Epic Battle of the Mists - MAC vs. MUFE - Who won?

Makeup fixers and primers used to be "extras" that only professional make-up artists kept in their beauty kits. These complimentary products enhanced and perfected makeup application, gave quick results, high performance and were extremely easy to use. Us, regular girls felt like we didn't exactly need them and in fact it is only recently that good, quality formulas became available to the general public. Today there are so many different brands, both high end and drugstore, that offer various formulations for almost every skin type out there. I hesitate to say that they are absolutely a necessity for a good makeup application but I will say that if used correctly these little gems can definitively make things easier for you.


Both MUFE Mist and Fix ($34.00 for 4.22 fl.oz.) and MAC Fix + ($25.00 for 3.4 fl.oz.) have received a lot of raves from the blogosphere and since they are in fact very similar products I decided to try a little comparison experiment. Each of these brands have a huge following and consistently put out excellent products with high quality formulas but I think its safe to say that every once in a while there is a "dud" in the mix.
I am sad to say that despite its cult status and good effort, MAC Fix + was a complete "dud" for me and my ridiculously reactive skin.

MAC Fix + Description;

An aqua-spritz of vitamin and minerals, infused with a calm-the-skin blend of green tea, chamomile, cucumber, topped off with the fresh, natural, energizing scent of Sugi. Adds radiance, finishes makeup. Spray it on. Skin drinks it up

Ingredients;

Water, glycerin, butylene glycol, cucumber fruit extract, chamomilla, camellia leaf extract, tocophryl acetate, caffeine, panthenol, hydrogenated castor oil, fragrance

MUFE Mist and Fix Description;
This light and comfortable mist seals the make up and keeps it in place by coating the skin with a weightless and invisible film. The mist provides a continuous protection for the make up and skin against external attacks (pollution, temperature variations...) by creating a colorless and imperceptible shield made from active hydrating ingredients.
For movies and photo shoots, professional make up artists use the Mist & Fix to set the make up, hence sparing them the task of renewed powder applications. It also creates visible depth for close-up shots.

Ingredients;

Aqua (Water) Methyl Propanediol, AMP-Acrylates/Allyl Methacrylate Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Methylparaben, Chlorphenesin, Parfum (Fragrance), Chitosan Succinamide, Hexyl Cinnamal, Citronellol, Geraniol Butylphenyl Methylpropional.

I had such high hopes for the MAC Fix + when I first purchased it, especially since there are so many bloggers that swear by this and seem to be going on an ongoing "Other way to use your MAC Fix +" advertising campaign. 

It really didn't matter how I used this, my skin hated it from the get go and I even think this was the culprit behind a huge chin break out a few weeks ago. 

This is meant to be used as a refresher, makeup setter, toner substitute, hydration treatment and it is suppose to act as a finisher that provides a dewy glowy finish. None of those methods were successful for me and in fact I felt as if my skin felt even more dehydrated after using this even though the "fine mist" never really dried on top of my foundation. After trying to make this work several times, getting as creative as possible I finally had to admit that even though this seemingly works on everyone else, it is just a complete "dud" for me.

MUFE Mist & Fix  experience was and continues to be a completely different story! After the MAC fiasco I was expecting the worst but I could not have been more wrong about this inconspicuous MUFE Professional product. Everything promised and more was delivered with ease and the finesse I have come to expect from the MUFE brand. 

The alcohol formula feels refreshing, soothing, hydrating and surprisingly light on my face. The bottle design includes a great pump that delivers a uniform, fine spray that literally feels like a revitalizing mist on your face. I would say this is a very important attribute of all similarly purposed products since its essential that the spray is misty in order not to completely disturb the makeup you just painstakingly applied. The MUFE Mist & Fix passes that test with flying colors every time.    

I think at this point its very easy for you to see that the MUFE definitively wins this battle and that MAC fades in the background by all accounts. 

You really can't argue with such obvious results!

Have you tried either one of these mists? Do you have another favorite?

XOXO

ANJA

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Makeup I Didn't Miss Out On - MAC Crew Highlighter

I am always late for things! It really doesn't matter how much I try to plan things out, keep an eye on the clock or engage other people to help me, my fashionably late status remains unchanged. 

Its no surprise that I am like that in the makeup world as well. I cant tell you how many times I see a picture of a blush or a palette, fall in love with it only to find out that it was a limited edition...from last year! My vain soul dies a little each time that happens. 

To cheer myself up and distract my thoughts from all those beautiful pieces I missed out on, I decided to feature the limited edition items I was smart enough to get when they were actually released.

First up is the MAC Crew Highlight powder, which was a part of the Hey Sailor! 2012 collection.

The best way I can describe this for you is a multi-colored highlighting powder, composed of three shades -  soft matte peach, satin-like yellow toned pink and a cool satin-like lavender-pink. There was an off white over spray but that disappeared after a few uses and didn't really interfere with the intended color anyways. These can be used swirled together and also individually, as eyeshadow accents. The design is obviously nautically inspired and as usual played a huge role in my decision to purchase this. What can I say I am a marketing guys dream customer!

The combination of all three shades swirled together produce a faint yellow-toned coral pink, which to me is too soft to work as a blush but too strong to be a regular highlighter. The finish is somewhere between matte and satin, depending on the the way the light hits my cheekbones but can come off chalky if I over-do it. Either way it definitively has that understated feel and look to it so if you are going for something that 'enhances' rather than highlights then MAC Crew is definitively a good choice. 

The texture of the powder itself is very soft and looks to be very finely milled meaning that fall-out is minimal, blend ability is at an all-time high and wear time can be quite long (8 hours over a primer). I know that MAC released this as a highlighter but for me this is better described as a brightening powder since the finished result is extremely subtle and pretty much the opposite of shimmery. On my cheeks it produces a luminous soft-pink glowy sheen that looks equally lovely both during the day and night. 

Overall I am happy I got this when I had the chance because if i didn't i know I would have regretted it but I would be lying if I didn't admit that it didn't live up to my expectations. That awkward stage between a highlighter and a blush is mostly to blame. 

What do you think about the Crew highlight? How do you feel about MAC Limited Editions? 

XOXO 

ANJA

P.S. If you enjoyed this post and want some more Princeza Beauty Musings, please consider following me through GFC, Bloglovin, Pinterest or Twitter! Insert "happy dance" here :-)