For months and months I've been wanting a Mac Foundation. If you know anything about the beauty based world, you'll know that the Mac brand is the holy grail of the makeup industry. You'll also know that a Mac product comes with a hefty price tag, ranging from 14 to 40 pound for a single product. But believe me when I say, a great deal of them are worth every penny.
I had read some great reviews about the Mac Pro-Longwear Foundation with SPF 10 and after a fair bit of research into which Mac Foundation would best suit my skin type, I finally decided to give the Pro-Longwear ago. At 24 pound it's not a product you could buy in bulk, but it's certainly worth the money in my eyes. I was looking for a foundation that stays all day, especially on my T-Zone as I feel that due to my slightly oily skin, many foundations begin to rub off or even melt off my face by late afternoon. The first day my Mac foundation arrived in the post, I was eager to give it a try and applied it during mid morning. By the time my family got back from work around 6 in the evening, they complimented me on the radiance and flawlessness of my skin! The foundation looked just as fresh and new as it had done the morning in which I had applied it!
I will say this foundation is very matte, which I love but many may not have the same feelings towards foundations of this kind. I find a matte foundation such as Pro-Longwear gives the appearance of flawless skin, which is particularly helpful when trying to cover breakout scars or particularly annoying breakout zones such as the forehead and chin area. I brought my Mac Foundation in the shade NC15 which is perfect for my skin tone as I have yellow undertones and often find it hard to match foundations to my skin. I didn't want the foundation to be too dark as this would make it obvious but pale foundations often gives me the complexion of an anaemic vampire. The shade is just perfect for me though and I feel like it blends effortlessly into my skin tone, creating a natural yet flawless finish. The application of the foundation is really lovely. It's texture is smooth and surprisingly light, which means it doesn't feel like it's being caked on or is blocking your pores. I must add though that my mum also tired this foundation but found it very drying on her skin, so I'd recommend that people with less oily skin or more mature skin (in the politest way possible) try one of Mac's other foundations such as StudioFix or Match master as these are not long wear foundations and will be lighter on dryer skin.
Now, although I do have a Debenhams that supplies Mac products just an half hour drive away from me, I didn't have the time during the Christmas period to take a visit, yet was still desperate to get my hands on a Mac foundation. Much to my mother's warning that I should not, I decided to buy online, however, as I had not used Mac products beforehand, I did not have a shade to go by. I thought I might guess, but 24 pounds is a lot to pay for a product if it turns up and is WAY to dark or light a shade for your skin, so I decided to search around Mac's sight a little more. To my surprise, I found out that Mac have their own online makeup artists who can advise you on what shade will best suit your complexion. You can drop the artists an email if you are not in a rush, or even chat online (which I highly recommend as the reply is instant and you can talk to your artist for along as you please). My artist was Sarah and she gave me a great tip in order to find out what shade would best suit me. If you clench your fist and look at the veins on the back of your hand you will see they are either blue or green. If your veins are green, it means you are an NC shade, which is for people of a more yellow undertone. If they are blue, you are NW, for those with a pink undertone. This tip as well as the knuckle test (clench your knuckles and white knuckles mean NC, pink mean NW) can really help you when choosing a MAC product as MAC skin products are all built upon this system of undertones, allowing you to buy a foundation that really fits your complexion. However, I was still unsure of which shade of NC to buy. Most people will be able to guess their shade based upon previous foundation colours and comparing them to the colour samples shown online. But as I said before, my skin can often be unpredictable and I didn't want to buy a foundation too light or even too dark. Sarah gave me an email address in which to send a picture of myself without foundation, so she could recommend a shade she believed would suit my tone. Within a few minutes I had sent a webcam picture through to the email address and had a reply from Sarah telling me that NC15 would be the shade to suit my complexion.
Overall, I am ecstatic with the customer service I received from Mac. They are SO very helpful and I honestly felt like I was given all the information I needed in order to make the right choice. The shade matches my skin perfectly and the online service provided is fast and simple, allowing you to talk to knowledgable and friendly artists just a click away. The product is literally the best foundation I think I've ever brought. I've never had a foundation which matches my skin so perfectly and allows my skin to look flawless whilst still looking effortlessly natural. I will defiantly be purchasing more products from MAC in the near future and feel like my money has been spent well. I would recommend this foundation to anyone and everyone!
Picture of me with Mac's Pro-Longwear Foundation.
http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/158/10180/Products/Face/Foundation/Pro-Longwear-SPF-10-Foundation/index.tmpl
