Under-eye setting powders are rather ‘nice-to-have’ than ‘must-have’ beauty products for me, as I usually use regular loose powders all over the face. However, Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder promises to visually smooth the under-eye area and help prevent concealers from creasing, so I decided to try it.
What’s claimed
Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder is a transparent and weightless powder designed specifically to brighten the under-eye area. It quickly sets this area without settling in fine lines, accentuating shadows or appearing cakey. Additionally, it significantly blurs and brightens, while the no-flashback formula ensures you look great in photos.
Ingredients: Talc, Silica, Dimethicone, Mica, Glyceryl Caprylate, P-Anisic Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Phalaenopsis Amabilis Extract, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Zea Mays (Corn) Oil, Ethylene/Methacrylate Copolymer, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, Tin Oxide
What Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder is formulated with
So, just like Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder, this under-eye powder is talc-based. Talc is well known for its spreadability and is often used in products that are expected to leave an invisible finish on the skin.
Here you’ll also find silicone dimethicone which helps to make the skin silky smooth and visually irons out fine lines and wrinkles, and a combination of ingredients that is used to slightly even the skin tone, adding natural freshness, brightness, and luminosity.
How it feels
The texture of the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder is excellent with a really fine-milled, featherweight formula which is absolutely undetectable on the skin. I usually apply it with a fluffy brush to avoid over-application because my thin skin under the eyes tends to look too dry with much powder on.
My impressions
I have Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder in shade 1 that looks pure white but is truly transparent when applied to the skin. At the same time, it’s amazingly good at brightening and illuminating the skin making dark circles under the eyes less prominent. And all that comes with no flashback at all!
As for extending the wear of concealers, this powder is good with setting everything in place as well, which is not surprising, given that its main component is talc. If the concealer creases too much, you may need two layers of powder; however, for me, one layer is usually enough – except for some very hydrating concealers that tend not to have good staying power. With hydrating concealers, I typically apply concealer, then apply one layer of powder on top, let it sit for a couple of minutes, press out the product if it creased in fine lines, and powder again. This way, any concealer stays in place much longer and lasts almost all day.
My under-eye area is thin and prone to dryness. Therefore, it is essential for me that the powder does not dry out the skin and does not make fine lines look worse. And even though Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder looks great for the first four or five hours after application, it gradually dries out the concealer accentuating imperfections under the eyes.
But for me, this powder’s biggest drawback is that it is not just illuminating but a bit sparkly! I guess the tiny specks of shimmer were added for visual smoothing of skin texture. Still, in Laura Mercier’s powder, these are not subtle light-reflecting particles that would even out the skin due to light scattering, but somewhat visible, even if not that large, shimmer. In photos, this shimmer is unnoticeable, and you really get the effect of highlighted skin with a more even texture. But in everyday life, especially in the bright sunlight, it looks like I applied glitter or shimmer eyeshadows, and they fell out slightly.
Therefore, I can recommend Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder for evening makeup and photos but would choose something less sparkle for day makeup.
The Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder costs £26.00 for 4g and is available at:
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