Let's talk powder. I have dry to combination skin, I'm almost 40 (not quite yet but slowly getting there) and I want that youthful shine on my face (you know, the one I had about 20 years ago and that just came naturally). So I have to be careful when using powder. I have drier skin on my cheeks but normal skin on my T-zone and since I have some signs of aging (read: rimples) on my forehead I have to use a light hand when applying powder to fixate my foundation.
I can't use mattifying powder but I can't use 'glowing' powder around my 'rimpled' area either because that would just draw the attention to where I don't want it to be. A lot of powders I tried in the past just lay on my skin like they were to heavy and you could just see it sitting there. And I do tend to use powder over my whole face, just so my powder blush has a base to stick to (you know, powder on powder, creams on creams) so it was hard to find the right powder. Maybe that's why I never took an interest in it. Usually I use a face powder until it's empty and than I'll go and look for another one.
During my week at the Make Up Forever Academy I got to test all of the MUFE products (which is like heaven for someone like me). I didn't really buy much at the time but I went back a few weeks later to get the Ultra HD foundation (post on this will be on the blog soon) and the HD Pressed Powder for myself. I bought the pressed one instead of the loose one just because it's less of a mess (and when I'm doing my makeup in the morning I usually haven't had a cup of coffee yet so you can imagine the damage I could do with a loose powder).
Of course I'd read about this powder before and almost every review was good but I was really scared of the 'ghost effect' on flash camera you can get with this if applied excessively. That was enough for me to stay away from it. But I when I started using it during my course I loved the feeling of it on my skin. It doesn't shine, it doesn't mattify, it doesn't look powdery and it doesn't sit on my skin. And I don't know what your day to day life is like but mine doesn't involve flash cameras so I am now using this powder on a daily base and loving it! I can honestly say that I never knew powder coul feel like this.
I do apply this with a light hand and a black bristled powder brush so I can see how much product is on there. And I will be using this when doing someone else's makeup. Like my teacher said "a little goes a long way" and you have to really cake it on to get that ghost effect (and you can always take a picture of yourself with a flash to make sure you didn't go too far with it). Personally I know I use less when I use a compact instead of a loose powder so that's also a reason why I bought the compact. And compacts are just easier to carry around, be it in you purse or when traveling.
The downside to all of this? All of a sudden I have developed a profound interest in facial powders, I even have one on my wish list (I'm going shopping in Antwerp in a few weeks, Antwerp is like beauty heaven to me) so I guess there is a 'to be continued' to the face powder saga ...
Where to buy:
If you live in Belgium you can buy the HD powder at the Make Up Forever webshop makeup forever.be or in one of there 2 stores in Brussels. The HD powder costs €31,12.
