Sunday, September 26, 2010

Review: MAC Pro Longwear Foundation and Concealer

MAC recently came out with their new foundation, it's called Pro Longwear with SPF 10. It claims to last 15 hours. I did not buy it expecting 15 hours of wear, I am a huge fan of MAC foundations so I am basically interested in trying every single one they bring out. I have read glowing reviews of this foundation, comparisons to Estee Lauder Double Wear and just generally great reviews all around. I have not tried the Estee Lauder, so I cannot comment on that. I think this foundation is awesome and it's quickly becoming a favourite of mine. For those who want a long-wearing foundation that isn't heaving feeling, I think MAC Pro Longwear will be perfect for you.


I've been visiting Toronto on a weekly basis for the past few months trying to find an apartment with my boyfriend and while there I shop to waste time before he gets off work. I take the greyhound bus down and prefer to get there early and avoid the traffic lag. I stopped by the MAC store at the Eaton Centre and asked for a sample of the Pro Longwear, unfortunately they were out of the sample jars so they couldn't give me anything. I was very disappointment, the mua told me to try the Bay counter. I thought to myself, nah I have a Bay at home so I will just go when I get back. I did end up returning the MAC Moisturecover concealer in the end, it was too dark and did not meet my expectations for an under-eye concealer despite trying and trying to love it. I got a sample of the Pro Longwear concealer (not sold on it yet) and the Pro Longwear foundation in NC15.

The foundation is near perfect in my opinion, maybe perfect, I will be able to tell the more I wear it, ie see if it oxidizes, breaks me out etc. What I love about MAC foundations is the colour match, with drugstore it's almost always not right for me, too pink or too dark if you are fair skinned. The Pro Longwear foundation is slightly less yellow than the MAC Studio Fix Fluid in the same shade of NC15 (see pic above for comparison). I apply it with my Sigma F50 and get awesome application, I would suggest applying it with this if you have dry skin cause it won't accentuate dry areas as much. It comes in a glass bottle with a pump that locks, the same as the MAC Mineralized Satinfinish foundation. It goes on matte and provides light-medium coverage. It isn't as heavy as Studio Fix Fluid, but has that same tacky adhesive type feel to it (maybe that's the 15 hour wear kicking in). It blends in easily, is lightweight and does not look like you are wearing foundation. I think this foundation is ideal for those with combination oily skin, but for dry skin it works just fine. The mua told me that you do not need to set this. I find that it does feel nice on the skin and doesn't feel like it will rub or transfer off. I normally wear bronzer all over so I still applied that overtop.


When I applied the Pro Longwear in NC15 at the counter on my jawline to test out the colour I had MAC Face and Body on and the Longwear definitely felt thicker and higher coverage than that. The colour match in NC15 is perfect for me, you cannot see where my foundation starts and ends on my face. There is no NW15 available and NW20 is too dark for me. You don't need a lot to cover your entire face, I would use one pump, the mua gave me too much, I was not expecting it to provide such good coverage. I used to wear MAC Studio Fix Fluid on a daily basis during the beginning of my love for MAC, but haven't worn it in months because it is so thick and I am more into lighter, tinted moisturizer feeling foundations in the summer months, but Longwear is the perfect transition for me. I would say the coverage is comparable to that of Studio Fix Fluid, but without the thick cakey feel, if you thinned out the consistency of Studio Fix Fluid you would have this foundation. It does dry quickly so it's best to work in sections when applying.


The concealer I only got a sample for now, MAC is expensive and I have a ton of concealers, so I wanted to try it out first. I got it NW15 for under the eyes. As you can tell from the swatch above, this one is dark for an NW15 and has a kind of dirty look. The mua told me that she wouldn't recommend using that shade all over the face (for acne or spot concealing) and I agree, I put a dab on my chin to conceal some monsters and it looked pink in that area, not good. For under the eyes it's nice, provides more coverage than Moisturecover in my opinion, it is creamy but liquidy and sets to a powder finish. She gave me a very generous sample, so I think I will pass on buying it for a while. It's nice that the concealer comes in a glass bottle with a pump, but the pump isn't controllable and dispenses out too much product and you have to be very careful to not grab too much. The concealer smells like paint, not pleasant, same smell as Studio Fix Fluid.

Have you tried the MAC Pro Longwear foundation or concealer? What did you think of it?

12 comments:

Stevista said... Best Blogger Tips

Wow, talk about in-depth review!! :) revlon colorstay dries fast too and it's long-wearing too, so that can't be a coincidence!

I don't think I've ever seen a concealer with a pump! lol ! Too bad this pump isn't that great!

Kristie said... Best Blogger Tips

Great review! I wish MAC foundations would work on me. They break me out terribly :(

Justine (Productrater) said... Best Blogger Tips

@Kristie - I don't use MAC exclusively either cause I think my skin doesn't love it either, I get little bumps under my skin from it, so I alternate foundations.

Alina Rodriguez said... Best Blogger Tips

I am very interested in trying out this new foundation by MAC. I am just a bit scared that it will break me out like the Studio Fix Fluid did :( Ever since then I have been traumatized when it comes to trying MAC foundations again. Who knows, maybe this new foundation can make me have faith in MAC foundations again LOL!

Great review!

Justine (Productrater) said... Best Blogger Tips

What is it in MAC foundations that makes people break out anyway? I should take a closer look at the ingredients.

Caby said... Best Blogger Tips

I was never in to liquid foundations until I decided to buy a range for my MUA kit. Tried the Face Atelier but it got me oily after 1 hour so I decided to get the MAC Pro Long Wear line instead just basing it from the reviews. And when I got it, i road tested it on me and for the past couple of days i have been tremendously happy with the results! I LOVE IT!

Crystalnextdoor said... Best Blogger Tips

I've been interested in MAC foundations more and more lately (never tried one) but hearing that people break out from them... now not so sure. Thanks for all the swatches though! If I do decide to try one I will be referencing this for sure.

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

I want to try this, but I'm NW15! Would NC15 look too different on my skin, or do you think it could be possible?
I too am curious about what's in their foundations that breaks so many people out. I've never used a MAC foundation so I don't know how my skin would react to it.

Justine (Productrater) said... Best Blogger Tips

@epcarie - I would suggest going in and getting matched, or get a sample from them. The NW shades are more pink based whereas the NC are more yellow. If you wear NW you will probably be NW in this too, NW20 was quite dark at least for me to pull off though.

Aranza said... Best Blogger Tips

Hello

I was at the MAC Counter today doing some shopping with my mom and hse ended up purchasing this entire line...it looked so natural and not heavy. Anyway, the MUA was asking me if I was interested in trying anything, and since i broke out horribly with the StudioFix powder foundation, I immediately declied and explained why. Well I was told by the MUA that the StudioFix line has 2 ingredients that all the other lines, oncluding the new ProLong Wear do not, and that was the reason most people broke out. She did say that MAC tried to reformulate the line but the customers did not like it, so they left it alone. That said, i think i will give MAC another try and hope to not breakout and the MUA there was telling the truth!

Sorry for the long post, but i had to share with my fellow bloggers that want to try MAC but like me, breakout like crazy =D

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

I've never tried MAC foundations before- which gives the best coverage? Thanks!

Justine (Productrater) said... Best Blogger Tips

@Ashley - Hey! Mac foundations definitely have varying levels of coverage, in terms of which would have the best coverage I would say studio fix fluid. It's on the thicker side and covers well.