MAC x Mariah Carey Sweet Sweet Fantasy Blush Review, Photos, Swatches
Sweet Sweet Fantasy
MAC Sweet Sweet Fantasy Blush ($24.00 for 0.21 oz.) is a bright, medium pink-coral with warm undertones and a semi-matte finish. It had semi-opaque, buildable color payoff with a soft, slightly firmer texture. It was firm enough that there wasn’t any powdery excess when I patted my brush against the surface, but it wasn’t so firm that it was difficult to get color onto the brush or to blend out on the skin. The blush blended out fairly easily, though it was not the most effortless coral blush I’ve come across, so I do recommend building up and diffusing as you go. It wore well for eight and a half hours on me before fading.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Tarte Crave (LE, $29.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Anastasia Scorching (PiP, ) is darker, brighter (95% similar).
- MAC Hey, Coral, Hey (P, $29.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- Tarte Smashing (LE, $29.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Gucci Beauty Coral Flower (DC, $49.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- NARS Paramount (LE, $30.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Too Faced How Deep is Your Love? (P, $26.00) is darker (95% similar).
- NYX Summer Peach (DC, $5.00) is more muted (95% similar).
- Vieve Sorbet (P, $32.00) is more shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- Tarte True Love (P, $29.00) is lighter (95% 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.
It’s a nice color and I’m glad it rated well for anyone who wants to get it. I have the NYX dupe, so I’m all set.
I was pretty excited for this collection, but I’m not really feeling a lot of the colors nor all of the higher prices.
Yeah, the price increases are pretty severe on some products!
Sooooo pretty!!
Glad you liked it!
I love that the formula is not powdery ! Beautiful color , i will pick this up for sure 🙂
Enjoy, Claire!
I think this will be nice for spring. I’m adding it to my wish list!
Yay! Hope you love it, Nicole!
Oh this is such a gorgeous colour!! I’m glad it lives up even with the B rating! I don’t think I have a colour similar to this just yet so I may give it a go!
Hope you can try it, Stephanie!
It’s nice, but I think I have a close color from Tarte that’s not on your list.
Oh, that’s good news!
That is a gorgeous shade of coral! If I didn’t already have Spring Flock and Sweet Visions, I would want this one for sure. However, those will take some time to even hit pan on!
Phew, you have some great dupes!
Wow, this is really pretty, will be flattering on many skintones, just the thing to perk up dull winter skin
It is a nice color!
Such a pretty color! (Unfortunately corals are seldom flattering on my cheeks, though… )
It is!
I like really effortless application when it comes to blushes. so I think this is an easy pass.
Totally understand, Helene!
Can you tell if Sweet Sweet Fantasy is close to Painted Canyon from Vibe Tribe? It seems pretty close? So beautiful i want it all 😀
You can compare any two shades here: http://www.temptalia.com/swatch-gallery/#sbs
Do I need it?
No.
Do I want it?
Yaaaas…..
Are there any MAC blushes that could be dupes? It reminds me of Painted Canyon from the Vibe Tribe Collection.
You can compare any two shades here: http://www.temptalia.com/swatch-gallery/#sbs