Category: Powders

Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder

thealtruisticface

Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder gets a lot of hype on reddit. I think it’s well-deserved — for being so cheap, this powder provides some of the most complete and flawless coverage I’ve ever seen.

Sadly, I have a complaint right out the gate at the point of purchase: the shade I’ve most recently used, “transparent”, isn’t exactly, um, transparent. There are such things as transparent or transcluent powders, and this is not that — it is an extremely fair/ivory powder that actually will provide color. So I do kind of wish they’d change the name. Also, although there are seven or eight different shades in this line, it doesn’t get any darker than creamy beige, which obviously doesn’t lend to being inclusive of many other skin pigments.

For $4, you get quite a bit of product with this, and you don’t need to go overboard loading up your brush with powder to get coverage. It’s a pressed powder so you’re not going to get a lot of excess dust after dabbing the pan, which is always a plus. And, I’ve run my own (unintentional, actually) “break test” where I’ve dropped the pan on the floor several times — the powder is still intact!

Once the powder is on your face, the fullness of coverage is immediately evident. After another or minute or two, this will oxidize just a bit, and the color will become a little bit darker, but I’m also convinced that the oxidation process spreads the color out more uniformly, and maximizes the coverage. With that said, I almost recommend picking a shade lighter from your usual, but it’s not imperative.

Longevity of this powder isn’t quite as long lasting as the product label might claim. If you’re in a humid or hot climate (or the sun breaks through your office window for 2 hours a day and beats down on your face!), forget it: this powder absolutely does not stand a chance, and the breakdown will be rapid. In a true winter/overcast day, this fares a bit better, and will come close to the 6 hour mark of coverage. At this point you can expect a bit of oil breakthrough, or notably dry areas of your skin that make you feel like your skin will crack if you smile. Fortunately, it seemed like this did a good job of keeping my liquid foundation underneath set, even after the powder had clearly worn off.

But the coverage, though! It’s amazing. Too bad that this powder isn’t as long lasting as Rimmel may insinuate, and that the shade range isn’t better, or else this would come a lot closer to a 5. ~A

Buy this high coverage powder on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2I5fhyY

Perceived efficacy: 4.5/5

Longevity: 3/5

How much I actually like this product: 4/5

Recommended for sensitive skin: Maybe (won’t cause breakouts, but you may experience some irritation as the product dries out on your skin)

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Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls

thealtruisticface
Powder Palette Mineral Glow

This is technically a powder, of which there are four different shades. As far as using this as a powder, this is not great since my experience is that it doesn’t have phenomenal staying power (I tried both translucent, and beige when summer rolled around), and I did notice some oil breakthrough.

But as a bronzer? If you pick up a shade darker than you’re supposed to be, this is actually great. The coloration on light bronze is awesome — not TOO dark, but dark enough to create a good contour. No orange skewing, either! I love the extra “shiny” boost it gives you. Now granted, the longevity issue still remains — if you don’t use a setting spray, the color will begin to slide off around hour four, and disappear completely or shift, uh, downwards onto your skin where it wasn’t before.

This is a $12 grab at Ulta, true to Physicians Formula higher-than-usual drugstore pricepoint, but it’s well worth it as the product lasts quite a long time in the compact (the one I’m using now is going on a year. Is that bad?) I’ve seen some Ulta reviews citing that people use it as a highlighter. I personally can’t see it. It is glittery, but not THAT glittery, so even with translucent or beige, I didn’t feel like it really stood out. As for people complaining that the glitter is only on the top, well, I personally disagree – I feel that it lasts through the whole container.

In the end, this is good looking as a bronzer, not a powder. In fact, it might be a holy grail bronzer for me. I do recommend that it gets used with a setting spray for sure, and don’t be too heavy-handed when applying since the color comes out relatively heavy. The colors also shifts over time, and sets into your skin a little peculiarly.  ~A

Perceived efficacy: 4/5 (As a bronzer)

Longevity: 3.5/5

How much I actually like this product: 4/5