Plethora of Powder – A collection review

This is like winter: it was coming, but took a damn long time. I took this photo back in October of last year, and I’ve since actually finished some of these powders, so this isn’t my current collection per se, but it’ll still be useful for the mini-review for any of you powder-review-wondering souls.

And due to my current Project 10 Pan, the collection hasn’t grown more than this. Yey me. Yeah…

Well-

Ok, I have gotten one powder foundation since this picture was taken that I justified to myself was ok because it was a foundation, not a powder even though I use it as a powder so it doesn’t count. Technically. Right?

Now for the breakdown (favourites are marked with a ♥):

The Loose Ones

The loose ones are always the most messy. But they tend to be the best as well, so I’m not judging.

powder makeup collection
  • [1] Coty Airspun Face Powder in Translucent: ahh, the old lady scent in the old cardboard packaging. These two features I love. What I don’t love that much is the actual powder – it’s very heavy, very talc-y, and very obvious on the skin. I can get away with it with a light dust all over the face, but people are baking their under eye area with this and I’m left lighting a candle for their deceased moisture in the dark circle area.
  • [2] Guerlain Métérorites Perles in 01 Teint Rosé ♥: I really like this. It’s an old favourite – old being figurative and literally used here. This lasts a century. The scent is also old time-y, lavender like, and it feels luxurious. It’s not as messy as a regular loose powder, and it does for the skin what I wanted the Hourglass powders to do (we’ll get there) – a pore-free, subtle radiance.
  • [3] Diorskin Forever & Ever Control Invisible Loose Powder in 001– I’ve been unfairly neglecting this product. It is very finely milled, the finish is very smooth and not a flat matte. It’s one of those that poofs away when you open the lid, so I appreciate the packaging because it’s great at preventing waste. The stiffer is a little small for larger powder brushes, I think the diameter matches the little kabuki brush it came with (not bad, kinda tiny), but its easy to pick up the powder through it, so it’s actually well thought out.
  • [4] ELF High Definition Powder – it’s really great for what it is. An oil controlling powder that’s trying to dupe the MUFE Loose HD Powder and might actually be doing a good job (can’t be sure ’cause I don’t have that one to compare) because it’s finely milled and great at oil control. The only downside is the white cast it does have. But for the 5 euros or less it cost me (can’t remember precisely), it’s great.
  • [5] NARS Translucent Crystal Light Reflecting Setting PowderLoose ♥: This is exactly the same as the pressed powder, only in loose form. The feel is very smooth, makes your skin look less textured, and controls oil pretty well throughout the day – better than the Dior loose powder, which has a very similar finish on the skin. This is even less matte, if I am to nitpick: it has some luminous particles that are not shimmer nor glitter nor individually detectable on the skin. The pressed version almost has a cream-to-powder feel and because of this it gets hard pan very easily, so I actually think the loose powder is the best, less wasteful option.
  • [6] Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in Translucent ♥: I like it, I really do, but I think I had too high of an expectation. I was prepared to be blown away, and it happens that I have tried powders that are just as good. This is pore and texture minimising, and I have applied it to actually make my face look less cake-y, that’s how smoothing it is. But. It’s not the smoothest looking powder I’ve tried. That’s the next one:
  • [7] Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder in Medium Light ♥: now this is some sort of sorcery. It’s like a ninja powder. The texture is basically seamless. If you happen to touch you skin, you feel almost nothing. the lasting power is remarkable. The colour range is ridiculous though – the medium and medium/light shades are the same, medium shade, and then there’s a very fair one. I just can’t put on bronzer when I wear this.

The Shiny Bunch

  • [8] Too Faced Peach Blur Powder: this promised to be translucent and it lied. I reviewed it previously.
  • [9] Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light: honestly, I don’t get what the hype is about. I think this is too shiny as an overall finishing powder. This is more intense than my subtler highlighters. It’s not bad, but it’s not the seamless, magical filter I was promised by all the glowing reviews: the shine accentuates skin texture and it’s not skin-like at all. The only way it would work would be for a “strobing” look.
  • [10] Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Mood Light: I tried the Luminous Light first and blamed the shine on that shade, but this is not much subtler. Honestly, I don’t like these powders. I’m probably the only one to say this, but they’re just too damn shiny. No matter how finely milled a powder is, if there’s shine, skin texture and fine lines will be accentuated – it’s just part of it. And I can live with that with highlighters because they go on a very small area of the face. But for an all over powder, it’s too much.
  • [11] Guerlain Météorites Compact Powder in 3 Medium: this was selected for my Project 10 Pan (there will be a lot of links to that post in this one, so get ready). It’s very similar to it’s Perles [2] counterpart, maybe slightly shinier, but harder and messier to use because it breaks apart.
  • [12] Nars Light Reflecting Setting Powder – Pressed in Crystal: used to be a favourite until I tried the loose version [5] . This is still great if you prefer a compact, but beware of what brush you use – and if it’s clean – because this creates that hard pan very easily.
  • [13] Milani Prep+Set+Glow Illuminating Transparent Powder in 02 ♥: this is supposedly a dupe for the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders. Let me tell you: it’s not. I actually like this one. The finish isn’t a flat matte – it looks like skin – and it holds up pretty well throughout the day.

The Mattifying Group

  • [14] MAC Blot Powder in Medium/Dark: I’ve been wanting to try this since 2009 and only got it last year. Better late than never, because it’s actually a good one. For such a mattifying product, it actually looks good on the skin – better than the Mineralize Skinfinish [21] one. It will cling a bit to dry patches, so I don’t recommend it for dry skin, but it doesn’t accentuate fine lines and gives a poreless finish to the skin. I’m impressed.
  • [15] The Balm Sexy Mama Powder: described here, not much more to say. It’s just an average powder – sets the face and helps with oil control but it’s not the longest lasting neither the smoothest looking.
  • [16] Essence All About Matt Fixing Compact Powder ♥: Very good in it’s oil controlling abilities. There’s a bit of a white cast and the texture is not the best – somewhat powdery looking on the skin – so I usually put a smoothing, finishing powder on top and the combination usually works perfectly. I typically use the very bougie Guerlain Les Voilettes pressed powder, that I’ve finished and am waiting to finish the damn Project Pan to repurchase. Yeah. Perfection is achieved with the marriage of upper class and blue collar powders on the skin – now there’s a love story.
  • [17] Milani Prep+Set+Go Transparent Face Powder in 01: there was a two-for-one promotion, guys. That’s why I got this. No better explanation. It’s a regular powder, a not so effective version of the Essence All About Matt compact.
  • [18] Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 006 Warm Beige: already described in this post, but to summarise in two words, cheap and meh.
  • [19] Estée Lauder Lucidity Translucent Pressed Powder in 06 Transparent: I got this in a kit and don’t believe it’s sold separately. It’s nothing to write home about, a bit two obvious and too flat on the skin.
  • [20] elf Complexion Perfection Powder ♥: I love the fact that it actually works to even out the skintone. The effect is small but noticeable – the different shades balance out different colouring in my complexion, and it’s good at keeping oils at bay. It is a bit powdery looking though, so I suggest moderation in the amount used.

The Ones With Coverage

This is the seemingly almost done category. The SAD category. Most of them where selected for my Project Pan and are basically in pre-trash condition. They are basically powder foundations that I use as setting powders – the ones I use as actual foundations will be shown in a foundation collection post.

  • [21] MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Medium: it’s just average. The finish is not “skin-like” at all, it looks powdery on the face unless you apply it with a wet sponge – that way it actually looks pretty good on the skin, and lasts longer, but with so many other options on the market, why bother?
  • [22] NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation in Natural: I got this because I saw it in Christine’s Temptalia Editor’s Choice Awards as best drugstore powder foundation, and this is one of the rare times I disagree with her. The texture was painfully obvious – it clings to dry patches that you would not know exist otherwise, and wears badly throughout the day, giving me a cake-y look.
  • [23] Clinique Almost Powder Makeup in 03 light ♥: I’ve been really enjoying this. I wear it on days where I have used a lower coverage foundation and then realize my mistake and decide to cover my uneven face some more. The texture is smooth, and the coverage is pretty decent. I think this was repackaged, but I actually got this one less than a year ago.
  • [24] Chanel Vitalumière Compact Douceur Powder in 22 Beige Rosé: another one in the project, and good riddance. Patchy and short-lasting.
  • [25] Diorskin Forever Extreme Control Compact Foundation in 025 ♥ – you can see it’s on its last leg toe – but although the colour was too peach for me, I will repurchase. I think an oil control product should be used, either a primer or setting spray, because this isn’t major at doing that job, but the texture on the skin is amazing, really smooth and poreless. The powder itself has a very creamy feel, and it’s not dusty at all, a feature that translates onto the skin.

The Tiny Stuff

That I only use to set my under eye concealer because I have no patience to try and cover my whole face a tiny amount at a time.

  • [26] Kat Von D Lock-It Setting Powder: It’s a good loose powder: blurs, mattifies, lasts. I find it doesn’t accentuate fine lines much. I think it would have a lot of success if it wasn’t for the controversial CEO.
  • [27] ELF High Definition Undereye Setting Powder: another recommendation that didn’t wow me. Like the Laura Mercier powder, I like it and it’s a good one, but I was sold on this like the only powder that didn’t make fine lines obvious on the undereye area, and I disagree. Honestly, it’s no different than the Kat von D, or Laura Mercier, or the Dior loose powder. They help disguise texture but at the same time the drier consistency of a powder accentuates fines lines, so they won’t disappear completely. This is no different.
  • [28] Everyday Minerals Finishing Dust in Sunlight: this is a sample and I was not interested to get the full size. A finishing powder should smooth out skin texture and give a little radiance, and I don’t feel this does either. It also doesn’t control oil particularly well.

The one I forgot photographing with the mattifying group

Because even after a year of blogging, I can’t get the photos right at the first try.

  • [29] Catrice Prime and Fine Mattifying Powder Waterproof in Translucent: another – you guessed it! – on project pan. It’s good at mattifying and lasts reasonably well.

I have enough powder for a pound cake.

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