Hard Candy Welcome Matte

Awhile ago, Izzie from MusingsofaMuse gifted me with this Hard Candy Welcome Matte along with a host of other Hard Candy pretties. As the name suggests, it is basically a mattifying face powder that you can dust on top of your foundation. Hard Candy is currently sold only at Walmart in the US, which is a pity as it has an interesting range of products.

I like the simple packaging of the powder compact, which is about the same size as a MAC powder compact.

The powder pan flips up to reveal a mirror under the pan and a cute pink heart-shaped sponge, which I never use as I prefer to use a powder brush for a smoother finish.

The catch for the lid is not very firm enough and pops open with the lightest of touches so if you have this rattling about in your bag, chances are it will flip open.

While the powder does look nice and smooth when applied, it has a few drawbacks. The mattifying power is just a couple of hours at best, after which I find myself back to blotting regularly throughout the day. When I touch my brush to the surface, it tends to throw up a ton of loose powder bits which can get quite messy. The powder applies with a slightly whitish cast so it is probably suited only for very fair to light skintones.

Still, at just US$8 for 7.6g of product, this is a face powder that won't break the bank and can last you a good while. I also like the fact that this is made in the US and yet still so affordable. But if you have super oily skin like me, then you may want to look for something else with better oil control properties.

Here's the ingredients list. The first ingredient is talc.