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Friday, November 25, 2016

Beauty Protector Finishing Powder SPF50+ PA+++

Last of my new sun powder discovery is this 17g jar of Beauty Protector Finishing Powder SPF50+ PA+++. Being a translucent finishing powder, there's no color choice, but it's available in a smaller 6g jar for those who wants to sample first before committing.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

When I received the package in the mail, I took one look at this mother-load of a jar and immediately regretted my purchase. However many packaging praises I had for Panna Kiss is as many rants I have for this Beauty Protector. See all that empty space at the bottom of the container, and see how the puff fits so loosely inside the jar? There's tons of empty space everywhere, not to mention there's about 2cm gap between the puff and the lid. Why?!?

And why is this so bad? Here's the obvious--there's no way anyone could carry this thing anywhere. Sure, I could argue this 17g jar is meant to stay on the vanity table and there's a smaller 6g version.

Here's the less obvious--check out the dispenser below. It's not a plastic lid with several big holes but a stretchy net with big holes. I'll give the maker the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure they meant well, that I should be able to tap the net with the puff and get some powder. However, a stretchy net also means tossing the powder everywhere when I tap the puff. So when I dust my face with the powder, I'm also producing a huge dust cloud that would soon settle on my table surface.

Even worse is that tapping alone doesn't actually dispense much powder at all onto my puff. Because the puff is smaller than the jar itself so all the powder went out the edge, hence the huge dust cloud. What a waste of product! 

And god forbids, if I were to get frustrated enough to tip the jar over just briefly to get some powder onto the puff (been there), I'd spill the stuff everywhere thanks to that stupid 2cm gap between the puff and the lid (done that). Think: tip jar over, puff falls to lid, powder falls out. So if the 6g jar is anything like this 17g one, carrying it in my bag would still result in a disaster every use. What horrifically dumb packaging this is! Shame on Beauty Protector!

The worst part is that it's kind of pricey depends on where you buy it. This 17g jar goes for about 2,800yen on Amazon JP but is a whopping 4,000yen on Rakuten JP! Same with the 6g jar, about 900yen on Amazon JP but is 2,000yen on Rakuten JP. Not sure why there's such a big difference in prices...

Phew. Okay, now that that's off of my chest, let's talk about the actual powder. It's a physical sunblock powder with 80% mineral content and active ingredients of titanium dioxide (酸化チタン) and zinc oxide (酸化亜鉛). I'm guessing concentration must be low enough to keep the powder translucent with just a touch of coverage, which probably explains why it's only PA+++.

When I first swatched this unscented powder, I literally rolled my eyes. It's a matte powder with scattered shimmers. Argh! These people, not only they f*cked up the packaging but the actual product too?!? Then I tried the powder on my face and--what the--it was actually nice, like really nice! I was incredulous. It brightens up my face, weightless, all that silly shimmers don't really show (why did they even bother??), and best of all it stays that way all day without any creasing or settling into lines.

Turns out I absolutely hate the packaging but love the stuff inside! Will I buy it again? Yes, but I'm definitely transferring the powder into a different jar as to not tear out my hair in rage every time I use it.

6 comments:

  1. Hello, I am enjoying your blog!
    I am looking for translucent powder with some sun protection to be applied over sunscreen. Since you like Allie sunscreens, I wonder if you have tried Allie Mineral UV-Cut Powder?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Dewi,

    Thanks for reading :) I'm glad you enjoyed your read!

    I was eyeing the Allie Mineral UV-Cut Powder for the longest time, but at SPF38 PA+++ it's much too weak for a sunscreen powder in my humble opinion. I know I'm using these powders to set my already SPF50+ PA++++ sunscreen and it sounds like overkill, but the sun is super strong where I live. Add in the higher elevation and I have little atmosphere to rely on and must fall back on both sunscreens and sunscreen powders to protect my skin.

    Also, I think the Allie powder is a tad pricey, about 2,000yen for 10g. One translucent sunscreen powder I'm enjoying most right now is Panna Kiss (https://alittledabintomakeup.blogspot.com/2016/11/panna-kiss-powder-spf50-pa.html). You get the same amount of product (10g) for 1/4 of Allie's price. Can't beat that!

    Hope this helps.

    Best,
    D.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi D.,
    Thank you very much for pointing out the low SPF of Allie powder. I live in Australia, and the sun here is notorious too!
    I was trying to purchase Panna Kiss, to no avail :( The seller who offers it at Amazon Jp does not offer international shipping, and then I couldn't find it at Rakuten :(
    I can purchase the Beauty Protector Finishing Powder, and also the Privacy UV Face Powder, though. Other than the annoying Beauty Protector packaging, may I know how do you compare these two powders? I mostly have dry skin, but can get a bit oily at the T-zone during summer.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Dewi,

    Your skin sounds very much like my skin--mostly dry with oily t-zones in the summer!

    I do like both Beauty Protector and Privacy, but here is how I would compare and use them:

    - Privacy: stronger PA++++ rating, slightly lighter, slightly more translucent, and slightly drier and so I use it during the summer. This powder retails 1,200yen for 3.5g (343yen/g) but you can probably find it cheaper, around 800-1,000yen on Rakuten JP.

    - Beauty Protector: weaker PA+++ rating, slightly more substantial, slightly less translucent, a touch more moisturizing and so I use it during the winter. This powder retails 2,000yen for 17g (118yen/g) so is the more economical of the two. If you have an emptied loose powder jar, I would just transfer this powder over to avoid the messy waste of product due to faulty packaging.

    I'd recommend trying both, but if I'm on a budget I'd go for Beauty Protector.

    Let me know if you have any other questions :)
    D.

    ReplyDelete
  5. HI D.,

    Thank you very much for the detailed comparison of these two powders to me. I really appreciate it!

    Yes, I will try them both. The Beauty Protector that I can purchase from Amazon Jp is of 6 g size anyway, so I won't waste a lot of product if it doesn't suit me. I hope it will work for me though, because as you said, it is cheaper than the Privacy :) Wish I can also purchase the Privacy from Amazon, but somehow, it is not available for international shipping :( Glad that I can find it at Rakuten, from a seller that I have purchased from before, and who is willing to ship internationally with shipping methods cheaper than EMS :)

    I am really glad I found your blog! I hope you won't get bored, and keep writing :)

    Have a good day!

    Regards,
    Dewi

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Dewi,

    You're so welcome! Always happy to help :)

    I hope Beauty Protector works out for you too. I was using it from July-September in Tokyo when the weather was just the worst, very hot and crazy humid, and it held up impressively well in the heat and humidity, not a small feat. Which is to say it should perform ok in Australian weather.

    What's left is whether your skin will tolerate the formula which is 80% in mineral content, so it's mostly a physical sunblock versus Privacy's mostly chemical sunscreen. I'm curious to know which you like better once you have a chance to try both!

    Thanks again for reading and happy experimenting ^.^

    Cheers,
    D.

    ReplyDelete