Quick Review: Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder VS Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder

Applying finishing powder is a must in my everyday makeup routine because of my excessively oily skin. The oiliness of my skin has somewhat improved because I have been going for freezing non-ablative laser sessions so it's okay for me to lay off the finishing powder application. However, if I don't do that, I feel INCOMPLETTTEEEEE~~ (please adjust the tune to Backstreet Boys' song. Sorry, this song just played on my spotify so....) 

I have two favourites at the moment and I really cannot decide which is the better one if I don't consider the price point. Both are my holy grail products for the finishing powder category. On some days I feel like the Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder is doing a better job, but on other days I'm on Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder's team. Very confusing, so I have decided to love both. 

Here are some product specs and claims:

Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder

• Cost: less than S$10 (I got it for S$8.50 on Qoo10 with free shipping) for 5g of product
• Highlighted ingredients: Jeju mineral powder, Jeju green tea and mint
• Claims: Double-sebum control system controls sebum secretion so well that you can forget about using oil control paper/oil blotting sheets.
• Other uses: Dry shampoo, eye primer

Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder

• Cost: S$48 for around 8.5g of product (available at Sephora)
• Highlighted ingredients: Amazonian clay
• Claims: Keeps makeup looking fresh without being chalky and can diffuse imperfections
• Other uses: can be used alone as treatment to reap benefits of Amazonian clay

So at first glance, the Innisfree one is definitely a much cheaper alternative - it's more than 5 times cheaper than Tarte. The reason why I cannot judge based on price right now is because I got the Tarte one in deluxe sample size free when I bought the Christmas special set. The deluxe sample has around 2g of product and so it's around S$11.50 worth of product. 

Even though both finishing powders seem to be for the same purpose (control oil, mattify skin etc), both are strangely different when it comes to application outcome. 

Here's a summarised breakdown of what I think about these finishing powders:

Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder

• Slightly more refreshing scent due to inclusion of mint.
• Intensity is doubled when you use the puff - you may look way too white - so I will suggest using a soft all-over face brush instead.
• Controls oil decently. My face looks put together and relatively oil-free for a longer period of time than if I exclude this from my makeup routine. 
• After 10 hours of wear, skin may look a little bit patchy around the nose area. Not sure if it's my foundation or if it's this product.
• Please do not use it as dry shampoo. My hair roots looked....dusty. O_O
• Longevity: 9-10 hours
• Great to use if you have no acne scarrings and are only concerned with oily skin. This will stick to the acne scars and make the dry skin in that area more obvious. 

Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder

• No standout scent. Great if you don't like fragrances in your products.
• No given puff, so I used only my face brush and application was delightful. Skin feels smooth after application.
• Controls oil decently as well. Not much difference from Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder.
• Longevity: 9-10 hours
• This finishing powder can be used even when you have blemishes. It will just settle nicely on top of the blemishes and it will not emphasize the dry areas. 

I used both the Innisfree one and the Tarte one interchangeably. If I feel like I have way too many blemishes on my skin, then I will use the Tarte one. If everything's looking okay, I will use the Innisfree one. So, it's great to have both! 

But of course, taking the price point into consideration, the Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder is much more superior because it does almost the same thing as the Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder. It's a great dupe! 

So which one do you think is a better finishing powder? 

Quick Review: tarte Smooth Operator™ Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder

Photo from (x)

It's another quick review and this time it's for the tarte Smooth Operator™ Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder. This has been my go-to finishing powder for the past couple of months and it's definitely one of the more promising finishing powders for those with very oily skin.

tarte has an entire collection of products with Amazonian Clay in them and I used to be a terrible Debbie Downer whenever a friend/acquaintance talked about it. I always asked them if they were not scared of putting clay on their skin for so long and risked clogging their pores. Of course, I was incredibly uneducated in this territory but I didn't want to appear so (lol this ego really must throw out the window). Now....I'm a complete convert.

The tarte Smooth Operator™ Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder does everything a finishing powder should do and more. It's a great closure to your daily makeup routine because you know your foundation would not budge for a long time. I have excessively (and frustratingly) oily skin and this finishing powder helped to prolong the longevity of my foundation. Usually, I give my foundation 2-3 hours before it starts to budge and move around. I don't blame the foundation because my skin's oiliness factor is way beyond the average line. With this finishing powder, my makeup looks fresh for a good 6-7 hours. It's really amazing. The foundation stays matte longer and I don't need to blot as much.

Also, the tarte Smooth Operator™ Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder makes my skin look extra smooth and clear. It's an almost-perfect fit for those with minor acne scarring. Whenever I brush this powder on my face, it really feels like (super cliche to say this) silk. Cannot stop touching my cheeks one! But yes must stop, later more pimples!!

I absolutely recommend this finishing powder to those with oily skin. It keeps your skin looking fresh longer, it keeps your foundation matte longer and it makes your skin feel like silk. Winning formula!

Now I'm rather looking forward to trying out the other complexion products from the tarte Amazonian Clay range, especially the Amazonian clay 12-hour full coverage foundation SPF 15 and the Amazonian clay full coverage airbrush foundation.

Going crazy for Korean cosmetics

This photo is a lie. 

I have 3 more products coming from Korea, so the entire haulage is way bigger. Oops.

I just find some Korean cosmetics way more advanced than some Western brands. Traditional is almost always good, but good innovation can make traditional more convenient and more captivating. For one, the BB Cushion is an excellent revolution - even Lancôme is coming out with their own BB Cushion (which under-performed when compared to those from Korean brands, according to some online reviews)!

Fortunately Qoo10 has plenty of listings for Korean cosmetic products from sellers based in South Korea. That means prices are somewhat similar to those in South Korea (additional a few bucks for shipping lah). This is very excellent because as most Singapore dwellers will know, prices are marked up considerably in the local stores. I got the Innisfree Long Wear Cushion for less than S$20 on Qoo10 and it's retailing for more than S$30 at local Innisfree stores! Very excellent indeed, this Qoo10.

This also means I need to rethink and reorganise my makeup cupboard. Time to throw away things to make space for new things! Just in time for CNY cleaning!

Review: L'oreal Mat Magique All-In-One Matte Transforming Powder

A rather exciting review post. I've been wanting to write about the L'oreal Mat Magique All-In-One Matte Transforming Powder because the first few applications were amazing, but I decided to test it out for a couple more weeks before I give you guys my feedback on this! 

L'oreal did a great job in disseminating information about their latest product online. They approached popular lifestyle bloggers and I got to know of this amazing product from these blogs. Good marketing plan, L'oreal! It's quite obvious that their plan worked hugely to their advantage because I had to visit 3 different Watsons before I could purchase the L'oreal Mat Magique All-In-One Matte Transforming Powder in my shade. 

My shade is N2 Nude Vanilla and this retails for S$30.90. Fortunately, I got this during a sale, so I paid less than S$25 for mine. 

The first thing that will catch your attention - OMG SO PINK?! 

If you absolutely detest pink, then this may not be the product that you want to have. Or maybe you can just buy, hide it at home and apply before going out because the product is quite stellar! 

The L'oreal Mat Magique All-In-One Matte Transforming Powder has a lot of oily-skin friendly claims:

• Shine resistance of up to 12 hours
• Powerful sebum absorbant
• "Just-out-of-shower fresh finish and sensation" - Wahlao this one a bit pushing it haha
• Poreless skin
• Great for priming the skin 
• Minimize appearance of imperfections
• Ultra sensorial velvety soft touch

Those are a lot of huge claims. To be honest, the powder didn't work that miraculously on me. However, I still love it! For those with extremely oily skin, this powder will work for around 5-6 hours? 5-6 hours is only half the claimed 12 hours, but if you have EXTREMELY OILY skin, you will understand that 5-6 hours of relatively shine-free skin is like a miracle. 

To give you an example - if I don't include this powder in my makeup routine, my skin will get oily once I step into office; that's like 2 hours after application. Sigh~~ 

Ingredient List

Packaging: Pink, pink, PINK! Thank goodness the interior of this product is not pink. Phew. I'm not a pink fan but for the amazing product, I'm willing to shelf my negative feelings for the colour. This contains 6.5g of product, which is significantly less than what I'm used to. I have been using the ZA Two-Way Foundation since secondary school (10 years already!!!) and that has 9g of powder.

Colour: N2 Nude Vanilla is a little too pale for me. I normally use OC10 for ZA Two-Way Foundation. I don't use this powder on its own so it's not such a huge problem.

From left to right:
1. Bare skin
2. One swipe of L'oreal Mat Magique All-In-One Matte Transforming Powder (no concealer)
2. Two swipes of L'oreal Mat Magique All-In-One Matte Transforming Powder (no concealer)

Application: On its own, the L'oreal Mat Magique All-In-One Matte Transforming Powder can be quite drying, especially if you have dry skin. The powder applies smoothly and the provided sponge applicator is quite useful in providing a dense application. There's a tendency for the powder to cake up after the second application, so I will recommend you to stop at one application. Two applications maximum if you have more blemishes to conceal.

For those with more problematic skin, the L'oreal Mat Magique All-In-One Matte Transforming Powder can be used as a finishing powder after your usual BB Cream/Liquid Foundation and concealer routine. Use a less dense, face brush and you will get the perfect look. A dense brush will cake up your face and that is not the look that we should desire for!

Mattifying? Oh yes, definitely. I had relatively matte skin 5 hours after application and I was so impressed! No other powder has lasted me more than 2-3 hours in the oil-control department so this is amazing! If you have normal-combination skin, the mattifying effect would probably last longer on you.

Concealing? For those blessed with few imperfections, this powder is good enough be used on its own. You won't even need concealing because it covers redness quite well. However, if you have a lot of acne scars, pimples and all those face demons, then this will be better as a finishing powder.

Touching up: After using this for more than 2 weeks, I have come to realise that I have to blot thoroughly before any touch-ups. If not, there will be powder coagulated at the oily parts and that's nasty. Hence, quick tip for touch-ups: blot and make sure there are no shiny parts before touching up!

Will I buy it again? As of now, this is the best mattifying powder that I have ever tried. 5-6 hours of mattifying and shine-free effect may not be ideal for some of you, but for an oily mess like me, it's more than sufficient and frankly, quite a miracle. Also, this didn't break me out (halelujah!!). Hence, yes, I will buy this again!

Hopefully this has been useful! Have a great day ahead guys! :)

ASOS beauty haul - tiny but I'm so excited!!

ASOS had a beauty sale last week and OF COURSE I HAD TO GET SOMETHING. In this case, I got some things (LOL). I think it was a 30% sale? I really wanted to try liquid foundations from Bourjois and Rimmel and I had to stock up on my Rimmel Pressed Powder! 

I heard SO MANY positive reviews about the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation and thank you ASOS for this sale! I bought it at S$14.83 (original price S$22.79). It would have cost much more in Singapore. CONFIRM. 

My Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder is down to the last bits and I'm so sad, so yay for the sale. Grabbed the opportunity and got my new powder for only S$5.70 (original price S$9.10)!

Finally, I also bought the Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation for S$13.69 (original price S$20.51) just because the description of the product intrigued me - "...inbuilt SPF 15 has an anti-fatigue effect with pearlescent properties for an illuminating complexion, concealing imperfections while masking under eye shadows for a flawless finish" Like that confirm buy lah!

Can't wait for them to arrive!! :) Yay new makeup! I always love new makeup!! Okay I need to reorganise my cosmetic cupboard!!

Review: RIMMEL Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder

Loose powders or finishing powders are always beauty products that I NEED to have in my cosmetic bag. First of all, applying loose powder or finishing powder should preferably be the last step in your daily cosmetic regime. It is especially crucial if you have oily skin. You don't want to go out looking like an oily mess, so applying loose powder helps to mattify your face and make you look a little bit more presentable. 

Moreover, finishing powders are the best (in my opinion) beauty product for touching up those oily spots. You don't want to be layering piles and piles of foundation and cake your entire face up. Not pretty. Finishing powders mattify your skin but because they are so light, the final look seems effortless. 

When I heard about the RIMMEL Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder, I knew I had to have it, but it wasn't available in Singapore! Thankfully, Yinghui was in London and she helped me purchase it! Thanks Kokky! :D 

The RIMMEL Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder retails for 3.99 pounds! 

Packaging: It's actually quite hip. Can't believe I'm using that word, but seriously not many products out there have in-your-face neon mint green packaging. I love this packaging because I don't need to worry about losing it because wah the colour can be seen from far far away! :D

The RIMMEL Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder claims to:

• provide a shine-free finish for up to 5 hours
• clarify skin - minimize skin breakouts
• control shine and mattify skin

So are all the claims real or simply bullshit? I'm happy to announce that everything works as expected and I'm IN LOVE with this product! 

Pigmentation: it looks really beige in the packaging but it applies transparent. I bought it in 021 Transparent so I was expecting an almost white product. Imagine my shock when I realised it came in this skin colour. I actually was expecting it to be too white for my skin tone. But nope, this product really applies transparently and it doesn't alter the colour of your blush or bronzer.

Application: I use a fluffy face brush to apply the powder on my face. It's a really pleasant feeling. I'm not sure if it's my mind playing tricks on me or what, but when I touch my skin after application, it feels SO SMOOTH. I'm guessing it's because the RIMMEL Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder has super fine powder particles and hence they fill up the uneven patches of your skin. No idea how to better explain it but I just love it lah!

Longevity: Of course I cannot expect it to really last for 5 hours. It's formulated for European weather and Singapore weather is nowhere as forgiving. I expected my face to get oily maybe after 2 hours? It actually did better than expected. I think my nose started to get really oily after around 3 hours, so all's good with this product! Since touching up is no longer going to make my face look like a cakey mess, I'm more willing to reapply this product!

Clear complexion? I'm not really sure about the effectiveness of the RIMMEL Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder in terms of clearing breakouts, but it's good to know that that may happen eh?

Will I buy it again? HECK YEAH. I really really hope they bring this in! PLEASE RIMMEL I BEG YOU.

I hope this review has been useful and please if you can, get your hands on this product!!!! :D