Foundation Iliad

The sequel to my foundation odyssey, in which I venture at last to the MAC store...

I have long shunned the MAC store, not because I don't like their products--I do--but because a publicist was once really snooty with me when I was writing for the LA Times, and I took it personally. But that was, what, ten years ago? And MAC is supposed to be some kind of foundation Valhalla. So, get over it, I said to myself. 

I did, and wound up with a matte black compact containing MAC Studio Fix, which happens to come in the exact shade of my skin (NC30). This means that I can be even more sparing in using it, and don't even have to cover my whole face with the stuff, which is tremendous, as there are plenty of days I just want to dab at my ruddy cheeks and no more. The texture is also fine enough that it blends down into the skin. I've been using it for a few weeks now and am still enamored. As I am with the Zoom Lash I bought on the same visit.

And the application lesson from the shopgirl at the MAC store was actually worth while for a change. I hesitate to call her a shopgirl, as all the female MAC makeup artists, male or female, look like drag divas doing Liza Minelli, who already looks like a drag diva. My diva was helpful without being schmoozy, and tipped me to setting the powder with a spritz of facial mist, then going over it again with the brush to make the matte effect more subtle. She didn't push the MAC finishing spray, and though it was nice enough, I am happily using Burt's Bees Cucumber Chamomile Complexion Mist for this purpose.

As luck would have it, I was contacted a week later by a MAC publicist who was as sweet as cotton candy, so now I feel thoroughly chastened--but mostly just really happy to have a new foundation to love.

Comments

[Donna B.]

Hillary,
I think that's my shade, too! I have an older compact of theirs, but will have to try this one.
I am in love with this line, so much so that I included a cartoon about them in my last book about love! (would be happy to share it here, if you are interested.) Their eyeshadows and lipsticks last, and I have some of their out of stock colors that I treasure. More about Mac, please!

[Toya]

I'm an NC45 and have been a true MAChead for several years now. Welcome to our ranks!

[laura linger]

I, too, am a MAC freak and firmly believe that StudioFix is the greatest cosmetic product of the last twenty years. The only tiny trouble is that it *can* break me out just ever so slightly. I am willing to put up with that for the coverage and the color match.

I agree...more about MAC, please. And what do you think about Smashbox? I am currently OBSESSED with Smashbox.

[Lynn Willis]

Years ago, I was a makeup artist for a photography company. How I wished that I would have had access to this foundation then! I love it. It is simply gorgeous. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.