MAC Studio Fix Foundation Review

As a long time lover of MAC Cosmetics I can clearly remember my first ever MAC purchase, the Studio Fix Foundation. This was perhaps the most hyped about MAC product at the time I purchased it, which definitely influenced my decision to buy it.

 

 

As I always tell people, every product works differently for everyone, so I was really hoping that Studio Fix would work in my favour as I really really wanted to love this foundation and call it a holy grail product. HOWEVER, this was unfortunately not the case.

I think pretty much everyone has a specific set of preferences when searching for their perfect foundation. For me, its finding something which will;

• Keep me matte for 6+ hours (I have incredibly oily skin so this is a must especially at school)
• Cannot separate – what I mean by that is due to having large pores I’ve experienced some foundations separating especially on the chin and t-zone area after an hour of wear.
• Long lasting
• Medium – Full coverage
• Will not oxidise
• Is not pink toned (thus causing an orange face)

What I like:

 

Packaging:

I have to say the packaging is one thing that I love about this foundation. Simple yet classy packaging is what I tend to be first drawn to, as I prefer the look of neutral colours in my make-up collection. The bottle is transparent like most foundations, which allows you to easily distinguish the shade, featuring MACs oh so famous matte black lid.

I will say the only thing about the packaging which annoys me is the fact that it does not come with a pump. For the high price you pay I would expect a pump, and the same goes with other high priced foundations like Nars Sheer Glow. Isn’t it strange how a lot of drug store foundations come with pumps yet the higher end brands don’t? Logic? I bought my pump from a MAC counter for $8.

Shade Selection

 

 

Probably the reason why I first fell in love with MAC was due to their AMAZING colour selection. They simply out do themselves to go above and beyond in order to make every possible shade to suit a wide mass audience. With the Studio Fix Foundation's coming in 36 shades, you will just about find a colour that matches you flawlessly. Basically their colour coding works in terms of NC and NW. NC being cool toned, as in your yellow toned foundations. NW being warm toned, your pink toned foundations. Despite the fact that I do have pretty pink toned skin, I steer clear of all pink toned foundations as they are basically going to leave me with an orange face. Not very attractive huh? I was matched to NC15 which matches me perfectly and doesn’t even require me blending the product into my neck, a big plus when your in a rush.

Consistency

 

 

 

 

The final thing which I like about this foundation is the consistency. I found that the product blended really well, and worked best with a buffing brush, I used the real techniques buffing brush. The product is neither too runny nor too thick, its simply a nice balanced, blend able consistency.

 

What I dislike:

Coverage

Dun dun dun....now we approach the strenuous task of the dislikes. I will say now I used this foundation for over a year yet didn’t really identify that there were any issues. Perhaps I was reluctant to admitting that I maybe didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. The coverage was definitely a huge issue, I had heard from a lot of people that they found it was a medium to full coverage foundation however to me, it was a low to medium coverage. After about 2-3 hours the product was noticeably sliding off and faded patches could be seen on my temples, chin, nose and forehead. I’m not sure as to why the coverage and lasting power was so dismal, I mean at first it appeared to be okay, but the more I wore it I found my redness and blemishes were not being covered to a decent standard, especially for a high end brand like MAC.

 

Matte

 

Ahh...and it just gets better!

 

I actually found that this foundation made me even MORE oily and shiny. Someone please tell me how that's even possible when I’m already the worlds oiliest person? I had been told by the woman behind the MAC counter that the foundation was aimed at person's with combination/oily skin so I expected that it would keep me somewhat matte for at least 5 hours. But of course this foundation wasn’t meant to be! I cannot believe I walked around like a shiny mess/human disco ball for over a year! Sigh!

 

Separation

 

Finally, the foundation suffered from EXTREME separation on my chin, nose and cheek areas. Out of all the foundations I’ve ever used (and I've used many!) this one separated the most. Even when using a pore filling primer of sorts, the foundation still separated on my pores! Oh the horror! This is without a doubt the main issue I have with a lot of foundations, so finding one which does not separate is a miracle!

 

Overall

Overall I did not enjoy using this foundation despite the fact that I used it for over a year AND re-purchased 4 times. I really don’t understand why I just didn’t admit it wasn’t working for me and just invested in another foundation. This really goes to show that not all high end products are amazing, and I've now got three holy grail drug store foundations which do not separate or have any other issues.

I would not recommend this foundation if you have very oily skin and large pores as I fear you might have the same problems. However, as I said before, every product works differently for everyone so if you are worried, ask to try it on at a MAC counter and see how it goes.

 

RRP: $49:00

Would I re-purchase?

101% definitely not. However, id be interested in trying out another MAC foundation, perhaps the prolong wear, face and body, or studio sculpt.

I really wanted to put up shots of me wearing the foundation in a period of 1-10 hours to show how it lasted and also the separation areas however due to time constraints I was not able to as I wanted to get this up ASAP! I will put the pictures up in the near future however.

Thank-you for reading yet another long review! I know blog audiences tend to like shorter snappier reviews however I have a lot to say about these types of products and like to do in-depth reviews which provide you with quality information.

 

Sarah x