This purple compact landed on my desk for editorial consideration late last year. I’ll be honest, when I first opened the compact, I wasn’t too impressed. The packaging was rather bland for my taste and the enclosed sponge was just useless (I chucked it as soon as I tore the plastic wrapping off the cardboard). In other words, it looked like a dark, uninteresting compact.

Still, I thought I’d give it a go and see if the powder’s just as meh as the packaging. You never know, it might surprise me. And it did. 🙂

Description:
Lightweight coverage that softens the appearance of imperfections and helps to instantly brighten skin tone with radiance inspired by Olay.
– Contains smooth-glide serum
– The powder’s luminous gold pearl pigment and warm-toned silk mica work together simulataneously to balance skin tone and create a natural, flawless finish.
– Non-comedogenic, dermatologically tested, suitable for sensitive skin, won’t clog pores

I’m glad that the negative impressions stopped at the packaging because when I started using the pressed powder, I actually liked it.

It’s a compact of finely-milled and finely-pressed powder. It has a matte finish that doesn’t look or feel powdery on the skin. If you run your finger gently over the powder, you’ll notice how fine it is. It’s like the finish of a loose powder but in more purse-worthy form.

Instead of a sponge, I used a fluffy face brush with the powder. I find that a face brush leaves a more natural finish on the skin as it’s not as heavy.

This handy compact travelled with me to Malaysia and was my go-to powder for a month in the very humid tropical weather. It was an unusually wet Chinese New Year this year and along with the hot temperatures, it was a terribly muggy month to bear. My makeup-free face was oily and shiny most of the time. On occasions when I do need to at least make my face look more presentable, I used this powder over BB cream. It kept my face oil-free (especially the T-zone) long enough to last at least a couple of hours. And trust me, with the high humidity in Malaysia, it’s a very good thing.

It comes in 4 shades: Fair, Fair/Light/, Light, Light/Medium. The one I’m using is Medium. This is a heavy swatch. The powder is actually a lot lighter and finer

I didn’t really understand the collaboration with Olay because I didn’t think it did anything for my skin underneath the makeup. The compact mentions that it’s infused with powerful Olay skin conditioning ingredients, resulting in a compact full of moisturing and radiance enhanced pigments. I’m sorry, but all that just *wooooosh* flew over my head. There just wasn’t any difference in terms of hydration on the skin underneath the powder. At the end of the day, it’s just makeup. 😛

Having said that, as a pressed powder to finish my makeup, it’s a good one. As it passed the high-humidity-low-shiny-face test for a whole month, I’m giving this powder a happy thumbs up. Two thumbs up in fact. I’ve used it here in Australia when it’s crazy hot outside too. Contrary to the humidity in Malaysia, we have dry heat here and even so, the powder did its job well. No sinking into fine lines, minimal amount of shine on the T-zone and a good, natural finish. It ticks all the important pressed-powder boxes for me.

The COVERGIRL + Olay Pressed Powder retails at $16.95 and is available at Priceline, Target, Big W, Kmart, selected pharmacies and major supermarkets nationwide.

What I like about it: Affordable makeup, fine quality powder, good oil control in high humidity and dry heat, natural finish on skin

What I do not like about it: Bland packaging, ambiguous moisturising claims