Powders

Tom Ford Translucent Finishing Powder Review

by Reika on January 31, 2012

My quest for the perfect base makeup never seemed to end, until my most recent acquisition of the Tom Ford Translucent Finishing Powder that has really put my obsession to an end for now. I was at the counter with my friend wanting to buy another eyeshadow palette, and while she managed to get herself a beautiful new quad, I got sidetracked by the testers of the finishing powders. The minute I swiped my fingers across the powder, it was the silkiest and the finest powder I have ever touched. My desire for achieving the most flawless complexion intensified so I just became $100 poorer!

The packaging is tastefully plush – a sexy and masculine looking brown mirrored compact case with a gold magnetic closure embossed with Tom Ford.

I praised my love for the La Mer Loose Powder recently, on how incredibly light and silky fine the powder is. To me Tom Ford’s Translucent Finishing Powder is the compact version of it – it has an aero light and superfine texture that adheres to the skin like an invisible silky veil for a natural and luminous finish. I have been using the powder to set my makeup every morning, and it gives a shine-free and soft-focus finish with a better coverage than loose powder but just as natural looking. The powder diffuses the light to blur out the imperfection, and although a lot of companies have done the revolutionary “light reflecting” technology in their compact foundations/powders, Tom Ford is the only one that lived up to my expectation with such a lightweight texture of powder. It is also surprisingly long lasting and keeps my face shine-free for the whole day. Sometimes I use it to retouch my makeup throughout the day to freshen up, and it applies beautifully without caking up and looking blotchy. My only complaint is that the enclosed brush is a little prickly for my sensitive skin that has been spoiled by my Suqqu brushes lately.

I am using the shade Ivory Fawn which is the second lightest shade. I have also compared it with the lightest shade Alabaster Nude and they looked extremely similar in the pan! Even the SA was not able to tell the difference…Tom Ford Translucent Finishing Powder is available online here and here.

PS. I don’t have a swatch for you because it just disappears in the skin.

Updated with the Ingredient List:

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La Mer The Powder Review

by Reika on January 20, 2012

I have briefly mentioned that La Mer The Powder is my favorite loose powder in several of my posts but I have never gotten around to do a full post on it. Quite a few people have asked me about it so here is the full review.

I discovered the La Mer loose powder many years ago after this powder literally went viral amongst the Asian bloggers and on some beauty forums. La Mer is normally known for their skincare products, so had I not heard of this powder on the forum I would never have looked into it further. I am really glad I did and was totally hooked on to it ever since. Of course I have tried other brands during the years but I always go back to this one.

La Mer’s powder is housed in a heavy, sturdy glass jar, and it contains 25g of product, which is a lot! One jar would last about 2 years for me, and I normally get it from the US which is significantly cheaper than in Australia – it retails for USD$65 . I really think this is quite a reasonable price for the amount of product you get, for the brand and the superior quality. Of course it is still in the expensive category, but if you do the maths (calculate the price per gram of product), it is actually cheaper than those of other high end brands!

Though I have been using this powder for years, to date I still get blown away by how light and finely filled the powder is. La Mer claims that this powder is so incredibly light that it appears to float. I agree! Sometimes if the powder puffs into the air during use, it looks like “smoke” and the particles of the powder is invisible.

As for the finish – I love it! It is neither too matte, nor too translucent. I normally use this powder on top of a sheer foundation or tinted moisturizer. It provides a very subtle coverage that is just needed as a finishing step to even out the areas of the skin that your foundation/tinted moisturizer can’t do. It takes away the unnecessary shine without looking powdery and cakey. When it is applied, the powder is so finely milled it just disappears into your skin, so I even use it under the eyes to set the concealer. The finish is just naturally flawless – not too matte, not too dewy, just like a baby’s complexion with this natural radiance/glow that seems to diminish as we age.

The only thing I don’t like about this powder is the puff that comes with it. Having used the ultra luxury powder puff that comes with some high end Japanese powder, this one feels cheap and not velvety enough for me, so I always replace it with the MAC Pro Powder puff which is much better (but still not perfect…)

I am using the shade Creme which contains no shimmer and has some color to it rather than totally translucent, and my review is only for this shade. Please note that La Mer’s powder also comes in the shade Translucent, and I did not like the finish as it contains micro shimmer.

Bottom Line: The creme de la creme of powders!

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MAC Lightful Ultracharge Foundation Review

by Reika on July 23, 2011

I am probably not a big fan of MAC makeup…there are only a handful of MAC products that I love and will always repurchase them. One of them is the MAC Lightful Ultracharge Foundation SPF 25 Compact. Unfortunately it is an Asia exclusive product as this line is designed for brightening the complexion - since fair skin is high in demand in Asia.

This is the third time I have purchased this – I always re-stock them whenever I get to go overseas. The packaging is much better than the normal MAC products – it comes with an ivory white lacquered finish case that feels sturdy and weighty. It includes a mirror and has two compartments allowing you to store the product and the sponge seperately.

It can be used as a foundation alone or as a powder. The powder is so finely milled and silky smooth and the texture reminded me of the finest velvet. The coverage is sheer to medium so I mainly use it for retouching my makeup throughout the day. It blends into my skin perfectly without looking powdery and cakey. On the oily t-zone, this powder doesn’t look blotchy and absorbs the oil.

Applied MAC Lightful Ultracharge powder on top of Becca Luminous skin finish which is a very sheer foundation that has no coverage. As you can see, it looks very natural (doesn’t enhance any dry patches and fine lines) whilst offering a nice coverage and covers the pores.

A closer shot – there is no trace of powder on the cheek area. However it tends to collect around the edge of the nose, which is the case with any powder foundation.

On the left side of my face, I applied MAC Lightful Ultracharge Powder as a foundation on bare skin using the sponge applicator. The finish is pretty much identical to the above, except that it slightly enhances the dry skin around the nose.

Bottom Line: I love it for retouching my makeup, not as a foundation. Compared with some other compact powders that are on the higher end such as La Mer, La Prairie, Guerlain and Chanel that I have used, this one works the best on my skin type for a natural finish and good value for money. The SPF25 is an added bonus!

Some of you may ask how does this one compare to MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural? Size wise, the MAC Lightful contains 14 grams of product and the Skinfinish contains 10 grams. The texture of MAC Lightful is more finely milled hence it feels much more smoother and looks finer on the skin than the Mineralize Skinfinish. They both last about 5-6 hours on me.

In terms of shades, I am MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in light, and MAC Lightful in NC 20. They appear quite differently in the pan but once blended out on the skin they are both translucent.

The MAC Lightful has a yellow base to it which I believe would suit people with a warm skin tone better.

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MAC Lightful retails for around $50 in Australia. I bought mine at the Sydney Galleria Duty Free Shop which is the only shop in Sydney that stocks High End Asia exclusive products.