Monday, October 5, 2009

New favorite thing: silica powder

I have oily skin. This is both a blessing and a curse -- a blessing, because oilier skins tend to show aging less, which as I get older is definitely a good thing. A curse because, well, I'm oily -- my makeup tends to break down and slide off pretty early in the day, I'm more prone to breakouts, and then there's the shine that I have spent literally years fighting.

Powder is an oily goily's best friend, and I think I have tried most brands' products to fight the shine. And -- hardly any of them really work. They do for a while, but eventually, the oil gets the better of them. MAC Blot is, to me, the best pressed powder I've used for touching up during the day, but for a loose powder to use in the mornings when I'm getting ready, I hadn't found one that I really liked.

Some of the makeup-type message boards that I visit have been showing raves lately for Make Up For Ever's HD high definition loose powder. Oily skinned folks in particular raved about this stuff -- that its main ingredient, silica, didn't make oiliness worse, stayed matte all day long and blurred fine lines and flaws in the process. It sounded too good to be true -- I've heard it all before. And at $30, I wasn't going to take a chance on a product I couldn't sample first.

But then, I stumbled on Coastal Scents. This website offers a lot of cosmetics at vastly reduced prices from department stores (or even drugstores, in some cases). And -- they have a loose silica powder. Same ingredient as the MUFE version, same translucent shade, but at a fraction of the price -- $4 for an ounce vs. $30 for .35 ounce. And they sell samples so you can try before you buy.

And -- it's all that. I now see what the silica hoopla was about. It keeps me shine free longer than any other powder I've used, it does blur imperfections as advertised and the translucent shade (which is a stark white in the container -- it looks like baking powder) doesn't change the color of my foundation underneath. And at $4 a pop, I can use it liberally. It's my new mainstay.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

This makes as much sense to me as reading a scientific article about quarks. Maybe less.

David Wolfe said...

Rodney, it's good to be a guy. Roll out of bed, shower, no need to blow dry hair. Get dressed, find shirt that somewhat matches tie. Easy. Brush teeth, shave, leave. No makeup. Simple.

Seriously though nora, glad the powder is working. If not though, you can be the next tranquillon ridge!