MAC Tropical Taboo: Mineralize Blushes

Today, MAC released a new and limited edition collection in-stores called Tropical Taboo, which is MAC's annual Mineralize launch this year. Tropical Taboo is comprised of two parts, Colour and Face, with a total of 33 products —15 of which are new and limited edition, six of which are re-promotes, ten of which are permanent, one of which is new and permanent, and one of which is a re-promote and now permanent. Tropical Taboo sees the release of three shades of Mineralize Blush, all of which are new and limited edition. MAC's Mineralize Blush "provides exceptionally sheer and lightweight application" so that "colour builds lightly, layer after layer, without heavy coverage." Each Mineralize Blush comes in regular black packaging with a clear lid, contains 3.2 grams of product, and retails for $29.50.
Exotic Ember
Simmer
Sweet Samba
Exotic Ember, Simmer, and Sweet Samba

Exotic Ember is a mélange of medium brightened orange and dark bronze-brown. When swirled together, it creates a dark warm bronze-brown with gold shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 darker and more brown than Love Joy, warmer than Sweet as Cocoa Powder Blush, and less golden than Format Powder Blush.

Simmer is a mélange of light peachy gold and dark burnt cranberry red. When swirled together, it creates a medium-dark vibrant coral-pink with gold shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 than Gleeful, warmer than Dollymix Powder Blush, and darker and more pink than Fleur Power Powder Blush.

Sweet Samba is a mélange of light-medium golden tan and medium-dark fuchsia pink. When swirled together, it creates a medium-dark cool-toned raspberry pink with a pearlized sheen in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky, 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 brighter and more pink than Love Thing, darker and cooler than Dollymix Powder Blush, and cooler and less reddened than Breezy Powder Blush.

All three shades had really soft, smooth textures and good pigmentation. Keep in mind that each blush is created differently, so the resulting colour may vary slightly; that is, each one has different "swirls" with differing amounts of colour, so they may look slightly different than the ones swatched here (for example, Sweet Samba may look lighter or darker, brighter or more muted, depending on the swirl design). All three blushes should work well across all complexions from fair to dark, and because Mineralize Blushes are more finely-milled, they do layer and blend out more effortlessly so it is very easy to change the opacity. The only tricky shade here is Exotic Ember because the orange just doesn't blend seamlessly with the brown shade, so it can look blotchy on the skin. What I love about Mineralize Blushes is that you can blend them on the skin so that they look quite natural, and the shimmer doesn't translate the way it looks in a swatch or in the pan — skin just looks perfectly glowy. Unlike Mineralize Skinfinishes, the finish on these are not metallic, so they don't emphasize pores and skin texture nearly as much. Mineralize Blushes don't wear as long as MAC's regular powder blushes, but I love the way they sit on the skin, making it look fresh and illuminated and smooth.