MAC Faerie Whispers: Powder Blush in Cheek Pollen and Spellbinder

A few weeks ago, MAC launched their Boxing Day collection called Faerie Whispers, inspired by — you guessed it — fairies: "Let your innocence roam free. Transcend seasons with charmed hues inspired by the secret, wondrous world of fairies." There is a total of 24 products, of which 17 are new and limited edition, four are re-promotes, two are permanent, and one is new and will be added to the permanent range. Faerie Whispers sees the launch of two new and limited edition shades of powder blush. Each blush is housed in a regular black clear-lidded compact, contains 6 grams of product, and retails for $26. 
Cheek Pollen and Spellbinder
Cheek Pollen and Spellbinder

Cheek Pollen is a medium-dark warm tawny brown with a soft sheen in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more muted than Eternal Sun, darker and more brown than Warm Soul, and more brown and less shimmery than Sunbasque.

Spellbinder is a light-medium warm muted pinked coral with a soft sheen in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more pink and more muted than Peaches, more pink and more muted than Style, and less shimmery than New Romance.

Both shades here have incredible formulas — just so soft, finely-milled, and smooth to the touch. Cheek Pollen makes for a great everyday blush that goes with everything; it adds just a little more colour to the cheeks than bronzer would, so it's ideal for adding a sun-kissed warmth to the skin all year round. Weirdly enough, the shade isn't very "fairy-esque," but it's definitely widely flattering and a true workhorse shade. It's also not so orange or yellow that someone with cool undertones couldn't wear it. Spellbinder is a lovely, lovely soft pinky coral that is just perfect for Spring. It's definitely geared more towards fair to medium skintones, though I can definitely see it working well as a highlighter shade for those with deep dark skintones. There's a beautiful sheen in it that becomes more pronounced the more you buff it, but it's not frosted or shimmery — it just leaves skin looking like a baby doll's, just super-smooth and soft. It also looks quite light in the pan and in initial swatches, but it does warm up and deepen slightly on the skin over time. Either way, it's a gorgeous shade that makes a great segue into Spring collections. Plus, both blush shades work beautifully in tandem with Pearl Sunshine and Sparkling Rose as well.