Bobbi Brown pressed powder

Last year I decided that one brand I hadn’t tried many products of was Bobbi Brown. Then one day, a Bobbi Brown counter opened in my town and I went in to get a few products. I bought and already reviewed a foundation stick, a corrector and a shimmer brick. Today I will be reviewing the last Bobbi Brown item I bought: a pressed powder that is one of the most finely milled powders I have ever come across.

Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Pressed Powder 1 Pale Yellow

When I went in to try out the brand and opted for a few of the iconic products from the line. The pressed powder is one of them. I had heard tons of great things about this powder. No Bobbi Brown product comes cheap and this powder is no difference. It costs €38.50 which makes this the most expensive powder I have ever owned. So the real question is: is it worth the money?

The Sheer Finish Pressed Powder as this product is called in full comes in the sleek packaging many of Bobbi Browns compacts come in. The compact itself is square and black with the brand name printed on the top. The lid is covered by a decent sized mirror and you get a free sponge applicator so you can easily take this product with you on the go. The packaging feels luxurious, there is a certain weight to it, despite the fact that it’s plastic.

The only problem with the compact I can find is the fact that if you own multiple Bobbi Brown products it can be hard to tell which is which as they all look the same. The power inside is generously sized and you get a fair amount of product: 11 grams to be exact. To compare: a MAC Prep + Prime pressed powder contains 6.3 grams and costs €23. That is almost half the amount of product, so cost per use is definitely lower for the Bobbi Brow Sheer Finish Pressed Powder.

In the compact, the actual powder doesn’t look all that special, but looks can be deceiving. The powder has a yellow undertone: as all Bobbi Brown face products do. It is the brand’s philosophy that yellow undertones are universally flattering. Unfortunately, I would like to contest that idea: on my incredibly fair skin, a product that is overly yellow can make me look like I have a severe illness. This powder is luckily sheer enough to not have that effect on my skin.

What makes this powder stand out is its incredibly fine texture. When you stick your finger in, you touch a powder that feels like silk. It is not too dusty or powdery and you do not easily kick up a lot of product. A swatch of this product shows you the sheer finish this gives. When applied to the face, this powder gives off no more than a light veil of product: it does not look cakey and isn’t very noticeable on the skin.

Just foundation – Powder applied

As you can see on these pictures, the powder mattifies the face nicely. It only adds a hint of extra coverage, but nothing too noticeable. It surely lives up to its name: Sheer Finish. The yellow undertone of this powder is actually very flattering on. It brightens up my complexion as it is the perfect shade and a good match for my skin tone. Unlike most banana powders that are far too dark for me, this powder nicely brightens the under eye area, while keeping the rest of my make up in place.

Full face of make up

So is it worth the price tag? If you compare this powder to cost per use of this powder compared to others than it can be worth it depending on your favorites. One of my favorites is the Too Faced Primed & Poreless powder which retails for €30 for 1o grams of product. I am more tempted to buy that again rather than the Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Pressed Powder, simply because it is a little bit less expensive.

That doesn’t mean this isn’t a great powder though. It is! It keeps my make up in place, is very flattering on and has a barely there finish which I love. I do have to say that I hardly reach for this as it is a bit too expensive to simply blow through. In short, a great powder, but definitely a splurge item that I try to use gently so it can last me the longest time.

What is the most expensive powder you’ve ever tried?