Wow, that’s weird. They behaved exactly the opposite with me. Tropical required three coats for even results and Scorching Haute was perfectly fine with two thin coats. SH needed a good shake though, but still, I didn’t come across any problems with it. I also found that SH lasted longer than Tropical. Could be because of the amount of glitter in Tropical, there’s not enough viscosity to hold it in place.

Great pics as always. 🙂

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!