Why? Because there’s no uniform guide anywhere with foundation shades. Using MAC as a guide can be helpful to a point, but as more and more brands start to expand their shade range beyond Beyoncé beige, it’s practically impossible to keep comparing to MAC shades. But I still get tons of questions referencing a MAC shade, so I figured let me do this post. I even wrote a post about it and link to it every time I do a review. But then some years ago I stopped comparing foundations to MAC. I even used to use MAC foundations as a reference to help you guys figure out your shades when I would review other brands’ foundations. It was not uncommon, and still not uncommon today to describe yourself as being an NC45 or NW47 or NW58. I was a member in a VERY popular MAC Cosmetics LiveJournal community-this was back when MAC was practically the be-all, end-all in the internet makeup world (my, how things have changed) and practically everything in makeup was MAC-centric especially when it came to describing your skin tone. I’m STILL friends with people I used to follow on LiveJournal from back in the early to mid 00s. Before the proliferation of YouTube and blogs, there were beauty message boards and LiveJournal. I’ve been a part of the internet beauty world for AGES it seems. There's a big range of colours, even differentiating between warm and cool tones.Read ALL about my review process including how I take swatches, photos, and more here.

You don't need liquid foundation to have full coverage! The formula is great, it's quite soft and buttery, not too chalky and blends out really nicely. Use a smaller denser brush for more coverage and a bigger brush for less. I usually apply it with a big powder brush.Īll in all this product is great, probably my favourite MAC product. I find using it this way gives me great coverage! If i want a more minimal/less coverage look I apply it with a big powder brush which disperses the powder more across my face.Īlthough the NW22 is a bit too warm/dark for my natural skin tone but I often use this powder when I am fake tanned or want to look a bit darker. I often put BB cream on my face and top it off with this powder using a flat angled brush that applies it quite densely. I find the NW20 almost perfectly matches my skin tone and I use it on an almost daily basis. I have it in two shades, NW20 and NW22 for my fair/light skin and it's just great.

Ever since I started using this powder last year I have never gone back.

Mac studio fix powder for dark skin