Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder

I am mid-40s with crepey undereyes and severe hereditary dark circles that are exacerbated by bad sleep and anemia. I have tried every concealer known to (wo)mankind with no success. I have been told that the only thing that can fix my circles is injectibles but I am chicken because I've heard the bruising in that area can be awful. Oh and also: it costs $1200 USD for the magical undereye injectibles at my derm's office. Which brings me to this powder - my last-ditch attempt to improve the appearance of undereyes that are aging me by 10 years. The only positive I can say about this product is that it is extremely finely milled and contains no obvious sparkles so it does feel high-end. The list of cons is much longer:
- This is not cheap and comes in a teeny little pot. You get almost no product for around $30 USD
- I expected this to brighten my purple circles because Secret BRIGHTENING Powder. This brightens nothing. It mattifies, like any other translucent powder. Nothing secret about that.
- I tried this several different ways - on top of just primer, on top of three different concealers, on top of foundation only, by itself - and it collected in fine lines and highlighted wrinkles like nobody's business.

In a nutshell, this costs a small fortune and rather than diffusing the purple circles, it just made the lines worse. After five failed attempts, I gave up and returned it. Back to considering injectibles.....

I like this powder, it works well but for the price it's not life changing enough to purchase again.
It has lasted me over a year because I use it sparingly on my under eye area which makes the price easier to swallow but I believe there are cheaper, just as effective, products out there.

Maybe I just got a particularly glitter-y batch but I find the micro-glitter in this product to be excessive and far too visible, drawing attention to my under eyes instead of doing what all good concealing makeup should do and making them blend with the rest of my face for a natural look.

If the micro glitter wasn't there, this would be a great product. It does brighten up the under eye (and then some, see comment re: glitter bonanza), blends fairly well (I use a damp beauty blender to apply) and stays in place with minimal creasing.

The packaging could be better (and feel less cheap) but is functional.

I would not buy this again.

I'm somewhat indifferent to the full face version of this but this under eye powder is simply the best thing to happen to my eyes!!! I have extremely bad under eye circles and have used every recommended corrector, concealer, potion, and powder from ludicrously high end to high street and this is without doubt the best. A tiny amount of product covers even my worst dark circles, never looks caked, and never creases. Yes, it is expensive for an under eye powder given so many come in kits already, but nothing compares to this! The only drawback is that so much comes out from one tap of the lid; but given this isn't something to carry on the go and the lid is so secure it's not really an issue. An instant Holy Grail product I already worry what I will do if they EVER discontinue this!

Holy grail alert. I have very oily skin and very dark under eye circles. I have tried so many setting powders for my under eyes before but it was always the same, it looks cakey and my concealer would crease no matter how thin the layer of powder is.

Recently I have attended a Laura Mercier makeup workshop in my area so new products were introduced as well as the good old trusted Laura products. I decided to buy this. I am glad I did. This changed my life. My concealer did not crease, didn't look cakey or thick at all. I use a bigger and loose eyeshadow brush in setting it, not the dense one cos I think it would put a white cast and can be patchy.

My undereyes look brighter and smooth. Though this can be quite expensive but you only need a very little amount for each use so I guess this will last for years. I definitely recommend this. I am loving it very very much!!!

I always used "normal" face powders for setting my undereyes. And always the same result: cakey, dry wrinkles and the undereye shadows were visible. Yuck! I'm glad that I found this baby while discovering some of LMs products. My undereyes look less wrinkly and dry. Plus it brightens so good. I took a photo with flash and I could see it creates a white cast and there are some glitter particles visible. But only on photos with flash, so that's ok for me. One more thing though: I put concealer on my eyelids and set it with this powder. However, after I came home from my job, the concealer was completely gone and creased in my eyelid. But I think that's a good sign since my eyelids tends to get oily and my undereyes don't need a drying powder. So that's proof for me that it's a fine powder for dry undereyes. Overall: Pros: - less drying than other powders - brightens up your undereye shadow - a little goes a long way Neutral: - packaging is ok, but you have to be careful or you loose some product all over the floor Cons: -price I recommend this powder to all ladies (and gentlemen) who have to fight with dry, wrinkly, dark undereyes. Give it a try and see the magic happen.

Worth the price. Held my concealer through heavy crying on multiple occasions. No discernible texture. Brightens. Smooths away edges of eyeshadow in a photoshopped sort of haze.

I enjoy using this and like the effect that it gives my under eyes, but sometimes it'll just snag at every dry patch and not want to blend properly. The pros definitely outweigh the cons for me though.

After reading many glowing reviews for this under eye powder, I gave in and purchased it. I cannot live without this product now. It is like magic fairy dust for your under eyes!

I use this with either NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer or Urban Decay Naked concealer. The UD one I find very cakey & dry and this powder works wonders to set it and make it look smooth & awake! The powder is white with shimmers in it but it doesn't make your under eye area look sparkly thankfully. I use the Real Techniques Setting brush to gently sweep a small amount of this after concealer. It goes on very smooth, brightens the eye area, doesn't settle into creases and lasts all day long.

Overall, I cannot rave about this powder enough. It has absolutely changed my under eye routine. It is pricey but you get a good sized pot and you only need a small amount. I highly recommend this powder and will definitely be re purchasing it.

This is my HG powder for setting undereye concealer. Perfect for anyone with very deep set eyes (and undereye area).

Pros: Finely milled, super brightening and has amazing light reflective particles that make your undereye area look fresh and flawless. Because it is so brightening it's perfect to optically bring forward any areas that are sunken in. It's pricey and the jar is small but, because you need very little product per use, will last you for ever (for me it's been over 6 months). Once your concealer is set with this, you can literally sleep in it and when you wake up your undereyes will still be flawless (shame to admit, but I've been there and done that).

Cons: I can't honestly think of any other than you just need to know how to use it. It is super brightening so if you use it on its own or you don't colour correct or conceal the darkness first, it will just make you look ashy. It has simply not been designed to be used that way. You may also find that unless you have very deep set eyes where the undereye area is a bit sunken in and extreme dark circles (like I do), you may just not need this type of product at all.