As a long-time MAC customer, I’m glad that Ulta not only carries the brand but also that they are typically stocked in the store locations I like to visit. I used to have a MAC store in my local mall, but it unfortunately closed. I’m sure that’s not a good sign overall for the brand, but now I typically shop for MAC items at either Nordstrom or Ulta. When I’m not feeling up to chatting with the sales associates at Nordstrom (who are amazing, by the way), I take advantage of the laid-back atmosphere at my favorite Ulta locations.
My love for MAC Cosmetics began in 2013 with the Mineralize Moisture SPF 15 Foundation and the original Face and Body Foundation (in the 120 mL size). I didn’t like Face and Body, but Mineralize Moisture Foundation was nice enough that I’ve been shopping from MAC ever since. I can still remember staying up all night the following year to buy the Alluring Aquatic collection. These were the days when Specktra had all the MAC collection product leaks, and we’d all be on there hyping each other up. The Specktra website hasn’t been very active in several years, and it was down when I checked it yesterday, but it was a fun time.
Old post from my previous website (Sensitive Beauty Blog)
I don’t get quite as worked up over MAC these days, but my fan girl status is still secure. I am getting better every year at not buying from every release MAC has and being more selective. However, you won’t catch me in a store without stopping by the MAC display. So, I thought it’d be fun to share some swatches that I’ve done in-store at Ulta over the last year while shopping for some MAC products that I didn’t end up buying for myself.
Happy Saturday! I’m on somewhat of a mission to figure out how to best showcase great products that aren’t necessarily being buzzed about anymore. With that in mind, I thought providing this type of snapshot, focusing on hydrating and non-drying concealers, would be helpful. While I can only speak from my own individual experience, I hope this rundown will be helpful to others with dry skin. For reference, I am 42 and have dry, sensitive, eczema-prone skin. I struggle with darkness under my eyes, dark spots from the occasional acne scar, dry patches, and texture from eczema. 9 times out of 10, I have to set concealers when I wear them under my eyes. Hopefully, that gives you some insight into what I’m dealing with and how it affects my experience with these concealers.
While I’m only discussing 11 concealers today, you can find a concealer ranking on my website, which lists the 24 concealers I’ve reviewed. I will provide links to the full written review at the end of each summary in case you want more details. The Ami Cole Skin-Enhancing Concealer is the only concealer listed that doesn’t have a separate review.
The Dior Forever Skin Correct Concealer, Lancome Care and Glow Serum Concealer, and Ami Cole Skin Enhancing Concealer are my picks for hydrating concealers. For non-drying concealers (but without added hydration), I’m featuring the Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin Caring Concealer, Estee Lauder Futurist Skincealer, Armani Luminous Silk Concealer, MAC Studio Fix Pro Conceal and Correct Palette, and Too Faced Ethereal Light Illuminating Smoothing Concealer. Then lastly, I’ll discuss some honorable mentions: Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear All Over Concealer, Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Concealer, and Tom Ford Traceless Soft Matte Concealer.
You can find quick access links below if you want to skip around.
MAC Face and Body, Estee Lauder Double Wear Sheer, Smashbox Halo Healthy Glow Tinted Moisturizer, Urban Decay Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrator, and Tower 28 SunnyDays
As summer approaches, many of us start hunting for lighter coverage makeup that doesn’t feel heavy. I want to warn any long-time readers of mine that this post may be redundant for you. This post is an updated version of reviews I published in 2022, with the addition of only one new product. If you have dry skin and prefer to avoid extremely dewy finishes (like me), finding the right skin tint or tinted moisturizer can be challenging. In this post, I’ll discuss two skin tints (light coverage, minimal hydration) and three tinted moisturizers (light to medium coverage, hydrating) that give me a more natural look, feel light on my skin, and don’t go overboard with the amount of shine. For shade reference, my best foundation matches are NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation in Tahoe and Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Foundation in 4W4 Hazel.
One quick tip before we get started. You absolutely don’t need to buy a skin tint or a tinted moisturizer if you already have a foundation. You can mix some of your everyday moisturizer into your foundation to sheer it out. You can also apply less foundation than you typically do and sheer it out that way. Some foundations don’t spread as easily as others, and that’s when mixing in a moisturizer or serum can help.
This blog uses affiliate links (marked with **). I may earn a small commission when you purchase through links on my site. Learn more here.
The brand new **NARS Light Reflecting Luminizing Powders ($42) were first released as an Ulta exclusive but are now available on the NARS website. I assume they will eventually make their way to other retailers, but for now, I’ve only seen them at Ulta. This formula comes in 5 shades (Eros, Heavenly, Electra, Ophelia, and Total Eclipse). I purchased the shade Ophelia, which I thought would work best for my NARS Tahoe/Estee Lauder 4W4 skin tone.
Update June 13, 2025: Thanks to Lili for helping me figure this out. The ingredients for the single highlighters (Light Reflecting Luminizing Powder) are different from the highlighters in the Hot Escape Cheek Palettes. I’m not sure why they kept the names of the highlighters from three of the summer palettes when the formulas are different. As I have continued to use this highlighter, I started to wonder if the undertone or shade is just slightly off. Then, I was swatching the Hot Escape Cheek Palettes in-store this past Saturday, and the highlighters from the palettes felt a little softer and seemed less metallic. So, when I discussed it with Lili, she discovered that the ingredients were different.
Morphe recently launched a new line of makeup brushes, and I was excited to check them out. I did try some eye brushes from their last brush release (Vegan Pro Series), but the handles were too long for me, so I was happy to see them shorten the handles this time around. The marketing calls them “reimagined,” and they are made with synthetic fibers that are silver ion-infused, which have antibacterial properties. If you wash your makeup brushes regularly, you shouldn’t need to worry about bacteria, but I suppose it can’t hurt to have some extra help.
Morphe Makeup Brushes ($6-$18 for Individual Brushes and $18 to $98 for Sets)
I’m reviewing 12 of the new Morphe Brushes for you today. I’ve listed both what the brush handle says and, in parentheses, the brush’s name as it appears on the Ulta website. I have at least 1 comparison brush for size and shape reference for each of them. While some of the comparisons may not be direct use comparisons, I wanted to provide some size and shape context, as zoomed-in pictures make the brushes appear much larger than they actually are. I experienced some lighting issues this week due to frequent cloudy and rainy conditions, which resulted in some images not being as crisp as I would have liked them to be. However, I think you can still see the size and shape fine. One last note before I get into the reviews: I have washed these brushes multiple times. They are easy to clean, dry fairly quick, and hold their shape so far, but of course, it could be months or even years before you can really tell how durable they will be. Update October 21, 2025: The brushes are still holding up well and keeping their shape.
MAC Cosmetics is kicking off its Memorial Day Sale today, so it felt like a great opportunity to bring you a volume 2 for MAC’s Forgotten Bestsellers. I enjoy writing these posts because I get to talk about older products that are good enough to still sell well for the brand. To keep it simple, I use the brand website’s best seller list rather than separate retailers. You can check out the first MAC Forgotten Bestsellers that I posted in 2022 by clicking here. I have also done this for NARS, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Maybelline, and Laura Mercier, if you’d like to check those out.
DISCLAIMER: This post will also be the first post in a long time to include affiliate links. Long story, short, I removed all of my affiliate links a couple of years ago, but they will be returning. I am still an unsponsored blog and do not receive payment in exchange for any blog posts. I will continue purchasing all my products and sharing my honest opinions. While there is nothing wrong with sponsored content, I value the perspective I get from spending my own money on an item. If you click on an affiliate link AND make a purchase, I will receive a small sales commission. There is no additional cost for you, and the purchase price remains the same. If you see two asterisks (**), it is an affiliate link. I greatly appreciate your support if you decide to use my affiliate links to shop.
MAC Future Flame Connect In Colour Eye Shadow Palette
Technically, the best-selling versions of these palettes are the Embedded in Burgundy (6-pan) and Unfiltered Nudes (12-pan) versions. I apologize if this causes frustration, especially with the 6-pan I will showcase (Nude Board), because it is only available at airport duty-free locations and, I believe, overseas. Its name also seems to differ (Intimate Nudes) on the MAC UK website, but the shade names are the same as mine. I purchased mine at the Las Vegas Airport. However, since the formulas are pretty consistent across the palettes, I decided to just feature the versions that I already own. I have swatched all of the 12-pan and 6-pan versions that are currently available in the permanent range, and I really don’t think there is much variation between the palettes. There is variation from shade to shade, which can be typical of any palette, even among the same finish.
MAC Future Flame Connect In Colour Eye Shadow Palette
My biggest complaint is that What’s the Pointilism (bottom row, 1st shade) and Flame-Boyant (bottom row, 3rd shade) are a little weak in pigment and build slowly, but they work. The mattes blend easily, the shimmers haven’t given me any trouble with fallout, and they work with fingers or a brush. I’ve used this palette with my usual eye primers (MAC Prep and Prime 24HR, Urban Decay Primer Potion, and Milani), and it has performed well with all of them. It has also gotten along with both natural and synthetic brushes.
MAC Future Flame Connect In Colour Eye Shadow Palette
Update October 2, 2025: For what it’s worth, I prefer the singles eyeshadows over the Connect In Colour formula. The Connect In Colour palettes don’t list talc as an ingredient, so that could be the problem. Also, today (October 2, 2025), MAC released a new **Dazzle Collection, which rebranded some of their eyeshadow formulas. This release does have some of the older Dazzleshadow and Dazzleshadow Extreme shades, but the formula is different. The new formula doesn’t have talc in the ingredient list. I’d bet that the older single eyeshadows that still have talc won’t be far behind this reformulation.
**The Future Flame version of the Connect in Colour 12-pan palettes has been marked down to $42 for a while, so it may be excluded from the Memorial Day sale. 30% off full price would make it cheaper than its current marked-down price, so it would be better for the brand to take it off sale and give the 30% off. But we’ll see how things happen when the sale starts.
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Sale Price
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Regular Price
MAC – Connect In Colour Eye Shadow Palette: Unfiltered Nudes
Setting powders can be tricky for my 40+, dry, eczema-prone skin type. I can wear some foundations without powder, but I often benefit from powder to prolong the wear and minimize settling in pores and lines. On rare occasions, I can leave concealers unset, especially if I use them for spot-concealing on the face. However, 95% of the time, I have to set under-eye concealer. I use a moisturizing serum and a heavy moisturizer so that skin prep comes into play with how products perform. With that in mind, you may have different results if you use a lighter moisturizer. You may also have varying results if you use primer and setting spray, which I don’t. So, here are some powders that set my foundations and concealers for longevity without accentuating dryness or creating dryness where there was none.
Best for Blur and Slight Luminosity: NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Powder – Jump to Review
Best Talc-Free Matte Finish (adds no coverage): bareMinerals Original Mineral Veil Pressed Powder – Jump to Review
Best Matte Finish (adds coverage): Maybelline SuperStay up to 24HR Hybrid Powder Foundation – Jump to Review
Best Talc-Free Natural Finish (adds no coverage): Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Pressed Powder – Jump to Review
Best Natural Finish (adds light coverage): MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Jump to Review
Best Talc-Free Loose Powder (adds slight radiance): Hourglass Veil Translucent Loose Setting Powder – Jump to Review
(Honorable Mention) Talc-Free Natural Finish (adds no coverage): Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skincare Powder – Jump to Review
(Honorable Mention) Natural Finish and Slight Luminosity (adds no coverage): Revlon PhotoReady Blurring Powder – Jump to Review
This blog uses affiliate links (marked with **). I may earn a small commission when you purchase through links on my site. Learn more here.
I like to pair the NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Powder with foundations that feel tacky to the touch on my face. This powder sets the foundation for longevity without changing the finish much. So, by using this as a setting powder, I get the longevity and dried-down feeling, but it keeps my skin from looking dry or matte. I will note, however, that during the dryness of winter, I don’t experience the luminosity as much. It has been one of the best powders at preventing under-eye concealers from creasing badly throughout wear.
This blog uses affiliate links (marked with **). I may earn a small commission when you purchase through links on my site. Learn more here.
Today (April 6, 2025) is the last day of Macy’s Spring VIP sale, which includes 15% off most cosmetics and fragrances (some exclusions). 15% off is a better discount than some people can get during the Sephora spring sale, and MAC is only available at Sephora if you are in Canada. So it felt like a good time to share my thoughts on this blush. I’ve been a fan of MAC Cosmetics for a long time, but I haven’t been as tempted by their reformulations and new releases lately. Although it is not my formula preference, I did expect the new **MAC Cosmetics Strobe Beam Liquid Blush ($30) to perform well, and I was not let down. I was intrigued when I first saw this formula, but knowing they were attaching it to the Strobe Cream lineup made me nervous. Most of the shades looked a little too reflective for my taste, but I thought that the shade Unsweetened would give a nice glow without accentuating too much texture.
It is kind of weird to me when MAC products aren’t in black packaging, but I like the packaging update for this product. It doesn’t feel quite as luxe as the new concealer packaging, but it is still nice and sturdy.
Nikki From HR 