Product Review: L'oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder Review.

Hello lovelies!

I've had rather a busy weekend so far, how has yours been? I attended a L'oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF) 2013 show at the Malvern Town Hall (photos on Instagram [look to the right and you can see my latest Instagram photos], an LMFF post to follow shortly), hung out with my bestie (shopping and dinner), and got home after spending wayy too much money on things I didn't really need.

While we're on the topic of L'oreal, I wanted to share my thoughts on the new L'oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder in Medium (phew, what a mouthful). I've been trialling this for about a week now, since it was kindly sent to me by L'oreal. I wouldn't ordinarily put up a product review this quickly, but as this review was requested by quite a few of my readers and since I've used it daily, I think I can give you a fair overview of the product. If anything happens to change my mind in the next few days (god forbid), I'll pop back over here to update my post.

L'oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder in Medium.

What is a BB powder, you ask, and how does it differ from a normal powder? Excellent question, little grasshopper (please excuse the 'Kung Fu' reference, it's actually older than I am). The blurb on the compact calls the powder a 'Velvet Skin Beautifier' with buildable, lightweight coverage, and promises five benefits:

• No shine
• Smooth, resurfaced finish
• Undetectable coverage
• Fresh face
• 8 hour matte complexion.

I've worn it all week, and given it a good workout by applying it over my BB cream (currently using Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Oil Free BB cream), over powder foundation (Youngblood mineral foundation) and over my liquid foundation (Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24hour).

L'oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder in Medium.

I've used it in both in daylight and at night, and decided it’s very natural looking. The medium is a pale brown in the compact, but almost translucent once you blend it in. It can look a little ashy when you first apply it, but settles into your skin within minutes to give you a very natural and lightweight finish. I would agree that it completely removes shine, and provides lightweight coverage without that 'cakey' look that excessive powdering can provide. I don't have too many lines on my forehead (as yet), but the good news is this powder doesn't seem to settle into them.

Heavy swatch on top, blended at the bottom (before it settles into the skin).
(photo taken under artificial light for better clarity)

There’s a little sponge applicator and mirror hidden away at the bottom, under the powder pan, making it perfect for touch-ups on the go (and we all know how much I LOVE travel-friendly products). The sponge is an excellent way to apply the product to mattify the skin. I've also used my kabuki brush to swirl it over my face as a setting powder, it works just as well but gives you a much lighter application than you'd achieve with the sponge. My skin is prone to getting oily in the t-zone after a few hours, and I find that applying the BB powder over my t-zone with the sponge results in it staying matte for much longer than it does when I apply with a kabuki. I also love that it's so lightweight that it hasn't caused any breakouts (so far, fingers crossed)!

The compact and sturdy case housing a mirror and applicator
beneath the powder pan.

Overall, I would agree that the powder provides a smoother and more natural appearance than ordinary pressed powders do. When I've applied this powder, my skin somehow manages to be matte, yet retains a luminous look that I don't get with most pressed powders, probably due to the BB nature. I also love that it performed equally well regardless of what I used beneath it! For instance, my Youngblood mineral powder often gives me a dewy look that leans a little towards oily by midday, but using the BB powder on top really kept shine at bay for a few more hours.

VERDICT: I love this product!

Pros:
Travel-friendly (contains a mirror and sponge applicator below the powder pan)
Smooth, velvety texture
Lightweight, yet buildable (you can choose between using it on its own if you have flawless skin, or as a setting powder over BB creams or foundation)
Easily available (you can purchase it from any L'oreal stockist like Priceline Pharmacy, etc)
Sturdy, compact packaging (I accidentally dropped it, oops, but it fortunately managed to stay in one piece).

Cons:
There is a degree of self-adjusting involved, but with only two shades available (light and medium), I can't help but wonder how it would perform with skintones on either end of the spectrum (i.e. excessively pale or excessively dark)
It's a little expensive at the regular retail price of $26.95 (however, it's usually easy to catch it on sale, Priceline is currently offering 30% off until the 25th of March).

I hope you enjoyed that review, lovelies, and found it helpful. What do you think of this product, does it catch your fancy? Would you consider it worth investing in?

Much love,
MM.
x

P.S. - I actually picked up the L'oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Cream from the Priceline sale today, I can't wait to give it a good try with the Nude Magique BB Powder on top. Stay tuned for the results!

Note: The L'oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder was kindly provided for my consideration, but all other products mentioned were purchased with my own money. This has not affected my opinion in any way. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.