I used this in high school and stopped only because I became so frustrated with the powder breaking and having to throw it away. However, I recently remembered how much I loved it and decided to try again. Just as before, I love this foundation! Unlike high school, I will not be trying to carry this around in my purse where it will break. This creates a beautiful, natural finish and makes my skin look fantastic! One suggestion - it looks a little too matte and masky right after you apply, but after a few minutes (and some blush) it looks fantastic - don't freak out at first, give it a little time. Strangely enough, it seems to look better the longer you have it on. Oh - and I apply with a kabuki brush, not the sponge - it looks much more natural this way.
UPDATE 7/11/08: I recently went off BC and my skin is torturing me for it, so I needed a little more coverage than the powder foundation. I bought the MN Luxiva Lasting Foundation and these two products are great together! I've noticed some other reviewers saying to stay away from this combination, but my skin is not dry so maybe that helps. I put this on with a powder brush on top of the lasting foundation and the results are beautiful, flawless-looking skin ALL DAY! I may continue to use the two together even after my breakout phase subsides - just makes my skin look so pretty!

Luxiva Lasting Foundation + Ultra Powder Foundation have been very effective in controlling my very oily skin and staying matte for hours. See my other review under Luxiva Lasting Foundation.
Rebekah

I have only been using this for a few weeks, and all I can say is wow! Thanks to all the great reviews on here, I ran out and bought it. It covers great, and really controls my very oily skin. I am very acne prone, and this has not caused any breakouts so far. The color actually looks darker in the compact than on your skin, which is something different to me. The SA had a hard time trying to get me to understand this, but she is so right. I actually like the powdery scent, but it doesn't last long. The compact is really pretty, a little vintage looking to me, but still nice. I like the sponge also. I will be buying this again, the price for me was around $23, not too bad of price for a foundation that controls oil and covers as well as this.

This stuff made my skin breakout and burn !! I went into merle norman and they tried this on me it looked nice so i bought it . I came home and washed my face and the whole side of my cheek was broken out and burnt !!!!!!!!!!! Crap ola

I love this powder. It has great coverage and good oil controlling properties to it. Better than any other I have tried. It has a smell to it, but I love the smell! It is a soft fragrance. The only thing I don't like is the packaging. It is kinda big and white with a gold strip. I'm only 27 and feel like I'm carrying around the compact of a 60 year old. I wish they would make it smaller. For this reason I tried smashbox, just b/c I loved the packaging. But the color was too yellow and the staying power just wasn't there. So back to my Merle powder. It also says on the box that it has minerals in it, which are suppose to be good for your skin. Will continue to purchase, b/c this is the only powder I ever got to the bottom of.

I use it with a brush for light coverage/shin matter (use with sponge for more coverage in problem areas). It's the only powder I will use. Looks so natural and photographs terrific. HG for powder

Ok I took one lippie off because of the perfumed smell in this product, but its not overwhelming like shiseido's powdery foundation. && because there are sparkles in this product... I notice this when the sun hits my face, not in regular lighting.

The verdict? overall nice on my nc25/30 skin. I went to mac first, but I found that their foundations have chemical smells. I used primer as well, that probably contributed to acne. Well when I thought about merle norman one day on makeupalley, I saw good reviews on this product, so I decided to give it a test run, the worst comes worst if I break out then I'll just return it. Nope, never broke out from it whenever I use it (which isn't often). Non-chalky && best of all... no orange oompa loompa. You would need some powder by midday though if your skin is like mine (combo). I use sunscreen as my primer everytime and I get amazing results. I suggest MAC's Blot powder in pressed form because it does not have color and it is great for touch ups. As soon as I'm done testing out Shiseido's powdery foundation with w/ MAC's Fix+, I will give ending results for that and then test trial this powder foundation with some MAC Fix+. I'm surprised this never broke me out since this contains quite a few silicone ingredients, and primers typically have nothing but silicones. Oh another thing is I NEVER use the sponge. For those of you out there that use sponge, invest into a brush that will do the trick better! Sponges feed bacteria unless you change it every two days. Personally I think the sponge that comes with this looks cheap and will crumble as soon as you wash it with alcohol. But oh the love of this product! =) continued >>

My search of my HG foundation is over -- Merle Norman Primer, Lasting Foundation, and Ultra powder = AMAZING! I have oily skin, makeup constantly slides off, makes me "luminous" (aka shiny and sparkly), or accentuates my large pores. I went and tested this out at 11 am, and at 6:30 pm my makeup still looks freshly applied and matte. I have been trying everything lately -- Laura Mercier, Revlon Colorstay, Loreal Infallible, Chanel Perfection powder, Makeup For Ever Duo Mat powder, on and on and on....... THIS ABSOLUTELY ROCKS!!!!!!

I bought this based on the rave reviews I found here, and I'm so glad I tried it. This is hands-down the best foundation I've ever worn. I have acne scars on my cheeks that I have never been able to cover without it feeling like I had way too much makeup on. This is lightweight, has great coverage, and makes my face look flawless. The ladies at the Merle Normal store listened to my concerns about color matching and found a shade (Cameo) that matched my skin perfectly. It wears beautifully, in fact, I think it looks better the longer I wear it. I never have to reapply or even touch-up. And the best part is it doesn't break my face out like most foundations.

I got this based on the reviews here and boy am I glad I did. The color match is perfect and it made my skin matte yet left it feeling silky smooth. (I have oily, acne prone skin.) No pore clogging ingredients and great oil control!!! The finish is fabulous.