This is a perfect powder foundation, but I do not use it as a foundation. I use it a touch up compact during the day. It does not cake on like other powders. I will always have this in my purse at all times.

I think that this foundation is beautiful, and I love the way it looks and feels. I also love the smell, and do not find it to be unbearable. I wear Ultra Ivory, and it is a perfect match for my skin.....it blends right in. MN always has a very beautiful and realistic selection of colors...the best of any brand that I've found. However, I have a brand new compact that has barely been used, and the powder in it is broken. I was not rough with it in any way and it still broke so I am applying it with a brush, but it ends up getting all over my counter. Other than that, I love this powder!

I've used MN products for almost 40 years - - - this Foundation is my HG. Along with the Lasting Foundation - this is what I use every day - perfect coverage!

Great coverage!

To start off, I love Merle Norman. My mother has used Merle Norman since she was a teenager and has always had so many compliments on her skin and the inherent sunscreen (before adding sunscreen was cool) in their foundations have kept her skin looking very young. The foundations are wonderful, and I have never found light enough shades anywhere else.

Regarding this product, it's wonderful! I'm mostly in love with the ease . I'd been using Bare Minearls for awhile, but it was time consuming. This stuff is so quick and easy. It seems to work even BETTER if you are in hot sweaty climates, have oily skin or love to use moisturizers. Really, I've loved every foundation from MN that I have ever tried.

Merle Normal never breaks me out, has built-in sunscreen and has very good color selection. It's so overlooked! I get compliments on my skin all the time when I wear anything from MN. It's hard to convince other people to try for some reason. Now it's like having a secret weapon!

Well, you all were right. This stuff is great! I am constantly on the search for the "perfect" foundation and I've tried so many over the years. As I'm entering middle age (yikes!) and my skin has been acting up - sometimes oily, sometimes dry and most of the time, VERY oily - I've been very frustrated.This covers like a dream, feels so creamy, but like you're not wearing anything and I only have to touch up maybe once during the day and that's in the heat of the summer here in Missouri! That's saying something! The compact lasts me a pretty long time as well.

EDIT - 03.12.13 - I revisited this product based on my previous experience. The smell is worse than I remember, like crushed candy all over my face which did not go away. I also had a difficult time finding a warm enough color for my fair skin, most being too pink. I highly recommend Palladio Wet/Dry powder instead of this. The coverage is comparable, staying power is better, no scent, cheaper, and the packaging is better.

I never visited Merle Norman before today. I have to say this powder is divine. I have never felt anything so silky. It offers excellent coverage and I can't believe the color match. Why did I overlook Merle Norman all these years? As long as this powder does not break me out I will continue to buy. I wish they left out the sponge and doubled the amount of product. Oh well.....

I use this as a finishing powder to set my makeup. I have VERY oily/acne prone skin and this product along with MN's luxiva oil control lotion really does the trick! I have been a product junkie for 10 years and oily skin along with acne have always been my worst enemy. I live in hot and humid FL which makes this problem even worse. I even stopped wearing powder because it made my face look caky. I've used many brands (high and low end) and this product is by far the best! First, I apply Sisley oil free foundation (my HG!), blush (I haven't found my HG yet), Merle Norman luxiva oil control lotion (my HG by far) and I finish off the look with a swipe of the ultra powder foundation over my entire face. I must note that I do not use the sponge supplied. I use a powder brush since I use it dry. No more oily face or disappearing makeup! Yippee!!!! Oh, the sent is reminiscent of baby powder but disappears as soon as you apply it. Maybe the smell is as strong as other people have described when used wet.

i used this more than a year ago so unless theyve changed it,this is my experience.even if you dont drop the powder will break.and it will spill out everywhere even with the compact closed onto everything in your purse and cant be brushed off.i bought 3 compacts and each time was more careful with it but it still broke.i dont even remeber the quality of the powder b/c all i remebr it for is the mess it made.there are better quality powders for less that wont break.if i pay that much ($20+) it better not break and i will never waste my money on this again

I was so afraid after reading some of the reviews about the overpowering scent that I almost passed up on a truly great product. I am so super sensitive to scent (just read some of my reviews and you will see what I mean). I can barely take anything scented because most give me a headache or mess with my allergies. I am as pale as they come (think Anne Hathaway/Rose McGowan). Very pale with pink undertones (a cool). I bought their lasting foundation in Cream which looks darker in the tube but somehow miraculously matched my super fair skin without any demarcation lines or anything. It's nice but wasn't quite enough for me since I like that truly flawless ready to go on television type look. I had heard that using the Ultra Powder foundation over Merle Norman's Luxiva Lasting foundation is a match made in heaven and it is! I cannot believe how gorgeous and flawless it makes me look. If you don't put on a lot of foundation (no matter how much coverage you need you should use only a layer then use a good concealer for the spots so your foundation isn't cakey) and pat this down over your foundation and concealer you will look utterly flawless. This is perfect because it's not just a powder so it sets everything perfectly. Keeps my oil at bay for hors and hours! I bough this in Ultra Ivory and it makes me look even paler then I am which is a switch (I usually look darker which I hate). I look like a porcelain doll with this combo. I am in love!!! But the best thing about this is that the overpowering scent I heard some of the women mention is barely detectable! I was bracing myself because almost any scent puts me off but wow. This is a slight sort of powdery scent that fades almost immediately once on the skin. I was totally fine with it and I am usually VERY Reactive to scents. This one fades completely. I love beautiful compacts and stuff like that so I also expected this horrible looking compact but not at all! Sure it's a bigger one because they give you more product and a nice sized sponge puff but it's a beautiful white and gold. I didn't find it hard to look at in any way. I am very impressed!