Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Thoughts On: Face Powders



I've never been much of a powder girl, having had normal skin for most of my make-up wearing life and being a fan of the dewy, radiant look. However, warmer weather and (perhaps) over-experimentation with beauty products have taken their toll, and lately I've been finding that my makeup now seems to slide off on my t-zonehalf-way through the day. So, feeling slightly skeptical, I trotted off to the shops in search of something that would help to keep that oiliness at bay and set my makeup without looking too heavy or chalky.

I picked up the Maybelline Dream Matte Powder, in spite of not having been very impressed with their Dream Matte Mousse foundation, which I found to be really drying. Now, before I go on, I feel I should just point out a couple of things which may or may not have made a 'Review' titled post on this somewhat redundant.
a) I actually have no idea what shade this is - it simply doesn't say, anywhere on the compact.
b) I'm abroad, and picked this up over here, but while writing this post I have discovered that it's actually been discontinued in the UK. Fail. It does, however, still seem to be available in the USA, so I'm hoping that means that it does still mean something to some of you....fingers crossed!

So, you can probably see why this is not, strictly speaking, a review, but more a post in which I am sharing my thoughts on, and my experiences with my very first facial powder. 

I have to admit, my first foray into this kind of product hasn't left me feeling convinced. Unfortunately I did find this one rather chalky, and  having recently acquired uncooperative, blemish-prone skin on my chin area, I didn't find the two to be a good match. I'm sure this is probably nothing new to anyone who is a regular user of powders, but I just found that it clung to any dry areas and essentially high-lighted some of the bits I wanted to cover up, which is not what I was going for at all. I didn't really find it did much in the way of keeping oil at bay either, so all in all I don't think I'm that sad to hear it has been discontinued. However, it does get some pretty fabulous reviews on Makeupalley, so each to their own and all that.

I popped into Mac the other day and the friendly assistant very kindly popped some of the Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus on me. It's a product I'd been intrigued by for some while, as while I'm not a powder person I know that lots of people swear by it , and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. This time, I found that it did provide me with quite a nice finish, but when I looked up close the powder was just too evident on my skin. To be honest, I can't imagine it's possible for a powder to become completely invisible, which is why I've never caved in and tried Bare Minerals, even though I've been tempted by the fantastic reviews.

So I'm wondering, do any of you regular users of powders and mineral foundations have any tips for using this type of product? Truth be told, I'm not even sure whether they are suited to my skin-type at all, and whether I'm just trying to get in on the action with something that is of no use to me, but I do think there must be something about them as I'm not sure quite so many people would bother with them if there wasn't!

I'd be really interested to hear any of your thoughts, tips or recommendations in the comments below, as much as it shames me to admit it, this really is the one makeup product that pretty much bewilders me!

Hope you're all having a good week, only more one more day until the weekend now :)

xx

18 comments:

  1. I have actually never used a powder and i son't think I have ever owned one! I guess its mostly because of my dry skin and me worrying about a powder drying me out.
    I am intrigued about what responses you get :)

    Jen xxx

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  2. I'm exactly the same with with not liking powder to be evident on my skin, the only one i've tried that seems to keep my t-zone less oily throughout the day without looking too 'powdery' is the MAC Prep and Prime Transparent finishing powder. It's white and looks really scary in the pan but is barely detectable unless you're too heavy handed with it :)
    Anna xx

    onthedressingtable.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Hmm, I was thinking of going for a Mac powder but when I checked their site there were just so many different ones it was a bit overwhelming, wouldn't have had a clue which one to choose!xx

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  3. Okay, yes: you need to try Chanel Les Beiges from what I can see. You'll love it. Glowy, radiance, dewy look - check. Non cakey - check. Gorgeous packaging - double check. x

    ravesndramblings.blogspot.com

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    1. Sounds perfect, only thing wrong there is the price! Ha xx

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  4. I've never used powder but am trying to find a nice one which will suit me!

    Emma x
    http://beautyandrags.blogspot.com/

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  5. I've only just started to use it as my make up seems to just slide off my face by one in the afternoon! I'm trying one from Natural Collection (which I'm loving) and I also have one from Rimmel too x

    fabheadtotoe.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Those sound nice and affordable, maybe I should give some other high-street ones a go before I branch out xx

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  6. I think you should give bare minerals a go, my skin is too troubled for that though. couldnt live without my pressed powder to take away the shine. I think less is more, then the effect looks better. But no expert just my personal experience lol. :) xxxx hope your good.

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    1. Bare Minerals does sound good, so confusing though as there are just so many options, haha xx

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  7. I've been using my Bobbi Brown tinted moisturiser for a while now, so powders aren't something that I've thought about for sometime. A few weeks ago though, I was given a skin match with Bare Minerals powder foundations, which I fallen in love with. Best of both worlds? I think so!

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    1. Oh, you've twisted my arm, I've been umming and ahhing about it for so long I might as well just get on with it!xx

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  8. I've been using a powder since I started using makeup! I really didn't need to - I had about one blemish a month, and my skin was pretty even. It's just because my mom used powder when she had meetings or events, so I automatically thought it was a necessity in the makeup bag! I actually thought that everybody used powder: similar in necessity to mascara. Apparently not! My mind is blown!

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    1. My sister has always used one, but even watching her with it when I was growing up I didn't quite get it!xx

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  9. I tried this powder and I too found it dry and stiff and too obvious on the skin. Sadly, I haven't had good experiences with drugstore powders. I find that they're not fine enough and have poor coverage which means you need to use more. Since the powder isn't that fine they give you that powdery look. I love MAC's Studio Fix powders. They have good coverage (some people consider them powder foundation) and never look cakey on me. I also like Laura Mercier's Loose Setting powder. It has no coverage but it's perfect for setting, mattifying and helps with staying-power. It's soo fine that it disappears into the skin
    xx

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    1. I tried a couple of the Mac ones at a counter recently and they did look nce but couldn't decide! Maybe I'll pop back and try again. The Laura Mercier one sounds even better though xx

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