MAC truth and light magically cool liquid powder review

I got the original release of truth and light magically cool liquid powder from MAC's venomous villains collection back in October. I figured I'd wait and do a review when the product became part of MAC's permanent line, which it now is! There are other colors available as well, including:

• honey rose (Sheer rosy beige with multidimensional shimmer)
  
• cajun (Sheer bronze shimmer with reflects gold)
  

Truth and light is described as 'Sheer shimmer with reflects of silver and pink'. I personally don't see much reflects silver or pink, it seems it's so translucent that it goes on pretty clear with very slight gold shimmer. That is just the way it looks on me.

Swatches of truth and light (layered heavily to capture the color) :

The powder itself is interesting, it's extremely sheer and light. It feels wet when first applied, then dries onto your skin leaving a nice 'soft focus' effect that diffuses light.

I will start by telling you I have very dry skin. This powder feels great when I first apply it, but after it sets my skin feels a lot drier than before I used it.
I realized that the water content in this powder evaporates off your skin after the product sets, and it takes the moisture right out of your skin.
I don't like it because it made my skin feel uncomfortably dry after a couple uses. It did, however, keep my makeup looking fresh all day. This would be most useful for those with normal to oily skin.

To give you an example of how this powder looks, here is a comparison photo of me without foundation, and one beside it with only truth and light powder on:

I just realized the photos are labeled wrong. oops.

On the left my skin is slightly shiny from moisturizer, and on the right the powder itself covered a little bit of redness and added a very nice even toned finish to my skin. It did not cover my acne scars on my chin. It's quite sheer.

Now, here is a comparison of how the powder looks over foundation. On the left I'm wearing L'oreal true match foundation only. On the right, I added truth and light over top. Both photos were taken in the exact same lighting. AGAIN the photos are labeled wrong. sorry!

You can see how this powder really sets the foundation, and adds a very matte finish. It's matte but very soft looking, and really does blur any imperfections or lines. If you notice, you can see it took the 'shine' from my skin, the flash did not reflect off my face in the 2nd pic at all. Well, that shine was more or less moisturizer, and the powder evaporated the moisture right out of it.

Overall, this is a great setting powder if you like the matte look. Also, if you have any fine lines this powder is great to diffuse them. I would stay away from this if you have dry skin, because your skin might start to look a little dehydrated with continued use.
I also forgot to add this does not make a good highlighter for pale skin, it barely shows up unless you really layer it on. It could be used as a highlight on medium dark skin tones, then it would show up more.

Repurchase? No, this is not right for me.

Price: $35.50 CAD

Rating: 4/5