Secret Brightening Agents

The under eye area-- an ongoing saga if there ever was one. 

After a concealer is applied, there is a need to 'set' it-- to prevent it from creeping down into those undeniable lines that are forming under my eyes (I SMILE a lot and when I smile, a scrunch up my eyes, so they are joyous little lines. I dislike that ugly word 'crow's feet'). 

 Anyway-- I often neglect this step unless I have a big night out-- but as I am noticing more and more under the lights of even the most flattering restaurant restrooms-- this powder is key in fixing that under eye nonsense that I have to go through. 

I have found 2-- both of which I recommend. 

Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder  which is about $22 comes in 2 shades (I use #2 which is a little yellow-er) and I have been using the same pot for about 2 years. A little goes a long way with this baby. I recommend dusting on a little after your concealer has been applied for a diffused under-eye appearance. 

The problem with this (and the next product) is that it will look dusty under your eyes unless you have relatively fair to medium toned skin. I cannot imagine that this talc-based powder will set well with al the mocha/ honey toned ladies. 

The powder is super finely milled, and I always give my brush a good blow before I apply in order to get the right amount. The powder is not shimmery, but there is a 'light' to it. It is very light, and an excellent 'setting' agent. In fact, I sometimes will use it to conceal redness around my nose (after my tinted moisturizer has been applied).

I also like it because it is not cornstarch based.  A lot of finer 'veils' for your foundation are corn starch-based-- and believe it or not this can irritate sensitive skinned people who don't even realize they are corn-sensitive (like me!).

Overall I give it 2.75 out of 5 stars-- the major disadvantage is that it's not appropriate for 50% of the people I know.

 Benefit (pictured) has come out with a similar product called Powderflage, $25-- which comes in 1 shade-- a pale pale pink powder which is also meant to diffuse the light and help you out in those undereye area. 

I used it for about a week and I have to say it's a pretty decent product. It offers light coverage of the under eye region-- so it definitely is not an option as a stand-alone product for me. It is pink-based-- so it works great for my pink-based skin tone-- but I would be a wary user if my areas that needed to be concealed lean towards gray. 

I also found this powder to be a touch 'drier' looking than the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder-- but I didn't use the application brush (a mini little fan brush) that comes with it. Perhaps I put on too much? Whatever it was, I did feel there was a slight powdery feel that 'aged' me. 

I bet this product would work perfectly when combined with Benefit's Erase Paste (see my review under Eye Care).

I give it an advantage point because I did use it in the smile parentheses around my mouth and found that it staved off the usual settling of the makeup. Overall, I think because it is pink-based and blends a little better into my skin tone, I almost like it better.  I am probably going to be with the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder for another 10 years because I feel I haven't even made a dent in that powder(unless I accidentally drop the jar :)-- but I give the Benefit product a 2.99 out of 5 stars. Good for light coverage (as a stand alone), and for setting concealer. -.01 for reasons stated below.

Now my rant on Benefit: For a San Francisco based company that is supposedly conscious in terms of animal testing, the environment etc-- They use a lot of packaging (don't be fooled by the photo-- it's not to scale) to get this tiny little product out to you. I commented at the counter because it comes in a can almost  2 times bigger than a soda-- and the little jar that contains the stuff is teensy weensy. Anyway I get really upset when there is so much output and packaging just for 'show'. Benefit, think of the polar bears and the landfills. There is only going to be 1 left if you don't start doing your part in making more environmentally conscious packaging. And it's not polar bears. So it means landfills in case I was being too subtle.

Anyway I hope this helps you make your holidays a little brighter.

Kisses!

S.