Powder : Beauty and Fashion Tech

Makeup from DHC Skincare: Moist Color Base, Q10 Foundation, and Q10 Powder

DHC skincare is a Japanese skin care and cosmetics company. I have been a long time fan of DHC skincare products, especially their Olive Oil cleanser (read previous DHC review), but until recently, I had not tried much of DHC’s Makeup. So I decide to change that and sent in an order.

I decided to try out a combination of DHC foundation and makeup products to see how well I could achieve a look using them that would hopefully lessen the appearance of my melasma, but without using a full coverage foundation. I found a good mix for that. These item also contain Coenzyme Q as an anti-aging ingredient. So you can get some double duty action out of them!

First off, I applied DHC Q10 Moist Color Base . This product comes in several varieties:

Pink: Lends a rosy glow to diminish yellow undertones
Apricot: Adds warmth to liven pale, dull complexions
Beige: Balances uneven tones for a natural neutral look
Yellow: Ideal for moderate redness and unwanted pinkness
Green: Helps conceal severe redness issues

I used beige, which was advertised to help even out the appearance of discoloration. I found that it worked fairly well for that. The base is a light beige tone that doesn’t really tint much, but does help lessen the look of hyperpigmentation. Despite the term “moist” in the name, It came out quite matte, which I liked since I was fairly oily at the time that I tried it. Because of its shade, I think it would work for fair to medium skin, but those with truly porcelain skin or with brown skin might not find it very useful. The base acts quite well as a basic makeup primer, but if you want a true silicon primer, try out DHC Velvet Skin Coat instead (read review). That one is also clear, so it works well with all skin colors.

Next, I applied DHC Q10 Liquid Foundation. This is a sheer foundation with Coenzyme Q10 to add anti-aging properties. I appreciate double duty products, so I liked the idea of this item before I even tried it. Once I did try it, I loved the product. DHC Q10 foundation is sheer and a bit moisturizing, making it very comfortable to wear. Coverage is sheer, so while this doesn’t cover my melasma well alone, I found that it worked well in conjunction with the moist color base. For those wanting just a bit of sheer evening of redness and such, this foundation would be a good choice. One downside though is that the container rather small for the price point.

My favorite of the bunch was the DHC Q10 Face Powder . In fact, this has become my favorite facial powder, replacing my previous and more expensive favorite, Laura Mercier powder. This powder has a wonderful silky feeling to it and it sits well on the skin without overly settling into wrinkles and pores. The container is also of a decent size. I love it and will be a repeat purchaser.

Items from DHC skincare are generally available only online or through mail order. You are allowed to select four DHC samples with each order and their catalog comes with samples included, so it is a good mailing list to be on!

Popularity: 7% [?]

Cargo Blu_ray Pressed Powder

Cargo cosmetic’s Blu_ray line is advertised as designed for use in high definition filming. But they happily market to the masses, of course! I tried a sample of the Cargo Blu_ray Pressed Powder and generally liked it.

According to Cargo, the powder can be worn alone or over makeup. It contains photochromatic pigments to keep color consistent in all types of lighting. Micronized minerals fill in lines and diffusers reflect light to camouflage imperfections.

I found that it wore quite nicely. I didn’t have issues with it accentuating lines and wrinkles and it looked quite nice over my foundation. Overall, I say this one is a keeper!

I also tried a lip gloss from the Cargo Blu_ray Lip Gloss Quad and loved it! For more on that, see my review over at Girl Gloss.

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Popularity: 16% [?]

Maybelline Mineral Power Powder Foundation

Maybelline has done an impressive job entering the mineral makeup market. Their Mineral Power liquid foundation (read review) is one of the few liquids branded as a mineral foundation in the drugstore price range. With its Mineral Power Powder Foundation, Maybelline has done a nice job of providing a good basic powder foundation in a wide variety of shades.

Maybelline advertises their mineral makeup as talc free, but they do not mention bismuth. I did not see it on my ingredient list of the one that I purchased, but I have seen others report that they saw it listed as one of the “may contain” ingredients.

The number of shades is quite nice. Women with pale skin like mine up to dark brown skin shades will find something that works for them in this line. The range really is quite impressive.

The downside to the powder seems to be for those with oily skin. For example, Makeup Moxie tried it and found that it didn’t quite cut it–she got oily not too long after applying it. I too found that it didn’t really absorb oil well when I wore it on an oily day.

However, when I used Mineral Power on my drier days, it worked quite well. I did not experience issues with it settling into lines and wrinkles and it never looked flaky.

Coverage with this one is light to medium. I found that it covers redness fine, but it didn’t really hide my areas of melasma and hyperpigmentation. So if you have pigmentation that you want to hide, this one might not be quite enough.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Nars Makeup Technique Video: A Healthy Radiant Complexion

Nars is releasing a set of short makeup technique videos. In this first one, you can learn how to use Nars foundation, powder, and bronzer.

Nars Makeup Technique Video: A Healthy Radiant Complexion

Note the application of the bronzer in a number 3 movement. This is the best way to apply bronzer and the video shows it very well.

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Popularity: 27% [?]

Powder Sunscreens, Full Spectrum Protection That Won’t Ruin Your Makeup

Regular application and reapplication of sunscreen should be an essential part of any beauty routine, but it can also be problematic when wearing makeup. That sunscreen that you applied this morning needs to be reapplied part way through the day, yet you don’t want to ruin your full face of makeup. What to do? The answer lies in powder sunscreen.

Powder sunscreens generally consist of titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, or both. These are wonderful sunscreens because they provide physical blocking of the full spectrum of the sun’s rays. Unlike chemical blockers, they will not break down in sunlight, meaning that they last longer, and the full spectrum protection keeps you completely protected. Because they come in powder form, they also can be applied over makeup without ruining your look.

There are a number of good items out there. In particular, take a look at your favorite mineral foundation or finishing powder. Chances are, it has an SPF factor. So, most mineral makeup can be applied as a powder sunscreen. But since mineral foundations do not always have a listed SPF rating or are formulated for more coverage than a person might want to apply, a formulation intended purely for use as a sunscreen may be desired. Below are several recommended items. Many of these are fairly high in price, but I have found that so little is needed for an application that they last a very long time.

* Colorscience Sunforgettable Powder Sunscreen is packaged in easy to use tubes, complete with a pop-up brush. The powder is so fine that you barely notice it, and it is available in both Almost Clear and Perfectly Clear versions. It provides SPF 30 coverage. Read Previous Review.

* Jane Iredale Powder-Me SPF 30 Dry Sunscreen comes in both Translucent and Tanned versions. This one has a sponge application and includes a mirror.

* iS Clinical SPF 20 Powder Sunscreen - Translucent (pictured) provides SPF 20 coverage and comes with its own pop-up brush. A medium tinted version is also available.

* Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF 30 is another one with a prepackaged brush and SPF 30. Available in translucent.

Looking for some more options? Comparison Shop for Powder Sunscreen.

Popularity: 21% [?]

New From Benefit Cosmetics: Powderflage

Benefit cosmetics has a new powder concealer, powderflage, that looks lovely. From the website:

For camouflaging dark circles & fines lines, powderflage is fast, easy, light & breezy! Virtually weightless, this silky, light pink powder magically camouflages & diffuses. The “flager” brush conceals in 2 quick strokes.

Tips and tricks: With “flager” brush, sweep powderflage over dark circles or lines you want to diffuse. Use alone or over makeup.

Now, you can get free shipping with a purchase through August 26 if bought through the Benefit store. Enter PWDRFLGE at checkout.

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Popularity: 13% [?]

Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Pressed Powder

Peter Thomas Roth is generally known for their excellent skin care products instead of cosmetics. But now they have a nice combo cosmetic/skin care powder, Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Pressed Powder. It also had an appearance in the Get Smart movie, starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway.

From the company:

The new powder is lightweight, translucent and instantly improves the overall look of the skin while delivering anti-aging peptides and neuropeptides, which helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and deep wrinkles. The powder blends seamlessly for a flawless, luminous finish, helping skin retain moisture while working to set makeup. The key anti-aging ingredient behind the product is SYN-AKE – a synthetic neuropeptide that mimics the wrinkle relaxing properties of snake venom from the Brazilian Viper.

I gave it a try and found it to be pretty nice. The powder is finely milled and goes on smooth. The black compact is also attractive, with a flip up compartment for the pad and an interior mirror. So as a powder alone, it is rather nice–that it also has anti-aging properties is a bonus! Overall, it is nice stuff!

Comparison Shop for Peter Thomas Roth Skin Care

Popularity: 8% [?]