Bourjois

Tl;dr: - Very smooth - Warm leaning tone - Provides additional coverage - Matte but not flat - Use sparingly I got it because I was curious to try different products from the Healthy Mix line. At first I thought it was okay and just went on using it, but many, many uses later I came to appreciate the way this powder is formulated. Now that I seriously hit the pan I want to review it. I have a fair neutral/cool complexion and generally use shade "Vanilla" in all Bourjois face products. It's usually a tad too light for me, but with a bit of bronzer and contour powders it all looks great. This powder in the shade Vanilla is a bit warm in comparison to the cool-ish foundation shade, so my first impression was "Oh, another orange complexion product". However, when I use it sparingly, it gives me the healthy tone that allows me to skip bronzing. I just do some cool-tone contouring around my cheekbones and the result is great. In terms of the finish I think this is one of the best products in the drugstore. At first it doesn't stand out, but the powder is very finely and smoothly milled. It is also not too soft in the pan, which helps you not to overdo it. It also has some pigment, so in combination with the lightweight foundations from the line in creates additional coverage with a minimal amount of product. By minimal I mean using just enough to lightly set the face - the line is where foundation is no longer tacky but not loaded with a bunch of powder. I believe this is the intended use of this product. In the end, you can use less of both powder and foundation for the most natural finish. I use a small brush to specifically set the concealed zones, then take my WnW blush brush (I like small brushes for powders), add a little powder to the rest of the face, then lightly buff the whole face to make sure everything has a thin coat of powder. I should also mention that this powder is matte but radiant. It has the slight natural glow that is so flattering. I really like the look. I also use pressed powders / foundations to clean up and blend out the eyeshadow looks, and HM powder looks great when you buff it with a small buffing brush around the eye (my preferred brush to blend out the eyeshadow into face powder is UBU #23). It revives the undereye and completes the look. My advice would be to only slightly dust the undereye when doing the face so that you don't load too much powder there. The packaging is cute and sturdy. It has a compartment for the sponge and mirror under the powder. Imo it's well suited for traveling, it can multitask as a cream eyeshadow, and you probably won't need your bronzer with it. My only gripe would be that it has a domed lid that makes it hard to store within my stack of powders. But I guess it's a good marketing move for the brand since it always sits on top of my flat powders and I use it all the time. Another problem is the range of 4 shades, but it's a French brand, and they have expanded the foundation range already, so I expect great things from Bourjous in the future. I also enjoy the concealer from the line (see my review). All in all, it has a learning curve, but it's great for people who are into classic smooth powders and still use brushes. Definitely not the 'baking' type.

This is a decent powder. Feels creamy to the touch but it's not the most finely milled upon application. I prefer using a loose powder on my vanity a blotting powder on the go so I don't really have much use for a colored compact powder. Will use it up but won't repurchase.

I really like this sophisticated satin medium toned brown. Applies very smoothly, looks so subtle and beautiful.l!