MAC studio Sculpt Defining Powder

because I finished up my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish natural (MSFN) powder last month, I finally got to open up my MAC Studio Sculpt Defining Powder (SSDP), which has been sitting in my stash because it launched in Sept 2014.  I know… I have a tendency to purchase stuff and then not open it for months.

The compact costs $37 for 10g and is made in Italy.  I primarily purchased this because the tester at the MAC store felt so smooth.  I told the MA that I love the MSFN and she said this was comparable but even much more smooth looking. I was intrigued!  I was matched to the Light plus shade.

MAC’s description of this powder:

This long-wearing gel-infused powder glides onto the skin and effortlessly blends for a flawless look.  Created using slurry technology, in which this powder formula starts out as a liquid-gel and dries to its powder form to give it a distinct creamy feel.  Can be worn on its own, over moisturizer or used to set and stablize makeup.  Features sheer buildable coverage.

Compared to MSFN, SSDP has a sheerer coverage.  I would compare it to the MAC Blot powder in terms of coverage.  However, the SSDP isn’t as shine controlling as the Blot powder (nor is it marketed to be).  I really dig the design on the powder surface, for some reason it looks really futuristic to me:

I read online reviews that complained they could not pick up any product onto their brushes, and I can understand why – this powder is packed quite densely into the compact, I think primarily due to how fine the powder particles are.  I made a point to use my natural hair bristled Clarins kabuki brush and it picked up the powder just fine.  So keep that mind – in general a synthetic brush just can’t pick up powders as well.

I’ve been wearing this for a couple of weeks and I really like it!  It offers a very flawless looking skin: blurs fine lines and pores, doesn’t look cakey, and gives a natural looking radiance.  I can even use this powder to set my under eye concealer because it’s not a flat matte powder.  I would say that based on how it performs, this is MAC’s response to Hourglass’ hourglass Ambient lighting Powder.

The only weakness for me is that it doesn’t offer much oil control, but for the upcoming winter season months, it’s not as much of a concern.  This powder would be best suited for normal to dry skin or combination skin – but not for the oily skin types.  I would certainly repurchase this!

Pros:
• blurs skin imperfections
• not drying
• natural looking
• good range of colours (8 in total)

Cons:
• not much oil control
• expensive

Stash worthiness: 8/10

Have you tried MAC Studio Sculpt Defining Powder? What’s your preferred face powder?

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