Choosing a foundation can be really daunting, but it’s a key part to our makeup and can make or break a flawless face so it’s important to get it right. Many clients ask me about the labelling of MAC foundations as they don’t understand what NC and NW means and how to colour match themselves.
- Mac Studio Fix Fluid Nw20
- Mac Studio Fix Powder Nw20
- Mac Studio Sculpt Nw20
- Mac Studio Tech Nw25
- Mac Studio Tech Nc45
In colour theory, we’re taught that cool undertones are reds, pinks and blues and that warm undertones are yellow, peaches and golds. However, in MAC labelling, the undertones are the opposite.
NC: Neutral Cool – golden beige undertones.
NW: Neutral Warm – red, pink or blue undertones.
MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation. Shop now £27.50. King of the Booth. Coverage: Medium to Full. From my most favourite, to my least favourite. For some reason, my skin just doesn't get on with Studio. MAC NW20 is described by the brand as 'Rosy beige with rosy undertone for light skin.' It is a shade in the Studio Fix Powder Plus range, which is a pressed powder foundation with a matte finish and full coverage that retails for $30.00 and contains 0.52 oz.
N: Neutral – beige undertones.
C: Cool – Yellow, golden or olive undertones
![Studio Studio](/uploads/1/3/4/1/134185073/713549909.jpg)
So a person with yellow, peach or golden undertones would be suited well to an NC foundation whereas a person with red, pink or blue undertones would be better suited to an NW foundation. A person with a beige undertone would be perfectly suited to an N foundation.
You might have heard that some ladies use an NC foundation but have been given an NW concealer, this is because the pink undertone of an NW concealer helps to cancel out dark green under eye circles. For blue tinged under eye circles, you could cancel them out with an NC concealer.
My client Nina has warm undertones (reds in MAC terms) with cool under eye circles (yellow). I used MAC Studio Fix in NC20 over her face to even out and correct the redness and NW10 concealer to correct the dark circles
![Studio Studio](/uploads/1/3/4/1/134185073/448595015.jpg)
The number that follows each NC, NW, N or C is simply the colour of each foundation. Sharon, from Sharonthemakeupartist.com explains this perfectly:
“…there are some odd numbers peppered along the way in some of the foundations. For example there is an NC27 or an NW18 in Studio Fix Fluid . These colours don’t have quite as strong an undertone as those that end in 5 or 0. These odd numbers have more of a neutral undertone. So an NC27 is not as yellow as an NC25 but it is a little bit darker.
Conversely there are also plain C’s and plain N’s. These have a stronger yellow or pink undertone than their NC/NW counterparts. Very few of the foundations in the range now have these strong undertones, it’s mostly the old school formulas like Face and Body, or Studio Fix Powder.”
The shade I wear myself is NC15 – this is much more flattering to my skin tone and helps to cancel out any unwanted redness over my cheek area. This is my personal preference too and I find that the NC blends seamlessly into my skin. I find that with the majority of my clients, an NC foundation always looks better and evens the skin tone beautifully.
The most important thing is to make sure that your foundation matches with your chest and looks natural. If you are still struggling, don’t be afraid to ask a counter makeup artist for advice and a colour match. Makeup is all about having fun so there is no wrong or right way to wear your foundation, as long as you have a good match and avoid the dreaded ‘tideline’ around the neck, you’re good to go!
© This post is copyright of Rachael Divers 2015.
MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation |
Coverage
This one is a medium-buildable-to-full coverage foundation; it builds nicely, but it definitely starts out at medium coverage. For this level of coverage, it's reasonably lightweight on the skin; it certainly doesn't feel heavy or look mask-like.
Mac Studio Fix Fluid Nw20
This can be sheered-out by first mixing with some fluid moisturiser if you want a more liquid formula or lighter coverage. It can be built up to give more coverage, and you can get real full-coverage from this with a heavier powdering on top.
I frequently combine MAC Studio Sculpt and MAC Face & Body foundations (Studio Sculpt to provide the coverage, followed by a thin layer of Face & Body to provide luminosity).
This which provides for a genuinely and absolutely flawless texture, the gel formulation giving it an ever so slightly luminous velvety satin finish which is necessary to prevent it from looking a mask-like (as heavier coverage foundations occasionally can appear).
For a great Summer (or night-time/Winter) makeup, I like to mix it with some MAC Strobe liquid to give a really luminous finish.
Wear
This is a water-resistant formula, but I have found that it can transfer, so you need to make sure that you powder it or seal it. It needs to be applied to well hydrated and moisturised skin, in fact I generally recommend using a primer with this foundation (despite the fact that it lists silicone in its ingredients, I find it works better on top of a primer).
This purports to be a long-wearing formula, and I do find that I get around eight-to-ten hours out of this before having to top up, maybe ten-to-twelve if I've powdered well and used a primer (In general, I personally classify a 'standard' foundation as one that will last up to around eight hours).
This comes in twenty one shades, divided into the usual MAC yellow toned (NC) and pink-toned (NW) categories. There are slightly more NC shades than NW (twelve as opposed to nine). The NC are quite noticeably yellow-based and the NW, quite noticeably pink-beige-based. It's of course possible to mix these two undertones together to get something a little more neutral if you require.
MAC Studio Sculpt foundation - the shades |
(Yellow) | NC15, NC20, NC25, NC30, NC35, NC37, NC40, NC42, NC44, NC45, NC50, NC55 |
NW (Pink) | NW15, NW20, NW25, NW30, NW35, NW40, NW43, NW45, NW50 |
Mac Studio Fix Powder Nw20
I've personally found that a large flat (paddle) brush to be best (my recommendation is the Louise Young LY02 brush) for this foundation. I've noticed that buffing brushes or sponges (dry sponges) can introduce micro-exfoliation and cause dryer patches of skin to appear quite dry and flaky with this foundation.
This is an extremely thick gel-based formulation. A little goes a long way, but it's possible to use too much of it. For that reason I recommend making sure that your brush has been 'primed' with some moisturiser in advance of application, making sure that your skin is well primed (primer and/or a particularly good moisturiser) first, and then I'd usually dot this one around my face and blend out with the brush, as opposed to working from the back of my hand, as I would with more liquid formulas.
This one just doesn't work for oilier skin, there's no point in pretending that it does. It works really well for normal-to-combination skin, and even for dryer skin, providing you adhere to the caveats as mentioned before about priming and moisturising. On dry skin that's not well moisturised, I can find that this foundation can look a little dry, advertised moisturising capabilities notwithstanding.
Mac Studio Sculpt Nw20
Mac Studio Tech Nw25
This foundation is marketed as being hydrating, and it contains vitamins C & E, shea butter and sodium hyaluronate, so it would seem that it should be. However as mentioned above, I do find you need to apply this to well moisturised skin. It contains silicones but it works better over a primer.
And now for some weirdness. This contains titanium dioxide and mica, and has an SPF of 15 but for all that, strangely, I haven't found that it flashes back particularly. For this reason I have used it for brides and in flash photographs, with no ill effects. Because it's a reasonably long lasting formulation, it's one I recommend for brides.
Mac Studio Tech Nc45
Priced at around €36, it's definitely a quiet one that doesn't garner particular excitement, but is a great foundation that I recommend, and among those in the know, much-loved.