Oily Skin Woes and Product Review: MAC Blot Powder

Before I get to my review, I think its only fair to describe my skin and situation to you guys a bit. Maybe some of you can sympathize, but I have oily skin. I mean, super oily. Like, press a blot paper to my forehead, and the sheet becomes clear. Swipe my hand across my forehead, and there's a thin sheen of oil on the back of my hand now. Sorry for the gross imagery!

So as you can see, I'm always desperately looking to control my oil production. I don't wear foundation, but I do spot conceal and use Stila Illuminating Powder Foundation to set it.

That's Stila Illuminating Powder Foundation above, and while I adore it because it matches my skin perfectly and give my skin a great luminous look, it doesn't do such a great job of controlling oil. After two hours, I have to powder my skin again, and unfortunately, it starts to feel and look cake-y on my skin after the second application.

So I decided to invest in MAC Powder Blot (21$)


The purpose of this powder according to the MAC website is, "A unique pressed powder designed primarily to provide shine control without adding any noticeable colour or texture. Sets foundation, finishes faces." As you can see, the product comes with this awful puff that sucks.

There are very limited color options: Light, Medium, Medium Dark, Dark, Deep Dark because its not supposed to add any noticeable color. The makeup artist at MAC recommended that I get Medium, which is actually a pretty light shade, and I'm starting to regret it because the fact of the matter is, it does deposit a bit of color. I'm going to have to blame that on the puff it comes with though, which picks up way too much powder and makes my face look washed out.

On the flipside, it does do a pretty good job of controlling oil. After applying this powder, my skin looks really matte and healthy and grease-free. On me, it lasts about four to five hours before my skin starts to get a bit shiny, which I'm fine with, since the powder doesn't cake or sit on my face. Also, I tried applying the powder with a sponge instead of the awful puff it comes with, and the sponge is ten times better. With a sponge, the powder isn't visible on my face, so if you're planning on buying this, toss out the puff because it's useless and picks up way too much powder.

On the whole, I didn't fall instantly in love with this powder, but I think it does a good job of doing its purpose: controlling oil. It hasn't broken me out (yet), and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't. I think I just have to keep playing around with it a bit, but I think this product has a lot of potential to possibly reach Holy Grail status!