Hi Ladies, Hope you're okay, today I thought i'd finally get around to reviewing the Mac Studio Fix Fluid foundation that I've mentioned about a hundred times on my blog in passing, this regularly features in favourite posts and what's in my makeup bag and I've never actually fully reviewed it so I thought it was about time that I bite the bullet and get on with it. I love this foundation and it's pretty much holy grail status for me so let's get on with the review.
Firstly I love the packaging of this foundation, it comes in a really nice luxurious glass bottle that I think is really stylish and nice, it's not that great to travel with though because i'm always scared i'll drop it and it'll smash into a thousand pieces right in front of me. It comes with a matte top lid that's quite annoying because it captures finger prints like no other because it's rubberized and slightly like the Nars packaging. Probably the worst thing about the packaging though is the fact that it doesn't come with a pump & if you want one Mac expect you to dish out an extra £3.50 so that you can pick one up, I think this is a bit cheeky but it doesn't put me off using the foundation.
Next I would say that I love the coverage of this foundation and it's probably the reason I like this product so much, this is pretty medium to full coverage and you can build it up so it covers pretty much every single imperfection and I find that when I do that I literally have no need for concealer. Also the lasting power of this stuff is pretty insane, it's the one foundation that lasts all day on my oily skin and I can apply it in the morning and come home at night and my makeup will still pretty much be in place. I think that's because it's such a thick consistency though so it doesn't just melt away like a lot of foundations do. Mac actually claims that it can last for up to 8 hours and I would say that I certainty agree with that claim. Even though this foundation is really thick I find that it doesn't look cakey or make me look like i'm wearing a lot of makeup it just really blurs all my imperfections and makes me look much healthier and nicer. I think application is key with this product though, because it's so thick I think you have to work quite hard with it, I normally use a flat foundation brush to spread the product due to its thick consistency and then once I've done that i'll buff it in with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush and I find that it really works and looks natural and nice. The foundation dries to a matte finish so for oily skin girls its pretty perfect and it's lovely for a night out as well because it makes your skin look pretty impressive. The drying time of this foundation can be a bit of a problem when applying it because you don't have long at all so I tend to do each part of my face separately so that I can buff it in properly.
The smell of this product can sometimes really put people off it because it smells exactly like paint, it's got a really strong scent which I think goes away once it's been applied to your face but you can without a doubt smell it when you open the bottle & also when you're applying the foundation to your face. I personally really like the smell and it doesn't bother me at all but if you're a bit sensitive to smells you might want to go to a Mac counter and give this a sniff first. I know a lot of people also find that Mac foundations break them out because they're so thick and because they contain Silica but I don't find that at all and my face is pretty sensitive, I think you have to make sure you really wash this off your face though because it's not a foundation that easily comes off so you must make sure to clean it properly.
I think the price point of this product isn't too bad anyway, well at least not for Mac, I find that drugstore foundations are getting more and more expensive and you can put up too £12.00 for a foundation from Boots so to pay £20.50 for Mac which lasts longer and is much better quality isn't too bad. I tend to reserve mine for days I want more coverage or nights out although I could happily wear it every day. I also have two shades as you can see above, when I first tried this foundation I picked up NC20 because I was ordering online, when I got it I didn't like it at all, it was way too yellow and orange for me & I now use the shade NC15 which is a pretty good match so I would say make sure that you do your research. There are absolutely loads of shades in the Mac foundation range but the differences between them still seem pretty big as you can see by the swatches.
Anyway I hope you enjoyed this review! Let me know what your holy grail foundation is and if you've tried any from Mac! xxx
