MAC x Jeremy Scott Acoustica Cheek x 3 Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
Acoustica
MAC Acoustica Jeremy Scott Cheek x 3 Palette ($35.00 for 0.31 oz.) is a new, limited edition trio of cheek colors that features a highlighter, bronzer, and blush. The highlighter was very nice to work with but very metallic, while the bronzer and blush were matte and had thinner textures that weren’t as blendable or as pigmented, though some might prefer building up the coverage.
Ingredients
Acoustica
LELimited Edition. $35.00.
Heaven in Your Smile
Heaven in Your Smile is a light, peachy gold with warm undertones and a metallic finish. It was intensely pigmented with a smooth, creamy consistency that was finely-milled and extremely easy to blend out on the skin. The finish was shimmery and metallic, which accentuated my skin’s natural slightly at some angles (other angles made my skin look smoother as it had a lot of shine). It lasted for eight and a half hours on me.
Top Dupes
- Viseart Ablaze (Highlight) (PiP, ) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Ciate Starburst (P, $32.00) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Tarte Champagne (LE, ) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Estee Lauder Courreges (LE, $32.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- Looxi Beauty Bombshell (P, $7.50) is brighter (95% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Glow (Original) (PiP, ) is less shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- NARS Moana (LE, $30.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- MAC Light of the Party (LE, ) is darker (90% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Highlighting Glow (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- MAC There She Glows (LE, $42.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
Heaven in Your Smile
LELimited Edition.
Acoustica
Acoustica is a muted, medium brown with warm, yellow undertones and a matte finish. The powder was thin, a little dry, but it had good pigmentation and was fairly blendable on the skin when applied in layers. I found that if I tried to apply it at fuller coverage to diffuse later, it seemed more prone to sticking to the skin and not wanting to blend out. It wore well for eight hours on me.
Top Dupes
- bareMinerals The Ocean View (LE, $24.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- Urban Decay Bronzed (P, $28.00) is cooler (95% similar).
- ColourPop Skinny Dip (P, $8.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- ColourPop Coconut Beach (LE, $8.00) is lighter, cooler (95% similar).
- LYS Beauty Harmony (P, $18.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- Estee Lauder Saffron Sun (LE, $65.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Too Faced Chocolate Soleil (P, $30.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- NARS Laguna (LE, $40.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Hourglass Nude Bronze Light (P, $52.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Terra (P, $68.00) is cooler (90% similar).
Acoustica
LELimited Edition. $28.00.
Wall of Desire
Wall of Desire is a medium, pink-coral with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-opaque, buildable pigmentation with a smooth, thinner consistency. It wasn’t powdery, but it was easiest to apply it in layers, which made blending easier and helped achieve the right level of pigmentation while minimizing the need for blending in the end. The color lasted well for eight hours on me.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Dose of Colors Statemint (LE, $22.00) (95% similar).
- KVD Beauty Piaf (Shade) (DC, ) is darker, more muted (95% similar).
- NYX Mauve (DC, $5.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Milani Berry Rays #4 (PiP, ) is cooler (95% similar).
- NARS Make Believe (LE, $30.00) is darker (90% similar).
- NARS Behave (P, $30.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Zoeva PK020 (P, ) is lighter, brighter, cooler (90% similar).
- MAC Melon Pink (Bottom) (LE, $24.00) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- MAC What I Fancy (LE, $24.00) is lighter, brighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Zoeva CR020 (P, ) is darker, brighter (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$24.00/0.21 oz. - $114.29 Per Ounce
Per the brand, the formula is supposed to "provide fantastic colour with ease and consistency" that "applies evenly, adheres lightly to skin." There are five distinct finishes within the range: Frost ("iridescent, lightly shimmering color"), Matte ("flat, matte finish... builds well"), Satin ("adds subtle highlights to the skin"), Sheertone ("sheer-on micro-refined powder ... that goes on faint"), and Sheertone Shimmer ("just enough shimmer to make light dance on your cheeks"). Their permanent blushes are available in compact form as well as pan-only (the latter will be cheaper).
The following overview has been updated to reflect the most current iteration of the brand's permanent range (whether or not there's been any official change) as I repurchased the majority of the permanent shades as of June 2018. I make a point to say that because I felt that the textures of several shades, particularly the frost finish shades, was noticeably different; they were much smoother and had more slip but were less shimmery/frosted (on average) and seemed to be a bit weaker in pigmentation (but still buildable). Some of the mattes felt like I've encountered in the past (a little drier, pigmented, and fairly blendable), while some felt more velvety and finely-milled.
MAC has a solid blush range but some shades are harder than others to blend out or diffuse, and as it does for most formulas (from any brand), it really comes down to some shades falling shy of expectations. The matte finish had a tendency to darken on my skin within five minutes of application; for most shades, I would recommend applying over a powdered face and/or avoiding applying on still-drying complexion products to make blending the easiest. The matte shades seemed to be semi-opaque to opaque, buildable, and long-wearing (about eight hours).
Only a few of the shades in the permanent range seemed to be particularly frosted/metallic on the skin; most shades that had shimmer appeared more softly luminous or pearlescent on the skin to the point where there was little sheen/reflection captured by my camera (I did a double take for a few and re-did swatches only to find the same finish captured yet again!). The Sheertone Shimmer performed most consistently with this: very subtle sheen, more "my skin but better" with having a slightly more noticeable sheen than matte. There were a few shades that had a strong sheen on the skin (like Peachykeen), though. The Frost finish just seemed to have stronger, larger shimmer in it, but the effect on the skin ranged being subtle to moderate. The same was true with Satin--some were more satin-like and some seemed more like a Frost (like Modern Mandarin).
Most shades were blendable, while pigmentation varied from sheer to opaque depending on the shade, but most had decent, builable coverage. The textures were firmer than the average powder blush of current times, but they don't have excess product kicked up in the pan at all. The wear ranged between seven and nine hours with deeper, intense mattes (like Fever or Film Noir) lasted longer.
Browse all of our MAC Powder Blush swatches.
Ingredients
TALC, OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE, ZINC STEARATE, ISOSTEARYL NEOPENTANOATE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, HEXYLENE GLYCOL, PHENOXYETHANOL. MAY CONTAIN: SILICA, MICA, TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE (CI 77163), BLUE 1 LAKE (CI 42090), CARMINE (CI 75470), CHROMIUM HYDROXIDE GREEN (CI 77289), CHROMIUM OXIDE GREENS (CI 77288), FERRIC FERROCYANIDE (CI 77510), MANGANESE VIOLET (CI 77742), RED 6 (CI 15850), RED 6 LAKE (CI 15850), RED 7 LAKE (CI 15850), RED 28 LAKE (CI 45410), RED 30 LAKE (CI 73360), ULTRAMARINES (CI 77007), YELLOW 5 LAKE (CI 19140), YELLOW 6 LAKE (CI 15985).
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
I can see this trio working for me, especially the blush and this seen-from-space highlighter! Although, I do also really like the bronzer, too. This could be the one and only bronzer I’d have (or use) to do a little complexion warming! In fact, this palette looks like the more promising piece of all three.
I love the packaging, but the bronzer wouldn’t work for me. At this price point, I’d want all three products to be usable.