If you are new to mac, the prospect of choosing one of their many foundations all with different promises can be quite a daunting prospect even for the best of us. I personally have brought and tried every MAC foundation over the last couple of years and have personal views of each one so if your new to MAC or are not quite sure which foundation is best for you then this is for you! I have linked each product to the website so you can check them out and try them for yourselves.
MAC Pro Longwear
£25.00 30ml SPF 10
(NW 15)
Obviously implied by the name, Pro Longwear is a long lasting durable foundation which i found lasts all day with only the occasional powder 'touch up' needed to keep it looking presentable. The coverage is sheer to medium however i found this product can very easily be built up to create a stronger look. I didn't find the coverage dewy in any way however i did not find the product to be too matt which made the pro long wear very lightweight and good for a daily use. I would recommend this for a more natural look as its more of an everyday easy wear foundation and while it isn't a heavy foundation i personally found to wear it in the evening took far more building up and time than some others may need. With this product i used a real techniques buffing brush to apply and this foundation lasted me about 3 and a half months with being used almost every day.
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MAC Mineralize Satin Finish
£24.00 30ml SPF 15
(NW 20)
This foundation is very lightweight and contains Shea Butter and Vitamin E which is ideal for light type wear in the sun. The product contains minerals which actually create a glittery effect on the skin and this can be negative when photographing with.This product makes a lot of promises to 'blur out imperfections' and 'hide away lines' and i found that this product just did not give enough coverage to actually be able to do this. I find it slightly debatable that MAC can describe a foundation as skin perfecting and sun ready in the same description. Sun ready is often associated with being light weight and skin perfecting is a more medium to heavy coverage however i did find i needed to re apply the product slightly after about 3 hours which was not always ideal. I used this product on and off but overall it lasted me 2 and a half months.
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MAC Studio Tech
£25.00 10g
(NW 15)
This is a cream foundation in a compact with a mirror and sponge applicator (however i personally used a -real techniques- stippling brush for a cleaner and more hygienic application process) and is a very hydrating moisturiser designed for people who have dry skin but can be used by any skin types which lasts for about 4 or 5 hours without needing touching up. It contains a blend of water, powder and emollients (a product used to often treat dry skin such as eczema and they reduce water loss by covering the skin with a protective film) With this foundation being a cream its not as mattifying and therefore if you are a very oily skin tone i would not recommend this i feel its a very hydrating cream and has a medium coverage however this could slowly be built up with a stippling brush. Its very easy to work with and i did find it was blend-able however due to it being a cream I didn't use this product very often so found it lasted about 5 months however the product its self lasted about 1 month.
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MAC Matchmaster
£27.00 35ml
(2.0)
This is similar to the pro longwear in the sense that its ideal for an everyday use and is easy to apply and wear all day. I feel it is however a lot more mattifying and therefore i would not recommend this for very dry skin combinations as it will not help your skin at all. This product claims to 'match to your skin' however i feel that with all higher-end foundations this should be essential anyway as there is often a wider variety of colours as opposed to the smaller range on drug store foundations. I don't find there is anything particularly special about this foundation . There are no major negative points and it gives a build-able medium coverage however there is no selling point to the match master apart from the bottle size being 5ml more than the standard 30ml we regularly see from MAC. Application with a buffing brush (i used the real techniques brush) and this product lasted me 3 and a half months.
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MAC Face and Body Foundation
£27.00/£21.50 120ml/50ml
(C1)
This foundation is great for using on face or body for perfecting and covering especially for photo shoots or nights out. I found its a very refreshing foundation and very light to apply and almost felt like water when applied and of course the reason for this is that it is water based so while you may think the bottles bigger and therefore cheaper, this is not an everyday foundation as it would be easy to start using a lot of the product as you have to build it to get a good coverage.I also found on my skin after application it left my skin fairly sticky and i had to wait to powder. I did often use a concealer when using this product just to help cover imperfections better as this is by no means a camouflage. A real bonus to this foundation is that its water resistant which is ideal if your spending a at the beach but you still want a bit of light makeup or in really bad weather if you don't want any slipping foundation this is ideal as it repels water and therefore you will not have to reapply. I tended to have to apply this with clean hands or a stippling brush as i found it clogged the bristles on my buffing brush too much and meant i had to clean after every use which was not ideal when i did not use it every day. This product lasted about 6 months due to the fact that i did not use it every day.
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MAC Studio Sculpt
£25.00 40ml SPF 15
(NW15)
This foundation is a gel based formula which has a medium coverage to high coverage and i found this was very long lasting. I would recommend this more for winter time use however there are no rules to when you can or can't use a foundation. If you like a more heavy coverage this is great however think the is more for normal, combination or dry skin as if you have very oily skin a gel base will tend to slip more and then will often need to be applied more often. This foundation lasted a very long time purely due to the great coverage it gave and lasted for roughly 4-5 months which is a long time for a foundation to last. I applied this with a buffing brush but liked to blend it out on areas such as the neck with a stippling brush as i found this gave more control and allowed me to slowly bring the colour out.
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MAC Studio Fix Fluid
£21.00 30ml SPF 15
This is my absolute all time favourite MAC foundation and i will come on to the reasons after saying that i have tried all of the MAC foundations and never brought the same one more than twice with the exception of this. This is my Holy Grail of the makeup world and can turn a bad or a good skin day into an excellent skin day. This has excellent full coverage and you only need a minimal amount to produce excellent results. I only need a small amount to cover my entire face and cover my imperfections. I find i don't need any extra products with this and will only apply a translucent powder over the top to set it. I cannot compliment this product enough and i have brought it more than 4 times because i Love it so much. I have tried other foundations since and nothing lives up to this so i keep going back to it. Its also one of the cheapest MAC foundations which is excellent since each bottle lasts me 6 months and its by far in my opinion the best on their market. This is a fairly mattifying foundation and therefore i would not recommend for very very dry skin types unless you have moisturised extensively before hand however it is not an unnatural look and i feel that it does give a look of wearing foundation but not heavy, cakey or thick to wear. The negative to this foundation is the smell. The smell of this is very paint like and can put you off however as i use it so much I'm used to the smell and it is only there when you apply it when its wet so please don't let this put you off! I apply this product with a buffing brush and then when its still wet like to use a stippling bush to blend it in to the areas needed such as the creases of the eyes and the jaw-line and hair line. Studio Fix Fluid dries very quickly so can be a pain when you first learn to apply it however once you get used to the texture and consistency of the product you will learn about sectioning your makeup and timing. This may all sound very scary if your not big on makeup however its very easy and quick to pick up on.
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MAC cloggs up your skin?
I have heard and seen so many reviews of people using MAC and saying that they have consequently had bad skin or negative results. Please don't listen to this or think this. When i started using MAC i had very bad skin and acne and found it hard to find anything to put on my face as i had been told that makeup clogs it up. This is totally untrue and i can happily say that 4 years since i started using MAC, my skin has never been this good and if you told anyone that i had acne they would not think it true. I have no evidence of the skin condition what so ever and i feel that people do not understand the reasons behind acne. It can be helped by your lifestyle but this is only helped. You cannot ultimately decide not to have spots and i felt that by putting makeup on it helped me to cover them a bit more. What i made sure however was that i washed my skin properly before bed and when waking up. This was to ensure all makeup was removed and then any build up or residue in the night. If you do not remove MAC properly you will begin to see that your developing imperfections and unwanted effects on your face however this goes for all makeup. Your skin breathes the most at night time and during exercise and often your pores will open which consequently means that anything on your face at this time can get caught up or break the cycle. Of course your skin is always breathing however during the day this is not an issue as it is reduced by far less.
I am not a dermatologist or face expert but this is all my own personal opinions from my past and present experiences. You may have a different experience from each product however please don't listen to silly rumours which can often put you off products try them for yourself and see the results for yourself!
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I would love to hear what you personally feel about
Any MAC foundations you've tried
Any favorites
Any positives or negatives
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