Physicians Formula • Healthy Wear SPF 50 Powder Foundation • Powder

Where To Buy?

mooneyes89 on 2/15/2010 8:42:00 PM more reviews by mooneyes89

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Olive, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

This is called healthy wear, but it contains talc. What an oxymoron! I would never put it on my face! same with the bamboo wear, I was so excited! but then saw the ingredients!

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*TOP REVIEWER* blog_antagonist on 2/15/2010 5:01:00 PM more reviews by blog_antagonist

Age: 36-43   Skin: Very Oily, Fair, Warm   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

This is good stuff.


About six months ago I discovered BeneFit's "Hello Flawless", which is absolutely amazing powder foundation. However, it's $35, and it has very little product in it. It's true that you need very little to get good coverage, but it still didn't take long for me to hit pan. So I've been reserving it for special occasions and using whatever I happened to have in my drawer for daily wear.


I'm going on a ladies only weekend trip, so I want to look nice. My Hello Flawless is almost gone, and I was really reluctant to spend another $35. I had seen this in CVS and was very, very tempted. But historically, I have not had very good luck with drugstore foundations, so I resisted.


Then I happened upon the reviews here, and decided it was worth a try. I picked it up at CVS a week or so ago, but didn't get an opportunity to use it until today.


I was not expecting much. But...WOW. I'd say it's completely comparable to the "Hello Flawless", if not slightly better, because the color is even better for my ghostly complection. I chose Translucent Fair, which is shockingly pale in the container, but turned out to be a perfect match.


The coverage is excellent, but it still looks natural. It's isn't chalky or flat, like some powder foundations; nor is it glowy or sparkly. It's just a nice, fresh, skin-like finish that stayed matte for about five hours. For me, five hours without powdering or blotting is pretty impressive. And even then, I wasn't a total oil slick. I was just starting to look a little dewy. If you have normal skin, this would probably keep you looking fresh and pretty alll day long.


It also did double duty as a concealer with pretty good results. If you have a lot of lines and wrinkles, you might not want to use it for that, but I have some fine lines, and it didn't seem to magnify them or settle into them. It did not magnify pores and imperfections either.


Now, I will say this: like "Hello Flawless", there is not a lot of product in this compact. I don't know how long I can expect this to last. But given a choice between paying $35 for not enough product and $14.99 for not enough product, I'll take the latter every time.


The SPF was not a big factor for me because I use SPF moisturizer under my makeup. But I'm a big fan of products that do double duty. It's nice to know I could go without the moisturizer and still have more than adequate protection.


Great little drugstore find. I love that! I've decided that it's ridiculous to spend the exorbitant prices charged by department stores and boutiques. Of course I have my staples that I won't give up, but you CAN find good quality, affordable make-up...you just have to be a smart shopper. And...a devoted make-up alley reader. :?)

30 out of 31 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

buggyness on 2/14/2010 11:03:00 PM more reviews by buggyness

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Other    

I've been eyeing this for sometime. Always disappointed in pressed power foundation, I just kept putting it off. Well, I'm pretty pleased with it. Not HG. If only I came upon this when I was in my teens and my skin was oily all year round. This winter, my normally combo skin is terribly dry and this foundation shows every dry spot. It does cover my nw15 pale skin really well, what I'd consider medium and buildable coverage. So, I'll hang on to this and try it again in the summer and for now, I will go back to using my creme foundation. I can, however, see this as being an excellent touch up powder and for my cheeks, nose and forehead when I'm out in the sun. spf50- heck yeah!
****
Update: I removed one lippie and will not repurchase. I wore this all day today. It felt heavy and chaulky. It gave my face a strange cast (probably the sun protection). Still, will use the rest of this as touch up and blotting powder. It made my skin, even after I moisturized, feel tight and dry as a bone. Although it has a much lower spf. Mark powder foundation is cheaper and feels much better on the skin.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* firesyren on 2/14/2010 4:25:00 PM more reviews by firesyren

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

This is the nicest powder foundation. An NC15, I bought 'translucent light' and was taken aback by the near white color of this product, in the pan. However, it does not apply ghostly, and matches my skin nicely. In my experience, this foundation applies best over a primer or light moisturizer. Without, it can start off chalky. I wear it over L'oreal's new studio secrets primer and it looks smooth and very skin-like, only "improved" skin-like. I use the round sponge included in the packaging to apply it, so I get heavier coverage. Then I use a buffer brush to blend . If my face looks powdery, I very slightly dampen my hands and press them on any overtly powdery areas once I've finished blending with the brush. Honestly, this has medium to full coverage, something I was not expecting, and it covers the broken capillaries around my nose, a real bonus. The natural looking finish and coverage lasts all day with the L'oreal primer, and the feel is not sticky, greasy, nor dry. When I used this alone or over moisturizer, I needed a midday blot and the coverage slipped slightly. I am thinking of abandoning all liquid foundation for this new PF powder foundation.

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* jse23 on 2/11/2010 2:29:00 PM more reviews by jse23

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

My new HG powder foundation! I absolutely love this stuff. I was so excited to try it and it did not let me down. I am super fair, and Translucent Light is the perfect color match on me. I put on some moisturizer and primer, and then I used my EDM Flat-top brush to apply this, with the EDM eyebuki to go over places that needed more coverage. Wow, this stuff has awesome coverage and a great, natural-looking finish! It did a good job of controlling oil for me, although I did bring it with me to touch up throughout the day. The SPF 50 (!!!) was just the topping on the cake for me. I hope they never stop making this because I will never stop buying it, especially in the summer!

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*TOP REVIEWER* Kim_in_NC on 2/6/2010 5:08:00 PM more reviews by Kim_in_NC

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

I've been eyeing this since it came out after Christmas and picked it up today. I am very pale (I wear SH/Carmindy in Porcelaine for reference) and the Light color was fine for me. What initially drew me to the product was the high SPF since I am starting to use retinols now. I'm also pretty lazy and powder foundation is my fave quick foundation.

I applied it with a flat top kabuki from EDM (over moisturizer/primer) instead of the sponge that comes with the product for a lighter coverage. It evens everything out quite nicely! I look forward to seeing what kind of coverage the sponge will provide but it's so pretty (hot pink) that I may use a sponge from my stash and keep this one as a souvenir.

I see no shimmer at all as previously mentioned. On my normal skin it is semi-matte and looks very natural. I do have some flakiness thanks to dry winter air and being slack about not using my Clarisonic daily but I think most powder foundations will accentuate that if it's an issue.

The packaging is cute but obnoxiously bright (orange with hot pink) but if you are searching for it in a makeup bag that certainly makes it easier to locate. There is a mirror in the lid and a compartment underneath for the sponge. It appears the sunscreen is mostly physical too so I wouldn't worry about expiration issues.

It retails for $14.99 which is a little steep for DS makeup but seems to be the current trend nowadays. What can I say, I'm old and I remember when DS stuff was reasonable. Get off my lawn, you damn kids!

18 out of 18 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

helinochka on 1/19/2010 7:10:00 AM more reviews by helinochka

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

I bought it yesterday at Bed Bath and Beyond store, it has coupon attached to it $5 Off, plus my 20% off i got it for $5 i guess. Powder is very soft and silky. I got it in Translucent light. I liked it. It is SPF 50, so i will go and i will grab more of them for myself and my cousin. Ingredients are very good in this product.

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*TOP REVIEWER* LipstikChick on 1/17/2010 1:04:00 AM more reviews by LipstikChick

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Red, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I have to say, I was so excited to hear about this product from a blogger's rave review of it, and I couldn't find it fast enough. I was a HUGE fan of the now d/c Olay powder foundation (God rest its soul, I loved it dearly) back in the day when they made cosmetics, so this new PF powder had big shoes to fill.



For reference, I tend to have normal-to-dry skin, and, while not MAC-matched, I think I fall into their NC or NW15 range (I think) ... I generally wear the 2nd lightest foundation in most lines. My skin, while clear, shows that I once sat in the sun with minimal SPF (read: hi, I have sun damage from years past, and it shows). Add to that my Irish background, which translates into a ruddy complexion. So I like my foundations to provide full coverage so I can have a blank canvas to start my face off with.



I really wanted to see how well this covered, so I used concealor under my eyes only, then applied the PF HW Powder foundation with their included sponge. My results were exactly what the package said I'd get: full-coverage with a soft matte finish (if I want glow, I prefer to add it myself).



After I was happy with those results, I dusted PF's new tri-color brightening powder over it (why not, right?) ... and my skin looks as perfect as I could ever hope it to be!



The real test came after a singing performance, because this product claims to be:



*long wearing
*perspiration resistant
*water resistant



Well, lemme tell ya, I sweat like a pig when our band performs (if you're gonna test it, TEST IT), and this TOTALLY performed! I am so loving this foundation!



It held up in a hot bar, sweat & all (nice visual, I'm sure), and while my hair was a wreck lol, my face looked great by the end of the night (at 3 am!)! Didn't itch, didn't budge, didn't sweat off.



I'm really happy that it worked out, too, because I'd been eyeing EL's powder foundation (the one that's the powder equivalent of their long-lasting liquid foundation ... DoubleWear, I think?), and this is half the cost, AND has SPF 50. Can't beat that.



The color range is definitely lacking for all skintones (I believe there's the Translucent that I bought, plus maybe 2 other shades), but for those who are, say, light to medium complected, this may be something worth looking for.



As far as the packaging is concerned, it looks sturdier than it actually is, but I truly don't care, because the product works. THAT I care about.



It's convenient, it's fast, it's more economical than higher end lines ($15 at RiteAid, with an automatic $5 taken off from the packaging), and ... and ... and I LOVE it lol.



HTHS! :-)

25 out of 25 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

netnut on 1/14/2010 4:00:00 PM more reviews by netnut

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

It's not silky nor finely milled and seems to be powdery sometimes, but not too bad. The coverage is sheer IMO which I don't mind. The sponge that comes in the case is not soft but not stiff. The design of the packaging is similar to Shiseido in terms of color theme (orange and blue). What I'm impressed is only that it has better oil control properties than DIOR skin powder foundation. The oil control is average for me as nothing can hold up oil on face more than 3 hours. I bought the natural beige but it's quite dark for NC25, so I will run to CVS again to exchange for a lighter shade, the translucent medium instead. This powder would be great in summer. YAY !!

Edit: Translucent medium is too orange. Now I'm using Translucent light instead.

10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Missy on 1/12/2010 6:04:00 PM more reviews by Missy

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Warm   Hair: Red, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

SHINY SHINY SHINY. Those are the three words I would use to describe this product. The box describes it as a "soft matte" finish, but it leaves my face glistening. It gets even shinier throughout the day too! The coverage is also really sheer, which is disappointing because it claims to provide full coverage. I applied it with the enclosed sponge, my kabuki brush, a powder puff, but it's just too darn sheer to cover the slightest bit of redness. I had really high hopes for this product and the packaging is ADORABLE, but it's just not good. I give it a neutral rating of 3 since it didn't break me out.
UPDATE: I decided to give this another try. It's almost summer and I need something to apply over my existing sunscreen during the day. This time, I applied a concealer first, then applied with my flat-top E.L.F. studio brush, which allows the product to build up to full coverage (or as full as possible). It's still shiny, but I can deal with it if it gives me adequate protection and looks decent. My problem this time was the breakouts. Unfortunately, my skin doesn't seem to like this at all.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No