I came home from Ulta feeling triumphant and exuberant. After all, I had found the last Laura Geller Filter Finish Baked Radiance Setting Powder and bought it out from under everyone else’s nose. But now I’m on an emotional roller coaster. I went from excited to wanting to cry pretty quickly — And here’s why:
This powder looked so pretty online and I was expecting something wonderful from Laura Geller. Instead I feel like I just got another highlighter – to be precise, another Laura Geller Baked Highlighter in French Vanilla. There are a bunch little things that disappoint me about this new LG product, and then one big one: I don’t think it did it’s job!
First of all, the compact is kind of cheap looking and feeling. For $32 I would hope to get a weightier compact with a mirror inside. Instead I got a plastic clam-shell.
Then when I swatched the colors swirled together I noticed right away how shimmery they looked. I wouldn’t describe the result as luminizing or tone correcting. And I’m not sure where the “filter finish” comes in. I didn’t feel filtered. When I applied it all over my face (per the directions), I felt like a big, lit up, moon face, in sorry need of contouring.
I decided to compare this new LG powder to a $3 version from e.l.f., which is marketed differently than LG’s but has the same general powder colors. Check out at the powder swatches (below) side-by-side and you’ll see that e.l.f. is matte whereas LG is very shimmery. Guess what? I would rather use e.l.f. over LG to get a tone corrected and filtered look… and for one-tenth of the price.
But that’s just one woman’s opinion. Decide for yourself based on the evidence.
Ingredients (Laura Geller Filter Finish Baked Radiance Setting Powder):
MICA, TALC, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, DIMETHICONE, ISOPROPYL PALMITATE, POLYSORBATE 20, OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE, MAGNESIUM ALUMINUM SILICATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, LAUROYL LYSINE, CETEARYL ETHYLHEXANOATE, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS SEED OIL, SORBITAN STEARATE, ACRYLAMIDE/SODIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYLTAURATE COPOLYMER, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, TIN OXIDE, HEXYLENE GLYCOL, ISOHEXADECANE, NYLON-12, PROPYLENE GLYCOL DICAPRYLATE/DICAPRATE, POLYSORBATE 80, CENTELLA ASIATICA EXTRACT, SORBITAN OLEATE, CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, CALCIUM SODIUM BOROSILICATE, CALCIUM ALUMINUM BOROSILICATE, SILICA, PHENOXYETHANOL, SODIUM DEHYDROACETATE. MAY CONTAIN: RED 7 (CI 15850), ULTRAMARINES (CI 77007), CHROMIUM OXIDE GREENS (CI 77288), IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891).
Very soon I’ll have my hands on Clinique Sculptionary Palette in Defining Sugars. Then I’ll compare LG, YSL, e.l.f., and Clinique all together!
In the meantime, go play some Lite-Brite!
-JGG