Catrice All Matt Plus Universal

A classic powder in Catrice’s makeup line is their All Matt Plus powder. I used to own this in a skin color shade, but never got around to reviewing it. It wasn’t my favorite because the shade was darker than my skin tone. That wasn’t such a big deal in itself: it worked well on my face, but when I went to set my under eye with it, it would darken that area, while I was looking to brighten it. So after a while, I stopped using it and phased it out of my collection. Now that Catrice have come out with a translucent version of that powder, I thought I’d try it again.  

Catrice All Matt Plus Shine Control Powder 001 Universal

I like to keep my powders affordable from time to time. I just like to mix both high end and drugstore products and Catrice definitely falls into that more affordable category. This powder comes in at €3.59 and that is an absolute steal for a face powder. This powder promises to give a long-lasting, satin matt effect that controls shine and is perfect to set makeup.

The Packaging

The compact of the All Matt Plus powders is simple and anything but chic. It is mostly practical: it has a slim design and fits easily in any  makeup bag. Unfortunately there is no mirror, so you will have to carry that separately if you’re into touching up on the go. This does come with 10 grams of product, which is a good amount for a face powder.

The Powder

Look at that pristine powder! One thing that will totally suck you in with this powder is the embossed design of the powder itself. The shade I am showing you here, 001 Universal, is a white powder. According to Catrice it is neutral and should be suitable for all skin tones. Beware when looking into this that the next shade up is 010 Transparent, but that shade is anything but what the name might suggest. 010 Transparent is the version I owned previously and that has a beige skintone color to it.

The Swatch

As you can see, the powder is definitely white. When swatched it does nearly disappear on my skin, which is good. I doubt however that this won’t leave a white cast if you have darke skin. The texture is incredibly finely milled, but the powder is pressed quite tightly into the compact. There is no flare up of powder when you stick your brush in, but this also makes it harder to pick up too much.

The Application

Before | After

Catrice promises a satin matt effect and I would have to agree. In the left picture there is still some shine present on my cheek, but that is definitely toned down by the powder. The effect is pleasant and pretty when first applied. However, with my dry skin I found this powder to wear not so greatly. After a few hours this looked incredibly dry and cakey. It went as far as to age me instantly: it emphasized every fine line on my face, but especially around my eyes. While it was easy to touch up and smooth it out again with my finger, I think this powder is best if you have oilier skin.

The Conclusion

Alas, the Catrice All Matt Plus powder is not for me, but it will be a great, affordable option if you have a different skin type to mine. I cannot vouch for whether this is truly suitable on all skin tones, but that swatch definitely looks promising. In any case, the price point of this is great, so always worth a shot if you are looking into a new face powder. Me, I will definitely bring this out again come summer time: that is when my skin gets oilier.

What face powder from the drugstore do you like? Any dry skin recommendations that you’d like me to try?