MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Dark (MSF)

This has to be the longest I have put off a review especially when it's one that has made a few sneaky peeks on here on the blog. It is also one of my favourite products that has been well loved, tested, trusted and repurchased. As always there is a little story to go with this purchase. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you'd recall I purchased a few MAC products from Duty Free in my recent trip to Nigeria and the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish (MSF) Natural in Dark was at the top of my wishlist so it had to be purchased. Sadly, I lost it at a wedding I attended in July and I had to purchase another one which was rather painful for me because the previous one was still quite new. Sad times!! The good thing is the new MSF has been repackaged so I have a bonus little review on the new packaging at the end of this post. This goes without saying that this will be a super long post so grab your drinks. I am pleased I took ample pictures of this powder before it went amiss and it was such a pleasure to photograph...Damn!!looking at these photos of my beloved lost MSF makes me sad..:-(

Packaging

The MSF comes in the characteristic black MAC packaging but it has a transparent lid instead of a mirror which has its advantages and disadvantages. To be fair, I am quite glad the new packaging has a mirror as it means this can be my new touch up compact in my makeup bag. As expected, it is sturdy although a couple of people have mentioned that the lid came off at some point but I did not experience that at all.

Shade

MAC is one of my favourite brands because they have a wide variety of shades that suit everyone. My shade is the MSF Natural in Dark and I think it is perfect. I tried the medium but it did not suit me as well so I got the dark instead and it's a good match. 

Coverage

It is a medium to full coverage powder although it is quite natural as the name implies and I love that about it. Although it can be worked to full coverage; it does not feel heavy or cakey on the face and it sets my foundation and overall makeup in a seamless beautiful way. I use various brushes to achieve different levels of coverage; Real Techniques buffing brush when I wanted a targeted full coverage, Real Techniques Powder brush when I want a medium coverage and my Japonesque Retractable brush when I am on the go for a light touch up coverage that mattifies my oily T-zones.

Uses

MAC MSF's are very versatile and can be used in a variety of ways depending on what shade you buy. It can be used as a setting powder, finishing powder and mattifying powder which is what I mainly use it because I bought the shade nearest to my skin tone. If you go a shade darker, it can be used to contour and as a bronzer to add some dimension to the face. If you go a shade lighter, it can be used as a highlighter to illuminate some parts of your face. When I use this to set my foundation, it makes a massive difference especially in the summer. It helps prevent too many oily situations and I am ever so happy to whip it out for a touch up when I am on the go. I pair this powder with almost all my foundations and it gives a flawless finish and it works really well with my Body Shop BB cream as mentioned here.

Cost

As expected it is not particularly cheap but I would say it is well worth it and it lasts for a really long time. The older packaging costs £21.50 although I got it cheaper in Duty Free. The new packaging costs £23 which is a little more expensive but for the extra pennies, the packaging is fantastic and the quality is top notch.

Cons

The only thing I hated about the older packaging was that it had no mirror but the new packaging has one so I really have nothing to complain about any more except of course the price which I always moan about as expected.

New MSF Packaging vs Older MSF Packaging

Although I miss the previous version, I think this new packaging matches the quality of the powder much more. It is a sleek classic black packaging complete with a good sized mirror. It feels really luxurious just like other high end brands and I really like it. The mirror gets a little dirty with some powder particles every now and then but it's not unbearable. It does not have a click rather it has a magnetic invisible latch which secures the powder really well so no accidental spillage. However, I kinda like clicky packaging; I am weird I know :-).

Personal Thoughts

This is definitely my holy grail powder now because it ticks all the boxes for me especially now that it has a new sleek packaging. It now looks like a collectors item and I think I would be reluctant to return this via BACK to MAC for a free lipstick because it looks amazing and I would like to keep this even when the powder is long gone.