Sunday, November 28, 2010

FOTD/Review Using an Asian Makeup Tip: Johnson's Powder Pure Essentials All Day Pink

One of the things I've noticed in my travels and experiences living abroad is that beauty tips are highly idiosyncratic, and I never fail to pick up beauty tips everywhere. I found out about using Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel as a primer from my awesome USA girls (although I was too chicken to try that out), and I learnt about the awesomeness of Sleek and Barry M from the lovely UK bloggers. And now that I'm in Asia, I've learnt another little tip that I thought I'd share with you.

I've been seeing a lot of Asian girls using a Johnson's body powder for their face. The full (and very long) name of this product is Johnson's Powder Pure Essentials All Day Pink. I don't know what it is with Asian products, but it seems like the longer the product name, the better. You know, like an eyeshadow isn't just an eyeshadow over here; it has to be XXX Brand Luminous Shiny Eyes Ultra Light Eye Powder With Pearl Reflector or something like that in order to sell :P



I get my bottle imported for awesomely cheap from Thailand, hence the Thai wording on the bottle. The lady who sold it to me swore that it was TEH AWESOMEZ as a face powder, even if it wasn't made as such. I was very dubious about it's qualities as a face powder, until I googled it and it seemed like she wasn't the only one using that Pure Essentials powder on her face.

The powder itself seemed adaptable for use as a face powder. The ingredients are simple and few - there are, in fact, a grand total of five ingredients (Talc, Dimethicone, Titanium Dioxide, Perfume, Iron Oxide) and all of them are found quite commonly in makeup items anyway, and nothing in the ingredients list seemed pore-clogging or irritating.

johnsons pure essentials all day pink 1


The powder itself is also pretty decent. It's finely-milled, and had a good texture. Maybe not as smooth as it could have been, but it wasn't a major issue with me. The only thing I was worried about was the colour. It was a shade of light pink, which could look potentially quite odd on my skin. However, the good thing about this is that because it's not actually meant as a face powder, the pink tinge in the powder doesn't really show up.

Here's a swatch of the powder on my skin. You can see that you need to really apply a lot before you get any major pink showing up. I do feel like this could still look ashy on more tanned girls, however. But for relatively fair girls (NC/NW20 and lighter, perhaps?), I think this would be fine.

johnsons pure essential all day pink 2

And of course, the review wouldn't be complete without an FOTD showing how the powder looks on my face, so here's a shot of my face with the powder. Here, I mixed the Johnson's Pure Essential Powder with some of my own silica powder to give the powder better mattifying and oil-controlling properties, since the Johnson's All Day Pink Powder wasn't very mattifying on its own.

johnsons pure essential all day pink 3


This is just concealer and powder on my face. Here's the breakdown for anyone interested:
MAC Select Cover Up Concealer (spot applied on face)
MAC Studio Finish Concealer (spot applied on undereye area)
Johnson's Pure Essential All Day Pink mixed with Coastal Scents Silica Powder

I actually thought it looked pretty decent. Firstly, I was worried about the pink tinge in the powder, but when it was mixed with another transparent powder (the silica powder, in my case), it didn't leave a pink cast. I suspect that even if I had used it alone, it wouldn't have left a pink tinge either, since it was quite sheer colour-wise. Which brings me to my second point - don't expect this powder to provide any coverage or any skin-transforming properties. It's good as a basic powder, and that's it. I think this will be good for setting makeup or for people who don't need too much coverage.

So, if you're looking for a cheap, cheery basic powder that doesn't offer too much coverage, this is worth a go. If you're worried about the pink tinge, mixing with a clear powder, as well as a light hand, will help prevent the powder from appearing ashy on your face.

22 comments:

  1. Johnsons stuff are overall nice I think ^^
    Must try them out!

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  2. That looks cool! :) I haven't seen any pink Johnson's powder over here though :/

    xxx

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  3. wow this is eye-opening (i myself am Asian too)! i dont know of anyone who uses this as loose powder, and i was sceptical about the ingredients like you lol.

    how do you feel about this loose powder - oil control ? (i know it's not supposed to do that XD), how well is it in settling your makeup when used alone? does anything melt?

    sorry for so many questions :P

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  4. I'm Asian but I've never heard of this before lol And the powder is so PINK!

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  5. aha i love it! pink powder wowee! xx

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  6. looks like a cheaper version of the orchid powder by T.Leclerc! You ook very fresh wearing it!

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  7. @Jennifer: In terms of oil control, I don't think it really helps at all by itself. And so far, I've never dared to use it on its own, because without silica powder everything melts lol. But so far I've been happy mixing it with silica powder, and I haven't had any issues with it being used this way.

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  8. really like this post and i got some beauty tips for all on our website @beautytipshub.

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  9. It's a bit like that pink powder by Illamasqua, that claims to do the same as this.

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  10. Hmmm thats really cool. I would love learning tips like that from around the world.

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  11. I love love love seeing posts about using products in different ways (other than their intended use). You made me want to get my hands on this, but I don't think I've ever seen it here. Will have to try some of the Asian markets. Thanks for the great review! xo

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  12. Thanks for your post. My mom uses the normal Johnson's powder to freshen up her face during the day. It really works, and without messing up your makeup. I need to get one too :-D

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  13. Not sure this would work for me, as I'm oily and I need coverage. (May work as a finishing or setting powder ...?) But I use the Monistat Anti-Chafing Powder Gel as a face primer and it works beautifully! (And you get SO MUCH for a fraction of the price of actual face primers - it lasts forever!)

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  14. This is a good pick up, I will have to take a look at this product.

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  15. wow. i didnt know you could use powder like this! thks for the tip:)

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  16. @Blovet Beauty: Yes, I was very skeptical that it would work, but I've been using it for about a month now and it's been fine! I wouldn't use ALL powders like that though, I'm just saying that this particular one I tried happened to work out well :)

    @Jean: If you're oily and need coverage, thsi may not be for you. I think it would probably work best as a finishing or setting powder.

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  17. Just be careful and check the ingredients as Ive heard that regular talcum powder when used often is cancer causing

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  18. Most of the Thai girls use that powder or Magic Powder from Pond's here in Thailand. They also have some similar products from small brands. But Johnson's and Pond's are the leading for that kind of face powder. I love Pond's magic powder more. They are really oil absorbing.

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  19. I just ran out of this same face powder. I've been loving this product for years. Do you know any way that I can get my hands on this? I urgently need some!

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  20. I just ran out of this same face powder. I've been loving this product for years. Do you know any way that I can get my hands on this? I urgently need some!

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  21. I just ran out of this powder and am extremely sad. I've been loving this stuff for years. Do you know any way I can get my hands on these? I'm from California and I haven't had any luck finding this. I urgently need some!

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    Replies
    1. @annersx3: I don't think these are sold in the US, unfortunately! I think your best bet would be to look at sites like eBay, Sasa or similar sites. Good luck!

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