Mac Studio Tint Moisturizer; Review & Swatches of Shades

Mac Studio Tint; SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer

Discontinued for Fall 2014

Price: $34 for 1.3 ounces

Mac Studio Moisture Tint has been around long before BB Creams were in style. In fact, it was one of the best tinted moisturizers around for oily skin! Now, as the industry changes and technology improves, we're seeing the newest, latest, and greatest- some of which are amazing and some of which .....aren't.

When I was first comparing Mac's new (at the time) Prep + Prime Beauty Balm to Mac's Studio Moisture Tint, I remember asking the MAC artist which one was better. Without hesitation she told me that Prep + Prime would be a drier finish and perform much better under makeup. She went on to say how Studio Tint was only to be used by those with very dry skin.

Unfortunately, I realized too late (after Mac resumed animal testing) that she was wrong. I had to settle with about 1/2 a tube's worth of samples from my various Mac artists. 

Unlike Prep + Prime Beauty Balm which is a dewy finish formula that is recreated in some form by nearly every Lauder-owned company BB & CC Cream, Studio Moisture Tint was unique.

The finish of Studio Moisture is not satin, nor is it dewy, it's actually matte and that's not a characteristic often seen in products labeled "tinted moisturizer" (for obvious reasons.) 

No, Studio Tint alone was not enough of a moisturizer for the majority of people to use. No, the sunscreen in it isn't really enough to use alone without additional sun protection. No, Studio Moisture Tint wasn't the easiest to blend once it had started to set. BUT...

It was still a really great product to use alone or as a tinted primer. It was matte enough that it would cancel out any shine added from regular sunscreens. It was buildable enough to get light coverage. It would last at least four times as long as the other dewy finish options that actually hydrate and it would help makeup last longer as well by clinging on to your foundation for dear life.

Studio Moisture Tint wasn't a bad product, it was actually a really decent product. The problem was the way it was marketed. There was nothing particularly hydrating about it and the meager SPF 15 pales in comparison to the now-everywhere-you-turn SPF 30 & 35 products. This is (at least in part) why unfortunately, Mac has discontinued it.

If you haven't noticed by now, I don't handle change all that well and I'm really bummed out by the fact that they've discontinued it. In a few months, when I use up (or lose) the remainder of the samples I have, I'll probably convince myself that Studio Tint was my Holy Grail tinted moisturizer/primer (when obviously it wasn't.)

I think part of the reason I'm taking this so horribly is because I heard (I don't remember how) that Mac was discontinuing Studio Tint several months ago so I immediately proceeded to march into my Mac counter and I was told that I was 100% wrong and they were absolutely NOT discontinuing Studio Moisture Tint. Wrong.

Studio Tint may have only served a small percentage of people who use Mac's products but it was something different and it was great at what it did. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best at what people thought it was supposed to do which is it was undoubtedly passed over since the introduction of Mac's Prep + Prime Beauty Balm.

If you've never tried Studio Moisture Tint and you've been looking for a slightly draggy, better-blend-fast-before-it-sets tinted moisturizer/primer/sunscreen; you'll probably be able to find Moisture Tint on eBay in the next coming months. Luckily, it's not something that counterfeiters will bother trying to counterfeit because there's not a huge demand for it.

If you would prefer a more elegant texture and a more workable product, you may want to try Mac's Pro Longwear Compact Foundation SPF 20 which was released earlier this year and (now that I know) was clearly introduced as an alternative to the classic options.

 (While more expensive by 35%, Bobbi Brown's Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer is almost identical to Studio Tint so that's worth considering as well if Studio Moisture was your HG.)

*For a Cruelty Free option, check out Tartes 12 Hour BB Primer Treatment SPF 30 which is also, far more refined and elegant that Moisture Tint was.*

Goodbye Studio Moisture Tint. Goodbye for good. I may not have fully appreciated or adored you when were here, but I promise that I will obsess over your memory for years to come and think of what could have been; if only we'd met sooner.

Mac Studio Moisture Tint Swatches of Shades
Light, Medium, Medium Plus, Medium Dark,
Dark, Dark Plus, Dark/Deep