Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder

The people at Smashbox certainly know how to catch a beauty junkie’s attention. The card that

The answer, surprise, surprise, is that they use Halo, a “complexion hydrating powder that imparts a subtle luminosity while perfecting skin to create a revitalized, more radiant look.”

While “perfecting” is a bit rich, I completely agree with the rest of that claim. This powder did leave me with brighter, more polished-looking skin that unquestionably looked better with this powder than without it. And while this product is all about “hydrating,” it did completely remove any shine from my face and kept it off for a least a couple of hours.

Smashbox also markets this power as “the first antiaging powder with the science of skin care built in.” Using a ton of fancy ingredients including 48 minerals and “pure gold,” this product returned these results in “clinical studies” (no, further details on these studies weren’t mentioned): “After 10 minutes there is a 33% decrease in the appearance of wrinkles around the eyes; after 6 weeks of use, there is a 67% decrease in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles overall.”
accompanied my sample of this face powder asked, “Ever curious how models and celebs get that effortless radiance?” Of curious I am!

These are some mighty big claims and ones that I have to shrug my shoulders at since I don’t have wrinkles around my eyes and I don’t have six weeks’ worth of product. I can though say that this powder certainly did my skin looking better than almost any other powder I’ve tried. While it wasn’t the best at keeping shine at bay, it did leave me with healthy-looking (if somewhat shiny) skin for the entire work day and did a great job at helping to keep my foundation in place. It also didn’t settle into my forehead lines or in/around any blemishes.

And while it doesn't contain any sun protection, it is paraben-, oil- and talc-free.

I’m currently just using a sample of this product so I can’t comment too much on its actual packaging however, from what I’ve seen and played around with in Sephora, the container that houses this powder is pretty slick. It contains a built-in shaver that lets you shave the amount of powder that you need. It also comes with a kabuki brush that's much higher quality than your typical makeup container applicator.

Now, if you’re not  familiar with this product, you’re likely reading this review and thinking, “Wow, this sounds like a great item. But why don’t I see more people using it?” I’m going to guess that the answer to that question lies with this product’s cost: $72. Sure, for that price you get a high quality product in a quantity that would easily last you a year but still, $72 is a lot of money.

While I do like this product, I’m not completely convinced that it’s worth the price. I’m currently in the process of comparing it to the more reasonably priced Make Up Forever Super Matte Loose Powder and I’m quite curious to see which one comes out on top.

Would I buy this product: Maybe but first I need to see how it compares to MUF’s Super Matte Loose Powder.

Should you buy this product: If you’ve got cash to burn and you’re looking for a loose powder that fights the signs of aging, then yes, give this product a try . But if you’re looking for something cheaper, check out Tarte’s Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder (if you’re light-skinned) and be sure to check out my upcoming Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder vs MUF’s Super Matte Loose Powder post.

No comments:

Post a Comment