Foundations and self tanners don't last on my skin, that's why I'm always on a hunt for long-wearing skin products. When MAC released their new Pro-Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation I thought it could be something for me. I jumped on MAC bandwagon relatively late and missed the original Pro-Longewar foundation, so no comparison is possible, but I've got the Pro-Longwear concealer, which I like a lot and which made me believe the Pro-Longewar Nourishing Foundation might be the one.
So, before I go on to my observations, let me tell you something about this foundation.
First of all, this foundation comes in a tube, which is definitely convenient and travel-friendly, but I personally prefer bottles equipped with pumps. It's also worth noting that the tube contains less product than a standard foundation packaging (25ml vs 30ml respectively).
The foundation claims to be long-wearing (24h of wear time), waterproof, moisture resistant, seamlessly blendable, medium to full coverage, weightless and satin as far as finish is concerned.
Sounds more than perfect for me. But does it really live up to the claims?
Well, not really.
This foundation isn't easy to use. There's definitely a learning curve involved.
First of all, this foundation needs to be used in moderation. Any abuse ends up with a mask-like effect, clogged pores and very obvious, non-natural look. You won't believe how many times I ended wiping the foundation off my face and starting all over again. This leads me to a conclusion that this foundation isn't buildable at all and the coverage it offers is medium at most.
The lack of a pump means that I usually squeeze too much out of the tube and either overapply or waste some product.
It also doesn't feel weightless, I wouldn't recommend this to those of us who hate to feel foundation on their skins.
The finish perhaps can be described as satin, especially on dry skin, but the thing is that this foundation never dries and remains tacky unless you set it with tons of powder. And I don't like this at all.
This much said, I must do this foundation some justice. I feel it indeed is waterproof and long-wearing, though I can't say anything about the 24-hour wear-time as I haven't had the opportunity to wear it for so long.
The shade I've got is NC25, which is way lighter and less yellow than Studio Fix in NC25 and doesn't seem to oxidate, so bear this in mind when ordering online. Suits my NC20 skin perfectly well, neutralizes all redness in my skin, without looking yellow.
I'm going to be honest here, I spent a lot of time trying to make this foundation work but it wasn't my favourite until I saw this film and thought this technique might be worth giving it a go.
This way of application has changed my way of thinking about this foundation and made the whole world of difference for me.
When applied over a thin dusting of powder, this foundation is no longer tacky and offers the satin finish I'm after. It lasts all day, even though my oilies do come to the surface. It looks way more natural and doesn't migrate towards my pores.
Even though I finally forced this to work I don't think this is the best foundation in my stash. With such a wide array of foundations on the market, and so many of them in my own make-up stash, I see no reason why I should use any special tricks or techniques to be able to use a product. Not everyone is make-up obsessed or a pro, an average customer expects something to slap on their face and go and this foundation is a major fail in this respect.
No comments:
Post a Comment