MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder - Review

I'm a total sucker for MAC stuff. My collection is at least 60% MAC, and I still get all excited about future launches. The one place I don't really have a full MAC collection is foundations and powders. I don't really know why - I've tried a few MAC foundations, and liked them well enough. I really like Blot powder, as well, but I just don't ever think to use it. I've been dying, however, to get my grubby hands on the Studio Careblend Pressed Powder since it debuted earlier this year. To keep myself out of trouble, I don't venture near MAC counters or stores (the last time I did, my bank account was about $150 lighter than it had been), so I had rely on swapping. Finally, I was able to swap for Studio Careblend Pressed Powder in Light Plus.

This powder retails for $23.00. Packaged in the standard black compact, with a mirror inside the lid, there's nothing very ground breaking here. MAC says:

Formulated to provide a smooth, virtually invisible, fresh-looking finish, this soft, cream-like powder is carefully blended to provide the skin with extra care, nourishment and comfort.

In all honesty, this powder doesn't feel creamy at all. Maybe I associate "creamy" with moist (what an unpleasant word that is), but it just feels like any other powder. Light Plus is very, very, yellow on me. Almost to the point that it's not a great match for me, a light NC15 (I have a feeling I'd be more of a neutral match in most MAC foundations.

The bottom swatch is not blended, while I did blend some in above it. As you can see, it does blend well using my finger, so with a brush, it's even better. It does provide very light coverage, more than Blot does, and I've heard some say they really like to set tinted moisturizers with this, because it boosts the coverage just a bit. Since I'm currently using the Tarte Amazonian Clay foundation, I thought I'd like the extra coverage, but it just doesn't appear to add anything on my face.

This powder isn't geared towards my skin type, I think. I've been told I have dehydrated skin that manifests itself as being oily (which both makes sense, and doesn't make any sense), and this powder doesn't seem to hold up to oils at all. I have to blot within hours of applying. I've tried pressing the powder in with a powder sponge, with a brush, and then just brushing it on. Nothing seems to make it defeat my t-zone's oil attack. I can't fault the product, though, since it's not really designed to be a blotting powder.

I was curious about the "comfort" aspect of the claims, wondering if this powder would address the surface redness of my cheeks. It didn't, but since MAC didn't make any claims that it would, I also can't fault the powder in this respect, however, the yellow-tone didn't really do much for my skin, either.

Overall, I won't buy this in the future. I'll keep this until winter, when my skin is a touch drier, to see how I feel, but... I'm not a seasonal makeup kind of girl. I want products that work 365 days a year, not 2 or 3 months a year.