Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder

I recently got the Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder as an early Christmas present to myself... not that I really celebrate Christmas, but it was a good excuse to splurge! :P Plus I've been reading really good reviews about it and I decided why not? I went back to the Chanel store at 1 Utama to get this, and was again served by a very nice SA. I should really get into the habit of getting and remembering their names so I can look for them again... but then again it seems like their shifts always change!

She explained to me that I don't necessarily need a loose powder to set my Chanel Mat Lumiere Luminous Matte Powder Makeup SPF10 foundation as it's designed to be an all-in-one foundation unless I'm going for a more heavy coverage or am attending more formal functions/dinners. She could have easily told me that yes I need a loose powder and get commissions form selling it to me, but she didn't :P She also told me that the Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder can be used alone for a sheer, natural look, which is also a plus for me for days I want a more lighter coverage. She was very patient, answering my queries and all. It was actually a tie between this and the Chanel Purete Mat Anti-Shine Matifying Powder, but according to the SA the latter is more of a "touch-up" powder than a foundation finisher and not really used alone, so I didn't get that.

In the end after deliberating for a while I decided to get the Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder, and was given this free sample of the Chanel White Essential Light Reflecting Whitening Compact Foundation SPF25/PA+++. I'm not really a fan of whitening products... since, well, if my face is "whitened", what about my body? D: It would look pretty mismatched in my opinion... so yeah :x Plus, I tan easily, so it's better for me to embrace my tan than to rectify it and be fair :P



It costs RM 152 for a huge 30g jar, and it's in an incredibly classy matte glass jar. OK, I'm not sure if it's really glass since it's quite light for glass but then again too heavy to be plastic. The lid is solid and embossed with the interlocking "Cs". Nevertheless- once again, luxurious packaging. No velvet pouch this time though, but then again I don't see why loose powders would need a velvet pouch :P



However, there is a powder puff included for application. To be honest, I've not tested and/or used it, so I can't really say much about it. That, and I prefer to use my Everyday Minerals Long-Handled Kabuki Brush to apply loose powders. I am completely sold by this product- so much so that it completely knocked the Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder and The Body Shop Loose Face Powder right out off my HG makeup list!

The powder is extremely finely milled and has a nice, soft fragrance- not the usual powdery foundation makeup smell which I really dislike. It also doesn't really irritate my nose when I apply it around and on my nose (I tend to sneeze a bit when I apply the Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder and The Body Shop Loose Face Powder).



I got it in 20 Clair/Translucent 1. The SA asked me if foundations/powder/makeup oxidised quickly on my face, and I answered yes. Now, don't get me wrong- I'm not saying that my Chanel Mat Lumiere Luminous Matte Powder Makeup SPF10 oxidises, but it's a fact that if I have any foundation/powder/makeup on and I blot with a tissue, it comes off a bit (And darker) and shows slightly on the bridge of my nose despite using makeup primer and all. Pretty annoying. The SA then recommended me this shade as it's a light shade and even if it "oxidises" it wouldn't be too obvious. And since it's translucent, it doesn't really matter. The "white"-looking shade, 10 Limpide, is also translucent, but has more shimmers and is more for highlighting purposes.

I've used it alone- over sunblock and primer (After my usual cleanse-tone-moisturise routine) and it looks absolutely natural and gorgeous. My complexion looks even, glowy and the coverage is extremely light. And the best thing is, when I blotted (Although my skin didn't look very oily at all to be honest), nothing seemed to have came off! Great and perfect for those lazy days and when I feel like letting my skin "breathe", but still require some form of makeup to even out my skin tone. I love!

I've also used it over my Chanel Mat Lumiere Luminous Matte Powder Makeup SPF10, and it really does fix the foundation well and for oil control it's marvelous! No shinies at all for a longer period of time compared to when I fixed my foundation with the Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder and The Body Shop Loose Face Powder. For comparison I've used my Chanel Mat Lumiere Luminous Matte Powder Makeup SPF10 alone (Over sunblock and primer though) without the Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder or any loose powder after it, and although I also do still get a lovely, radiant, matte-yet-natural look (But obviously the coverage is more heavier than loose powder, being foundation) from the foundation, it holds up better, lasts longer, resists oiliness better and even actually made my foundation look more natural when fixed with the loose powder.

Surprisingly, my makeup didn't actually look much more "heavier" and "formal" with the foundation + loose powder though as compared to foundation alone- although when I blotted there were some traces of colour. Powder alone of course gave the lightest coverage of all and I really like that. I will be alternating between using my Chanel Mat Lumiere Luminous Matte Powder Makeup SPF10 and Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder- both if I have the time and the occasion calls for it :) After these tests I don't think I'll be using my Chanel Mat Lumiere Luminous Matte Powder Makeup SPF10 alone much, although it is a good foundation, but honestly, I still am leaning more towards using just loose powder (I started off that way as well- using just loose powder) more often because it just looks so natural and light! :P

Traveling with the Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder might pose a bit of a problem as the jar is huge! But I suppose I could always decant it into smaller jars for that purpose... hmm... or be like the Chanel counters and use a "shaker"-like container for it :D Which is kind of cute, really. Or I could get the Chanel Poudre Universelle Compacte Natural Finish Pressed Powder... but is it as good as the loose powder? Hmm... I'd have to ask.

This is definitely my new HG loose powder and I would repurchase it if it runs out... which isn't so soon by the looks of it o.O

Reviews In Progress

I'm such a bad blogger, but here are my reasons for my tardy reviews- finals are coming soon, I've been busy with a translating job, I need to arrange a suitable time/day to go shopping with a lecturer of mine within this week or next and my Dad is coming down which means less time online. For now I've recently gotten these and will be reviewing them once I've tried and tested them well enough and everything has settled down:

• Dermalogica Super Sensitive Faceblock SPF30
• Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder in 20 Clair/Translucent 1 (Yes, I've succumbed to the allure of Chanel) T.T

How To Spend RM 95 In A Day

So much for trying to control my expenditure >_> But it's money quite well-spent (Since I needed and wanted them anyway), and come to think of it I could have actually spent more but resisted the temptation! Yay me! I went to MidValley Megamall with my sweetheart with intentions to window shop and price check (Mainly on makeup bases/primers) actually. I still can't decide which to get, so I guess I'll stick with my Majolica Majorca Skin Lingerie in the meantime until it runs out :P



So these are what I got: The Body Shop Loose Face Powder in 01 and Origins Smileage Plus Liptint in 03 Eco-Pink. The Body Shop Loose Face Powder is RM 55 whilst the Origins Smileage Plus Liptint is RM 40 (At Origins in The Gardens MidValley).



I would call this a cheaper version of the Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder. I wanted to play Shop In My Stash by My Women Stuff, but I was a bit too late. I only dug up an old, 95% used up jar of The Body Shop Loose Face Powder a few days back and started using it (Until it ran out), and it's replacing my Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder :P Hence buying a new jar. It's in 01- a more yellow-based powder. The SA (A guy named Man who was actually quite nice) was patient enough to answer my questions regarding the colouring of the loose powders. 02 is pink-based and 03 is brown-based basically. I went for yellow-based since it would match the skin colour of my neck, which is more yellow-ish compared to my arms, which are brown-ish. See, this is the problem with being a tanned Chinese :( I'm somewhere in between yellow/brown/pink, which is why getting a foundation match is so hard for me. I'd better keep tanned though, because I don't want to be getting a new lighter foundation shade XD

The Body Shop Loose Face Powder is actually my very first foray into makeup- I used to use no foundation at all (And had no prior experience in using one), I just dusted the powder over my face with my Everyday Minerals kabuki brush (I still do now, although after my Chanel Mat Lumiere Luminous Matte Powder Makeup SPF10 foundation). Then I craved more makeup products and wanted to experiment more (The main reason I recall was due to SPF, which The Body Shop Loose Face Powder lacked), and the rest, they say, is history :P

I'm glad I found this old gem back though- I think I put it aside when my compact foundations entered the scene. It's quite finely textured, makes my skin feel smooth and most of all, actually lasted longer than my Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder in terms of oil control and lasting power. Coverage wise it's pretty buildable, just like the Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder. They're both also loose powder, after all. And in my opinion, The Body Shop Loose Face Powder is also less "messier" than the Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder- less spillage around the mouth of the jar/lid/table occurs when you're trying to get new powder up on top and opened it. For some reason my Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder always "overflows", which is a problem during transportation/traveling and can get quite frustrating because it's wastage. This is the case where cheaper is definitely better for me. The Body Shop Loose Face Powder is half the size of the Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder, but costs cheaper (2 jars of The Body Shop Loose Face Powder is RM 110 = 1 jar of Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder @ RM 120) and works the same if not better.



Another thing I've always wanted and managed to buy is the Origins Smileage Plus Liptint :D It's actually more of an impulse buy- I wanted some colour on my lips since I never did play with my lips unless I had my makeup done professionally. I normally emphasise my eyes (I love eyeliner especially), so this is a step towards experimenting with lip colours I guess :P I love the packaging and how slim the whole thing is, which makes it easy to apply on my lips. The colour is actually incredibly sheer though (So swatching is incredibly hard, so sorry, no swatches), but it makes my lips look healthier and enhances the colour of my lips, not to mention moisturises!



How it looks on my lips. I like how it's non-sticky- and doesn't have a very noticeable smell and/or taste. The initial scent reminds me of something for sure, but I just can't put a finger to it. I tried Benefit Cosmetics California Kissin' too, but it was RM 93 and I couldn't bring myself to buy it. It's quite nice, minty and cooling, but has sparkles in it, which I don't really like personally :P The Origins Smileage Plus Liptint leaves a nice, very light, subtle stain on the lips and if you kiss something (Or someone :P) hard enough you leave a little mark, but not as obvious as lipstick does.

M.A.C disappointed me with its Viva Glam lipsticks and the Passionately Red/Viva Glam lip palettes :| The palettes look awesome in photo and on the site, but in reality it actually looks a bit... cheap in my opinion. Not as classy as I expected. They're for charity (Which is why I even looked at it in the first place), but for RM 63 a lipstick and RM 115 a palette, I couldn't really bring myself to get it either.

The colours also didn't really match me and the SA was a bit meh. Sure, she assisted me, but either she didn't hear me or she ignored my request of recommending what lip colours would suit me (I was totally picking the wrong colours!), but I'm also a total klutz when it comes to applying lipstick and she didn't help me at all. She looked lost in her own world or gave me the impression that she's bored or something. Now I see why some people boycott M.A.C! It's too bad, since previously I had a good experience with the SA that assisted me when I bought their Brush Cleanser and I didn't think of them as pushy. Turns out that they ARE non-pushy, they just don't seem to care :P