I’ve had a love affair with this foundation for practically 10 years now.
Chances are, if we bumped into each other at — UGH! — The X in San Francisco in the late ’90s or early aughts (it was a place Jen and I used to go clubbing, and in retrospect it was pretty gross), I was wearing MAC studio fix fluid foundation ($29) on my face and partying all night long.
Studio fix fluid is one of those foundations that you can put on your face, and you know that no matter what you’re doing — dancing, sweating, making out with strangers (um, not that I did that), dancing in cages (not that I did that either!) — you know, that studio fix will keep going and going and going and going.
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Wearing studio fix in NC42, set with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish natural in medium Golden
A medium-coverage matte liquid foundation, studio fix is one of my two all-time fave MAC foundations (the other one is face and Body). You can easily ramp up the coverage to full by using additional layers, but I wouldn’t use much more than two or three, because you can completely mask red areas and pigmentation spots with just two layers, I’m not kidding, and if you go beyond three, it starts to look cake face-y.
Of all the MAC liquid foundations, I think studio fix is the best at controlling oil. It sucks it all up! I can really tell when I’m looking between my eyebrows, which is the oiliest area on my face. I don’t see any shiny spots there when I use studio Fix. It completely obliterates oil without drying out my combo skin.
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It’s also incredibly long-wearing. Like, my club days are so far behind me, so I’m not wearing studio fix all night long anymore, LOL! I do wear it all day long now, though, and I know that I can wake up at the crack of dawn, put this on, and when I take off my makeup at night, my foundation will look just as fresh as it did that morning.
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But my favorite thing about it is that it’s much more flexible than an Olympic-caliber gymnast. OK?! It’s terrific for that flawless, full-coverage finish. You can sheer it out or build it up. and if you’re going to a party or have a bridal shower or baby shower to go to, and you know that there’s going to be lots of pictures taken, this is a terrific foundation for special events like that, because it evens out your skin and completely “mattes” it down without looking or feeling heavy. It looks remarkable in pics.
It’s also lightweight and extremely comfortable, and if you want to go sheerer than medium because you’re aiming for a natural look where your freckles peek through a bit, you can just mix it with something in your arsenal, like a face oil (which I’ve done before; it lends a dewy finish to it).
I also love, love a little bit of Strobe cream mixed in. I use Pinklite, which is the new name for the original Strobe Cream.
I’ll mix studio fix with a small dollop of Strobe cream in shade NC 42 on the back of my hand, apply that with my fingers, buff it down gently with a kabuki brush, and set with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Powder, and the final look has a touch of pearly pink sheen. It’s very “my skin but better,” which I know sounds so trite, but it’s true. I can still see my freckles peeking through, but everything will be evened out in my overall complexion.
If you’re searching for a matte fluid foundation in the MAC line that does absolutely everything, studio fix fluid is the one.
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It’s $29 for one ounce of product in a glass bottle, and it comes in a plethora of shades — 42, as a matter of fact!
Your friendly neighborhood charm addict,
Karen