little white truths

I bought this powder before Laura Mercier left Australia because I'd heard good things about it and I'd always wanted to try it. Plus I didn't have an under-eye setting powder at the time so there was room for me to buy one.

While I think it's a beautiful, finely milled powder that does work well for the under-eyes in theory, in practice the bloody thing has flecks of glitter in it - which you can see in any kind of light (artificial or sunlight) - so I personally find the damn thing to be unusable and I've therefore given it a 'disappointing products' tag. More on that below.

Laura Mercier claims/product details:

• Lighter-than-air powder sets and prolongs the wear of concealer, camouflage and other under-eye products
• Instantly brightens the look of the under-eye area
• Transparent white powder with a brightening finish that instantly adds a lightening boost to the eye area, with a touch of sheer coverage
• Sets under-eye makeup: micronised pigments won't settle into fine lines or accentuate shadows
• Dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested
• RRP $28 USD for 4g

In the below photo you'll see the cap in the tub that dispenses product. I don't like it. The holes are too big and there are too many of them, meaning that heaps of product comes out so I don't think it's a good powder to travel with because you'll end up with half of it in the lid very quickly.

On top of this, the lid itself doesn't close flush against the tub (I can get two fingernails between it), meaning that powder leaks from the container unless I stand it upright. Annoying.

Below I've swatched the product in direct sunlight.

Note that I've swatched it heavily so you can see it (it doesn't look white under the eye).

And below I've left the swatch (indirect sunlight) out-of-focus so you can really see the glitter:

Verdict

In hindsight, I'm annoyed with myself that I bought this because I do have a vague memory of seeing a few YouTubers talk about the glitter in this and how they didn't like it, but I managed to forget that when I bought it and just went by the reviews on the vendor's website. Silly me.

The product is an unbelievably finely milled, soft and silky powder. Indeed, this may well be the most finely milled and lightest powder I've ever put on my face: it feels like a whisper to the touch. The texture is just gorgeous.

For this reason it's a perfect product to put under the eyes: it's so light that it's not going to age you (powder can shrivel up the skin) and you can also get away with a super fine layer - something I appreciate because I have dry skin, and adding too much powder doesn't feel or look good.

It applies and blends well, and I like that it has a very soft sheen. It does have a brightening effect that lifts the under-eyes, and you can build it up a little if you want to increase that effect - without looking too powdery because it's so finely milled.

Indeed, if it weren't for the bloody glitter in this thing, then I would be singing its praises - it does work beautifully under the eyes and it's one of the nicest powders I've ever touched - but the damn noticeable glitter makes it unusable in my case. There's nothing 'secret' about it, and when I wear it around at home, I'll often see the glitter flecks if I happen to catch myself in the mirror. Blurgh. 

For this reason it can make you look like you've got eyeshadow fall-out under your eyes if you're wearing a shimmer shadow. Not cool.

I've already mentioned above that I don't like the packaging either because it doesn't travel well, but let me reiterate that. There are too many holes in the lid (and they're too large), so the product is going to spill something chronic into the lid if you travel with it, and to make matters worse, the lid isn't flush against the tub so I've found that powder can sneak out between that gap and spill everywhere.

Overall I can't recommend this powder due to the glitter it contains. If it weren't for that, I may well be giving it an HG tag - but since I don't feel I can wear this under my eyes because of the sparkle, I can't use it for the purpose for which it's been designed. The packaging needs work too.

Disappointing.