My MAC Blot Powder and I have a love-hate relationship. Somedays, I swear its my best friend --most days, I swear it hates me. It makes my skin look cakey, as if it were applied by a Mortician. It observes the oil but so much that it makes me look dead. My advice to anyone before using this is to exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate!

I love MAC blot pressed powder. I'm NC30 and use Medium Dark. Sometimes I use it all over my face, over top of a tinted moisturiser for a very natural look, and I love the matte effect it gives, and keeps my super-oily skin fairly shine-free for atleast a couple hours, and even after that it's much less oily than days when I don't wear this all over. I apply it with Quo makeup sponges so that I can use a new one every day to avoid bacteria growth. On days that I don't use this all over, I apply it only on my eyelids to keep my eyeshadow staying put for longer. (I also use a couple drops of milk of magnesia on my lids. Combined with Blot, my eye makeup stays flawless for up to 8 hrs). The packaging is simple & nice - a dark grey shimmery compact with a small mirror inside, convenient for touch-ups, though I usually only use oil-absorbing sheets instead of re-applying powder. But this stuff doesn't cake, even after repeated application, unlike other powders I've tried. I've repurchased several times, and will continue to do so. I think it's around $20 CDN, which I think is great for the quality.

* UPDATE 16/06/10 - No longer use this. I think it was giving me minor breakouts. I switched to NARS Loose Powder a while back which I preferred over this (more finely milled, etc), but stopped using that too when I started using MMU (and stopped using that, now, too, haha). At the moment I'm not using a loose powder. continued >>

great product. very finely milled. excellent & highly variable color scheme. works like a charm in blotting oil. very economical for a product with all these great attributes. i used medium & it glides on with ease & is incredibly untraceable on the face. but like other reviewers, it is so ultra fine that as soon as the brush hits it, a lot of little particles dust the edge of the compact. one drop & this compact will be hard to recover. nonetheless, it is worth the purchase & the extra effort to keeping it intact. also, is an excellent & much cheaper alternative to g.armani's $44 pressed powder, though a hint of the dewiness from the armani's lsf may be hindered--but only a smidge. continued >>

This powder is awesome never makes me look cakey at all. I have it in Medium/Dark (I'm NC35) The price is a tad high but it's MAC and the packaging is nice so it's worth it. My only complaint is the powder is soooo FRADUAL so if you are prone to dropping things like I am you may want to look into getting the loose blot. There is no oil in this powder what so ever so if you drop it it may shatter into a millon little pieces. I'll defintely repurcahse this! Some of you may have heard NYC pressed powder is a low end dupe of this...well you heard wrong!!! MAC blot is so finely milled it is virtually undectable while NYC left me looking all chalky...the NYC packaging is U-G-L-Y too...sorry I'm a snob hahaha I'll stick to MAC!

Picture: MAC Blot Powder (pressed compact). If the picture above isn't working, you can find it mirrored at http://mac.larahill.com/swatch/displayimage.php?pos=-66


Blot powder is one of the rockstar products in MAC's product line-up - a very sheerly pigmented (between 2 and 5%)fine powder milled to have a dull appearance, it works like a regular setting powder but imparts a matte look to the skin. If applied with a powder brush the matte effect is tempered with a little natural luminescence, and when applied with a puff will give a full powdery matte retro finish. 

The pressed compact comes with a little MAC velour puff (as pictured above) which I'd only suggest as an emergency touch-up puff as the soft velour side is still a little coarse, and it can drop a little more powder than necessary onto the skin. I use it to touch up my T-zone during the day by gently patting it onto the powder, shaking off any excess then applying to my skin in a press and roll action - the rolling movement presses the powder more firmly into the skin, similar to how a kabuki brush works mineral powder into the skin.


If you apply it normally the chances of caking are minimal, but if you totally pack it on then you'd get some creasing and caking around the nose and mouth. Your best method of attack is to apply it with a powder brush when you first apply your make-up, then do invisible touch-ups with a scant bit of product during the day. If you're an oil queen, pair Blot powder with a little handbag pack of powder-free blotting papers and you'll be prepared to face the day.


I use a lot of blotting powders in my make-up kit, and this is still one of my favourites. It gives an instant matte effect without the heavy masking that can come from a lot of professional blotting products that tend to be blotting first, believable second, and the sheer neutral pigmentation of Blot means that you don't need to add in the extra drama of working out if you need a cool or warm powder.


Blot powder is also fantastic if you use a body illuminator (i.e Scott Barnes Body Bling) and want to lessen the chance of the sparkle rubbing off onto your clothes - dust Blot powder where the edges of your clothes would be, let it settle for a minute or two and then get dressed. I've also used it as a very quick cheat on blonde models who have a bit of regrowth and are a bit oily around the roots. Pick up a bit of medium-dark blot powder on a medium powder puff, then press and roll it along the hairline or part. Give it a second to settle, then gently comb with a wide-tooth comb. Voilą! Temporarily hidden bad hair. :)


If you're oily, this powder and a packet of powder-free blotting papers will keep you trucking all day. For those with regular skin who get a bit of a normal mid-afternoon lustre to the nose and forehead, this will keep you nice and demi-matte all day. All I can say is try it, because it'll totally become a handbag staple.


INGREDIENTS (pressed powder):

Dimethicone, Silica Oil, Kaolin, Water (Aqua Purificata) Purified, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein Oil, Methicone, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut), Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Phneoxethanol.

May contain Mica, Iron Oxides.


INGREDIENTS (loose powder)

Talc, Silica, Polyethylene, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Isostearyl, Palmitate, Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract, Tritucum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Squalane, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Water (Aqua Purificata) Purified, Coconut Acid, Phenoxyethanol.


May contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Bismuth Oxychloride, Blue 1 Lake, Carmine, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Chromium Oxide Greens, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Manganese Violet, Red 6, Red 7, Yellow 5 Lake, Ultramarines. continued >>

So loving it, works like a charm!

I cannot live without blot powder! It controls shine, smooths out my complexion during the day when I need to touch up. Doesn't add extra, cakey coverage. The only touch up powder I would recommend for oilier skin!

This stuff was EVIL on my skin. Yes, the mattifying effect was good, but 5 hours after application my skin broke out into bumpy clogged pores! It looked like chicken skin, and I had to wait 1/2 a week before I could put anything else on it! My skin is normally *very* clear. It is a bit sensitive, but this is by far the worst reaction I've had to anything I've put on my face (including numerous random sunscreens, blushes, powders etc. Scroll down and you will see I'm not the only one who had tihs problem. Try this stuff at your own risk.

Although I'm rarely loyal to a product for long, this has been one of my staples for years. Its near perfect as far as I am concerned. Sheer, doesn't cake or build up, and blots up the oil on my very oily skin. Great stuff.

I LOVE YOU MAC BLOT !!!!!!!!!! Nothing can beat this powder for oily acne prone girls. I've tried high end $40 pressed powder, Clinique stay matt (1 of the most horrible pressed powder) etc etc, but this one is the best. Never cakey and looks so damn natural eventho you blot 10 times in a day. YESSSS, I'm super dupa oily and serious acne girl :( How sad !!!! It looks gorgeous w my Bare foundation, too. It beats up the shiny shimmery part in Bare ezcentuals foundation, so it's more natural looking. Lovely !!! I got it in medium dark all the time, it's not even tan or dark suitable for light med skin tone. I'd like to try DARK shade next time for the summer month :)