MAC Mineralize Skinfinish

Like I told you in my latest face of the day post, I've been obsessed with the Mac Mineralize Skinfinishes recently. If you're not familiar with these, they are baked powders with a luminous finish. Mineralize Skinfinishes can be used as a highlight, blush, all over powder, eyeshadow, and even as a body illuminator. They come in a variety of shades and finishes to suit your need. Some tend to give you a very fine sheen, while other have a more metallic finish to them for a more dramatic look.


I own two Mac Mineralize Skinfinishes which I purchased at the height of their popularity. I remember YouTube beauty bloggers raving about them when they first came out and I needed to see what they were all about. To encourage my Mac obsession in 2009/2010 my university had a Mac counter right on campus, so I would just head over to my bookstore to browse the latest releases and purchase limited edition products that would sell out elsewhere in San Diego.

The MSFs retail for $30 which sounds like a lot but compared to other popular highlighters these are a steal in my opinion. MSFs have .35oz in them but NARS Albatross only has .16oz and goes for $29. A more similar product are the Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powders which have .26oz and retail for $36. And finally there's the ever popular Diorskin Shimmer Star (Amber Diamond anyone?) which retail for $45 for .35oz. If you want to save money you can often find MSFs at Cosmetic Company Outlet locations in the United States, that's actually where I found one of the MSFs that I own.

Now I'm going to tell you about the two MSFs that I own.

Perfect Topping (Discontinued)
This was part of the Sugarsweet Collection that came out in 2009. I managed to actually miss the whole collection and was bummed out that I didn't get the chance to get this, but luckily one day when I was browsing a CCO I managed to find it for $25. It has mauve, pink, apricot, light brown, and light gold veining all over which makes me think a lot of a planet like Jupiter. This is one of the best highlighters I own because it gives me a really lovely sheen. When swirled together you get a subtle warm candlelit sheen that is not obnoxious whatsoever. Despite all the deeper shades in this MSF, the color is not strong enough for it to be used as a blush even on fair skin tones like mine. You can see me wear this here: 1/ 2

Soft and Gentle
This is a shade that is a hit or miss for people because of how shimmery it is. This is the complete opposite of Perfect Topping because this has the tendency of not being subtle at times. Soft and Gentle looks like a glittery disco ball in the pan and has a peachy metallic sheen. You really need a light hand with Soft and Gentle because it is known to emphasize pores and fine lines. I personally love this MSF and you can easily tell how much I love it because I recently hit pan. Soft and Gentle can be used on the cheekbones for a nice peachy champagne sheen and also as an eyeshadow. I prefer to apply this with a synthetic brush like the E.l.f. Studio Small Tapered Brush or the Blush Brush, I find that these two brushes just distribute the product really well. I've used Soft and Gentle multiple times before and you can see the results here: 1/ 2/ 3/ 4

I really enjoy this product by Mac a lot and really recommend it to anyone who's in the market for a good highlight. They are pricey but worth every penny! I've had mine since 2009 and I barely hit pan on one, so you can rest assured that this will be part of your makeup collection for years. I've heard a lot about Lightscapade in recent months so I have that on my wishlist, hopefully I'll be able to get it sometime this year once I finish Soft and Gentle.

Have you tried a Mac Mineralize Skinfinish? If so, which one? Let me know in the comments below.