 |
Best Face Powders
Laura MercierPalacinka Product Rating Guide
Laura Mercier Shimmer Loose Powder Star Dust
Star Dust, pictured left (transparent shimmer/ for all skin tones)
Tester: West Indian (Jamaican/Haitian) about Sanaa Lathan’s complexion with dry skin and some uneven skin tone.
“How many ways can I say that I LOVE this powder? I became so addicted to the flattering and natural healthy glow that it gave my complexion that I used this every day! I started off each morning by using a little concealer to even out my complexion and then using a brush to lightly sweep the powder all over my face. It is a sheer, silky powder containing special light-reflecting pigment that gave my skin a gorgeous, glow. I also got great results by using a small amount mixed with my daily moisturizer – fabulous! Worth every penny and it truly works on all skin tones too!” A.N.
Go-->Laura Mercier Shimmer Loose Powder Star Dust
This product gets 4 "Palacinka Points" *
Don't you think your friend would love it if you told her about Laura Mercier Shimmer Loose Powder Star Dust?
Jane Iredale Palacinka Product Rating Guide
Jane Iredale Pure Pressed Base in Maple
Tester: West Indian (Jamaican) about Aiesha Tyler’s complexion with normal/combination skin and some hyperpigmentation spots from previous breakouts. Good skin tone.
“This is really a product that can do it all (concealer, foundation and powder) and do it WELL. It’s opaque enough to work as a concealer, very natural looking and matte, provides a natural foundation coverage and the finish is just like a powder. The color match, Maple, was excellent – just the right amount of yellow/orange to match my shade. It just made my skin look so polished and fresh every day. For my normal skin with occasional breakouts, this was the best thing for making my skin look great. It is just like bare minerals but less messy and lasts much longer...also great to carry in my purse, and it is also very easy to apply! The coverage was great, and it didn’t irritate my skin at all. During the day it keep my t-zone fairly matte, the color and coverage stayed true.
I like it because it gives you as little and as much coverage as you want and you don't have to use a liquid foundation with it. (I don't like to layer my face with tons of makeup). Now this is the only product in my makeup bag that I think I wouldn't be able to live without. I get beautiful, smooth and even skin and it looks so natural. For me, no other mineral makeup comes close to Jane Iredale. My search is over. More great pluses are that it contains all natural ingredients, it’s natural feeling, gives a natural appearance, talc free and No Animal Testing!!” V.A.
Go--> Jane Iredale Pure Pressed Base in Maple
This product gets 4 "Palacinka Points" *
Don't you think your friend would love it if you told her about Jane Iredale Pure Pressed Base in Maple?
Crème de La Mer Palacinka Product Rating Guide
Skincolor De La Mer - The Powder - Poudre de La Mer
Tester: Multi-Ethnic (African-American & Puerto Rican) late 20's about Zoe Saldana's complexion with combination skin and good skin tone.
"How many ways can you say lovely? This is a lovely, lovely face powder. It's nicer than other face powders (probably the nicest I've ever used) and it has the silkiest, light as air texture I have ever seen in a face powder. I got translucent and it has the most beautiful sheen to it. There's tourmaline in it (by the way) but the first ingredient is Talc (like most face powders). I used the Bronze color and it was a very nice match. It is beautiful over any foundation (including of course the la mer foundation which I also love!) The only complaint I have about it, may be the heaviness of the jar.
It is packaged in a HUGE glass jar which weighs like a pound (so not exactly something you can travel with). *Beautiful*!!! The particles in this powder are so amazingly fine. The powder glides on like air. This powder has the softest, silkiest, lightest feel and it provides the most beautiful finish to the LaMer foundation or any foundation I would imagine. It compliments your face as it sets your foundation and does not sit on your skin like some loose powders in translucent. Creates a flawless finish. Unlike other loose powders where you can actually see "powder" on the skin, this loose powder just looks like your skin is airbrushed and perfect. So beautiful! the heavy glass container this comes in is H-U-G-E, so it lasts a long, long time! Perfection!" Y.M.
Go--> Skincolor De La Mer - The Powder - Poudre de La Mer
This product gets 4 "Palacinka Points" *
Don't you think your friend would love it if you told her about Skincolor De La Mer - The Powder - Poudre de La Mer?
Some of the Colors Tested:
Karachi Dakar Santo Domingo Havana Nairobi
What we loved: For almost all of the testers we used for this product, they remarked that a face powder has NEVER quite matched their skin tone as well as Real Cosmetics powders. The color range is excellent - going from light to dark and representing not only yellow undertones but red, orange and olive. The powders did not dry out our drier testers faces and they did a good job of keeping our more oily testers matte during the day. Most importantly, the powders did not give way to any ashiness or flaking. For those testers with excellent skin tone and not much skin discoloration, these powders offered enough coverage to be worn without foundation. Go-->Real Cosmetics Pressed Powder
Here is a tester comment:
Tester: Hispanic (Dominican/Cuban) about Eva Mendez's complexion with good skin tone and combination skin.
"As soon as I tried I tried the Havana pressed powder I knew I had found my perfect match! Unbelievable! As for the compact, it is a 2 3/4" square cardboard pan. It comes with a puff/sponge. The powder is smooth but not as silky as other powders I have tried. I forgive Real Cosmetics for this because the color matches. The coverage can be anywhere from sheer to medium. The wear of this powder is like a foundation. The color doesn't turn on ashy or orange on me either. Also, since my powder matches my skin tone, all the other eye shadows and blushes look more polished on my face." - F.G.
Go-->Real Cosmetics Pressed Powder
Wouldn't you love to tell a friend about Real Cosmetics Pressed Powder?
Some of the colors we tested:
Mountain Beach Laguna Heat Desert
What we loved: We had many of our testers who have, in the past, had a very hard time getting a powder (or a foundation) to match their skin, try this NARS pressed Powder. This is because some women of color have a combination of undertones e.g. orange/olive or olive/yellow that many other brands don't quite fit. Our testers were overall very pleased with the color match on their skin right away.
It's a sheer finely milled powder that worked all a very wide variety of skin tones. There were no problems with the powder cracking/crumbling as some powders can. We found that the enclosed applicator wasn't the best way to apply this product however - a brush or make-up sponge was a better way to apply this powder. The color just "melted" into our testers skins - making it look like their skin, but better.
The coverage from this product is very very sheer if you dust it on your face with a brush, or can be medium to heavy if you use a sponge applicator. We also found that this was a great product to use for those of you who are doing on camera work or taking pictures (e.g. wedding photos, headshots). None of our testers experienced breakouts either. This is a great product for when your skin needs a flawless look!
Go-->NARS Pressed Powder Compact
Here is a tester comment:
Tester: Hispanic (Columbian) about Sofia Veraga's complexion with oily and occasionally sensitive skin.
"In general I love NARS products because of the quality of the powders and the color pigments. I have, in the past, had problems with powder shades either being to orange, too yellow and not having enough "olive" in them. This was my first time trying the NARS powder, which I tried in Beach. Beach was definitely a perfect color match. It goes on sheer, and lasts pretty long time on me. I love the packaging, although I do have a suggestion for improvement however - I feel that there should be more powder in the compact - it seems like it goes quickly. I am a big fan of this NARS powder though, and I love the shade match so I will continue to use this." G.F.
Go-->NARS Pressed Powder Compact
Wouldn't you love to tell a friend about NARS Pressed Powder Compact?
Tarte Provocateur Mineral Pressed Powder SPF 8
Some of the colors we tested:
What we loved:
Never mind that the lingere-inspired packaging is absolutely amazing (see above), the performance of this powder is extremely impressive. This powder left our testers various skins silky smooth, hide pores, and lasts a long time. For many of our testers with good skin tones and not too much discoloration, there wasn't even a need for foundation.
Here is a tester comment:
Tester: African-American, about Vivica Fox's complexion with combination skin and some freckles.
"I love this powder. For so long I had been faithful to another big brand of powder but I wanted something better - I think I have found it here in the Guise shade. Man this powder is a dream. I like that I can also apply it wet for more coverage but most of the time I just use my big powder brush and dust it over my makeup to set it. Great great stuff!!" - L.P.
Wouldn't you love to tell a friend about Tarte Provocateur Mineral Pressed Powder?
Sue Devitt Triple C-Weed Pressed Powder
Colors we tested:
Nullarbor Plain Summer Monsoon Kimberley Plateau Tirari Desert
What we loved:
"What don't we love about this product? The texture of this product is light and yet provides superior coverage. Our testers skin looked luminous and felt light. The powder has a very natural finish, never cakey, doesn't change color and it didn't break our testers even with sensitve or dry skin out! The coverage is great too. For some of our testers who didn't have time in the AM to put on foundation this powder was enough to cover small imperfections and discolations or, at the very least, tone it down.
Note: As marvelous as these powders are for the skin we wish Devitt would expand her darker color range on these powders (think Iman to Alek Wek)!
Here is a tester comment:
Tester: Asian (Filipino) about Tia Carrera's complexion with combination skin and occasional break outs.
"This powder has now replaced my old pressed powder compact from a very high end Japanese brand, which I loved but it kept breaking. I wanted to find something that set makeup but didn't look cakey or matte on. Nullarbor Plain does this, plus it has a beautiful black mirrored compact. There is a very good amount of powder in the compact so it looks like it'll last quite a long time. Comes with puff, can't speak to quality of that because I apply this with a brush and only carry it with me for emergency touch-ups, really just to have a mirror." T.P. Go-->Sue Devitt Triple C-Weed Pressed Powder
Wouldn't you love to tell a friend about Sue Devitt Triple C-Weed Pressed Powder?
Sue Devitt Triple C-Weed Loose Powder
Some of the colors we tested:
Summer Monsoon Kimberly's Plateau Nullabar Plain Granite Downs
What we loved:
If you hate foundations, but you want to even out your skintone, this is the perfect powder! It's everything that our testers wanted in a powder foundation. It controls oil and evened out our testers skintone, and yet didn't dry out the skin. We loved that you can build the coverage from medium to full, and it made our testers skin look like "their skin only better.
It also gives one of the most long lasting flawless finish of any loose powder we have tried, and it sets concealer wonderfully! It's really a top notch product and a very good amount of powder for the price. A little goes a long way too!
Go-->Sue Devitt Triple C-Weed Loose Powder
Note: As marvelous as these powders are for the skin we wish Devitt would expand her darker color range on these powders (think Iman to Alek Wek)!
Here is a tester comment:
Tester: Multi-Ethnic (Mexican and German) about Rosario Dawson's complexion with normal-to-dry skin, good skin tone and some light discolorations.
"I tried this in Granite Downs. It comes with a cute little velour puff that fits in the tray of the jar. I love that the powder is yellow-based so it looks really natural and evens out my skintone. I mostly wore this without my liquid foundation on days when I didn't have as much time or when I was on a minimal makeup day. It feels really light on my face and my skin feels really silky and soft due to the nutrients added to it. I really love makeup that's good for my skin. I'm not sure what seaweed does for the skin but it 3 types are in this powder as well as chamomile extract (very soothing), green tea (antioxidant), and Vitamin C. I will definately continue to use this product. Also, you get plenty of product and it's not just makeup, it acts as a skin treatment so that's an added bonus!" Y.L.
Go-->Sue Devitt Triple C-Weed Loose Powder
Wouldn't you love to tell a friend about Sue Devitt Triple C-Weed Loose Powder?
 |