MAC Cosmetics - Mineralize SPF 15 Foundation (Loose) Review
MAC Mineralize SPF 15 Foundation (Loose) ($29.00) is available in five shades (light, light medium, medium, medum plus, and medium dark), but unfortunately people have found that it does run dark–a few of our paler ladies (NC/NW15s) are saying that light is just too dark for them to get away with. This mineral foundation gives you medium coverage with a “natural finish,” which probably translates into a semi-matte/velvet kind of finish so will be good for those with oily skin.
I picked up Medium Plus, and I’m NC30 — I do feel like it is a little too dark from my complexion, so I might exchange it for Medium when I have the chance. I’m afraid that I might be in-between shades, though, which would really suck! The foundation is very fine-milled and soft, which is great because it makes it easy to buff it into the skin (a key to applying mineral makeup).
I’m personally not a huge fan of the applicator that it comes with (I believe they are calling it a caplicator?), and to be honest, I find that this is incredibly similar to a variety of other mineral foundation applicators (none of which I have loved). The caplicator has a very soft sponge attached to the lid or top of the jar, and I’ve had several MAs tell me that it’s great for touch-ups, but that a brush does a better job for initial application. I have to fully agree about using a brush (I use the 182).
While the packaging isn’t terrible, I would have preferred a jar like MAC’s other loose powders, or even just a wider circle, because my buffer brush doesn’t fit perfectly in it (it’s a bit too big/wide).
The foundation goes on easily, and I don’t find that I get a lot of it flying off my skin or exploding into a powder cloud (like other loose powders/mineral makeup), so I do like that. It gave me decent coverage, and it didn’t make certain acne spots look too dry when it went over them. I wouldn’t say that it exceeds my thus-far holy grail Studio Fix Fluid, but it doesn’t fall far behind it, either.
This is a great product for the upcoming summer months, as it is incredibly lightweight and wears well. I know that in summer I tend to opt for lighter weight coverage and products, just because heat and being outdoors more often tend to make heavier makeup less palatable.
You can purchase this at Nordstrom.com
, and it will be appearing in freestanding stores in April.
Pick this up? What did you think?
you didnt put the “consider it”
and “affordable” ratings like u usually do??
Sorry Grace, I forgot!
I would put those exact two on this post…
that looks like the bare essential foundation, the one that supposibly gives vitamins to your skin at night. I’d try it out if the price was reduced a bit.
I agree that the price seems a little steep for a MAC foundation, I could have sworn I paid $25 or less for SFF.
Realistically speaking, Bare Escentuals foundation doesn’t give any more vitamins to your skin than any other foundation. Certain companies will try to support their consumers into thinking that to gain loyality, but at the end of the day, most foundations on the market in the US are quite heavy on their usage of VITAMINS (mostly vitamins C, E, and A) and minerals (MICA, TALC, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, IRON OXIDES to name a few). Next time you are shopping check the labels of products that don’t claim to be “mineral based” and check the labels of those that do. Often, the labels are veerrry similar.
I am an avid mineral makeup wearer and MAC fanatic, so I have been lemming for this product since I heard rumors that MAC was going to release a mineral foundation!
BUT…I went to Nordstrom’s today to pick one up, and to my horror there was huge pieces of glitter in it! Glitter? In a foundation? I was aghast. My friend swatched a different shade and she also found glitter in it! Maybe the testers were contaminated with glitter from the nearby Heatherette display?
Didn’t you notice the glitter Christine? I am surprised you didn’t comment on it. What do you think?
I think I’ll stick with my Bare Minerals and Everyday Minerals.
Tiffany, I didn’t see any glitter, I have no clue what you’re talking about at all! I think there was something wrong with the testers, because both the testers I tried and the one I bought have no glitter whatsoever…
how interesting! It really must have been someone swatching something glittery and then proceeding to swatch ALL the foundations and messing them up!
Thanks for clearing this up! Now I’ll have to go BACK to Nordstroms and get one -__-. I’m also NC30, thanks for the shade advice!
It must be, because honest, no glitter, lol!
Tiffany – just wanted to say I haven’t come across any glitter…. that’s so aggravating!!!! Some people!
i agree…ive been waiting for this for forever!! and when i went to nordies to check it out. it was soooooooooooooo glittery. thats the reason why i passed on it. i was afraid to look like a disco ball 🙁
That’s crazy… I didn’t see any at all…!
The “glitter” in the product isn’t actually glitter. It is MICA, which is a mineral that is in most foundations and powders out on the market, whether they are considered “mineral” foundations or not. Depending on how jet-milled the specific product is, you might be able to detect individual particles of mica because they might be larger. Actually, I noticed the same “sparkle” in Bare Minerals when I purchased it and returned it the same day. I didn’t purchase it for myself, but did for a bride who’s makeup I was doing. Personally, I’m not caught up in the “mineral craze”. Most of it is marketing, and then at the end of the day… weren’t “mineral foundations” just called Loose Powders a few years ago? Lol. It’s nothing new… just new marketing.
Yep, you’re dead on, Nicky, about it being mica. I do believe that mineral makeup does adhere better to the skin and they are supposed to have better ingredients, but that’s just IMO!
I’m also a NC30 and I have oliy skin. I’ve found, I usually get matched a color that is a shade darker whenever I get matched for a foundation or powder. I’m not sure if it’s because I am asian with yellow and olive undertones, but I think it has to do with my oily skin. I think the oils tend to darken pigments, so I usually have to go one shade lighter. Since mineral foundations are pretty much pigment, I would suspect this would be the case. I used to get custom foundation and powder at Prescriptives and the first time I got colormatched, I had to return three times for them to get the formulation right because the makeup was perfect when freshly applied to clean moisturized skin. After an hour, the makeup darkened significantly. I would have the MAC artist put some on me, shop for an hour, and then check it out again after that to see how my facial oils affect it.
I’ve been reading your blog for a long time… love it! 🙂
That really sucks, doesn’t it? It’s weird, because I basically just said, I’m NC30… so what’s the equivalent in the mineralize loose powder?
Great advice for someone who’s getting color matched!
I’ve also been told I’m an NC30, and like Jen, I always get matched to shades darker than I should. I’m also olive-toned with oily skin. I recently discovered I’m not really an NC30, but an NC27. It took me 3 tries with the MA and I working together to finally get it right.
Anyway, I tried this the other day and the MA said I would be Medium Plus. I felt it was to orange-y for me so we went to Medium. Still too dark…and Light Medium ended up being perfect. This was in the morning, and by nighttime, it still looked like the perfect color. I haven’t bought it yet (Heatherette took all my money), but it’s a definite purchase for me in the next couple of weeks. I can’t believe how wonderful my skin looked after using it…and that result lasted all day, with coverage.
It’s the crazy (crappy) MAC lighting that must cause such mismatching.
I guess I will definitely be looking to try Medium rather than Medium Plus!
The author failed to mentioned that the Mineralize foundation WILL BE IN NINE SHADES. The reason that it only five shades to begin with is that Nordstroms just had to have something in their store and five shades is better than no shades at all. I know MAC isn’t the type of cosmetic company that if they have wide ranges in makeup to include women of color in foundation, WOC would be shortchanged in something such as mineral makeup. So in two weeks or whenever April comes the other four shades will arrive. I just would like that when someone writes a review please do additional information instead what is being given.
Rochelle, I do not work for MAC – I am a typical, regular consumer. I have talked to several MAs, and none of them have mentioned that there will be more shades in the future. I don’t necessarily agree that five is better than none… because many of us may be buying the wrong shade JUST because it is out since none of the MAs are letting customers know that there may be a better shade for them if they would wait a little while.
I appreciate you sharing this information with us, but if it isn’t revealed, how are we supposed to know? It’s great that there will be more shades.
Hi Christine, thanks for this review. I have been interested in this new foundation since I first heard about it. Seeing as you have found that it does run dark, what shade would you recommend a NC20 like myself get? Thanks.
My pleasure, Liz! A MA friend of mine is NC/NW25, and she is using light medium, so I would say that’s probably where you are, too… though you could probably wear Light, since NC/NW15s find it too dark for them!
Thanks Christine! We’re not going to get these till much later (late April/early May). I may end up getting both Light and Light Medium and mix them together for a closer match. Not ideal, but I’m gambling on it being worthwhile.
My pleasure, Liz! You have plenty of time to decide, at least, ha. I think I might end up mixing Medium & Medium Plus myself.
Liz, I’m a NC20 and I use the Light Medium and it matches fantastically!
Hi Vee, thanks so much for letting me know! What brush did you use to apply this powder foundation, your 182? I’m thinking of using 187; do you think it’d work?
I use my brand spankin’ new #182, but I think the #187 would work great as well! Those are the two I use for all my powders….. the #187 is so great for layers, which might be good with the loose foundation!
Thanks Vee, I’ll give the 187 a go when I get this powder foundation. It’s my favourite face/powder brush!
How do I clean and wash the appilicator? Thinking of using this in summer when my face is at its oiliest. Not good for an applicator. Thanks for sharing!
Gosh, I don’t even know. I would presume just normal brush cleanser and let it dry. I use baby shampoo and water for my cleansing routine, personally.
I’ve been waiting for this product since I heard about it via Pursebuzz like 3 or 4 months ago. I’m an avid BE user, but lately, I’ve gotten so pale, that it’s so hard finding the right color for my yellow undertones.
So, I picked up a Medium when I went to Nordy’s for my Heatherette haul. I’ve got to say that I LOVE IT. It matches my skin more perfectly than any BE shade I’ve ever gotten. Also even better than any liquid foundation. I love the coverage: medium, but buildable. And I love the matte sheen after it’s applied!
Lovelovelove the product, and I’m so glad that it’s permanent!
Love your blog too, of course. I read all the time, just haven’t commented yet (:
That’s SO great to hear, Joey! I’m glad it worked out well for you 🙂 And yes, thank goodness it’s permanent–at least at freestanding stores!
Welcome to the blog, hope you comment more often!
THANKS CHRISTINE!! I HAVE TRIED A PRODUCT SIMILAR TO THIS (JUST NOT MAC) AND IT ALSO HAD THE SAME “CAPLICATOR” lol AS THE ONE SHOWN IN THIS PICTURE, AND I FELT THAT IT “HOGGED” UP TOO MUCH OF THE POWDER, AND TOOK MORE AWAY THEN IT DID APPLIED. BUT THAT WAS A LOOONNGGG TIME AGO, LOL. SO ILL TRY IT NOW THAT I HAVE MY BUFFER BRUSH!! MAYBE IT’LL WORK MUCH BETTER. THANK YOU CHRISTINE!
I’ve tried SEVERAL, and they all seem to use the same type of applicator, it’s odd!
But definitely try a buffer brush 😀
I picked this up RIGHT as they put it out in my store (along with my #182, which the entire city had been out of that same morning! YAY!) I love it, but I don’t use the caplicator. I find it easy enough to just use my brush!
It’s so much better with the 182!
Now I have two minds weather I should pick this fundation or Mineralize skinfinish/Natural as my fundation. Coz I found someone,who prefers natural finish over matte,using Mineralize skinfinish/Natural as a powder foudation and covering up some parts with select cover up. Since I have never tried Mineralize skinfinish/Natural, I don’t even know how it works as a fundation. Do you think which product gives more coverage but ends up sheer-looking? Does Mineralize skinfinish/Natural tend to get darker as well? My skin color get match to NC/NW20. I really appreciate if you can give me some ideas!!!
Hey Mai! If you want light to medium coverage, try the loose mineral makeup. If you just want to even out skin tone, try MSF natural!
I think you’ll be fine with light plus or medium light.. like the second or third color in either.
This should be available now at all locations – or shortly. My Belk store got it today. I was told they’d have it out as soon as they received it. And there are nine shades. Maybe someone already mentioned…but, Light, Light-Medium, Medium, Medium-Plus, Medium Dark, Medium Deep, Dar, Deep Dark, and Deeper Dark.
Thanks, David! Good info!
I wish MAC would show some love for us paler girls! I’m dying to try this, but there are days when I can’t even pass with NC15. The only MAC foundation I’ve been able to wear is light mineralize skin finish, but that shade was inexplicably discontinued in the US. So frustrating!
That sucks, Niki! I know that I had to return my shade because it was just too dark, even though it shouldn’t have been 🙁
Hi Christine!! i was looking for reviews for this product and this is just what i needed. Thank you so much for reviewing products because it helps me a lot when i purchase an item. What i wanted to ask you is whether you ended up getting the medium instead because i am nc25/30 as well.
whts the price in india?
I don’t have prices for India, sorry!