MAC Surf Baby Studio Careblend Powder and Skinsheen Bronzer Stick Review

This is my last part of the Surf Baby reviews!

In the Surf Baby collection, MAC have released two new kinds of bronzers, a cream bronzer in a stick format and new Studio Careblend Powders in tanned colours. I was in the market for a new bronzer as I only owned Golden by MAC which is very light and barely shows up on my skin. Originally I ordered the Skinsheen Bronzer Stick in Tan Tint because I'd seen some cream bronzers used by Youtubers and this one looked nifty even though I ordered it completely blind as I'd not seen any swatches or reviews. After reading about the Careblends, I ordered Lush-Light Bronze which is darker than Tan Tint so then I had a little bit of choice of colours that would actually show on my skin.

Read on for Review...

First up, Tan Tint Skinsheen Bronzer Stick. The colour isn't very dark, it is a soft golden bronze colour, a bit like the colour of toffee. It is almost matte which I really like as it looks very natural blended into the skin. I like that it is a cream product because even though it is nearly matte, it does give a subtle dewy/healthy finish which you don't always get from powders.

Tan TInt Skinsheen Bronzer Stick

Tan Tint Skinsheen Bronzer Stick next to Strange Potion Lipglass size reference.

Tan Tint Skinsheen Bronzer Stick

It is crazily pigmented! DO NOT swipe this over your cheeks, you will look ridiculous! The way to apply this is by tapping it onto your skin, blending and gradually adding more if you want. It does dry quickly so don't pat it onto one side and then go to the next, then come back to blend the first. It is best to apply and blend straight afterwards and repeat on the other side. I feel that you get quite a lot of product in these, they are bigger than I imagined they would be which was surprising. They are about the same height as a MAC lipglass tube. The product itself is over an inch tall when fully wound up. I can see it lasting really well. The product doesn't feel greasy on the skin so don't worry about that, it does dry almost completely although it will feel slightly creamy. You can add a bronzing powder or translucent powder on top to set it completely if you wish. The only thing I didn't like so much about these was the quality of the packaging (ignore the print), it just felt slightly flimsy and cheap. It isn't a big deal to me but it would have been nice to have sturdier packaging. Overall, I think these are brilliant and should be a permanent addition to MAC's line.

Tan Tint Skinsheen Bronzer Stick straight from the tube on
the left and dabbed and blended on the right.

Tan Tint Skinsheen Bronzer Stick

Studio Careblend Powder. From the swatches I have seen, both look pretty pretty but I went for the darker shade which I thought looked more bronzed rather than golden like Tan Tint does. I wanted a darker shade so I had a little bit of variation. Lush Light Bronze is more red toned of the two powders, it is a near matte finish but has some teeny tiny micro shimmer in it so it gives a bit of sheen when applied but it is very subtle.

Lush-Light Bronze Studio Careblend Powder

Application was very nice, they are so soft, creamy and blendable on the skin. They look so natural and flawless and feel like barely anything is there. They definitely have a different texture to regular MAC bronzers - such as Golden in my experience. Golden feels ever so slightly grainy in comparison, that is how smooth the Careblend is. If you are in the market for a powder bronzer, consider looking at these. If you have very fair skin, they *might* be too dark for you - Gold-Go-Lightly is lighter but darker than Golden which like I say is practically invisible on my skintone. You can blend them out well though so if a minimal amount is picked up on the brush, you might be able to get them to work for you but I would go for Gold-Go-Lightly over Lush-Light Bronze like I picked. I am and NC20 but am getting a bit darker now so I'm probably getting on for an NC25 now for reference. You could use a duo fibre brush to stipple them on and get more subtlety with them. I also think these should be added into the permanent line, as well as a lighter shade than Gold-Go-Lightly.

Lush-Light Bronze Studio Careblend Powder

Lush-Light Bronze Studio Careblend Powder applied to cheeks.



- Jennifer