January 2009

 $$$ Shu Uemura Matte Loose Face Powder ($39). Superbly silky with a refined, natural-looking matte finish is how I would describe this excellent talc-based loose powder. It is ideally suited to those with oily skin looking to temper shine and set makeup. The packaging includes an attached sifter screen to minimize loose powder mess. Discard the fluffy puff that accompanies this product because it is best applied with a full, soft powder brush. The shade range is exceptionally neutral and workable for very fair to tan skin tones—there’s not a bad color in the bunch. Colorless is exactly that, yet is doesn’t go on white or make darker skin tones look chalky. Because of this, it is the most versatile among the sheer options.

WORST
 Clean & Clear Blackhead Eraser ($19.99 for the kit). This product is a small, battery-powered device that, just as the name states, is supposed to erase blackheads. It is said to do this thanks to the device’s vibrating motion coupled with pads steeped in a solution that features 1% salicylic acid as the active ingredient. Upon first use you insert the included battery into the bottom of the unit, affix the base, then attach one of the included cleansing pads to the device. Before turning the device on, you wet the pad then, with the device vibrating, you move around your face in circular motions. It’s nice to think you can just scrub blackheads away, but you cannot. And if raised acne lesions accompany your blackheads, this device can be too aggressive, causing the pimples to rupture or become more inflamed. Scrubbing skin with this device or even a plain washcloth may remove the top layer of the blackhead, but the root of it is still in the pore lining, and the original problem will surface again before long. That’s where the 1% salicylic acid comes into play. When properly formulated, salicylic acid can penetrate into the pore lining and help dislodge blackheads where they start. The downside with this device is that the pad’s solution has a pH over 5 (not surprising given the fact that it’s a cleanser that just happens to contain salicylic acid), which means it won’t function as an exfoliant. Even within the proper pH range, the cleansing solution contains menthol. That ingredient is always a problem for skin but even more so when it’s part of a system that involves manipulating the skin under the pretense of scrubbing blackheads away.