MAC Proenza Schouler Blush Ombres in Ocean City and Sunset Beach

If there's one thing I can't have enough of, it's ombre blushes. I have kicked myself over and over for not getting Azalea Blossom from a MAC collection years ago, so when I saw these gorgeous Proenza Schouler ones, I knew they both had to be mine. There were issues with the release date being set back, issues with the manufacturing of the blushes, issues with the wrong colors being shipped out....but in the end they both got to me and I am very happy with them!

The outer packaging is  one of the first things I noticed when the collection was announced, and it is so stunning:

It is a metallic rainbow/oil-slick effect. I would definitely have preferred it without the generic looking "Proenza Schouler" font across it, but I get it, that's the "official font" for the designers/fashion line. I just feel like it would look so much cooler without it. Just my two cents!

The compact is a little hard to open, and this has been a universal complaint. It has a little lip on it and it just seems like it is upside-down or something - when you do flip it over, it's much easier to open and that is how I've been doing it!

The first one I'll talk about is Ocean City. This one is a beige to coral-peach shade:

Of the two, this one seems to have a little bit of an issue when applying it with a brush. It just seems SUPER hard packed into the pan and you need to scrape a little bit to get through the first layer, if that makes any sense. I've read a lot of reviews on these and talked to several people who have tried them and it seems like it all depends - some people had no issues with Ocean City, but had issues with Sunset Beach. Some had issues with both of them. I think it boils down to the fact that they had some sort of manufacturing issue and then were hard pressed to get them out asap and the quality wasn't consistent. When they're charging $30 a pop for these things, that's kind of inexcusable!

Nevertheless, you can make it work - it just takes a little bit of swirling your brush in it rapidly to get through the top layer that feels a bit dry. Here are some finger swatches, first with no flash and then with flash. The first color is the shades blended together, the second color is the corally-peach shade and the third color is the beige shade:

And swatched:

Now for Sunset Beach, which is a pale baby pink-to-hot pink shade:

This one I have no issues with - it is smooth and blends nicely and is a GORGEOUS shade of pink, especially for spring and summer. It is quite pigmented though, so you definitely need to apply a little at a time to make sure you don't go overboard!

First is the baby pink shade, then the hot pink, then the 2 blended together:

And swatched:

These are both really lovely blushes and I don't regret getting them! Ocean City has that little flaw upon the initial use, but like I said, it is workable as soon as you break through that hard layer on top. (Is there even a technical term for that? haha). They are beautiful, they both SCREAM summer, and let's face it - they're pretty to look at!

I hope you all enjoyed this review and remember to follow on Bloglovin' to stay updated with all my posts!

See my first impressions of the blushes here: