First of all, I'm thoroughly impressed by the design upgrade Avon's done with the Luxe collection. They've finally departed from the safe black plastic that most of their standard products are fitted in. I like the attention to details. The box is also pretty, adorned in a snakeskin pattern which, by itself, isn't something I usually go for but since it comes in a pretty purple color – it's all good. Golden colored lettering also fits very well. However, the casing is where the real difference is at. Yes, it's still made of plastic but I think that is something to be expected. Even Guerlain made their new Ecrin 2 Couleurs Palletes fitted in a plastic casing. Now, plastic casing is something I find to be unforgivable when high-end brands are in question. Plastic casing is definitely something I can look past when drugstore make-up and catalogue make-up comes to mind. The gold color also isn't something I go for, I much prefer the silver hues but it somehow looks very attractive when you look at it. I love the shape, it's amazing and I even like how “Luxe” is embossed in the front. You can already tell that I'm in love with the design of my Luxe pressed powder, can't you?
Prije svega, zaista sam impresionirana poboljsanjem kada je dizajn u pitanju. Avon je uistinu dosta toga poboljsao kod Luxe kolekcije. Napokon su se odvazili da pokusaju i sa necim drugim. Lijepa je promjena i korak dalje od crne plastike u koju je upakovana vecina njihovih standardnih make-up komada. Dopada mi se i sto je posvecena paznja detaljima. Kutija u kojoj je puder upakovan je takodjer simpaticna. Ukrasena je zmijskim uzorkom koji, iskreno receno, nije nesto mom oku ugodno no posto dolazi u lijepoj ljubicastoj boji – dopada mi se. Zlatno obojena slova su takodjer lijep detalj. Kako cete primijetiti, i dalje je kuciste napravljeno od plastike no to je ipak bilo ocekivano. Cak je i Guerlain svoje nove Ecrin 2 Couleurs palete sjena upakovao u plasticno kuciste. Moje misljenje je da plastika nije prihvatljiva ako se radi o high-end brendovima. Sa druge strane, kada su drogerijski i kataloski proizvodi u pitanju – plastika je definitivno prihvatljiva. Zlatna boja pakovanja je nesto sto prije ne bih pohvalila (posto preferiram srebrne nijanse a ne zlatne) no ipak ovdje sve to djeluje lijepo. Naprosto je atraktivnog izgleda. Dopada mi se kako je “Luxe” ugravirano, dopada mi se i oblik. Vec pocinjete shvatati da mi se jako dopao dizajn ovog pudera, zar ne?
But it isn't all roses at all. Although I also love how this powder opens and closes in a way that spillage is virtually non-existent and that it's really firm, there are some issues. For instance, the size of this pressed powder. It should be compact, no? It's huge, really something to have in mind before purchasing. If you'll be toting it in a regular bag, than you're good to go. But if you wanted to slip it into a small, teensy clutch – think again. It's the size of the meaty part of my palm and that it by no means compact. However, the bigger dimensions also mean that you get a really nicely sized mirror inside. You see, this pressed powder is all about compromise. If you want an attractive packaging, you'll get it but it won't be made out of metal. You'll have to settle with nicely made plastic in a non-kitchy hue of gold. If you want a mirror which you'll actually use, than you'll have to settle with bigger dimensions. When you open this casing, you'll notice that you get a cute withe sponge to apply it with. Although the sponge is thin and soft and it really looks decent – I don't use it because I believe that sponges aren't hygienic at all. Lisa Eldridge says so and I don't argue with the woman – she knows her stuff.
Ipak nije sve idealno. Iako mi se dopada nacin na koji se puder otvara i zatvara te je mogucnost rasipanja ili iznenadnog otvaranja pudera svedena na minimum – ipak postoje stvari koje mi se ne dopadaju. Na primjer, dimenzije ovog pudera. Trebao bi biti kompaktan, zar ne? Ogroman je. To morate imati na umu prije kupovine. Ako ga planirate sa sobom nositi u standardnoj torbi, biti ce vam okej posto iako je velik, nije tezak. Ali ako ste ga namjeravale nositi u vecernjim, malenim torbicama – nece stati u njih. Velicine je mesnatog dijela dlana i uopste nije kompaktan. No sa druge strane, zbog vecih dimenzija znaci da cete unutar pakovanja dobiti ogledalo koje je jako dobre i iskoristive velicine. Kod ovog pudera je sve u kompromisu. Ako zelite atraktivno pakovanje, dobiti cete ga ali nece biti metalno vec plasticno. Ako zelite iskoristivo ogledalo za nanosenje make-upa, pomirite se sa njegovim dimenzijama. Kada ga otvorite, primijetiti cete da se unutra nalazi spuzvica za nanosenje. Iako je spuzvica tanka i mekana te djeluje pristojno – ja je ne koristim posto uopste ne mislim da su spuzvice higijenski nacin nanosenja kozmetike. I Lisa Eldridge tako misli a ja joj se usprotiviti necu – ta zena je ziva enciklopedija.
The thing that you'll also notice whilst opening this powder is that it's strongly perfumed. If you're sensitive to perfumed make-up, than you know what to do. I personally am not sensitive to perfume in make-up and this particular scent I'm slightly addicted to. It smells like a nice perfume. Floral but not overpowering. I like it. If you look at the ingredients, you'll see that at the end of the list it contains sapphire extract. I personally believe that it's just an advertisement stunt and I really don't see how this extract has any impact on the skin. How does this pressed powder actually perform is what I'm really interested in. Well, as soon as you slide your finger over the surface of the powder you'll immediately notice its silky texture. It really feels wonderful under fingertips, so smooth and soft. It should have a mattifying effect. I'm not totally convinced. As I've mentioned before, my T-zone isn't too oily but this powder performed averagely and gave it a matte appearance for approx 4-5 hours. I don't believe that this powder would be a dream come true for truly oily skin problems. It won't control the shine effectively but averagely.
Ono sto cete takodjer primijetiti pri otvaranju pudera jeste da je jako parfimiran. Ako ste osjetljivi na parfeme u kozmetici, znate sta vam je ciniti. Licno mi mirisi u proizvodima ne smetaju a konkretno ovaj miris mi se dopao. Mirise na neki lijep parfem, kolonjsku vodu. Cvijetno ali ne i napadno. Ako budete pregledavali sastojke, primijetiti cete da se na posljednjem mjestu nalazi ekstrakt safira. Ovo je nesto sto smatram marketinskim trikom. Na takve stvari ne obracam paznju i uopste mi nije jasno koji bi efekat na kozi takav jedan ekstrakt mogao da ima. Ono sto me stvarno zanima jeste kako se ovaj puder u kamenu ponasa na kozi. Cim predjete prstima preko povrsine pudera, jasno je da je jako svilenkast. Prekrasan je na dodir, gladak i mekan. Navodno bi trebao da matira kozu. Nisam u potpunosti uvjerena u to. Kako sam prije spomenula, koza mi je mjesovita iako mi T-zona nije posebno naglasena. Ovaj puder je imao prosjecan efekat na masnije dijelove lica i pruzio mat efekat u trajanju od cca 4-5 sati. Nisam sigurna da bi ovaj puder bio ono za cime izrazito masna koza zudi. Nezeljeni sjaj kontrolise prosjecno ali ne nadprosjecno dobro.
My shade is called Light Medium Silk which should be the darker one out of the two shades available. And please, only two shades? That isn't good. And Light Medium Silk won't be appropriate for darker skin tones at all. I'm a neutral with an underlying tendency to go warm. My skin tone is medium dark and during summer it goes olive while it can get pretty fair during winter. Perhaps this shade will fit my complexion during winter months but it currently looks pretty unnatural on me since it's too pale. Good thing is that it seems warm but it's actually pretty neutral and I believe that it would fit warm, neutral and rosy undertones equally good. It also has a tendency to cling to really dry parts of my face, e.g. my nose or around a blemish. The coverage it provides is light. I honestly couldn't say that it can build up to medium. Perhaps a light to medium coverage can be achieved if you apply a concealer and then sut your skin with this powder. I usually have a clear complexion and it looks beautiful on me. No flaky skin, no blemishes and this powder looks and feels amazing. When my skin is in a good condition, it performs as a much more expensive powder would. But if you have dry patches, blemishes and other imperfections – it simply won't be your saviour. It doesn't give enough coverage and it can look powdery on the face if you try to mask things by piling it up. I tried that but I failed terribly.
Nijansa koju posjedujem je Light Medium Silk i koliko sam primjetila, ona je tamnija od ukupno dvije nijanse koje su dostupne. Moram ovdje stati – samo dvije nijanse? To uopste nije dobro. K tome, Light Medium Silk uopste nece biti pogodna nijansa za srednje tamne niti tamne tonove koze. Moj ton koze je neutralan no ima tendenciju ka toplim podtonovima. Srednje je taman iako tokom ljeta ide na maslinast dok tokom zime moze drasticno postati svjetao. Ovo je nijansa koja ce mi najvjerovatnije najbolje odgovarati tokom zimskih mjeseci jer trenutacno je na meni isuvise svijetao i djeluje neprirodno – mozete ga primijetiti na mojoj kozi. Ono sto je dobro kod ove nijanse jeste da je dosta neutralna, iako djeluje toplo u pakovanju. Mislim da se prilagodjava i neutralnom, toplom ali i ruzicastom podtonu koze. Takodjer se moze uhvatiti za suhe dijelove lica, npr. za perutanje oko nosa ili oko aknica. Prekrivanje koje pruza je lagano. Tesko da bi se moglo postici srednje prekrivanje sa njim. Mozda ako bi nanijeli korektor pa preko njega stavili ovog pudera u pristojnoj kolicini. Obicno je moj ten cist i kada je u dobrom stanju, ovaj mi puder jako lijepo stoji. Ako mi se koza ne peruta, ako nije posebno isusena, ako nemam bubuljica onda djeluje dobro. Dok je koza u dobrom stanju, ovaj puder je vise nego zadovoljavajuci i mogli bi pomisliti kako se radi o puderu iz viseg ranga. Ali ako imate suhe dijelove koze, ako imate akne i druga nesavrsenstva – on vam nece pomoci sakriti ih. Naprosto ne pruza dovoljno prekrivnosti i moze djelovati praskasto ako ga u nadi da cete sve to pokriti nanesete malo vise. Ja sam to pokusala i uopste nisam uspjela u namjeri.
I'd say that this is a nice all-over setting powder. It does give a nice finishing touch to the skin and keeps make-up in place for longer. It's terrific to use when you have good skin and nothing specific to cover up. During those days when you struggle with acne or extra dry skin, I'd use something that provides more coverage and something more aimed at solving your problems. This is a powder which looks good, looks pretty posh and attractive. It's convenient to use (if you prefer bigger sized bags, that is). It's a nice setting powder but it's not a problem solver. I think that it's worth getting on a sale, when the price point is acceptable since you'll get a very pretty casing and a decent powder. I'm more interested in Luxe blushes and I think I saw lipsticks as well. Have you tried any producys from the Luxe range?
Na kraju, rekla bih da je ovo jako fin puder za nanosenje preko cijelog lica. Lijep je zavrsni korak u sminkanju i drzi make-up ispod sebe nesto duze na licu. Odlican je i sa njim cete biti zadovoljni ako vam je koza cista te nemate znacajnijih problema sa njom – ako nemate mnogo toga za prekriti. Ako ipak imate odredjene probleme sa kozom koje bi radije pokrili, ako vam je koza suha, imate akne onda bi bolja ideja bila potraziti nesto sto je namijenjeno za rjesavanje takvih problemcica. Barem bih ja tako postupila. Ovaj puder lijepo izgleda, lijepog je pakovanja i atraktivan je. Cak je i praktican (ako koristite vece torbe). Dobar je za fiksiranje sminke ali ne rijesava probleme. Mislim da ga vrijedi nabaviti dok je na snizenju, kada je cijena prihvatljiva i tako sebi mozete priustiti solidan lagani puder u kamenu. Mene cak i vise od njega interesuju rumenila iz Luxe linije a mislim da sam uocila i neke lijepe ruzeve. Da li ste vi isprobale proizvode iz Luxe kolekcije?
*PR sample
