Hey, guys! It’s been a moment, but I’ve been on a reconnaissance mission of sorts to find a decent moisturizer for my face. For those who are in the know, I had been relying on Ole Henriksen’s vitamin rich concoction for quite a spell... but it ran out and I wanted to try something new (you know me - wink, wink!). So off I went (virtually) to find a decent substitute and decided to take a chance on an offering by MAC - their Studio Moisture Cream to be exact. I’m halfway through the jar as we speak, which is not necessarily an accurate reflection of my enthusiasm for the product. But let me explain...
I knew that I wanted something light enough for summer, but enriching enough for fall as well. So after scanning the inventory and reading the accompanying reviews, I decided it would be SMC that I would take to the dance.
Arriving in an eggshell hued, logo embossed box, the 1.7 oz. jar itself is pretty straightforward in design - consisting of an opaque white with a contrasting black, rubberized lid. But it’s what’s on the inside that really counts...
Off-white in color, the Studio Cream has a nice consistency - thick and stable, but not too dense feeling. Almost pudding-like. And it has a light, docile fragrance, so those sensitive to smells should not find this off putting at all. It spreads nicely, too. Again, it has a light feeling when applying to the face with no shine or greasy residue to speak of, which I found to be nice since my face does not like “heavy” at all. My face did feel moisturized; however, it is noticeably lighter than my Ole and I feared that it perhaps wouldn’t be moisturizing enough as a result. And so I tried it both day and night for several weeks to see how my skin would fare.
The first couple of weeks went OK. I had no breakouts and my skin felt hydrated enough. I thought, “Hey, I think I found my new moisturizer!” But my excitement quickly waned as I started to experience a small, sporadic bump or two on each cheek. Though benign, it still gave me pause and I figured I would have to go back to the drawing board. And then they stopped.
Fast forward to now and all I can say is that I like it enough to finish it, but not sure if it is THE ONE. I haven’t had any more breakouts as of recent and my skin does feel good, but... I’m not over the moon about it, you know? I guess it’s doing its job, even though I have an occasional dry patch here and there after applying, but... *sigh* I dunno. And it is this ambivalence that has fueled me to keep looking.
So keep looking, I shall. I already have my eye on the next contender and will be sure to give you guys the scoop once I get the full deets on whether my skin approves... or not!
MAC Studio Moisture Cream can be found at Nordstrom and MACcosmetics(.)com, and retails for $33/1.7 fl oz.
