I recently wrote a review on MAC's Studio Fix Fluid foundation which I purchased earlier this year. Despite visiting my local counter in a Debenhams store with the firm intention of only buying a foundation I somehow managed to come away with an extra product... I maintain that the sale's advisor was extremely good at her job and somehow tricked me into buying it of course! I came away with a product called Prep and Prime Skin which is basically a primer product which can be used to prepare your skin prior to any make up being applied. For those of you that are completely new to the brand I should tell you that MAC started out as a cosmetic brand for professional artists meaning that consumers such as me and you couldn't actually purchase it. However due to its popularity and success it soon started to appear on counters in department stores around the world. It can be found in the UK in certain Debenhams stores and Selfridges stores too. The range consists of all your typical products such as concealers, foundations, mascaras, etc.

The lotion comes in a glossy black bottle which has the MAC brand name and product name imprinted on it in white making it look quite elegant. The bottle itself is about four to five inches in height and comes complete with a pull on / off black lid. It contains 30ml of the lotion which is very much like a pearl coloured gel in terms of consistency; it's much thicker than your average cream and thicker than I expected it to be. It has quite a bland smell to it which just smells like make up to me to be honest. Now the product is best applied on top of your usual moisturiser but before you apply any other make up. It promises to calm and soothe the skin, to blot away any excess oil and to even out skin redness. By removing any excess oil the idea is that your foundation and powder will actually take to your skin better and effectively last longer as it's often the oil in your skin that causes make up to fade away. By calming your skin and helping to cover any redness the idea is that your foundation will have an easier job to do and that your skin tone should be more even.

The first time I applied this lotion I was amazed at how it disappeared into my skin almost as soon as it touched my face, it did feel a little greasy to be honest but this disappeared within seconds. It left my skin feeling really smooth and soft, I was worried it might feel a little like a mask but it wasn't anything of the sort, you couldn't even tell I'd applied it. I didn't notice any immediate reductions in redness or anything like that but as soon as I applied my foundation and the rest of my make up my skin coverage certainly appeared to be much more even than it usually did. It also kept my face looking like that throughout my night out, normally I'd need to reapply my make up, especially my blusher and bronzer, but I didn't have to at all with this - it was almost like it make my make up stick to my face somehow. It is priced at £16.50 for 30ml so it's not cheap and it's certainly not what I'd call a make up bag essential. However I tend to only apply mine for nights out or special occasions as it certainly is worth buying to not have to carry half my make up bag around on a night out!

Thanks for reading.