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A Magical Potion of Pink, Bronze, Pizza, Shimmer, Matte and a Highlighter/Blush: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Rio

June 28th, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

MAC Rio Mineralize Skinfinish
Cheeks, meet MAC’s Rio Mineralize Skinfinish ($30)

LET THIS PROCLAMATION SHOW THAT MAC RIO MINERALIZE SKINFINISH SHALL HENCEFORTH BE KNOWN AS THE OFFICIAL CHEEK POWDER OF PIZZA AND WINE WEDNESDAYS FOR THE REMAINDER OF SUMMER, SO HELP ME GAWD!

Oh, snap! Please pardon my overuse of caps. My pinky got stuck on the CAPS LOCK button (no, it didn’t), so I decided to just roll with it, since it pretty much also summarizes how I really feel about MAC Rio.

We fell in love! — when I wore it a couple days ago out to dinner with El Hub. That day it got hot in hurrr. I mean, it was like over 90 degrees, and I didn’t want to cook, so we went to this Italian place nearby called Tavola for dinner.

Who knew that mixing wine, pizza and MAC Rio on a hot summer night could add up to something so cool?

Pizza from Tavola restaurant in Novato, CA
The Neopolitana pizza from Tavola restaurant in Novato

I don’t know what laws of physics were involved, but there was something magical about biting into a hot slice, washing it down with a sip of chilled white wine and wearing MAC Rio… It electrified all of the pleasure pathways in my brain. Perhaps it was just a convergence of so many awesome things at once — carbs, cheese, wine and a bright, opalescent bronzed pink highlighter/blush. 🙂

MAC Rio Mineralize Skinfinish
Rio Mineralize Skinfinish, $30

Yeah, blush! You could wear Rio as a highlighter (tops of your cheekbones, down the bridge of your nose, your Cupid’s bow and chin), but my favorite way to wear it’s as a blush.

Say we bumped into each other at a MAC counter today and you said, “But, K-Dawg, all I want from a blush is that it’s easy like Sunday morning,” I’d steer you away from Tropical Taboo’s blushes, and point you in Rio’s direction. “Let’s do this, babes,” I’d tell you. “Trust.”

MAC Rio Mineralize Skinfinish swatch

Not that there’s anything wrong with the Tropical Taboo blushes (I think they’re really beautiful). They just require a bit of work due to their level of pigment. Rio still has a healthy amount of bronzy pink color, so your cheeks will look flushed from a single layer, but it’s not so intense that you’ll find yourself spending valuable pool time buffing out the edges or worrying about applying too much.

If your pores are stressing out, tell them to relax! Rio’s shimmer is the bomb. Neither too glittery nor chunky, it’s just a very fine pink pearl. Your pores (those worry warts) will be fine, long as you don’t go too far overboard on the product, and perhaps layer a primer underneath. It’s not necessary, but it could help.

PRICE: $30
AVAILABILITY: Available now at MAC counters, stores and online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Even more Rio!!

Rio Pacheco Says WASSUP

I feel a wave of childhood nostalgia sweep over me when I wear MAC Rio because the name reminds me think of Rio Pacheco from the Jem and the Holograms cartoon.

If you’re a teenager today, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. The quick backstory: Jem and the Holograms was a children’s cartoon about a young woman named Jerrica who had a magical pair of earrings that transformed her into a pink-haired rock-star alter ego named Jem…who was really a hologram.

AWESOME!

Yes, we ate this sh*t up back in the ’80s.

Rio Pacheco was the band’s manager, and he was also in a sordid love triangle with both Jem and Jerrica, who were technically the same person.

I suppose the more accurate description would have been to say that he was trapped between love parallel lines… Shout-out to 10th-grade geometry.

Ugh, Rio. He was very wishy-washy about choosing between Jem and Jerrica, and even though I was only 8 at the time, I wanted Jerrica to dump his @ss.

I mean, c’mon! I didn’t know much about the world, but I knew that even in the realm of cartoons, there had to be other guys with purple hair and mullets who were faithful to their girlfriends and didn’t pine after others on the down-low.

My friends Cindy, Jen and I still, to this day, still talk about that show and about our deep resentment toward Rio Pacheco… It comes up at least once a year.

On that note, SHOWTIME SYNERGY! I’m off to Old Navy to look at tankinis.

Gonna try to hit the pool this weekend. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Rio Mineralize Skinfinish Pictures, Swatches Review / Originally published June 28th, 2013

There are 24 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face, MAC Makeup, Makeup, Product Reviews

The products in this entry were provided by the manufacturer for consideration. For information about my posting policy, please see my Disclaimer.

Previous Post: How Do You Usually Wear Your Makeup on the Weekends?
Next Post: For a Light Coral Flush You’ll Adore, Try MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Adored

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rachel says

    June 28th, 2013 at 4:26 pm

    Don’t forget old navy has $1 flippy floppies on Saturday!

    Reply
  2. Daisy D Alary says

    June 28th, 2013 at 5:02 pm

    ummm… it’s Jerrica, not Jess… how sad am i that i know that…

    btw, that blush looks so good on you! 🙂

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 28th, 2013 at 5:12 pm

      OMG, I can’t believe I spaced on that. I think I’ve been watching one too many episodes of New Girl! Thanks, Daisy. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Olivia says

    June 28th, 2013 at 5:55 pm

    Gorgeous! That pizza looks delish too…my dad is making some on his new grill pizza stone right now!

    Reply
  4. RedWeather Tiger says

    June 28th, 2013 at 5:59 pm

    Hey, Karen! Great review…I bought Rio and can’t wait to get her. I think you may be just a teensy bit mistaken on the price, though…I think I got mine for $29 on Nordstrom’s site.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 28th, 2013 at 6:14 pm

      You got it for a bit of a bit of a deal, then! It’s $30 on maccosmetics.com. 🙂

      Reply
  5. kate says

    June 28th, 2013 at 6:10 pm

    I just bought this today, my daughter noticed and complimented me on it. For your readers my coloring is quite different from yours so this shade could be for many women

    Reply
  6. Tania G says

    June 28th, 2013 at 6:43 pm

    I just got mine today at macys. it’s absolutely stunning. I got mine for $30 though, not $42.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 28th, 2013 at 6:52 pm

      So sorry Tania! I just fixed it.

      Reply
  7. Nikita says

    June 28th, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    Karen. This entire post makes me HAPPY. That pizza looks delicious, the white wine sounds amazing, and Jem is icing on the cake.

    And yes – Rio was so indecisive! Jerrica really should have left him.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 28th, 2013 at 6:52 pm

      Hi Nikita,

      YAY! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed this post, hon.

      Reply
      • Nikita says

        June 28th, 2013 at 6:57 pm

        😀 On topic though, how would this blush do on drier cheeks?

        Reply
  8. Tiffany says

    June 28th, 2013 at 6:46 pm

    So much goodness in one post! I love allllll msf’s! 🙂 hope you’re having a happy Friday! PS I think tiger up there was referring to your little recap where is says price: $42 🙂

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 28th, 2013 at 6:51 pm

      Ah, got it! I just realized that now. What can I say, I’ve been in the sun all afternoon. It has fried my brain. Just fixed it. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Anna says

    June 28th, 2013 at 7:18 pm

    One of my favorite posts! Equal parts awesome product review and your unique perspective. Keep up the great work!

    Reply
  10. Heidi says

    June 28th, 2013 at 8:20 pm

    Mmmmm…. pizza! Sorry, that’s as coherent as my over-heated brain can get right now. You’d think the pizza wouldn’t be so tempting since I just had dinner a little bit ago, but there’s always room for good pizza!

    Reply
  11. Agata says

    June 29th, 2013 at 3:08 am

    I really like this one, I like how you can use it as a blush and as a highlighter. Maybe I should get it…

    Reply
  12. Jennifer says

    June 29th, 2013 at 6:05 am

    Truly Outrageous!

    Reply
  13. Jeanne says

    June 29th, 2013 at 11:09 am

    Great review and the pizza looks great.

    Reply
  14. denise S says

    June 29th, 2013 at 9:51 pm

    Yay good review! can’t wait to get mine in the mail!

    Reply
  15. Kim says

    July 1st, 2013 at 6:01 am

    I heard her name was Rio and she dances on the sand…

    I’m going to make you feel younger by admitting that I was too old to ever watch Jem and the Holograms. Duran Duran, on the other hand. 🙂

    Reply
  16. Anitra says

    July 1st, 2013 at 5:56 pm

    Yes!!!! Karen you are hilarious! I love Rio too, it’s the only one I purchased 🙂

    Reply
  17. kristen @ glambunctious says

    July 5th, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    Um, this is why you’re the bomb, Karen. You bring together all things awesome: food, makeup, and the 80’s! I wish I had a dose of Showtime Synergy sometimes at work – it would really liven things up! This CRACKED me up so much: “there had to be other guys with purple hair and mullets who were faithful to their girlfriends and didn’t pine after others on the down-low.” Words to live by! 🙂 Happy weekend, doll!

    Reply
  18. CA says

    July 12th, 2013 at 9:40 pm

    The name is Rio because of Rio de Janeiro, the city in Brazil!

    Reply

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog
Hi there! I’m Karen, your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, and I’m a Bay Area girl who hoards brown eyeshadow and covets coral lipstick. Every morning, I wake up and say, “I’m going to do something other than a smoky eye today.” Then…I end up doing a smoky eye anyway (most days). When I’m not putting on makeup, taking pictures of makeup or writing about makeup, which I’ve been doing daily since 2007 (!), you’ll find me hanging out with my hubby (“El Hub”), my four-year-old daughter (Connor Claire) and my torbie girl cat (Pretty Girl Rosie, a.k.a. PGR).

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