For Bay Area beauty junkies (and visiting makeup lovers), a trip to the San Francisco MAC Powell Street Pro Store (45 Powell Street, right down by Union Square) is a must, because when it comes to beauty shopping, it’s an iconic stop, tantamount to visiting the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39 or Lombard Street… When you’re in SF, if your schedule permits, you gotta do it!
I stopped by yesterday to check out the new MAC Studio Waterweight Foundation and get some application tips.
Studio Waterweight reminds me a little of my beloved Dior Diorskin Nude Air Serum. It comes in a bottle with a dropper and has a consistency on the thinner side of the spectrum. It just recently arrived on counters, so it’s super new.
I talked to a very sweet makeup artist named Hannah (Hi, Hannah!) at the store — here she is right here — who recommended tapping and blending it on the skin with something like a wet MAC Pro Performance Sponge (MAC’s version of the BeautyBlender).
The Studio Waterweight release also features a super soft synthetic face brush with short, compact bristles and a slightly angled head called the 196 Slanted Flat Top Brush.
Oh, my gosh! — the bristles are SO soft. Hannah said that if you use this brush instead of a sponge, it helps to alternate short strokes with a stippling motion for the most natural-looking skin.
I’m testing Studio Waterweight today and through this weekend and will have more to say about it soon…but my first impression? Very silky and lightweight, which I’m excited about.
Of course I also had to wander around while I was the store (of course), and I spotted these MAC travel bags with matching mirrored compacts that say “MAC San Francisco.”
How cute are these!? Wouldn’t it be fun to travel and collect different MAC bags like these in different cities? That’s something I’d like to do.
What do you think of these big Zuca bags? I guess they’re supposed to be souped-up luggage for professional makeup artists (or hardcore makeup aficionados!).
WANT.
I’m not a working makeup artist, but still… Should I put one of these on my Christmas list?! I could use it to take my makeup from my office to my bedroom. Hmm… 🙂
Oh! — and this also caught my eye. Face and Body Foundation.
You know I love Face and Body, right? Well, this one is very striking because it’s white! Yes, white, and it’s white so you can mix it with other foundations to lighten them. If you have light skin and struggle to find foundations that match, this could help.
Up on one of the walls in the store by the brushes, they also have this huge, helpful brush guide you can flip through…
Very cool!
The Haute Dogs fall collection is currently on display in the store’s windows, and I’m kind of obsessed with this black poodle (I’ve named him Earl). I wish it was for sale.
Or, how about this other dog? She has soft little ropes for fur. I was very tempted to braid them (but I didn’t).
I’m kicking myself for not taking a picture of this one artist who was wearing the new Miley Viva Glam 2 Lipstick (I can’t recall her name, agh!). She looked AMAZING in it, and she told me that she was wearing it with Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Kiss Me Quick as her lip liner.
The combo looked beyond good. I’m definitely gonna try that one this weekend. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I love those dogs with the rope-fur! And I would probably have braided it! :p
This store looks amazing, I wish I had one like this around!
I need to stop at a Mac counter to get a sample of this foundation! I hope you will review it soon.
While I am not a MAC fan, I love San Francisco. It’s one of three cities that I consider amazing ( the others being NYC where I lived for 20 years before doing the suburban thing, and New Orleans). I still love hopping the train into Manhattan and pretending I still live there. In fact, I am going in to spend a day in the City with my sister at the end of the month. Actually, I have been thinking about the City all day today with sad memories.
Hope all is well with you. I am spending the weekend preparing for Rosh Hahana. Enjoy the weekend.
*Popping & smacking gum, obnoxiously, of course” You should’ve braided the pup’s “hair”. Looking forward to seeing the Miley + lippie combo. Not like I need another red lippie. But that’s never stopped me before 🙂
I’ve sampled the white Face and Body, as a fair skinned person. Super helpful!
Hi Karen,
Congratulations on your pregnancy, I’m so happy for you. I hope you are feeling well, you look amazing! I have 3 kids. A 10 year old girl, 8 yr old boy, and a 10 month old girl. It’s not always easy, but everyday they bring me so much joy, and are truly a blessing. Enjoy every minute, it goes by so fast! Well I just wanted to let you know that they carry maternity clothes at http://www.loft.com, I know you were on a Loft kick for awhile.
I think, no… I know that I would spend hours in that store!
I’m not a Miley fan, but Viva Glam is SUCH an amazing charity of course I’m going to buy it the new lippie! It’s also totally my color. I hope you like the new foundation, I’m interested in trying to go get a sample myself but the saleslady who always seems to be working when I go to my local MAC really doesn’t like me for some reason.
Omg I wanna get the mac zuca bag…not that I need it……I just want one haa haa. The Studio water weight foundation reminds me of the face and body foundation which is my favorite.
Why do new releases take place when I am low in the wallet? When I am loaded with my money, nothing appeals to me! *sigh*
I am super interested in the new Studio Waterweight Foundi and since you mentioned that it’s similar to Diorskin Nude Air Serum, I am patiently waiting for your review! Also, The Viva Glam is in my list cause it’s such a beautiful colour! xx
I have to use F&B white with every mac foundation! I might as well be a ghost!
Hm, that foundation sounds lovely. I wonder when it is released in Germany.
I like the makeup bags, but I just kinda wish they had done more with them and made them a bit more unique to each city – the only difference between the different cities now is the font color and name on the city, so I really wish they had done like starbucks and created individual designs for each city that made..
Other than that, i didn’t know about the brush guide! Had I known my life would had been so much easier – and money saved – when I was just starting out haha.
I picked up two samples of the Waterweight foundation today. I’m looking forward to your review and any additional application tips you might have. Love the MAC store on Powell. My wallet cringes when I go in there. Lol.
I totally bought those SF Mac makeup bags and mirrors for me and a friend when it first came out! The tote is too expensive at $35 though! Especially when we get tote bags for free these days.
I looked for the waterweight foundation the weekend The Makeup Show was here, but unfortunately it wasn’t out yet. Too bad cause show attendees got 20% off!
I found your youtube channel and i love alllllll your new holiday goodies and reviews. i was in san fra sept 16th and had the chance to visit this mac store… how cool… greeting from Fargo, ND