Mac waterweight foundation review

What on earth am I doing reviewing a foundation that came out years ago? Well even I can’t really explain that one. Except that with my last foundation lasting me over a year and a half, I don’t exactly have a quick product turnover in my makeup bag. What can I say? I’m a one at a time kinda girl, in the infamous words of Miss Georgia Steel, ‘I’m loyal babe’. 

Besides, it may have come out a long time ago, but as someone who finds it incredibly difficult to choose foundations, I know that this post is something I’d want to read when on the hunt for my next makeup product. So here I am, giving the people (aka myself) what they want.

Over Christmas, I usually get a voucher for a makeup or clothes store from family friends, and this year it happened to be MAC. Conveniently for me, this came at a time where I was quite literally down to the last few drops of my old Clinique foundation and desperately in need of something new.

When it comes to foundation I don’t have much expertise. All I know is that I prefer dewy to matte, and I don’t want anything with a crazy high coverage because I don’t think I wear enough makeup in general to balance that out and not end up looking like a heliophobic vampire.

So I went into the MAC store armed with my only two requirements and ready to see what they had on offer. After speaking with one of the makeup artists for a while, she suggested that I try Waterweight because it was closest to what I was looking for.

This foundation has a sheer to medium coverage that is buildable but definitely needs to be topped up with concealer to cover blemishes and dark circles. What I love the most about it is that it has SPF 30. I hate wearing suncream on my face as it always makes me breakout so I much prefer to have an SPF in other products such as moisturiser or foundation. Being a perfect product for daily use, you can feel reassured knowing that you have that level of UV protection all the time!

The consistency is much more watery than my previous foundation which I’m not necessarily complaining about as I think it’s very easy to apply. I use a stippling brush to dab it in to my skin as I have always preferred it to a beauty blender which, particularly with water based foundations, absorbs way too much of the product during application. However, I tend to apply my concealer with a beauty blender afterwards because I find that once the foundation is applied, using the blender over the top helps to settle it into my skin better.

I usually spritz my face with a primer / setting spray before applying just so that my base is slightly moist. I find that this foundation settles into my skin fairly fast and when applying with a dabbing motion, I haven’t had any problem with streaks. I really like the dropper because it’s just generally easy to use and limits product waste.

THE OVERALL LOOK

I tried my best to take a selfie to show how this foundation looks on the skin but I must admit that front camera photos aren’t my forte. Nevertheless, here is an unedited photo to show you how it looks after a full face of makeup.

I topped up my nose and my cheekbones with highlighter but as you can see this foundation definitely achieves a dewy look all over the face. I still set it with a little bit of powder though as otherwise I feel that the foundation would literally wipe off my face in a couple of hours.

I purchased the shade NW15 (because I’m pale af) which I think matches my cool-toned skin perfectly and I don’t need to blend it way down into my neck. In general I actually really like the finish of this foundation as it is still very natural looking and I find that it brightens up my skin especially when combined with the Rimmel wake me up concealer. As someone who doesn’t tend to wear heavy coverage makeup, I think this is perfect for me, and still somewhat buildable for an evening look!

In terms of durability, I haven’t had any significant issues, but I do think that there are foundations out there that last much longer without separating or wiping off if you accidentally touch your face. However, this could be improved with a really good setting spray and like I said, I haven’t really had an issue so far, most likely because it is a light to medium coverage so it’s less noticeable.

So in conclusion, I am definitely a fan of this foundation. In fact, I am pleasantly surprised since I sort of ended up buying it out of awkwardness simply because I spent so long with the makeup artist applying different shades to my face. Plus I had a voucher so really I wasn’t spending very much! I would recommend Waterweight to people who like a lighter foundation or are looking for more of a daytime product, this could be the one for you!

Do you have a holy grail foundation that you’re obsessed with? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!