The $38 MAC Matchmaster shade intelligence Compact is an unsung makeup hero
I keep seeing these memes popping up about people who eat dinner early as well as go to bed at 9, as well as I can so relate. That would have been my headache situation as a kid, however when it occurs now as an adult, it’s a dream come true. I desire I might do it every night, LOL!
It’s kind of like exactly how I believe of “natural” (air quotes) makeup these days. Like, when I started using makeup on the ‘low back in middle school, natural-looking makeup was the last thing I was going for. There was nothing natural about that purple liner I was rocking.
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I would have said, “No way! I don’t want this to look natural! I want it to look like I’m using as much makeup as possible.” Fourteen-year-old Karen would have laughed at 41-year-old Karen’s quest for natural-looking makeup, which brings me to the MAC Matchmaster shade intelligence Compact.
What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an usually underrated makeup morsel, a long-term collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup enthusiasts however routinely rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features a few of my favorites.
It’s basically MAC’s version of a sheer liquid formula pillow compact, as well as it’s offered in 12 refillable shades. The primary compact is $38, as well as the refills are $28.
They were released last year around this time, as well as I’m a bit anxious now since I can’t seem to discover them anymore on the MAC website. I do see them at Macy’s, Nordstrom as well as Bloomingdale’s, though.
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Bloomingdale’s, by the way, is the only one that has all 12 shades as well as the refills in stock.
Cushion compacts?
You see them around the location now, however they started out in Korea. They have a liquid-ish foundation formula as well as vary in terms of protection from sheer to medium. They likewise usually have a second lid inside the compact that keeps a small, pre-soaked sponge or pillow from drying out.
When you press the sponge, a bit bit of the liquid comes out, which is basically what sets them apart from other type of foundation.
Wearing shade 4.0 (please ignore the crazy eye makeup!)
Like MAC’s routine Matchmaster Foundation, the formula is a self-adjusting liquid foundation that adjusts to your skin tone. I wear it in shade 4.0, which seems a bit as well golden-orange for me at first, however the gold mellows out somewhat to match my natural skin tone over about five minutes.
I don’t understand what type of voodoo magic they infused this with, however it works!
Coverage when it comes to pillow compacts truly depends upon the brand, as some brands are much sheer than others. I’d phone call this sheer to medium.
I’ve tried other pillow compacts before however didn’t discover one that I liked sufficient to stick with it up until I discovered the MAC Matchmaster shade intelligence Compact. I ended up returning a fancy-schmancy one by Amore Pacific since it was a bit as well shiny as well as waaay as well peachy for me.
But I truly like this one. The protection is incredibly flexible. It’s simple to go from sheer to medium to full, just like that, as well as I believe it looks fantastic in every type of light from natural to flash to fluorescent. It even looks great in video.
A technique for full coverage
There’s a extremely fine line between practical, as well as relatively useless, when it comes to sheer-ish liquid foundations, since some are just so sheer that you can barely see anything when you’re using them, which, I guess, is quite awesome if your skin is darned near perfect already, however if you have a huge pore circumstance like I do or freckles or areas you want to even out, this is fantastic for that.
It covers almost whatever (but doesn’t look mannequin fake) as well as de-emphasizes my pores a tad.
And if you want to bump up the protection to full, it’s truly simple to do. just grab your preferred liquid concealer (I’ve been loving Sephora bright Future Gel Serum Concealer as well as comprise For ever Ultra HD Concealer), as well as location a few dots directly where you want that additional coverage. For me, that’s my cheeks, around my nostrils as well as on my upper lip.
Then, tons a foundation clean or beautybender with your MAC Matchmaster shade intelligence foundation, as well as blend the concealer dots into your skin for an easy, fabulously perfect finish. I utilize this method all the time when I want full protection however don’t want to spend hella days layering as well as buffing. It’s been my go-to method lately for pics as well as video.
I likewise like the satiny surface (it isn’t as well shiny or flat) as well as the super lightweight formula. It never feels like it’s suffocate my skin. Plus, it lasts long sufficient to get me with a long day.
I like this stuff! I just hope it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon…
Your friendly community beauty addict,
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Karen
P.S. happy Caturday! I hope you’re doing something fun. Rogue One yesterday was quite great. I believed it was much better than I expected. It’s type of a serious war movie…but I believe you’ll like it if you like sci-fi. Plus, popcorn.
The MAC Unsung Heroes series (a subset of my routine Unsung makeup Heroes series) features a few of my all-time preferred products from MAC’s long-term collection
MAC Unsung Heroes: MAC Fleur Power Blush
MAC Unsung Heroes: Swiss chocolate Eyeshadow
MAC Unsung Heroes: Costa Riche Eye Kohl
MAC Unsung Heroes: Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
MAC Unsung Heroes: MAC additional dimension Eye shadow in Havana
MAC Unsung Heroes: Chicory Lip Pencil
MAC Unsung Heroes: Smoked Almond Lipstick
MAC Unsung Heroes: half ‘n half Lipstick
MAC Unsung Heroes: Chili Lipstick
MAC Unsung Heroes: Coffee Eye Pencil
MAC Unsung Heroes: Mineralize Skinfinish in worldwide Glow
MAC Unsung Heroes: MAC additional dimension Eye shadow in Havana
MAC Unsung Heroes: vintage Matte liquid Lipcolour in Burnt Spice
MAC Unsung Heroes: Mineralize Foundation/Loose
MAC Unsung Heroes: MAC giddy Lustre Lipstick
MAC Unsung Heroes: MAC studio repair fluid Foundation
MAC Unsung Heroes: Amorous Alloy Eyeshadow
MAC Unsung Heroes: structure Eyeshadow
MAC Unsung Heroes: Prep + Prime 24-Hour prolong Eye Base
MAC Unsung Heroes: Swiss chocolate Eyeshadow
If you’re looking for long-term collection concepts or inspiration, there are actually numerous unsung makeup heroes posts in the MBB archives. These 20 are just the tip of the iceberg.