MAC Foundation Review No. 3: Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15.

Ok, so next in my series of reviews. Once again I'm going to be adding a few of the views I've picked up on through makeup alley reviews, so as to give you a balanced idea of what to expect from this foundation.

So the foundation costs £18.60 for 30ml here in the UK. MAC describe the foundation on the website in the following way ;

"A fluid foundation that blends the natural light-reflecting properties of micro-minerals with a smooth satin finish. Provides a low-to-medium buildable coverage with a skin-flattering, slightly luminous look. Helps make your skin appear, radiant, healthy, re- energized. Contains vitamins A, C and E to help nurture and condition the skin. Provides everyday broad spectrum UVA/UVB SPF 15 sun protection. Long-wearing. Good for all skins. Especially suitable for normal-dry skins."

The vitamins and mineral content of this foundation are responsible for giving this foundation its described skin friendly qualities. I think that of all the MAC foundations I have tried this is the one which I feel least effects my skin (having said that though, my skin doesn't really react badly to a lot of makeup). As with all liquid foundation though, careful removal and cleansing of the skin is an important factor in reducing breakouts and maintaining healthy skin. This foundation got very mixed reviews on makeup alley, with only 50% of people stating that they would repurchase.

The foundation has been around for a couple of years now and appears to be the replacement for MAC's hyper real foundation which is now discontinued. (I recently emailed MAC to ask if they still sold Hyper real in pro stores and was advised that I should try this instead...) Hyper real was often criticised for being too shimmery to use for daytime, and this appears to be MAC's attempt at a more subtle dewy effect foundation which will work outside of a nightclub...

The packaging of this foundation seems to be very well designed in comparison to some of MACs other liquid foundation (possibly due to this being a more recently launched product..), in that it comes with a pump integrated into the cap, so unlike with eg studio fix fluid you don't have to pay separately for a pump. This is also a benefit in terms of hygiene and helping the foundation to last longer. It's in a frosted glass bottle and the pump cap is actually well designed as well - the pump twists to lock, making it usable for travel etc.

As far as colour goes, the foundation comes in 18 shades, with both the NC and NW ranges reasonably well covered. The foundation runs fairly true to colour in that not many people have found it too dark/light compared with their other MAC foundations.

I bought this foundation in NW20, which is slightly the wrong colour for me - too pink, so I recently swapped it with a friend for some other products, but I did use it for some time and so I'll be basing this review on my experiences with it rather than with the colour match (for reference I gave it to Happy1234 who has posted a picture of herself wearing it, if you want to get an idea of how it looks!). I do intend to repurchase it in the right colour soon...

The foundation has a thickish creamy texture and can be applied to the skin using fingers or a brush. I wouldn't recommend a sponge for it as it would probably soak too much of the foundation up. I find it quite easy to blend. It gives coverage up to a medium level (I sometimes need to use a concealer under it with a blemish ir to hide dark circles...), so probably wouldn't be suitable for problem or blemished skins. I found the foundation lasted well on me, easily for an evening out, but probably would need a touchup on oily areas if I was wearing it through the day. It does last longer if set with powder - MSF Natural seems to work well without dulling the finish down. You can of course play about with the finish by adding strobe cream or using different powder/not using powder at all...

The foundation is not drying, in fact it feels quite light and moist really on my skin, which is combination/dry, but not particularly blemish prone. A lot of the negative reviews on makeup alley seem to be from people with oily or blemish prone skin. The main problem seems to be that the foundation becomes very shiny on oily skin and looks greasy. So it's one to avoid if you have oily skin.

The foundation does give the skin a dewy finish. It doesn't seem to stray too far with this into 'shiny' territory, just gives the skin a nice luminosity. Of course, this is my experience with my skin - other people feel that it makes them look too shiny, but again this depends on the skin type you have and also on the look you want. It looks good in photographs as well on me, and despite the light luminosity it gives/light reflecting properties it has, I don't find it gives me the 'white out' effect I have had with other luminizing foundations which contain SPF.

I'd always recommend checking the skin type recommendations for a foundation before you buy, so as to avoid disappointment!

Hope this has been useful for some of you, and as usual I'd love to ge any comments/experiences from you all about this foundation...

Love Mizzworthy xxx