I’ve been using Laura Mercier’s original loose powder for more than 10 years and, upon first hearing about this new mint variety, I wondered whether the brand could improve on its tried and true formula.
Rest assured, it retains all the elements you know and love from the original powder, such as staying power, a weightless, non-cakey consistency and excellent shine diffusion. In fact, having rotated powders from Saie and One/Size into my routine, I was relieved to return to Laura Mercier’s reliability, which I find beats competitors on almost all fronts.
As for the hue shift, the shade is a luminous ‘mint choc chip’ in the packaging, but thankfully it doesn’t leave you looking nauseous once in situe. Once it hits your fluffy make-up brush, it looks more similar to a translucent powder and, in terms of finish, it took the edge off the dew from my primer and moisture-heavy skin tint. As someone with oily skin, this blotting element is paramount to ensuring my make-up’s longevity. It left my face grease-free without looking flat, and my subsequent blush and bronzer applied without turning patchy – which can’t be said of all loose powders.
Regarding its ability to neutralise redness, I watched in real time as the powder took a blemish on my cheek from pink and angry to barely visible, while the burst blood vessels around my nostrils faded almost entirely. I recently discovered from a facialist that my skin suffers with rosacea, so redness and irritation are common concerns. With this powder, however, I was able to lessen the appearance of splotchiness and create a more pristine pigment blush, versus my body’s natural (and unflattering) tendency to flush unevenly. Swept on in a matter of seconds, consider this your real life Photoshop filter.
Rating: 5/5
– Lucy Smith
At a first glance, the mint green powder looks a little alarming. Fortunately once I applied it, the green pigment blended into my warm skin tone, leaving no trace of colour behind. Instead, I found it helped to cancel the redness I typically get around my nose and mouth. It blended seamlessly into my skin providing a lovely blurring effect, and it didn’t settle into any lines. As the day went on, some of my natural shine came through but this was nothing a quick top-up couldn’t sort out.
Rating: 4.5/5
– Sabrina Sahota
