MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Blushes Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1)
MAC Baby Don’t Go Pro Longwear Blush
Where’s Your Blush?
This review focuses on four new shades of MAC Pro Longwear Blushes ($23.50 for 0.21 oz.) from the latest launch, Office Hours: Baby Don’t Go (light cool beige), Blush All Day (light dirty rose beige), Eternal Sun (warm brown), and Rosy Outlook (light yellow pink).
This is a new product that has been added to the permanent range. MAC describes it as, “A lightweight blush with extreme colour perfection and non-fading, eight-hour wear. Ultra fine, silky powder glides on and blends easily to provide a moist, flawless, natural finish or with layering, a brighter, more dramatic look.”
Baby Don’t Go is a light beige brown with a barely-there sheen. It’s sheer when applied, and I can only see this showing up on very fair-skinned individuals–even that you may require some layering! In the full face photo of me, I applied about four layers of blush–and I’m not even sure you can really see it on. The texture is so soft, but it is powdery. Tarina Tarantino Neopolitan Lane is slightly pinker. Burberry Russet is a bit darker, browner.
Blush All Day is a soft pink with subtle yellow undertones and a golden shimmer. On the skin, the shimmer isn’t very noticeable. This shade is on the sheerer side and required layering, but it wasn’t as powdery as Baby Don’t Go. I did have to apply four layers of product to get noticeable color on my skin tone, so again, this is a color better suited for someone with very fair skin. MAC Brit Wit is grayer. Chanel Pink Cloud is lighter. MAC Pet Me has a stronger yellow undertone.
Eternal Sun is a subdued orange with a satin-like finish. It looked more matte on the skin. This one seemed to swatch better than the others, but when applied to the cheeks, it still took four layers of product to achieve noticeable color, so it’s a shade that would suit very light complexions. MAC Worldly Wealth is browner, less orange. MAC Sun Power is very similar.
Rosy Outlook is a pale pink with subtle yellow undertones and a gentle sheen. Even though I see there’s shimmer in the product, it doesn’t translate onto skin. I think that’s because these have a powdery texture, that it tends to look more matte on the skin. Illamasqua Naked Rose is darker. MAC Crew is very similar. Chanel Brompton Road is more blue-based. Chanel Horizon de Chanel is darker. MAC Stunner is comparable.
The texture of these is very different from their regular blush formula. It’s incredibly soft and feels silky, but all four shades were also incredibly powdery. There was just a lot of excess powder that billowed in the wind and sat upon the skin. If you have oilier skin, it might not be as noticeable on, but on my normal cheeks (at least, when swatching and testing these), they looked almost caked on and visibly powdery. Part of that is undoubtedly due to how much product I have to apply to get any color to show up on my medium skin color. If you have really fair skin, you should be able to get away with (somewhat) less product.
It feels lightweight, even though it doesn’t look that way on. The finsh is more matte than natural on; the powderiness contributes to giving it a mostly matte appearance. Though MAC says you can layer these, I did not find them very buildable, because they disappeared so readily. When you applied the product and went to layer on more product, it just swept away what you originally put on, so despite going through the steps, the result looks about the same as when initially applied. I have to emphasize: every swatch (whether on the arm to on the face) is layered three or four times for visible color payoff–this is three or four times the amount of product I use for 95% of swatches.
I’ve been testing the wear on these for a few days now, and the wear was disappointing. I had similar problems with the blushes that I did with the eyeshadows. Baby Don’t Go wore visibly for three hours and was gone by six; Blush All Day managed not to fade until the fourth hour, but by six, it, too, had disappeared. Eternal Sun started to fade after five hours, and it had gone into the ether after seven hours (best-wearing so far!). Rosy Outlook started to fade after four hours and was totally missing after six hours.
Not every color is going to be as wearable on every skin tone, which isn’t unexpected. What’s odd is that some of these colors I’ve come across before (by other brands) and have been able to get those to show up on my skin tone (which is medium, around NC30), but you can’t really see any of these on me except Eternal Sun. Even in cases of lighter shades (including other blushes by MAC), I can get the same color payoff in one sweep of color as I did with four sweeps of color of these. For all of the swatches, I had to pile on the product; it’s not just a normal swatch but a swatch of desperation. The first round of swatches I took, you couldn’t even see, so I had to re-do them and really pack each one on.
I can only see these working (as far as payoff goes) on very pale skin tones (NC/NW15 or lighter)–again, Eternal Sun was more buildable, so light to light-medium complexions could get it to show up with enough packing on of the color. And that’s assuming that you’re able to get a better wear-time out of them than I did. Unfortunately, they wore consistently poor and faded faster than many other blushes I’ve reviewed. I usually find blushes last between six and eight hours to varying degrees, but so few of them actually disappear entirely.
MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Blushes Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1)
MAC Baby Don’t Go Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Baby Don’t Go Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Baby Don’t Go Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Baby Don’t Go Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Baby Don’t Go Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Baby Don’t Go Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Blush All Day Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Blush All Day Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Blush All Day Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Blush All Day Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Blush All Day Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Blush All Day Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Eternal Sun Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Eternal Sun Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Eternal Sun Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Eternal Sun Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Eternal Sun Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Eternal Sun Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush
MAC Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush
i am so sad 🙁 no seriously…disappointed.
Wow. I guess the pro is they show up very light so you can’t overdo them.
I HATE blushed like that in general which is why NARS Orgasm I fell is over hyped.
Ugh! I’m SOOO disappointed and frustrated! I like the Styledriven prolongwear eyeshadows and had high hopes for this collection-ESPECIALLY the blushes.
At this point I think I only need to do this ~face palm~ to show my absolute disappointment…
It looks like you aren’t wearing any make up at all…sooooooo deceiving MAC! 🙂
Its like Mac doesn’t care about the products they release anymore…….
My mind boggles at the awfulness of these products. I’ve got two theories and neither are flattering:
1. They don’t have enough people on the QC staff, so this stuff gets missed.
2. They just don’t care because they figure they’re MAC and people will buy their product either way.
Whatever the real reason is, MAC should be ashamed that they are seemingly oblivious to the fact that they aren’t even consistent within a product line any more. It’s just sad and a red flag to stay away.
This is so, so disappointing! Everything in this collection looked so great and apparently it’s a dud. 🙁
Thanks for the swatches – so glad to know that I don’t need to waste my money!
It’s dissapointing to see a whole collection fall so flat! I can forgive Nars for their STSP line – at least it was somewhat innovative… But for MAC to stuff up something as standard as an eyeshadow and blush formula – particularly an eyeshadow formula which they have produced before,(quite well).
considering how much I love the prolongwear line, this is so disappointing. I was really looking forward to this collection. Well, at least I’ll be saving money now. haha
Ugh, I’m so happy these got a miserable grade. Some of the colors look very nice, but now I have absolutely no reason to buy any of these blushes or the eyeshadows that came out with this collection. I find it really bizarre that MAC has so many solid products in their permanent line, but their limited edition collections have seriously been consistently outright bad for at least the past few months.
I am surprised by how sheer Eternal Sun is. It looked so promising in the pan. 🙁
Such epic fail on this whole collection! The colours are actually really beautiful for those with fair complexions or those just wanting a hint of colour. However, the colour payoff is absolutely ridiculous! You recently reviewed the Naked Rose by Illamasqua which is a paler blush and with the payoff even darker skintones could wear the colour without looking ashy.. these are just the opposite and it’s outright pathetic!
Okay.
I can’t believe these things are being made permanent while products from the past with good to great formulas are aren’t.
MAC must be hardcore trolling the makeup community with this release. If that’s not what they’re doing I have no other way to explain this mess they’re calling a collection.
Maybe they’re competing with NARS x Andy Worhol in a crappiest collection competition? Gawd.
I was sure I needed these. Nevermind now 🙁
I am a fan of more subtle blushes, but damn, that is really disappointing.
Thanks Chris for your reviews! I think we all would be forced to rush and purchase products from this LE collections because they usually sell out in no time, but thanks to you we can make well informed purchases.
This just amazes me… I just don’t understand what is the point of MAC releasing so many LE collections with such poor quality, this is getting boring actually, I don’t get excited when I hear about oncoming collections anymore, i just think “let’s hear what Christine has to say about that!”
The thing is that Mac has some excellent products in the permanent line, so we should stick to those I guess…
Oh wait! I just saw that this are now part of the permanent range… upsss someone should get her coffee already!!
Oh dear. Nice going MAC. What were the quality control guys thinking?
My wallet is so happy right now… I won’t be wasting any money on this collection. Well, maybe a lipgloss or two…
That’s with 4x the layering?!
Oh no MAC…just…no.
I’m appalled.
I skipped most of the summer collections and it seems going into Fall they’re making an even more sharp decline. Ludicrous. I know you don’t like to return makeup once you’ve worked with it Christine but you should return ALL of these. No one should be stuck with such poor quality makeup.
I’m so glade I waited as used a free shipping code last night to order two permanent items instead. 😉 They just ALL misses in the quality department this collection so far.
This is so disappointing! As a person with oily cheeks, I was hoping these would be a slam dunk. Oh well, looks like you helped me save even more money Christine!
I think texture wise they’re still disappointing, but maybe if you are very fair and have VERY oily cheeks, it would work better, since these are so powdery… so your natural oil would soak up the excess powder? LOL. I’m reaching!
I definitely thought the color payoff would have been greater! Thanks for the swatches!!
It hasn’t been a stellar few weeks for new collections. I know you hate to give things bad ratings, so I guess we should thank Urban Decay that not everything you reviewed recently got numbers in the toilet. Whatever is up next in the review pipeline, it better not be this terrible or we’ll need to send you condolence chocolates! Maybe you could review a few Sephora brand things, as they are cheaper for (usually) much better quality.
I actually REALLY like Rosy Outlook on you! It’s a shame you have to build it up so much because I think it’s a really pretty, soft pink. But I like to get as much bang for my buck as I can, and if I’d end up using it up that much more quickly, I’ll pass. I’m so disappointed in this collection.
I like subtle blush, but this is just…wow. I’m speechless.
Pretty much my thoughts exactly! Subtle blush is so nice but… what is that actually even supposed to be.
I have to be honest, I half expected you to be frowning in these cheek swatches lol!
Me: “OOOOOH! SOFT! Oh… so… powdery. WHERE IS THE COLOR? NOOOOOOOOO!”
In the photo for Blush All Day your forced
smile seems to be saying, “Seriously, can you see any color on my cheeks? No, really. Anything at all? WTF?” 😉
Wow, I am so glad I avoided temptation yesterday and stayed out of the MAC store. Thank you for these honest reviews and for saving me a whole bunch of money!
Am the only one that can’t wait for the ‘mid’ or ‘week in review’ video for these guys?
Thanks Christine, you just saved me from spending a lot of money!
LOL, well, I know I’m not looking forward to filming it. If I am good, and get tomorrow’s reviews written today, that will be this afternoon’s task!
The poor quality is so sad, I really like the first 2 blushes here, subdued, natural shades that I could wear on a daily basis during fall/winter.
This collection has been so laughable so far that I’m starting to find it entertaining. Grabbing popcorn and sitting on my couch to see the tragedy unfold with the next reviews…
I’m so disappointed, there were a few colors that I really wanted. Shame on MAC for not putting out better quality products.
In the cheek swatch for Eternal Sun, is it only on your right cheek (our right) or is it on both? It seems like such a nice color, and I prefer the sheerness.
Just on the right!
Hi Christine,
I was looking forward to this collection, but I am so disappointed.
What is with MAC?? Each collection is progressively more disappointing that the last! How long do they expect to coast on their previous good reputation?
Thanks for the reviews – they’re awesome!
Martine
Wow, no one seems to like these blushes! I looove my Rosy Outlook blush! I can get a soft look as well as more noticable color, very versatile. I am very pale though, about nc10, and I think you have to be pale for most of these blushes to really show I’m afraid. So for pale me – perfect!
How long is it lasting on you, Patricia? I’m happy you found a shade you love! 🙂
It stays on nicely for about 6 hours I would say. I still have some left after 12 hours (mostly the glow). Pretty good, ja!
These look very similar in their pans to some La Femme blushes I have. The similarities end there. The difference being that my La Femme blushes are insanely pigmented, wear all day & night, and only cost $2.50 for each pan! I’ve stopped wasting my money on MAC blushes since I discovered La Femme’s, which are everything a blush should be. Absolutely stunning on the skin and incredible quality. I’ve got 12 of them now – which cost absolutely nothing – and will likely never hit pan on them because their pigmentation is so strong. I use a very loosely-packed, synthetic fiber stippling brush or a loose fan brush to apply them. They’re also very convenient because they can easily be put in a Z Palette. I always find myself reaching for them over all of my many many blush products while the rest just sit there now, unused. They’re really that good.
I highly recommend everybody try out La Femme blushes. I’m sure you’d happily walk away from MAC blushes after doing so. Their products come in matte, shimmer & satin-type finishes, as well as a load of colors that are absolutely stunning. There is literally a shade for every skin tone, no matter how light or how dark. Camera Ready Cosmetics is one company that sells them online, which is where I normally get mine because their customer service is always really great. Swatches can be Googled. That’s one thing CRC’s website lacks, unfortunately. But you will be quite amazed when you do find the swatches. Pure gorgeousness! Like no other blushes I’ve seen in my life.
MAC just isn’t doing anything for me anymore in terms of their cheek color offerings. They could do much better than the above products, and I expect them to for the prices they charge. Especially when there are alternative products out there which are vastly superior to theirs at a fraction of the cost.
I’m not usually a MAC person, but Baby Don’t Go is just scroll-stoppingly beautiful. Not too pink, not too peach (which often looks orange on me). I’m super pale with auburn hair; I live in Lancome’s Miel Glace and assorted dusty roses, but I’d love a barely there, brightening beige for nonpink days. What a shame this collection is so awful! Thank you for warning me away. I’ll find my perfect pale beige blush eventually.
I cannot agree at all, I love “Rosy Outlook”, wearing it everyday since I got it and it looks so beautiful – and it’s definitly long lasting, even when it’s applied very subtle (I’m very pale).
Those are the most beautiful blushes I think I’ve ever seen you wear! I am surprised by the F rating..girl,you just glow!
I think I commented on this before because I was surprised at the price and the low review. I went to Nordstrom the other day and when I saw the setup for this collection I kind of laughed to myself because I figured who would pay MORE for lower quality products? I ended up swatching the blushes just for kicks and Eternal Sun looked soo nice on my hand, I ended up trying it out on my face and it looked even better! I ended up buying it and I wore it all day today…I was out and about running around and when I came home, it was still on! So I guess I have to disagree with the review now, at least on that one blush. I’m happy with my purchase! 🙂
I’m glad it wore much better on you, Jasmine! 🙂 I’m happy as long as you’re happy!
Wow they really didn’t take darker skin tones into consideration with this collection. There is no way that if you are darker than NC 40 these will show up on you. They will probably look chalky. 🙁 Not for my skin tone.
I wish I had read this before! I bought the “blush all day” blush a couple of days ago, it looked really nice on my hand! I used it this morning and it ended up all over my face (and bathroom) but NOT on my cheeks! I was so disappointed that I went back to the store and exchanged it for the blush I have always used!
hi. i bought the shade stay pretty and i was wondering if i could use it damp? like if i pick up some product on my blush brush and spritz it once?
You could try that – I think it will tend to be hard to apply, though 🙁
I’m not surprised with the rating – though I have to admit, “Baby Don’t Go” has been one of the products I wear every single day since I bought it! Granted I am extremely pale (and I mean extremely, vitiligo does that to you), and therefore it is the perfect shade for contouring for me. All other contour colours and bronzers I’ve used have been way too dark for me, but this hit the spot!