Have you ever been in love? Truly in love? Like, never-want-to-be-apart, shout-it-from-the-rooftops love?
Well, I haven’t, but I’ve come pretty damn close with this pressed powder foundation I bought recently.
But before I share the details of our epic love affair, I think I should start by giving you the back story about my skin. I consider myself pretty #blessed to have made it through my teenage years without ever suffering from acne (save for this one week in 2004 when I put a lot of expired sunscreen on my face… Not my brightest moment), but I’ve still waged my fair share of battles with my skin. I have combination skin–and oily T-zone and dry cheeks–which is no walk in the park to deal with, but by far, the biggest war I’ve fought with my face has been with redness. I’ve been cursed to roam this earth looking like I’m constantly blushing. My MTV True Life episode would be called True Life: I’m a Tomato With Hair.
Given that I’d rather not be an oily tomato with hair, I’ve spent a lot of time, energy, and dollar bills trying to fix the problem. Up until recently, “fixing the problem” has meant using a skin-calming moisturizer, green-based primer, concealer, foundation, and powder. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love makeup, but my beauty routine was beginning to feel completely unmanageable. I started to resent the process, which was a surefire sign that I needed to reevaluate what I was doing. Putting on makeup should never feel like a necessary chore–if it’s not fun anymore, don’t wear it!–so, it was pretty obvious to me that I needed to make a change.
I decided to seek the counsel of a makeup artist at a downtown Toronto Shopper’s Mart Beauty Boutique. I told her that I was sick of using multiple products to keep my inflamed skin at bay and that I was looking for a miracle: I wanted one product to do it all. One product to reduce shine, even my skin tone, and cover up all of that damn redness.
The makeup artist–whom I really should be referring to as my fairy godmother–told me that she had just the product I was searching for: Pür Minerals 4-in-1 Pressed Mineral Makeup Powder, which is a foundation, powder, and concealer with SPF 15 built-in. At first, I was skeptical because I haven’t had great results with multipurpose beauty products in the past (I’m looking at you, 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner), but I told her I was game to try.
And thus begins the greatest love story ever told.
My fairy godmother applied the product to my cheeks in circular motions using a Cover FX powder brush. When she was finished, I checked out my appearance and was, quite frankly, floored.
Gone were my red cheeks and oily T-zone, and in their place was flawless, even-toned, and luminous (but not greasy!) skin. The coverage was awesome, my forehead wasn’t shiny at all, and my cheeks didn’t look like two stop signs. Needless to say, I was sold. I left the store a few moments later with a 4-in-1 powder and a Cover FX brush in tow, choking back happy tears and resisting the urge to skip all the way home.
The next day, I started my beauty routine by cleansing, moisturizing, and applying SPF (of the unexpired variety). At this point, I would typically begin moaning about the futility of my existence while pulling out my green-based primer, foundation, concealer, and powder. This time I left those products (and my bad attitude) in my makeup bag and reached for my Pür Minerals powder instead.
Pretty fantastic coverage for one product, don’t you think?! There’s definitely still a bit of redness around my nose and cheeks, but that can easily be taken care of with a bit of green-based primer. No heavy foundation or concealer is required!
I decided to take my new face out on the town, and as you probably surmised from the title of this article, everyone in Toronto was bowled over by my beauty.
OK, so I’m exaggerating slightly, but I did receive six compliments on my skin that afternoon. Yup, six of them, and two were from total strangers. My friend told me that my skin had never looked better, and a woman who works at my neighborhood grocery store said my skin looked “fantastic.” A woman I was squashed up next to on the subway during rush hour said, “Excuse me, but I just have to tell you that your skin is amazing.” Seriously, the compliments just kept coming! It was bananas.
As cheesy as this sounds, the best thing about the 4-in-1 pressed powder foundation is that it’s brought back my love for applying makeup. Now that I can quickly get my skin looking the way I want it to, I have more time to spend on fun stuff like mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick.
Needless to say, I haven’t gone a day without wearing my Pür Minerals 4-in-1 powder since the afternoon I bought it. Together forever, guys.
So, now I want to know what products you love using your own face, especially if you have issues with evening out your skin tone. What have you tried that’s worked, and what hasn’t worked at all? What products are you having a torrid love affair with? Share the knowledge, my friends!
