Poor auld Ashley Judd, Nicole Kidman and Uma Thurman
We've seen quite a few celebs stumble over the powdering blocks recently: papped with swathes of white powder across t-zone and down the nose, the product that's the culprit is apparently Make Up For Ever's HD Microfinish Powder, €32. Tut tut, bad powder, seems to be the consensus, and lets leave it at that.
But like most things in life there's two sides to this ghostly white story. This is an unusual little pot of product and it needs some extra application knowledge and skill - give it some time and you'll find it's actually very good at what it does.
For starters, it's part of the brand's HD range, designed to deliver real-skin finishes for high definition TV and photography cameras and lenses. It's not really a product that us mere mortals are gonna need to use on our daily jaunts to Tesco. But it is a very good thing to have on hand for a couple of reasons.
Advertised
Because of the finely milled mica it contains (which is what high intensity camera flashes see and what ends up on film for hapless Ashley, Nicole and Uma, above), it's very good at giving a smoother result to textured skin. If you have visible pores on your t-zone, you'll love this, but even if you don't, you'll like the airbrushed effect it delivers to skin. It's also great at tamping down shine over periods of time so again, it's an oily gals best friend, and because it goes on clear, it doesn't add any extra colour to makeup, which is another bonus.
Application is the absolute key thing you need to know about this product. It is not a setting powder as you know it - you can't just lightly dust on a layer of it and leave - that's exactly what's happened to the ladies above. The brand has always recommended that this be buffed into skin with a kabuki brush - it's not designed to sit on the surface, it's meant to be worked into your makeup with that firm brush head. You also use it very sparingly - just on the t-zone or nose. This is a real hint to the dry-skinned - if you're not prone to shine, then you probably don't really need this product. I use mine only very occasionally.
Lastly, take succor from the fact that the vast majority of us don't have industrial strength cameras with Kleig-style flashes thrown in our phizogs every time we leave the gaff, so just in case you do step out one evening with a patch of unblended Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder on your noggin - don't worry, no one's gonna catch you out!
Celeb pic credits: wellsphere.com; beautyeditor.ca; stylelist.com
