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MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre
MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre

MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre ($30.00 for 0.49 oz.) is described as a “pink ombre into beige.” It’s a medium-dark, cool-toned pink with a satin-matte finish. NARS 413 BLKR (P, $29.00) is warmer. Clinique Plum Pop (04) (P, $21.00) is lighter, more shimmery. Clinique Berry Pop (03) (P, $21.00) is brighter, more shimmery. Milani Bella Rosa (11) (P, $7.99) is brighter, slightly warmer. NYX Bourgeois Pig (P, $5.00) is a touch lighter. NARS Mata Hari (P, $29.00) is darker. MAC Whole Lotta Love (P, $23.50) is a touch warmer. MAC Prom Princess (LE, $21.00) is darker. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

The texture of this shade was extremely disappointing, as it was stiff and dry. To get any visible color payoff, I had to take my trusty metal spatula and scrape off layers, as the powder just wasn’t dislodging from the surface. When I went to apply it to cheeks, I had to layer the color on five times to get marginal color payoff. From there, it was difficult to blend, as it tended to stay wherever it landed initially, so it looked uneven. With a buffing brush, I was able to finagle it to resemble something not-awful, but this blush required far too much work to merit a purchase. The color wore well for eight hours, though, before it started to fade along the edges.

P.S. — Readers are reporting that they received the opposite blush than they ordered. I ordered one of each, and I received one of each, but it’s hard to say if they were technically “switched” when packed.

MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre
MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre

MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre
MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre

MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre
MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre

MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre
MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre

MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre
MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre

MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre
MAC Sunset Beach Blush Ombre

Makeup Look
On face:
  • Guerlain Parure de Lumiere Foundation
  • Guerlain Les Voilettes Loose Powder
On lips
  • : Dior Magique (479)

149 Comments

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Larissa Punzalan Avatar

aww that’s a bummer. I was so excited to purchase these blushes from this collection because they look so pretty!
I’m gonna have to pass then D; the color looks reaaally nice though

Shipra Avatar

You know, I thought both of them were really light on pigmentation. I thought it might just be me and my brushes, but I honestly have never had an issue with my brushes before (I use my IT Cosmetics blush brush) and it was so disappointing, but Mangrove seemed to make up for it – such a beautiful and happy color for Summer! Thank you always for your honesty! <3

meganlisa Avatar

Wow! I had these in my cart…then decided…why in the world do I need these? And didn’t get them. So glad now! Even B+ for the other shade isn’t so great at $30. Disappointing collection. You’re a life (or at least dollar saver). Using a metal spatula…seems a little crazy that it required that.

Mary Avatar

Yes! So happy I didn’t buy this! I bought the Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Hibiscus instead; much better choice! I was NOT wooed by pretty packaging and I am proud of myself!

Lindsay Avatar

How disappointing.. this blush looked so pretty in pan.. You just saved me $30! I don’t comment often but just wanted to write a thank you for all the work you put into your blog! I always checked your blog before making a makeup purchase and it has saved me money and the hassle of a return many times. (it has also made me spend money when I read an amazing review many times…) I really value your opinion. Thanks again 🙂

Melissa Avatar

Ah! That’s so disappointing. I purchased both of the blushes and they’re set to come in tomorrow. I’ve never owned a MAC ombre blush before and was really excited. Hopefully the other one isn’t the same!!!

Cinzia Avatar

When I read the review for the other blush I was really hoping you would say it was horrible, since I really wanted these. But I thought I would like this colour better so I am kind of glad it sucked since you saved me some money! It’s really weird how one did great and the other blush was just horrible!

Brandi Avatar

It seems there are some serious quality control issues with these blushes. Some ladies have had no problems and say pigmentation is great, others have had the same problems you did. That on top of all the blushes getting mixed up in people’s orders… get it together, MAC!

Tracy@Beauty Reflections Avatar

I don’t get it! I ordered this one as the orange one was sold out. It arrived today and after seeing your rating I was bummed. But I opened it up, and it’s AMAZINGLY NICE. Buttery, soft, pigmented, blends well-reminds me of the Estee Lauder Blushes actually. I’m so glad I have it! I don’t understand why yours was so bad! Mine is fantastic!

Elizabeth Avatar

You know I ordered Ocean City and got this one by mistake too, and I couldn’t agree with you more. I have not tried on the face but the consistency is absolutely buttery and quite pigmented!

Mariella Avatar

MAC’s Groundwork eyeshadow (a beautiful looking taupe/grey shade from the Fashion Flower collection) was like that. When I tried it in store, I thought the counter sample was a plastic or paper “dummy product”. Really BAD and pretty unforgivable in my opinion.

Jessica Avatar

Wow!!! This is bad!!! I ordered both because I love the ombré blushes & I was afraid they would sell out, but after these reviews, this order will be going back to Mac. $30 a pop and for quality like this is wrong!!!

JOSIE Avatar

WOW… I’m really surprised and these sold so quick. I was disappointed that i was unable to get them. Thank goodness.

Funny u say the orders were switched. MAC’s packaging has really been messing up. My past 3 online orders were messed up. They kept forgetting an item in each order. I was afraid that MAC was going to accuse me of lying since it has been three times in a roll. MAC lets get it together!!

Meghan Avatar

Mac sent almost everyone who ordered these in the US the opposite blush from the one they ordered. I ordered this one, but received ocean city instead. Guess I should be thankful 🙂

Emma Castillo Avatar

Hi Christine. All my respect to your page but I think you got a dud blush. I got the same blush and it was the first thing I tried on and I didn’t have to finagle with or play around with it to get it work. It’s actually one of the easiest magenta blushes to make work.

Christine Avatar

Glad yours works well! My philosophy is since I forked over $30, I should get a quality product (I shouldn’t have to buy multiples and hope to not get a dud), so unfortunately, this was my experience, but I’m really happy that you had a better one 🙂

Brenda Avatar

Thinking about the readers getting the wrong colours – just judging by names I would have expected THIS to be called Ocean City and the orange one to be Sunset Beach……just an observation.

Andrew Avatar

Christine, you are a total lifesaver! I ordered this color literally as soon as I got my text from MAC but, like other customers, received the wrong color (more on that in a moment). I was going to go to my nearest MAC counter tomorrow and exchange it, but I think I’m sticking with Ocean City. Besides, I need to break away from pinks and reds for a moment and try out more oranges and corals. Thank you for posting this so quickly!

*So the whole switch mishap: apparently at the warehouse there’s been a mix-up with packaging. For example, I ordered Sunset Beach and received a box labeled ‘Sunset Beach’, but the actual product was Ocean City. I’m sure someone has probably filled you in on this by now, but I wanted to make sure :). Thanks again!

Mariella Avatar

There’s a LOT I don’t understand about MAC and its marketing but they have had wonderful “ombre” blushes in past that people trip over their own feet to get (was it an “Azalea” one that was similar to this and LE?). Why not repromote or make permanent those really good shades rather than introducing new ones that look very much the same but have major sucking problems in the quality department? That is just one thing I don’t understand about MAC (there are plenty more!).

fancie Avatar

Lmao @ the F rating! I can’t do anything but laugh. This collection was such a joke. It was pushed back and everything still went wrong lol. If you only ordered one blush your order was wrong. Lipsticks arrived damaged and falling out of the tubes. Some places didn’t receive the blushes until the last minute (Nordstrom) while others may not get them at all. It was just a mess! I feel sorry for the ladies who didn’t receive what they ordered or wasn’t pleased with the quality smh

Carly Avatar

Well darn. 🙁 This is such a Debbie Downer. I have Azalea Blossom from years back and was hoping to expand on my ombre blush collection, but I guess not if it needs a freaking spatula. Oh well, I’m not really prepared to shell out $30 for a blush with super cheapie looking packaging.

NB Avatar

I am one of the ones who got the wrong blush! I wanted pink, but got orange instead. I called MAC yesterday and they said someone would get back to me within 24-48 hours. Haven’t heard anything yet.

Kai Avatar

I am so upset that I got Sunset Beach instead of Ocean City I called they say they’ll look into it but they already knew the issue because they said many ppl had the same problem thankfully I know someone who’s holding it @ MAC tomorrow for me but that’s horrible

Carrie Avatar

Disappoining, especially since the new perm blushes are so great! Full of joy is becoming a go-to for me and I was considering it…but this review just reminds me why I wait for your reviews before buying anything MAC thst is new!

Tasia Liu Avatar

I ordered sunset beach since ocean city was already sold out online by the time I went to check out the collection online, but to my surprise I received ocean city in the mail today. I originally only wanted ocean city so I guess I got lucky even though MAC made a mistake. It’s weird how the mix-up affected so many people though. Maybe the mistake occurred as a result of high demand and the overnight shipping promo they had.

Jules Avatar

I thought the ombre on these would be a lot more dramatic! When blended out, you can’t really see the difference from one end to another.

Thanks so much for these reviews! You have saved me so much money and helped me find great products I would have never known about.

Jules Avatar

I’m really curious as to how MAC is going to address how nearly everybody who ordered one blush from this collection got the wrong one! One solution would be to send them the right one for free and let them keep the wrong one they’ve already paid for, but if this is a limited collection that sold out quickly, MAC certainly hasn’t made enough to cover all the mistakes. They’ll have to go back into production in order to do that, and that takes time. But they can’t just tell people to send the wrong ones back and then re-ship them to the people who actually ordered that color, because that’s unhygienic (I’m sure most people opened the compact and you can’t re-sell after that). Business disaster! From what I’ve read on message boards and Facebook, their customer service has been leaving people less than impressed, too. Bad bad bad. They need to put on some serious damage control pants.

Lori Avatar

I just got an e-mail from MAC, and they said that they are going to try and get more and send me the correct color, if they are unable to get more then they will credit my acct for the purchase, and that I can keep the wrong color. They said they will have more information early next week about whether or not they will be able to get more. my fingers are crossed.

Linda Avatar

Wow, thank you so much for ALL your reviews Christine, you saved me from running out and buying the NARS 15 pan palette and now these, whew!! I really am happy that I always check your blog first, thank you so much for being on top of all the new products!!!

Emme Avatar

I got both crap ends of the stick LOL.

Ordered Ocean City (receipt says ocean city as well) and received Sunset Beach. And the Sunset Beach I got is HORRIBLE, so stiff! I too, thought of the plastic products stores used to have to demonstrate cosmetic colors!

Genevieve Avatar

I had both of these in my cart at MAC and Ocean City fold outing me while I was browsing other items- so, I decided not to get anything- since OC was the one I really wanted. Must have been divine intervention- so happy now that I didn’t waste my money!

Chrissie83 Avatar

Mac also got my orders mixed. I was sent the orange one and I try to stay away from that color cuz it’s unflattering to me. Hopefully I can exchange it for the right one even though the invoice doesn’t marc the item. Hopefully I will have luck with the pink one.

vicky Avatar

Definately wont bother with it. There are a thousant wonderful MAC blushes. One question only, does it get anything near beige? it says pink to beige, I think (from the photos) it should say fuchsia into pink or something. Is it beige on the top?

Aquie Avatar

SO yea I ordered the Ocean City and guess what they sent me the Sunset Beach…Mind you I’m like a NW 55/58 with MAC foundations so yea this is a stretch for me…My local MAC store has the Ocean City so I’m going to swap it for that…I did call customer service and they were like they will get back to me in a couple of days because it was a warehouse mix up and now they have to do something with production…It sounded very crazy and they lady sounded very un-enthused….I guess mistakes happens.

heather Avatar

what a nightmare this has been! i ordered two of ocean city and one sunset beach, but of course MAC sent me two sunset beach and one ocean city. on the bright side…both of the sunset beach are pigmented and weren’t a disaster like the one you received. so far it actually seems more pigmented than ocean city, but i’ll see once I actually apply them to my face. very disappointed in MAC this time around!

Tara Avatar

I received my order yesterday and I have to say I have no issues with pigmentation or stiffness in the one I have. It’s soft, almost powdery, with good colour payoff. Hopefully, yours was just a dud and others will receive one with a similar texture to the one I have.

Jai Avatar

I ordered this one but got Ocean City instead which made me happy because it is what I originally wanted but was sold out when I ordered. Happy about MAC’s website’s mistake since this particular blush performed poorly than Ocean City.

Melissa Avatar

I definitely think you got a dud because mine just came in the mail yesterday and it was lovely. After reading your post, I swatched it and it was really pigmented and smooth. Definitely a keeper in my collection!

janechemi Avatar

I bought one of each and I didnt have a problem with the texture. Maybe I got lucky but mine applied perfectly even with my cheap no name blush brush

Vicki Avatar

I wonder if you got one from a bad batch. I bought both and I really like them. I dont find it it to hard to get good color. I am just bummed about the no pro discount. But overall I am pleased with them

Elle Avatar

My Sunset Beach blush is quite pigmented. A positive review from a German blogger is what inspired me to get this blush in the first place.

Is it possible you received a dud? An F seems pretty harsh! :/ Then again, you’re the expert who’s tried thousands of products.

Christine Avatar

It’s totally possible I got a dud, but I can’t change my review based on someone else’s experience, you know? I can only tell you what I experienced, which is why we also have ways for readers to rate and review products, leave comments, etc. so that there’s a full picture and dialogue.

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!