Absolutely Flawless (Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Loose Powder)

Member Name: carly_pussycat

Product:	Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Loose Powder
Date:	20/06/05 (1097 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does give the flawless compexion it promises, Doesn't look too heavy, Can't feel it too much when you're wearing it

Disadvantages: Will highlight dry skin

This product was another of the things I had to test in my kit for the book ‘21st Century Beauty Bible’ (due to be published Christmas 2005 I think). So as I’ve used it and evaluated it for the book I might as well share my thoughts here too.


ELIZABETH ARDEN FLAWLESS FINISH LOOSE POWDER

The only other thing I have in the Elizabeth Arden range is the Green Tea foot scrub, which is gorgeous, but I really didn’t know what to expect when I saw this in my kit as I’ve no experience with their makeup. I also have very little experience with loose powder because in the past I’ve found it to look too ‘set’ and so stayed away from it.

The packaging of this product really couldn’t be improved on, and is much more sophisticated than most other loose powders I have seen - just because it’s a makeup essential (for some people) doesn’t mean it has to look boring. It’s perfect for what it is and not so big that it takes up most of your makeup bag – although it’s obviously not tiny either. It’s a minimalist modern looking frosted pot, which could be mistaken for frosted glass from a distance, but thankfully it’s plastic. It’s not only attractive though, it’s well designed for its function. If you unscrew the glossy black lid you’ll find a decent sized powder puff for application (you can either use this or a big fluffy powder brush of your own), and under that you’ll find a plastic divider between the powder and the lid (with a hygienic seal when you buy it) which has lots of holes in it to dispense a reasonable amount of powder. As long as you place it on an even surface when you’re using it, you’re unlikely to tip the whole pot over the floor.

I think that loose powder has the potential to be the messiest makeup item in your bag, but I didn’t have any disasters with this pot. It was easy to use with both the puff or a fluffy brush of my own – or the puff followed by the brush to dust off the excess, and it won’t leak into your makeup bag because it’s got that sturdy screw top lid. I found that with the puff I could get a flawless complexion (yes, honestly) because it applied slightly more onto my skin, but I didn’t think that that looked too great because I looked a bit like a mannequin. If I used a brush on its own then less seemed to stay on my skin but it was a better look in my opinion. Due to the light reflecting particles (Mica) contained within this powder the best results are achieved by dabbing the powder on rather than rubbing it into your skin. I found that if I gently dabbed some on my face with the puff and then dusted the whole of my face to remove all the excess powder this was the best look. It left me with a flawless but almost nude looking complexion - it does waste a bit more of the powder than required but I think it’s worth it for the result. The powder seemed to blend itself with very little effort required on my part. It didn’t make too much mess either, although I still wouldn’t recommend applying this in the clothes you’re intending on going out in – I’d wait until it’s done to dress.

I really liked the texture of this powder because it seemed very finely ground, and the shade (Medium/02) seemed almost identical to my olive skin tone. Whether I was just lucky I don’t know, but this powder is quite lightweight so I’d imagine it’d suit all medium skin tones. Once on your face it wasn’t visible that you had little particles on your face as it can be with some powders which aren’t so good. To look in the mirror the powder looked really silky and slightly radiant, but it wasn’t especially soft if I touched my face. Something that is not unique to this powder but is worth mentioning: powder will accentuate any bits of dry skin that you’ve got on your face – something that I didn’t like because the dry bits weren’t noticeable without the powder.


LASTING FINISH?

Certainly. The powder gave me a flawless matte appearance which stayed put right up until I decided to remove it in the evening. I don’t have a big problem with makeup disappearing from my face but I do think that this stayed more matte throughout the day than other powders I’ve used, so this might be worth bearing in mind for anyone with a combination/slightly oily skin.

Despite the powder giving a flawless and long lasting result, I actually didn’t feel much like I was wearing makeup. I dislike the heavy feeling you get when you’ve slapped on foundation and powder, but with just moisturiser and this on top I felt almost natural.


PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

£16.50 for a 28g pot, which I would imagine would last a LONG time because you only need a minimal amount to achieve the flawless effect. This will be available from anywhere where they have an Elizabeth Arden counter – like bigger Boots shops and large department stores.


VERDICT

At the moment I prefer a slightly dewy tinted moisturiser look, so I don’t like looking matte. However, if I used loose powder then without a doubt I’d be using this one because it’s the best one I’ve come across (although admittedly that’s not all that many). So if you’re a firm believer in powdering your face to set your makeup, this could well be an essential buy! The only thing I could say on the downside is that I don’t think it’d be great for anyone who suffers from dry skin on a regular basis as it will highlight that fact.

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