Doing the Dew With MAC Cream Colour Base in Luna

Dear 1990s-era mattes,

Enjoy your moment in the makeup world, my friends, because in 30 or so, tastes will shift, and people will be all about shimmering skin. They’ll even go so far as to talk about varying levels of dewiness… Can you imagine? I KNOW. It’s craziness.

Your friend,

MBB

As you know, I’ve been into dewy skin for… What has it been now? Years? And what has propelled this obsession to stratospheric levels has been the sheer breadth of different types of dew and shininess (yes, there are varying levels of dewiness).

One of my favorite ways to “do the dew” is to have skin that glows with just the sheerest, subtlest opalescence, and that’s what you get with MAC Cream Colour Base in Luna ($24).

Now, I realize that Luna looks a little like a stark and scary full moon in the pan… I think of it as a cream version of MAC Strobe Cream, but without the pink or gold tones. The color is a warm pearly white sheen sans any glitter or frost, and as long as you don’t pile too much of it on (because it’ll start to look harsh and obvious), it’s totally wearable. When you blend a thin layer on your skin, Luna reflects light in soft, subtle ways… It’s the polar opposite of hard, harsh metallic creams and powders, and it looks very natural.

Luna is most often used as a highlighter, but I think it also shines (ha ha ha, very punny, Karen!) when you layer it underneath other products. I love it as an eyeshadow base for neutral tan, taupe and beige powder eyeshadows because it brightens up your toasty tones a tad while adding the softest hint of pearl.

The overall effect? Fresh-faced, sightly dewy lids.

Side note: if you have MAC Satin Taupe, Naked Lunch or Era on hand, Luna looks magical underneath any of ’em.

Oh, you can also layer Luna with blushes, too. Yup, both powder and cream blushes. Dab a little on the apples of your cheeks, then tap your blush on top with either fingers or a skunk brush. Or, mix it with your cream blush on the back of your hand before applying from there with your fingers.

Luna feels like an ever-so-slightly thinner and creamier MAC Paint Pot. Don’t worry if it seems stark white in the swatch because you won’t see it sitting on top of your skin if you blend it.

Yes, because it’s a cream, Luna will scoot a little bit…or a lot, depending on your skin type. I’m combo oily/dry, and my dry spots like the Cream Colour Bases. They latch onto them for about five hours (maybe six in winter), and I don’t normally reapply them throughout the day because if/when my makeup shifts and changes, I’m usually cool with that.

If you’re oily-to-the-max, first of all, been there, done that. I feel your pain. Second, Luna will probably slip right off ya, but if you want to try it, you can still make it work by layering a primer under it and setting it with powder… You may be better off with a powder highlighter, and there are many great ones out there that are similarly subtle. Laura Mercier has an all-over face setting powder called Glow that you can use as a highlighter for a similar dewy sheen. Glow looks much warmer, though, because it has a strong gold tone, whereas Luna is a straight-up white.

Let Luna light your way! You can find it in MAC’s permanent collection, if you’re interested.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen