This NEEDS to be applied with a flat top brush if you want it to perform to its max potential. If you apply it with a normal powder brush then it will just be dispersed normally and therefore not be worth its hefty price tag.
This is my HG foundation, and I am not exaggerating or kidding in the slightest when I say that this powder alone gives me more coverage than my Elizabeth Arden medium coverage liquid foundation and Tarte Shape Tape *combined*. And despite all of that, it still has a very natural finish as long as you buff it out and use setting spray.
This paragraph will be gross so feel free to skip it but I'm gonna be straight up - I had a nasty boil between my eyebrows that turned purple and had the edges flake and the middle scab over (my skin purged from a BHA and then I stupidly used undiluted tea tree oil on it which made it flake and burn). I have very yellow skin so my concealer and liquid foundation pooled in the centre of the boil making it look like pus, and then it wore off on the outer edges of the boil revealing the purple ring, but clung to the skin flakes. That happened within literally five minutes of application. It was horrible. In desperation, I pressed my finger into this powder and then pressed it onto the boil... and it covered it. Entirely. And not a single effing flake was visible. It hid flakes and purple skin and stuck to the scab but still looked 100% natural. It even made the bump look flatter... You just could NOT tell there was a huge purple scabby boil there at all, it honestly looked like smooth skin, and it took less then ten seconds to cover! No primer underneath even. And that lasted me for over eight hours with no touch ups.
The packaging is fantastic. The mesh net and dipped in lid prevent powder from spilling and being wasted when it's chucked in a bag. When I finish my first container I plan to wash it and depot a few Innisfree No Sebum powders into it.
It can apply patchy so you have to be careful with buffing. It's still much faster to apply than my previous method of liquid foundation and concealer with a damp Beauty Blender, because I don't have to wait for layers to dry.
Sadly this is very expensive at $63nzd so I only buy on sale. I don't have the authentic Tarte airbuki brush ($58nzd) but I did buy a knock off airbuki brush on eBay that looks identical (except it doesn't have the Tarte logo) for only ~$5nzd. It's surprisingly good quality, on par with my other authentic Tarte brushes, and has never shed. I recommend it. I also use it to blend out my eyeshadow (I'll do foundation first, then eyeshadow, and run this over my upper brow bone which blends it out and hides uneven tone, then fill in my eyebrows).
I've been using this powder 5+ times a week for the last 6 weeks and I estimate that I still have at least a month of powder left so sadly it is very expensive. However, it has stopped me from rebuying concealer, any other foundation, and overpriced Beauty Blenders.
I'm an extremely yellow toned NC15 - NC20 and I wear Light Sand (which is much darker than the Shape Tape Light Sand shade). I think I'll be able to still wear this even at my most tan, as long as I use bronzer. This is really saying something because I was previously buying $88 custom matched foundation because nothing else was yellow enough, and trying to get both my winter and summer match was a bit stressful.
This is not a mattifying product. It is a natural finish powder that can be made to be matte or dewy depending on what other products you use with it. Even when I use this alone, I have never once seen any shimmer so I'm confused by the other reviewers claiming it has shimmer.
My order of application goes: Elizabeth Arden Flawless Start Primer - Innisfree No Sebum loose powder (applied with my dense airbuki brush) - Tarte powder foundation - Eyeshadow - a little more Tarte powder on my browbone to blend out the eyeshadow more - ABH Brow Powder - Too Faced Bronzer/Nars Blush - a little more Tarte powder to blend out blush - Setting Spray (I use Heritage Store Rosewater which is just as effective as MAC Fix +) - Etude House Lash Serum - Mascara - more Innisfree No Sebum (applied with a loose natural bristle brush so it's dispersed nicely).
The above gives me a skin like finish that is not cakey despite being full coverage, and lasts for around seven hours. Bear in mind that setting spray does NOT extend longevity, that is what fixing spray is for (and be careful because companies frequently mislabel them as the other, you need to read the ingredients to know what is what). On days when I want more longevity, I will apply a small amount of Shape Tape after primer but before setting powder and that will give me around ten hours.
I have not had any issues with this sinking into lines. I'm 25 with easily dehydrated skin but I've been moisturising a lot more. I also have not had any issue with it sinking into my enlarged pores, which is a problem I've had with most foundations.
I will repurchase despite the large price tag because it is very easy to apply, can be reapplied with no issue, looks natural despite being full coverage, doubles as a concealer and helps blend out eyeshadow and blush.
Update: I discovered that if I swatch this on my wrist, it is very shimmery. I have never seen that shimmer appear on my face though. I also switched to using a Zoeva flat buffing brush to apply and it works waaaay better than my fake Tarte brush. I've uploaded a photo of a swatch comparing the colour difference between this powder and Shape Tape, despite both shades being in Light Sand. Unfortunately the photo does not capture the shimmer nor how yellow toned I am.
