My Custom MAC Blush Palette

Inspiration is a funny thing. When I woke up yesterday morning, I had lots of ideas for parent and chronic illness/disability content, but nothing in the way of beauty. Fast forward to this evening (clearly there’s been a time laps when you read this) and I have a blog post well on the way to being finished (What’s In My Evening Summer Travel Makeup Bag?) and have started working on this post. How did my Evening Summer Makeup Bag post inspire this one? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see (Translation: I’m sure you can guess). So today, I’m going to share with you my custom MAC blush palette.

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I’ve always loved the idea of custom palettes. Being able to select your own shades and adapt the palette for different scenarios and occasions really appeals to me. I’m a big fan of Bobbi Brown’s system, with 3, 4 and 6 pan palettes that can house a combination of eyeshadows, eyeliners and blushes. I’ve always wanted to create a MAC eyeshadow palette, but with being allergic to the ingredients in some of their formulas and amassing a significant number of pre-made eyeshadow palettes (Urban Decay anyone!?), I’ve never done it. When my Nanna gave me money for my birthday last year, I decided it was time to put together my own custom MAC blush palette.

I wanted to create the ultimate travel palette with my custom MAC blush palette. Something I could throw in a bag without thinking and have everything I would need. My capsule blush wardrobe, if you will. So what were the important considerations for me when compiling this palette?

Pink Swoon in Limited Edition packaging

Well, I wanted a variety of shades made up of nudes, pinks and peaches. I also decided that I waned all the shades in my custom MAC blush palette to be matte. As it turns out, most of my choices are satin and sheer tone, but you get the idea of not wanting shimmer in the blusher I picked. My thinking behind this, was that if I used ‘matte’ blush shades with my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette, I would be able to create a multitude of cheek looks with just two palettes. If you aren’t sure what I’m on about, check out my Creating A Blusher Using The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Palette post.

My Custom MAC Blush Palette: Light Pink

For my light pink, I chose Well Dressed, which is a Satin blusher. MAC describes Well Dressed as an “immaculate pink”. Really, I wanted to include Pink Swoon (a Sheer tone formula), but I have this in limited edition packaging and when I put the palette together, I wasn’t keen on the idea of deporting it. I’ve since found out that it’s been discontinued, so I can’t even replace it! I already had Well Dressed, so deported it. So for now, Well Dressed is in my palette. It’s a lovely, light pink shade, though possible a little lighter and cool toned than I would usually opt for. I still think it makes a nice edition to the palette, while I figure out what I’m going to do about Pink Swoon. I may switch Well Dressed and Pink Swoon, using the LE packaging for Well Dressed… What do you think?

My Custom MAC Blush Palette: Mid Tone Pink

My mid-toned pink of choice is Fleur Power, which is a satin finish. Described by MAC as a “soft, bright pinkish-coral”, this is a shade I bought specifically for my MAC palette as I don’t have any other mid pink MAC blushes. I’d heard great things about Fleur Power, and it was love at first swatch.

My Custom MAC Blush Palette: Nude Pink

For my nude pink shade, I chose Blushbaby, which has a sheer tone finish. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with this blusher. It can sometimes pull quite blue toned with certain makeup looks, which doesn’t suit me with my warm undertones. But in the context of this palette, it’s a great addition. Having this palette laid out in pinks and peaches, with light, mid and nude, really helps me to pair this blusher with complimentary eye and lip shades.

My Custom MAC Blush Palette: Light Peach

In the summer and autumn, I’m all about the peach shades! So I knew these needed to be included in my custom MAC blush palette. For my light peach shade, I chose Melba, which has a matte finish. MAC describes this shade as a “soft coral-peach” and is a shade I’ve loved for a few years now.

My Custom MAC Blush Palette: Mid Tone Peach

Another shade that I’ve loved for a few years is Peaches, a sheer tone shade. MAC describes Peaches as a “pure peach” and is my mid tone peach pick. The sheer tone finish means that it isn’t as in-your-face as it looks in the pan, but is deeper in colour than Melba.

Palette shades: Top L-R: Well Dressed, Fleur Power, Blushbaby. Bottom L-R: Melba, Peaches, Prism.

My Custom MAC Blush Palette: Nude Peach

The last shade in my Custom MAC blush palette is Prism, a matte finish blusher. MAC describe this as a “muted pinkish brown” and it was a shade I chose specifically for this palette, as I didn’t already have a MAC nude peach shade. It’s a great option for a warmer look when I don’t want to wear a noticeably peach shade.

Plus, with all the blushes I depotted, I had enough packaging for my first Back-To-MAC lipstick! I chose Velvet Teddy as my first ever MAC lipstick and LOVE it.

What are your favourite MAC blushes?