Maybelline Dream Matte Powder - Taming the Oily Beast

The Oily Beast in this case being myself.

I have serious shine problems. The oil doth runneth freely in my skin. I've gone through lots of powders in my time in an attempt to address this; Estee Lauders, Nars, Clinique, Cargo, Elf, the list scrolls on. But I've never been aware of a mainstream product that is actually oil control based, so I was rightly curious when I cracked open this one to give it a shot.


Firstly it's shade 03 - Honey. And that perplexes me. It is a very pale powder; what must 02 and 01 be like?? Secondly "honey" as a descriptive term does not summon to mind the pale lasses who would be using this. Honey to me says tanned, golden. I'm more used to words like Ivory or Porcelain being thrown about.

It also has this nifty swivelly thingy-whatsy, with a fuzzy fabric pad. I prefer a brush, but it's good to know that if I forget it somewhere I'll still be able to apply. And YES That's Frank photobombing all my photos. You'd best get used to it. He's sitting on my feet as we speak. He's literally never more than a metre away from me. He is one needy wombat.

It's not really a translucent, but it's close. You'll want your coverage to come more from your foundation than this baby. It's got a very soft soapy scent, nothing overpowering and it's gone pretty fast. What's kind of amazing is how long this lasts. A regular powder I have to touch up maybe three times during a day because the oil will start seeping through. Looking at my face now - eleven hours after applying it - there is very little oil visible.

So my ultimate verdict is this - if you are oily, and you don't want a really pigmented powder - you really should try this. I'm wearing it every day now, it's part of my handbag emergency kit. And when this runs out I will most assuredly get me some more. Quicktime.

DISCAIMERY DISCLAIMERSON: Sent for review. And bless them. Still buying some when I run out though.