MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation Review

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Finding a good foundation is an issue for a lot of people. Think about bad foundation and who comes to my mind? None other than Celina Jaitley. Source Gosh look at that pic! You can hardly find her in good/natural looking makeup. God, look at that paint all over her face. And on closer look her hands look like they have been dipped in shimmer/glitter. And don’t even get me started on the DRESS (or is it?!). But, I digress. So my point is that finding a good foundation is the first rule of thumb when it comes to makeup. Each of us has certain requirements when it comes to foundation. For me, foundation has to be the perfect shade for my skin; it has to give me a medium coverage and should also give me a dewy finish. Also it should not break me out and should be affordable. Does such a foundation exist? Hey, a girl can dream, right?

So I hit the MAC counter to see if they could deliver a really good foundation that would satisfy my requirements. I was interested in trying out the Studio fix fluid. But the Makeup artist that took care of me told me that studio fix is a heavy coverage foundation and is also completely matte. So she suggested I try the SELECT SPF Foundation. She gave a very generous sample of the foundation. I have used it on 5-6 occasions now, so I guess I can do a fair review now. Source

What is MAC SELECT SPF 15 Foundation?

MAC says “Our water-based liquid foundation. Combines medium coverage with SPF 15. Provides a fresh, natural matte finish. Layers up, lasts long: helps protect the skin all day. Non-oily. 18 shades. Best way to baby your skin!”

Price: US $26.00

Quantity: 30 ml / 1.0 US FL OZ When I came home and read the description on the MAC website, I was like “Matte”? I generally don’t prefer matte finishes and I have no idea why the makeup artist thought that it would work on my dry skin?! But I still wanted to give this one a fair chance and I brushed aside any prejudices I had and tried it. Oh boy, this one was a super disappointment from the first time I tired it. It looked artificial and gave me an ashen hue. SO, I thought my skin was probably dry and flaky and I had to moisturize better. The next time I tried I made sure my face was moisturized really well before applying this. NOPES! Still no go. But the soul inside me who thought MAC could never go wrong kept bugging me to give it some more chances. I did and my husband said I looked ghastly with the foundation on! That’s it. I knew this was not going to work for me. So, on to the likes and dislikes…

What do I love about MAC SELECT SPF 15 Foundation?

• They have 18 shades in all. I am sure most of us can found a good match for our skin one.
• The Foundation has SPF 15 which is awesome. I feel every foundation should come with SPF!
• The coverage is pretty decent. Neither too light nor too heavy either.

Even though the picture of my hand doesn’t look bad, on a higher resolution I can easily see the foundation settled into the creases.

What I don’t like about MAC SELECT SPF 15 Foundation?

• The foundation is quite “liquidy”. It almost feels like water….! I would prefer foundations to be a little creamier.
• WHITECAST. PAINTED LOOK. I don’t know if the shade I got was the wrong one or not, but it does feel like I have a white cast when I wear this. I am thinking if the SPF has got to do something with this?? (I also found that a lot of people feel that it gives a white cast from other online reviews.)
• I also noticed that this foundation did give me some flakiness and emphasized some dry spots even though I had moisturized my skin!
• It is an expensive foundation at $26 USD.
• The bottle does not come with a pump. What a bummer. You have to buy the pump separately if you want it!

IMBB RATING: :star: :star: + 1/2

Application Tips:

• Moisturize skin really really well before applying any kind of foundation. My current favorite moisturizer is cetaphil. This is the real deal. No fragrance, just real hydration in a tub. For dry skinned people like me, it works wonders.
• I prefer applying my foundation with a wet sponge. I feel this sheers out heavy foundations a bit. You can always build layers depending on how much coverage you want. I dot my face with the foundation and I stipple the foundation in with the wet sponge.

Well, as you can see according to me this product has more dislikes than likes. The matte finish is definitely not working for me. Maybe for people with really oily skin this foundation may work. I find that my Revlon color stay foundation works so much better. So the lesson is that just because it’s MAC, its not a given that it will work for you. This one was an epic fail for me. But their mineralize satin finish is really good. It’s got an almost mousse like consistency and gives a wonderful finish. Maybe when my Colorstay gets over I will give the MAC mineralize satin finish a try.

Have you tried MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation?

Tagged as: celine jaitley, Foundation, Mac, MAC mineralize satin finish, MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation, makeup, Makeup Artist, Matte, Price, review, Revlon color stay foundation, Studio fix fluid, WHITECAST