ELF High Definition HD Finishing Powder Review

ELF High Definition HD Finishing Powder 

Price: $6 for 8 grams
About $.75 a gram

CRUELTY FREE!!!

E.L.F. High Definition Finishing Powder follows suit with the HD faze. Promising to "create a soft focus and blur imperfections, lines & wrinkles," ELF would like you to believe that they have created a solution so versitile and miraculous, you will look flawless even with the most advanced HD technology' and regardless of your complexion woes.

Does it work is the question though....



Available in three shades, the first is "sheer;" which is, infact, white upon initial appearance. The next shade is "corrective yellow" which will no doubt help with sallowness & help to neutralize redness, and the last is "shimmer;" which appears to be a shimmery pink. I have only tried the sheer shade, so my review will be based strictly on that one.

Elf lists several ingredients on their website, however I am 99% certain that when I purchased Sheer, the only ingredients were Dimethicone/Dimethicone Cross Polymer, and Silica. I don't know if I'm wrong or if the other ingredients were added recently, or if they additional ingredients are only present in the pink & yellow shades.

Regardless, the ingredient list is pretty straight forward and it is important that it be addressed because this is what separates ELF's HD Finishing powder from a traditional setting powder.

I hate powders. I always have. I hate powder foundations, and I hate setting powders. I just dont like them. I think I may apply too much but they always exaggerate every flaw I didn't know I had. Typically, these powders have some sort of boring formula including talc and mica. Mica adds shine and Talc absorbs oil. Many new setting powders are also including dimethicone.

Dimethicone is a silicone which is semi-water soluble. Essentially, ELF High Definition Powder is only powdered silicone. AWESOME! This means that I can suddenly apply a silicone powder when my face needs touch ups or to set a foundation/concealer and it will absorb oil while leaving a flawless finish. PERFECT!

Unlike Talc, which has been proven to clog pores, silicone does not. Research has shown that this silicone particles are too large to "fall into" pores so instead, they function like a teabag, allowing everything else to penetrate skin. This means that anyone who believes they break out from the 88% of cosmetics with silicone, need to look at the other ingredients before making such a brash judgement.

The great thing about ELF High Definition Powder, is, I can apply it with a heavy hand and I don't have to worry about it. The semi-soluble nature of dimethicone means that this will literally "melt" into my skin, while absorbing shine & oil, and while filling in fine lines and wrinkles. Does it get any better?

For those of you who think that maybe the white nature of the powder will create a ghostly cast, think again. I am the palest of the pale and I know what makes me paler, this isn't one of them. Think of sugar. It may look white in its granular, ground up form, but melt it down and you can see it is clear. That's the same situation here. Once applied to your face, the white cast disappears and lessens even more within minutes.

The only negative thing I can think of, is if you have severely oily skin, the dimethicone & silica may not absorb oil as well as talc. In that case you may need a traditional powder, but this is worth a go for sure!