MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation Review

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. MAC Select SPF 15 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.
MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation

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?

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29 thoughts on “MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation Review

  1. Hello Jane,

    although i love mac bt as you said jst coz it is mac doesn’t mean it would work. i also hve dry skin and now i knw wht nt 2 pick. 😉

    wheneva we thnk of bad foundation we think of celina jaitley. :laugh: vry nice review. :yes:

    1. hehe..thanks seema..Yeah I somehow had to talk about celina’s bad makeup somewhere..She is actually good looking naturally..not sure why she dresses up like this ! 🙂

  2. I love my MAC Satin finish but since you said you would give it a try, I suggest that you take a sample test first. It’s a major hit or a flop among people. I have a super dry skin so I try to look for oil based foundations, guess this one is not for me. Thanks for the review. Although I must admit that I had high hopes from it. 😛

  3. Hey Jane, thanx for the review…..I know what not to try in MAC, I am really glad I got to strike off one thing from the vast MAC range. 🙂 . By the way, coming to Celina, I think she would make a good specimen :doctor: :razzmad: for studying “female anatomy. Anyone can study the complete female anatomy just by looking at her, everything is on display there, from top to bottom. I do not even want to talk about that makeup :beauty: :beauty: The only good thing is her hair which she keeps straight and jet black.
    .-= jomol´s last blog ..HOW IMPOTENCE WRECKED A GIRL’S LIFE/NEIGHBORHOOD GOSSIP =-.

    1. Hahaha..thats funny ! Learn what not wear from her. Frankly I am a little bored of her long hair , sexy look. Me thinks she needs a makeover.

  4. The MUA at MAC did not even suggest this product to me when I visited their shop, so I did not get to even swatch it at the shop. Anyways..good thing it didnt happen..It was my first MAC exp.

    About CJ, I dont even wanna comment…I mean look at her.. 😮 😮 Like Jomo said..ekdum namoona hai

  5. i have SUPER DUPER dry skin and this foundation still works excellently for me, whether in summers or winters. the makeup artist helped me select this. the pump part is a bummer, but not all foundations come with pumps! at least this one has the option! also, my face never looks ashen/white wearing this. i personally feel that spf 15 is too less to cause any such odd finish on the skin. this foundation also doesn’t show up matte on my face.

    i guess it’s different strokes for different folks!
    i would personally rate this foundation 5 stars!
    .-= Rima Kaur´s last blog ..Big Ass Thunder Thighs! =-.

    1. Wow , Really Rima ? That’s surprising. This one doesn’t work for me in anyway. But glad that it worked for you !!

  6. Just the other day I was browsing MAC website and had wondered whether this foundation would give me a flawless dewy finish. Now I’m not sure if I should buy it. But I guess there’s no harm in trying it out at the MAC store. Helpful review Jane! 🙂

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