The contenders enter the ring and circle around each other. Silica takes a shot at Lucidity. He misses! Lucidity lunges at Silica Powder’s trousers and grabs ahold. The ref bloooows the whistle –
Man, I need to get more sleep. My powders are attacking each other in a strange personified state in my head!
Well, here’s how it went down… (if you’d like to skip to the bottom, I understand and promise not to hate you. The conclusion and “verdict” is down there!)
0:00
I apply a thick streak of blush to the back of my hand, making sure it’s even throughout. I section it into three parts with my black eyeliner.
0:01
I put silica powder over the first section of blush, Estee Lauder Lucidity (in Medium, which is too dark for my skin but sheers out and is alright) on the middle and leave the last one empty. I label them.
0:02
I realize that “s” for silica, “e” for Estee, and “x” for nothing will not work when I look at my hand for the second time and see it reads “sex”. Way to FAIL, Rae.
0:05
The silica has left a whitish cast on my skin, and is more obvious in the lines where there is no blush. The Lucidity has toned down the blush much more, but is invisible in the lines on the back of my hand. It is glittering rather violently, though.
0:15
I wash some grapes, and pat dry the back of my hand. What is this maddness?! The glitter is gone?! I rush into the sunlight to find that, no, it’s still there – but now that part of my hand looks like it’s glowing from within. The gaudy glitter is gone, and natural, wearable shimmer has been left behind!
1:30
I go back for a second round of grapes. Man, Everyday Mineral’s Sunday Brunch looks ugly on my hand (so orange!) but it sure does hold up well. There’s a tiny bit of fading on the bare section, but the two with powder on top look the same as they did while I was eating my first bowl of grapes.
1:50
I examine the Estee Lauder. It’s way more expensive, at about $30 (for much less product), but it gives a gorgeous glow that silica doesn’t, and is available in-store. On the flip side, though, it ‘tones down’ the blush a bit. Buuut then it has to go and apply more smoothly and be less obvious on bare skin. And feel velvety soft. Darn, now the decisions getting harder!
2:00
I examine the silica. The biggest problem is that it raises a number of health concerns, plus it’s more visible on bare skin. But it leaves a very smooth finish, and absorbs oil, the latter of which Lucidity doesn’t. It’s cheaper, but not sold in stores unless you’re buying MUFE HD, which is on-par with Lucidity in terms of price.
3:15
The bare part is starting to fade away – I’d say only half the pigment is left. Which is prety awesome, seeing as I washed myself a thrid bowl of grapes, ate a cookie, and did a crapload of homework. I may have to try wearing this blush, even though I don’t think the colour will suit me at all!
3:45
No change from a half hour ago. I’m thinking about scrubbing my hand with soap to see if anything will happen.
5:30
I spilt some browns sugar sauce (used on our kabochi squash – mmm!) on my hands and had to wash thoroughly. I think the Lucidity is actually doing a better job…
10:00
Got bored, gave up. In the end, the swatchs under both powders held up about the same, and the un-powdered swatch wore to about half of its original intensity.
The result? Well, these two loose powders work equally as well.
The silica is great because of its gorgeous texture, cheap price, and oil-absorbing qualities. It’s not-so-great because it’s only available online, doesn’t come pressed or tinted, and there are a number of health concerns.
The Estee Lauder powder is great because it’s readily available, comes in many shades, comes pressed and loose, gives a gorgeous glow, and there are no health concerns. It’s not-so-great because it’s more expensive, doesn’t absorb oil as well, and has a bit of a “makeup”-y smell to it.
The descision is yours!
