So being obsessed with dewy skin, I was immediately drawn to the Cushion Compact craze. These compacts have been around for years in Asia. Just recently have western brands created their own. Lancome being the first, I believe. About a month ago Mac released their own Matchmaster Shade Intelligence Compact. I picked it up online after looking at the limited swatches online. I filmed a first impression demo of it and I wanted to also share my thoughts here in writing.

The foundation comes with 0.5 oz of product and retails for $36. Mac sells a refill for $28 as the compact is reusable. The foundation is saturated into the sponge inside the compact. Packaging wise, the compact is a great size. Comes with a decent mirror and isn't too bulky. It's great for travel.

Inside, you get an applicator sponge. You are supposed to apply the foundation with the sponge (I demonstrated this in my video). I'm not a big fan of using the sponge to apply the foundation. It doesn't go well with he formula of the foundation. I rather use my stipple brush or a damp beauty sponge.

This foundation gives a sheer to medium coverage with a natural matte finish. It doesn't feel like anything is on the skin, which is a huge plus for me. When applying, the formula seems very drying. I was assuming that this fusion compact would give a satin/dewy finish. It left my normal/dry skin looking pale and dry. It also dragged across the skin and was hard to blend in. This led to the application being patchy. I recommend using a primer that will help the foundation glide across the skin. It lasts about 7 hours on my skin without getting oily.

The shade 8.5 is good for those who are NW45 or even deeper. It has a really red undertone, so be warned. If your skin doesn't pull so red, try 8.0. Here's a still from the video where you can see how it looks on my face. 

In conclusion, I will continue to try to apply this foundation using different methods. I want to like this foundation because of its really cool design and concept. Ill try to prep my skin differently. I don't understand why Mac would give this a matte finish...tbh, they could have done 2 types, matte and dewy to suit different needs. That would have given them a great angle against their competitors. If the Lancome one wasn't $47, I would have purchased it. As I said, I'll continue to work with it!