MAC Launches Strobe Beam Liquid Blush — Exclusive

When MAC Cosmetics launched its famed Strobe Cream 25 years ago, it must’ve known what our overly-powdered faces were craving: a hint of flash, signs of a lived life — you know, glamour. A turn-of-the-century optimism and cyber-futuristic outlook replaced the impossible-to-maintain matte mandate of the ‘90s, and soon, shimmery and frosty finishes took over. That was about 15 years before the term “strobing” became synonymous with a makeup technique that involves highlighting your cheekbones to be visible from space.

Through it all, MAC’s Strobe Cream has remained a versatile way to court the very best angles in any lighting. It adds that effortless sheen to one’s face and body that reads like a flush from within, or a post-dance floor glow.

Today, MAC Cosmetics is expanding the Strobe line to a liquid blush called Strobe Beam — and gave NYLON all the exclusive details.

MAC Strobe Beam Liquid Blush

Fast Facts:

• Brand: MAC Cosmetics
• Product: Strobe Beam Liquid Blush
• Price: $30
• Specs: 10 shades of luminous liquid blush that can be used for sculpting, highlighting, and underpainting.
• Who it’s for: Anyone who wants a radiant flush
• When it launches: March 3 on maccosmetics.com

The Product: Strobe Beam Liquid Blush

The Strobe DNA gives the liquid pigments a silky luminosity that catches light in the prettiest way to create a multidimensional effect.

Strobe Beam Liquid Blush comes in ten shades:

• Ice Gleam: Cool-toned pink with gold pearlescent particles
• Lavalite: Deep neutral orange with gold pearlescent particles
• Apricot Jelly: Bright orange with gold pearlescent particles
• Nitelite: Dirty cool mauve with pink pearlescent particles
• Good Vibes: Deep fuchsia with multicolored pearlescent particles
• Magic Aura: Deep lavender with iridescent pearlescent particles
• Lightning: Light beige with gold shimmer
• Starlite: Rose gold with gold shimmer
• Unsweetened: Mid-toned reddish mauve
• Plummy Bare: Deep cherry wine

How to Use:

Strobe Beam is brush- or finger-friendly, so it really just depends on whichever is your preferred method of application. On top of adding a flush of color to the cheeks, the brand mentions that it can also be used for sculpting, highlighting, and underpainting. It’s as easy as tapping a dot of blush on your cheeks (or two, if you’re a two-dot blush user like me) with the doe-foot wand and blending away. I pat the formula into my cheeks with my fingers to create the epicenter of my blush zone, and then blend out the edges with a fluffy blush brush to obscure any harsh edges without spreading the pigment too thin.

First Impressions:

My skin tends to eat cream blush formulas that come in stick or compact form; they disappear into my skin come sundown. That’s why I love liquid blushes — they have a natural grip (or stain), and Strobe Beam is no exception. What Strobe Beam excels at is a generous malleability that makes it easy to work with, and it blends easily into the skin for a diffused finish. Lots of liquid blushes sort of just sit on top of the area they’re placed, and when you try to blend it, they just scoot around your face until you throttle it into your complexion with a brush. I didn’t find that kind of resistance with Strobe Beam Liquid Blush.

The formula is quite pigmented, but sheers out beautifully, so it’s easily buildable to your preference. I love how the strobe effect is subtle enough to not read as sparkles, but instead gives the tint a slightly amped-up, skin-like finish — you look well-hydrated and alive. The ten shades are a complementary range of pinks, mauves, purples, and warm reds inspired by sunrises and sunsets. There are two shades, Starlite and Lightning, that could even work as highlighters.

My personal favorites are Nitelite, Unsweetened, and Ice Gleam. After applying a tinted moisturizer underneath, I tried the shade Unsweetened first, which gave me a cool, ‘90s-inspired cranberry stain. And then I tried layering Ice Gleam over it for a cheery pop of pink. They played nicely together!

I wore this Strobe Beam combo out one evening and found that it lasted through two cocktail hour-type work events. It was the first evening of New York City’s false spring that always happens around late Feb or early March, and a balmy 55 degrees out. I was sweating in my leather trench coat, hoofing it around downtown, which is normally a recipe for makeup meltdown (at the very least, some mascara smudging). But after getting home, my blush was still fully visible — I think my slight perspiration added a bit of enhancement, actually.

Final Verdict:

I love that Strobe Beam gives me a liquid blush option that includes luminosity, since lots of the popular liquid blushes are satin or matte finish only. On days when I want to look perked up without doing a whole routine, I can count on Strobe Beam to be my blush and highlighter in one, no tools required. But their build-ability also makes them a great option for doing the most, should that occasion arise. In fact, I bet these would look fantastic over a face full of Strobe Cream.