Etude House's Precious Mineral BB Compact Bright Fit is a pressed powder compact that integrates in its formula some of the same ingredients in BB Creams which give them their whitening, anti-wrinkling and skin care properties.
Claims
"Etude House Precious Mineral BB Compact contains Skin Brightening Pearl Powder and Luminous Effect with Sliding Blurry Powder and Extra Moisture Complex. This compact is comprised of minute pearl powder particles for sheer, silky coverage and long lasting expression. Improved texture for adhesion and brightening.
Features SPF30 / PA+++ UV protection & anti-darkening."
I think the main points to emphasize here are Luminous Effect with Sliding Blurry Powder and Extra Moisture Complex. For people who are looking for a pressed powder to keep your face matte all day, this doesn't seem to claim to do that. In fact, purely from the description, it seems to be suited for people with duller, drier skin, for a powder that sets your makeup and keeps it in place, but doesn't dry your skin out - effectively allowing you to set your makeup but still retain that dewy finish.
Packaging
The packaging itself is utterly gorgeous. It's lightweight and cute with its pink little compact case with a pink pearl-ized finish. The powder is pressed pretty well into the compact so I haven't experienced any cracking at all. The compact opens with a convenient little push button in front, so there isn't much worry about having this accidentally open in your bag and getting powder everywhere. It comes with a pretty decent sized mirror, which is definitely a good thing.
On the powder, the signature 'E' of Etude House is pressed on. It's almost a shame to have to use it and have that wonderful insignia fade away.
The compact comes with a soft sponge-cloth hybrid applicator which, admittedly, works pretty well for packing product on. I still prefer using a dense powder or kabuki brush because I like the effect of only a light dusting of product on my skin.
Texture, Finish and Wear
So what makes this pressed powder different than most others. I was actually quite dubious about its "Extra Moisture Complex". I mean really? How the heck is powder supposed to moisturize your skin? But when I dipped my finger into the powder I think I sort of got a gist of how it works. The powder itself is very fine milled - which Is definitely a plus for a more even, natural finish. What's amazing though is that as it sits on your skin, it sort of 'melts' into it, but not really. It doesn't turn into a cream or a liquid or anything - it's very much a powder. But somehow, the fine-ness of it is easily able to adhere to your skin and with your skin's natural oil production, helps to give a satin-y dewy finish despite it being a powder. So your makeup is still set, but you still have that nice natural dewy finish.
The picture above will hopefully show you what I mean. On the left is my face with just BB Cream and the one on the right is with just Precious Mineral BB Compact Bright Fit. You still sort of get the same dewy healthy look with both, but minus the white cast, even though the powder does contain some pretty high SPF. I got mine in shade W24 Honey Beige, out of the 3 other shades. It's one shade darker than my skin tone, mostly because I assumed there would be a white cast, and I was right to choose. I think a good measure when choosing anything with SPF is to go one shade darker (but not all the time). It sort of counters the white cast effect :P And at the same time, the darker shade gives me room for when I get a tan from beach season this summer :P
Oil Control
But here's the thing. This compact is great if you want your makeup to stay in place, but still want that moisturized look. It's great for people with ridiculously dry skin, and since I have combination skin, I thought I could get away with it. But one of the biggest ifs of this product is that it doesn't really control oil very well on its own.
The picture above says everything, really. All my makeup's still there, but darn, look at that shiny face x_x I think it would take a little bit of blotting to get this to work for a long time, or probably some primer or an oil-controling BB cream underneath. But on its own, this powder doesn't really hold up too well on the oil controlling department.
Other Notes
The powder on this is perfumed. It's not very strong, but it's noticeable, and some may be turned off by it if it's not their thing. It disappears after a while so it's not much of a big deal in the long run. Another thing to note is that while the powder doesn't look too reflective, it might still be a problem with heavy flash photography or night affairs. But really, why would you need SPF in a night affair anyway? You're better off using another powder. This baby is perfect for the day though, from my experience.
So a rundown:
Pros
Cute Convenient Packaging
Nice, natural finish without looking cakey and dry
Not too reflective
High SPF
Very finely milled
Decent Color Selection
Sets makeup in place for a decent amount of time
Whitening and anti-darkening properties
Cons
Not very good at oil control. Thus not recommended for people with overly oily skin , or people who are looking for a powder to keep them matte all day.
The scent might not be for everyone
May still be reflective with heavy flash photography or during night affairs.
So is this compact my go-to summer powder? Not really, but when I want a little bit of coverage, but still want to look naturally dewy without having to use heavy foundations or BB Creams this is what I go to/ (Let's face it, summer's the only season where you can get away with looking just a tad bit oily. At least you have an excuse).
I recommend this compact to people who have drier skin types, because it really does lock in moisture in your skin and gives it a healthy luminous effect. I'll probably be using this powder more during the drier part of the year in August to December, but what do you guys think?
Oh! And if any of you are curious about my EOTD, here it is. I tried playing up the color a bit with this awesome shimmery light and deep blue I got from my VS Hello Bombshell palette haha. Shimmery blue on top of jet black liner has an awesome effect if I may say so myself. I'm still trying to figure out my brows, and I'm thinking of having them shaped after my class ends this summer. But we'll just have to wait and see :P
And before I forget! Let's announce the winners of my Thank You Giveaway! I'm sure a lot of you have been waiting for this, so here we go!
First Prize: Dewie Aprillia Soebardi II
Second Prize: Li Na
Third Prize: Estelle Diane Jose
I've already emailed the winners and they have 48 hours to respond or else forfeit the prize! Again, thanks for all the support in this giveaway, and for those who didn't win, don't fret! I have another giveaway planned really really soon!
I hope you enjoyed this review! More reviews from the products I used for my Pink Artiste Entry Coming soon! Also, if you enjoyed this review and want more like it, please support me as Etude House's official Pink Artiste/Representative!
Etude House Philippines has announced that the voting period for the Search for the Next Pink Artiste 2013 has BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL JUNE 30. The prizes have also been DOUBLED! So I really need all the support I can get from you guys :)
So if you can,, please support me in the running for Etude House's Pink Artiste 2013 by LIKING and SHARING my picture entry in the picture linked below and giving my video entry a thumbs up. 1 Like on facebook = 1 Vote for me so please support by telling your friends about it as well!
Ada, signing out!
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