Like many others out there I suffer from combination skin which means that certain areas of my face can be oily where as other areas could suffer from patches of dryness, so very annoying, why cant we just all have perfect skin it would be so much easier. Now everyone's skin contain glands which secrete something known as sebum, the purpose of sebum is to keep the skin moisturised and to protect it from the elements of the outside world but unfortunately sometimes these glands can become overactive (poor diet, pregnancy and hormones can be a contributing factor to this) and start to cause problems which can result in enlarged pores, spots, blemishes and oily skin that has a greasy shine to it, especially to the forehead, nose and chin regions ( the t-zone).

Now personally I find that I suffer worse of all with this over production of oil during months of warmer weather when we get humidity or when im inside a stuffy building, I will start to develop a noticeable shine through of my make up which really does irritate me especially when I spend all that time in the morning applying it to then start looking greasy mid way through the day, its frustrating as I really do not want to have to be constantly re applying my makeup all of the time because its sliding off of my face because of this over production of oil.

Thats where the search started for a product which could possibly help me with my shine through issue and would be easy to apply and cover up this shine which I get, thats when I decided to seek some advice from one of the MAC counters in a local department store. I use Mac products and have always found them of high quality so I asked if they had anything which could help, that's when I was introduced to the MAC Blot powder..

MAC started out as a cosmetic brand that was designed for professional make-up artists but it soon developed such a high profile that through popularity and demand it soon found itself opening counters in department stores across the world. MAC sell everything that you could want when you are lookng for make up, they cater for virtually every skin tone you can imagine and are well known for their extreme colour pallete. The only thing is that being such a high end brand it comes with a high end price label.

The Blot powder itself is a unique pressed powder that has been designed to provide shine control without adding any noticeable colour or texture to the skin, that it can be applied over the top of your make up and you wont notice any change in the colour of the foundation which you are wearing

The powder contains two unique ingerdients, Mica and Silica which in this product are used to help reduce the oil on the skins surface and to matify your complexion making it shine free.

the Silica is used within the powder to absorb the oils which are created by the skins glands so stops light reflection which causes that dreaded shine through that we all dread.

the Mica is a natural mineral which gives the powder its transparent pigmentation so this is why when you use this powder it leaves behind no colour so doesnt interfere with your make up.

The product itself comes in a sleek, stylish MAC branded black mirror compact. Inside you will find the pressed powder along with a small round MAC branded powder puff and a nice mirror for use when you apply or just simply need a mirror.

The powder comes in a range of shades which means there will be one suitable for you no matter your skin tone . As I said these powders use natural pigmented minerals so even though its available in a range of shades they still apply to the skin almost translucent so will not interfere with your make up if you choose the shade nearest to your skin tone/ foundation.

The shades available are:
-Light
-Medium
-Medium / Dark
-Dark
-Deep Dark

Using the powder couldnt be any more simple. When you start to develop a slight shine through of your make up you just use this powder to touch up your make up and control the shine through removing that excess oil from your skin matifying and still keeping a natural look.
The powder can be applied with either the puff provided which I prefer to use myself or you can apply the powder using a decent powder brush.
As well as using this to touch up my makeup during the day I also use it to set the make up I apply in the morning. After applying either my MAC SPF 15 select foundation or MAC studio fix fluid foundation I apply a layer of powder over the top, concentrating specifically on that t-zone area which I find I suffer with the most. I then find that this really helps and I therefore requires less touching up of my make up during the day.

So the overall results...

To be honest I was a little dubious whether or not this product would deliver the desired results or not. Ive personally suffered from conbination skin since I hit puberty and these glands started becomeing overactive because of the hormone changes occuring in my body, unfortunately as I've got older these hormone imbalances have continued and no matter what I try I still get the problem of greasy, oily skin. Unfortunately as Ive got older I have become more self conscious about it too.

The powder itself applies to the skin really nicely. I personality like to use the puff rather than a brush as I feel dabbing the area is more effective, the powder itself is fine and light in texture so it doesnt feel heavy on the skin once applied, my skin is still able to breathe which I feel is important as it means that my skin isnt going to dry out and start looking flaky (Definitely not a good look!)

As for the shine control, well I feel that it really does help, the Silica in this product works really well at absorning the excess oil being produced by the skin so covers up nicely that dreaded shine through .

I also love the fact that this is almost a translucent powder, so once you have applied to your face (as long as you choose a shade close to your natural skin colour) you dont notice any added colour or texture change to your makeup, all you notice is that the shine through has disappeared...that your skins more matt, Just what I wanted.
Now personally I have found that by applying this powder to set my foundation in the morning I am touching up my make up far less, maybe twice a day compared to if I didnt use it when I do my make up in the morning, it really does provide a great amount of shine control.
I find it perfect for touching up the MAC foundations which I use.

Im also really impressed with the durabillity of the compact itself. I always have one floating around inside the bottom of my handbag so that its always to hand when I need to hide that shine. Being in my bag It really does endure a lot and although it does have a few scratches to the compact externally its really not the end of the world as its the contents thats important here. I will even admitt to accidently dropping this a few times and both the mirror and the pressed powder are still in one piece.

Overall the MAC blot powder really is a great little product although you must remember that this is not a cure, it is only a temporary fix to the shine through problem you may suffer.

You can find MAC products and purchase from www.maccosmetics.co.uk , MAC stores or at selected department stores like House of Frasier or Harvey Nichols.
You can purcchae a 12g compact of Blot powder for £17.00 which I consider worth every penny for the results it provides and also you only need a small amount of the powder to provide full facial coverage so the compact will last a fair while depending on how overactive the glands are, how much oil is being produced and how much you find yourself having to touch up during the day.

The only real negative I have is that you cannot purchase refils for the compact therefore having to re purchase a new compact each time.