MAC’s Prime Focus Collection

**MAC’s Prime Focus Collection** was the fourth post on the XOXOKalel blog.

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On August 18, MAC is expected to launch a collection of Prep + Prime products, which they are appropriately titling “Prime Focus”. This collection will include four fortified skin enhancers and two transparent finishing powders. I personally haven’t had too much experience with MAC’s previous Prep + Prime products, but after playing around with these for a couple hours… I’d have to say that they are pretty neat!

The Prep + Prime Fortified Skin Enhancer (a fancy name for an illuminating primer, LOL) does not one, but FOUR things for your skin; it primes it for foundation, protects it with SPF 35, brightens it with an illuminator and perfects it with a hint of color-corrector. These primers are fantastic because they can be used in two ways. They can be applied as a traditional primer (spread lightly all over the entire face) or as a spot color-correctoring primer (in heavier, small dabs). If applied as a traditional primer you honestly don’t notice much color-correction; I tried all of them on and they basically looked the same. However, I’m sure you could apply it more generously and notice more correction. If applied as a spot color-correcting primer you can definitely see a difference. I LOVE using the yellow one (Neutralize) for under my eyes! It’s brilliant. I generally don’t use concealer because I don’t like how it blends with my foundation, but this is SO light that it works great for under foundation. The primer comes in 4 different shades. Illuminate (pale lavender), Neutralize (pale yellow), Adjust (light, neutral peach) and Recharge (bronzy orange). They retail for $30.00 U.S./$36.50 CDN.

The Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powders are GREAT for a light, smooth finish. Transparent powders are wonderful for touching up your foundation, especially if you have oily skin like me (by 3 p.m. my face usually looks like I just ran a marathon- SO shiny). The shine is gone with a few quick taps of the transparent powder. This method is way better than applying more of your regular pressed powder because you won’t look quite as “cakey”. The powder comes in loose and pressed form. I personally prefer the pressed powder because it’s so much easier to apply on-the-go. They retail for $23.00 U.S./$27.50 CDN.

So… which primer should you get? Great question. I actually just received these products in the mail this morning. I knew immediately that I wanted to do a post on them… but then I realized that I really didn’t know much about color-correctors! I took one look at the lavender primer and thought, “Huh?” So that’s when I realized that in order to do this post, I needed to do a bit of research and experimentation. Here are my findings! (FYI: I put on a lab coat and glasses to conduct this experiment)

* Lavender correctors work great for minimizing yellow undertones. They also work wonders for hiding minor sun damage.
* Yellow correctors help to brighten up pale skin. They also help neutralize pink/red skin. Yellow is commonly used in the under-eye area, as it is great for hiding bruised looking skin.
* Peach correctors are wonderful for hiding spots, blemishes, veins and bruising.

Some other notes from my research/experimentation:

* The primer makes the skin look very healthy, bright and awake.
* Skin feels VERY moist and smooth after the primer is applied. Pores are visibly filled.
* The texture of the primer is very light and creamy.
* Skin looks quite shiny after primer is applied. I would not suggest a glowy looking foundation to be used in combination with this.
* I love the tube that the primer comes in. It allows for very little product to be used at a time, so you never have to worry about accidentally squeezing out too much.
* The powder is extremely fine and smooth.
* The powder feels as if it seals in the foundation. There is minimal transfer once the powder is applied.

Hope you enjoyed my overview! Love you guys!