MAC Gold FX Hyper Real Foundation Review & Swatches

Christine — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Gold FX

MAC Gold FX Hyper Real Foundation ($31.00 for 1.00 oz.) is a pale, white gold with warm, yellow undertones and a luminous sheen. On lighter skin tones, this could be easily worn on its own, though on my complexion (light to light-medium), it would work best paired with a blush or bronzer as I could see the white base coming through on my cheeks (lightening them). It had sheer, buildable pigmentation, as described, and could be layered easily and did not emphasize my skin’s natural texture or pick up my complexion products when I tried it on top. The liquid highlighter had a thin, watery consistency that spread and mixed easily but wasn’t too runny that it became difficult to get precision application. It wore well for eight and a half hours on me.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).

Top Dupes

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View Swatches

Formula Overview

$31.00/1 oz. - $31.00 Per Ounce

The formula is supposed to be a "weightless liquid highlighter" that has a "refined high-pearl finish" that wears for "eight hours." It can be "layer[ed] under foundation" or applied "over foundation as a highlighter." The consistency was smooth, thin, and had a touch of slip to keep it from feeling like water but was still easily mixed into foundation and moisturizer, applied on its own all-over the skin (like a primer), or dabbed on top of high points of the face to highlight. The latter I liked using fingertips or putting a touch on the back of my hand and swirling a synthetic brush in, then tapping onto the high points and using the edge of the bristles to diffuse the highlighter onto my skin.

It had semi-sheer, buildable coverage, depending on how much was used and how it was applied. It added noticeable luminosity when layered under foundation or mixed with foundation (assuming one did not layer a full coverage, matte formula on top!). They had a very skin-like luminosity--natural, glowing, but not overtly shimmery and definitely didn't emphasize my skin's natural texture. The formula dried down in 10-15 seconds and stayed on well for eight to nine hours on me (when worn as a standalone highlighter).

Browse all of our MAC Hyper Real Foundation swatches.