Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I purchased this item three days ago and so far I really like it.
What I like is the foundation applies like a loose powder foundation but it travels like a solid. The powder is compressed and is placed under a circle shaped disc and the disc has lots of little blades which you twist to shave off as much product as you need (see product image). When you shave the compressed powder it of course turns into loose powder.
I tend to have acne breakouts on my chin and jawbone area so it's too soon to tell whether or not this product will cause me to breakout.
This product is not a mineral powder which is popular right now and I find it to be more moisturizing than mineral powder foundations. Prior to switching to Smashbox's HALO I have been using a combination of Bare Escentuals (BE) and Philosophy The Super Natural foundation to help with acne breakout and because I like a lighter coverage than what liquid foundations provide. The Smashbox HALO foundation provides the lighter coverage I like but like BE you can build up the coverage which is something I had to be careful with because I managed to get it built up a bit heavy around my nose area where my skin tends to be a bit more oily.
The coverage has lasted me all day with a bit of wear off under the nose piece of my glasses. My skin tends to be more on the dry side though so if you have very oily skin I would recommend using a foundation primer designed to control oil since this powder does contain moisturizers. I am able to feel the moisturizers and I think this contributes a bit to the wear off under the nose piece of my glasses and build up around my nose. Smashbox HALO is advertised that it will "refresh" your skin and the salesperson who sold me the product compared it to Prescriptive Magic Liquid Powder but it doesn't compare. Prescriptive's Magic Liquid Powder would leave behind almost a wet, cooling feeling when applied and the Smashbox HALO does not.
Smashbox HALO's powder does not sit on top of your skin but rather looks like it absorbs into it , my husband commented that it looked far more natural on me then what I was previously wearing ( I was wearing Bare Escentual). The look of the powder is more natural, it is not meant to give a matte finish so again if you have oily skin expect to have shine so think of purchasing something which helps to absorb oil.
I'm in my early 30's and do not have any wrinkles ... yet so I can't speak on how well this product works on camouflaging wrinkles and fine lines.
Another note about Smashbox HALO is it does not have any SPF in it so make sure your moisturizer does.
I use to carry in my purse Philosophy's The Super Natural mineral foundation to refresh my powder during the day because it had SPF 15 and it was travel friendly.
The color of Smashbox HALO powder turned out to match me better than Bare Escentual (BE) Fairly Light did. Where BE's color Light was too pink for me the Fairly Light had the yellow undertone I needed but it was a bit too light so I warmed it up with the Tinted Mineral Veil.
To help you out if you are trying to find a good color to match your skin tone I found Smashbox HALO's color Light to be a great match. I have a yellow undertone to my skin but my skin tone is fairly light. I have natural very dark black/brown hair with dark brown eyes and my skin color has yellow under tones.
My best friend is blond with hazel eyes and has a very light skin tone with some redness but not pinkish undertones and she ended up using the Fair. I think she may have more bluish undertones but any pink undertone makeup just stands out on her like sore thumb.
Speaking of redness, the Smashbox HALO foundation worked very well in covering up her redness. I myself have some blemishes which need cover up and by a foundation brush instead of the kabuki brush I was able to apply the powder a bit stronger in areas I need more coverage and still keep it natural looking.
Smashbox HALO comes with its own travel size kabuki brush which I don't care for. It's not that soft but if you compare it to the kabuki brush Bare Escentual's provides then it feels like cashmere.
The price is a bit high but almost all Smashbox products are pretty expensive. I compared using it to using my Bare Escentuals which costs about $44.00 (Mineral Veil plus the powder foundation) to $64.00 (if you use an all over face color such as Warmth) and for $59.00 dollars I'm actually paying less in the long run.
I've also managed to cut my beauty routine down switching to Smashbox HALO. It's a one step application compared to Bare Escentuals were I would have to first apply the face color, second apply Warmth and then last apply Mineral Veil. OR if I did it Bare Escentuals instructs then I should have been , first applying the Bare Escentuals primer , second applying the face color .... you get the picture.
So all and all I'm happy with this foundation. If I had to give a break down of the good and bad it would go in this order.
Good:
1.Good coverage
2.Moisturizing
3.Portability
Bad
1.Limited color selection
2.Women with oily skin will need to use an oil absorbing primer
3.No SPF
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So a little more than a month later and here are my thoughts....
I'm still using HALO and I still love this foundation. My biggest concern about the powder is how will my hormonal acne react to this? Well a month later and I do not feel that this powder has contributed to any acne flair up.
If any suggestion could be made to Smashbox it would be please add SPF to this product. For now I am grateful that at least my moisturizer has SPF 30.
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Smashbox HALO HYDRATING PERFECTING POWDER .75 oz (21 g)
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