Tips! Comparing MAC Shades

Just when you think you got this universal system of objectively describing your skintone, reality (or me) kicks in and goes, "Hmm.. really?"

Now on general terms, I can say I'm about NC30 to NC35 and most (beauty obsessed) people can get an idea of what that is. But is it really fool proof? When we use Temptalia's Foundation Matrix (all hail the team for that god-send), can we really say we are 'Medium' if we're NC30 in Studio Fix Fluid and 'Medium Tan' if we're NC35 in Pro Longwear Concealer? I have a few products from MAC that I have in NC30, so I decided to have a wee bit of an experiment.. granted I vaguely knew the results before I even started.

Please keep in mind these are my observations and nothing in this post is for sure :)



Here I have the Studio Fix Fluid (SFF) the Studio Finish Concealer (SFC) and the Pro Longwear Concealer (PLC) - all in NC30. The funny thing that really made me realise how different NC30's really are, was the fact that I bought these all in different times of the year - the SFF was bought in the summer, the PLC in the winter, and the SFC in the spring.. and these swatches explain A LOT:



Now I'm not really blaming MAC or anything, but let's face it - it would've helped if they made ALL NC30's the same shade. However, hopefully this will be a vague guide as to what shade you will be in another product, if you have one of these three in a certain shade.

The SFF is clearly the darkest out of the lot, followed by SFC, then PLC. SFF is also the most orange toned, and PLC the most yellow - but the SFC has a bit of a peach undertone. It's also important to remember that the SFF and PLC are powder-finish products so they do dry slightly darker.

If you wanted three that matches - I'd say the following formula may work..

SFF = SFC + 1 OR PLC + 2

PLC = SFC # in NW (and maybe even -1)

The numbers are the numbers of shades to go up or down on. This isn't a rule of thumb, just generally how I personally think it would work!


Opp, a new comer on the side there, looking a lot like SFF in NC30.. but surprise surprise, it's not SFF, nor is it NC30. This is the Studio Fix Powder Foundation (SFP) in NC42. I bought this because I wanted a powder that matched my other SFC in NC35. So really, you're looking at SFPs being the lightest of the lot - remember to go two or three shades darker if you're wanting one that matches your SFF, and one or two shades if you want it to match your SFC. And loads more for PLC!

What do you reckon about MAC shades?
Have you found the same with the products you own?

<3yu

Comments

  1. That's pretty upsetting! You really would have thought they'd have made all the shades with the same number, the same! Are they just trying to make our lives harder? Thank you for this post, definitely really informative :) xo

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    Replies
    1. Yeah I'm not quite sure why - maybe they're working on the basis that concealers should be two shades lighter than your skin? That used to be a thing a few years back I think! Glad you found it helpful :)

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  2. I'm so glad you did this post because it's not just me. My SFConcealer and SFixFluid are both nw20, yet the concealer is much lighter!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah it's crazy, I really wonder why they made it this way :)

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  3. This is an interesting post! I am now curious if I bought a new concealer, same shade and whatnot if it'd be the same...we need to write MAC a letter on quality control !

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    Replies
    1. I don't think it's so much quality control but just the way they make their products - it must be a make-up artist trick I don't understand or something! :) Like, concealers should be two shades lighter than your foundation kinda thing..!

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  4. Great post! It was interesting to see NC30 in different formulas swatched side by side and to see how varying they are!! What annoys me about MAC shades is how different they are between shades, I like using NC25 as my base and NC20 as 'lighter' under eye concealer ... but is way too light. they're so different given that the number shades are close together.

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    Replies
    1. I agree, concealers seem to generally be lighter - perhaps they do this on purpose because as you say, some people say concealer should be lighter than your foundation!

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  5. I think its best with high end products to always be matched by MUA's, even if you think you know your shade. After all, they should know the product and the shade range well

    xoxo
    jessica
    from
    www.thecrownwings.blogspot.com

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  6. thats interested i buy these products too and never thought to conver i usually flame it on the formula instead
    MakeupbyBRI

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  7. I'm aware that this is an old post, but my best guess would be that the Studio Fix products do differ slightly in colour. The SFC is one of mac's thicker concealers, it's made to cover darker spots, such as under-eye circles or tattoos or what not - so it would be a slightly more peach tone, as the peach tone cancels out dark blue'ish-purple tones. Hope that helps! Not too sure about the pro longwear as I haven't had a chance to get my hands on it yet!

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