MAC Matchmaster Foundation

When I first started wearing make up I owned Maybelline’s Dream Matte Mousse (along with every other 13 year old girl in the UK); I hid it from my mum, thinking she’d tell me I was too young to be wearing it. Obviously, suddenly smoother and more even skin isn’t really something you can hide from someone you live with, especially not your mum (they seem to know everything). After about a week of doing hiding, I inevitably got caught. But, instead of telling me off, my mum started telling me childhood antidotes instead about when she started wearing makeup… then bought me my first MAC powder. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked on MAC, particularly on their face products.

For a while I used the MAC Studio Fix Fluid foundation (you can read an old review I did for that product here). I was happy with this, but as some time passed, I started to feel as though the coverage was just way too heavy for every day use, and I really started to go off it. This was coupled up by the fact that the last bottle I bought (via eBay) smelt like paint… I’m 70% sure it was fake.

Sometime last year my flatmate took me to MAC Canarby Street for a private shop with a society called Women Leaders of Tomorrow at our university, I didn’t really intend to pick much up as I didn’t want to splurge, but I walked out £55 poorer with a new foundation and stippling brush to show for it.

When a MAC makeup artist was consulting my friend, she mentioned that the Studio Fix Fluid had really heavy coverage. Before I knew it, I was pouring out my woes – not only did I found that the foundation had too much coverage, I was really struggling to find my correct colour in MAC. I sit somewhere in between an NW45 and NW43 – one is too light for me, and the other too dark. So, she introduced me to MAC’s Matchmaster foundation – this foundation was specifically made for people like me, with a completely confused tones and undertones, and it was also made such that the coverage isn’t too heavy. On their website, they state this to be a “New Foundation technology using translucent pigments to enable a fully personalized finish influenced by the subtleties of your own skin’s undertone.” The colours range from a 1.0 (the lightest shade), down to a 9.0. I bought an 8.0.; as you can see, it isn’t your typical NW/NC MAC color scale.

When she tried this on me, I instantly fell in love, and buying it was a no-brainer. What I love about it more than anything is its dewy finish, this has always been my favourite finish for foundations, and I definitely wasn’t getting it with the Studio Fix Fluid. The foundation is also very light on your skin, I really don’t like walking around feeling like I’ve painted over my face, which makes this truly ideal. Also, commenting on the packaging, it triumphs over the Studio Fix Fluid given that it comes with a pump, whereas the fluid had a completely open top, making it very easy to go overboard with any amount poured. If a heavy finish is your thing – it’s also very buildable.

It’s safe to say that this is definitely a product I plan to continually repurchase for years to come.