Review: NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder

Hey everybody! I recently hauled some stuff from my trip to Vegas, and the NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder was one of the things I bought. I think I have mentioned a few times in previous posts that I do not like powder much at all, even though I am oily. I feel that it makes me look cakey and doesn't usually do much for prolonging my makeup or keeping oil at bay. I usually skip powder entirely, to be honest. But I picked this up at Sephora because I had heard good things. I bought it for $34.00, which isn't too bad for a high end powder. It is comparable in price to many other setting powders at Sephora.

It comes in a nice little soft pouch. I guess this is good if you want to keep the packaging clean, or use the product with a sponge. I personally don't use a sponge, but there is one included in the kit. I think I would have preferred a lower price tag and no pouch, but whatever. Because I don't use a sponge, it's pretty useless to me.

As you can see, the product appears white in the pan. When I swatch it, you can see some of the product on my finger, but on my face it is completely transparent. I think this powder would be fine on any skin tone, honestly. When I swatch it, I can see a very slight sheen that the powder gives off. On the face, it is not that obvious. I wouldn't say it's entirely matte, but it's not glowy, glittery, or shiny in any way. It's just nice.

There is one downside to this powder that is annoying. There is a hard layer that covers the top of this powder that you have to break through in order to get any product on your brush. If the layer is not broken, you're not going to be picking up any product. You'll know that you've completely broken the top layer when you start seeing the powder look shiny. I used a really rough brush that I have just sitting around in my stash to break through the top layer. It didn't take much work at all, but I just want you guys to be forewarned. If I didn't have a really scratchy brush, I don't know that I would have been able to reach the product as easily.

Once you get to the actual product, it is velvety smooth to the touch. Seriously, it is so luxurious.

As far as what it does to my skin- I love it. It sets my makeup really well without looking like powder at all. It's amazing. It is also really blurring. When I swipe this stuff over my pores, they become way less noticeable. It just makes everything flawless without changing the color of your foundation. Like I said- it's not too matte, nor too shiny. "Light reflecting" is a good name for it, because it certainly does that.

I don't know that it prolongs the wear of my foundation. It does an alright job of keeping oil under control, but I don't rely on it to keep me shine free all day. I choose foundations that are good for oily skin (or, at least, my oily skin), and top it with this. I have used it over three of my favorite foundations- Revlon Colorstay Whipped, Shiseido Sun Protection Liquid Foundation, and NARS Sheer Glow. It was great over all three.

Overall, I love this powder. It's exactly what I want in a powder, because it doesn't look like a powder on the skin at all.

What do you guys think? Have you tried it, or the loose version? Let me know!


Much love!

Gianna