Essence Fix & Matte Translucent Loose Powder Review

German cosmetics brand, essence, is well-known in Europe for being on the affordable side for European cosmetics and this translucent loose powder from them retails at less than 10 euros in Europe and less than 10 swiss francs here in Switzerland (I think 5,95). For Switzerland, that's really affordable compared to other brands on the market.

This is the first translucent powder I've ever tried as I've just never thought they would be useful to me before. But when essence came out with this one, I decided to give it a go just to see what the fuss with translucent powders is and I figured since it was affordable, it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't like it.

essence describes this powder as:

matt and fix for a perfect finish! the transparent, lose powder can be applied on top of the foundation matting your skin and fixing your make-up. the handy jar contains little holes dispensing exactly the right amount of powder. for a radiant, natural and even complexion.

available in one transparent shade for all skin tones. 

As you can see, the powder comes in a clear container. The inner seal contains little holes for the product to come through.

First off, I am definitely not thrilled with the container. I know most translucent powders come in this sort of packaging. For me, this is just so messy! The fine powder manages to get out of the container and get everywhere, especially in a makeup bag! And almost everytime you open the container, some of the powder comes out.
This is not only messy but also wastes alot of the product.
For me, I feel that there are too many holes on the sifter and the holes are a bit too big for such fine powder. I think just 3 would've been enough. With so many holes, all the powder just comes out to the top of the sifter and that's how it gets out of the jar and everywhere.
My suggestion if you're buying this product for the first time, try not to completely remove the clear sheet that's stuck onto the sifter. But even that's not going to keep the product contained forever. 

Next, the powder itself. The powder is white and is very fine. It probably isn't the finest powder out there but for me, it's enough. 
Since it's supposed to be transparent, it's supposed to suit all skin tones. I've certainly tried it on myself and for me, it was transparent in that I definitely didn't see white powder on my face after applying it.
However, I can imagine that if not used properly, this powder would definitely show and if you tend to have alot of fine facial hair, the product might cling to that, and give you that white, powdery look.
When using this product, you need to pick up only a little and with a good brush, completely blend it all over the face in order to ensure even application.

Now for the mattifying bit. I can definitely say that this powder mattifies. It does a great job of soaking up shine and moisture on the face. I use this powder mainly for my undereye area, to prevent eyeliner and mascara from melting and traveling down and for me, this product does a great job!

The biggest test for me was when I took it to Fiji. Fiji, especially the capital, Suva, where I was, has incredibly high humidity and heat. I definitely have to wear waterproof eyeliner and mascara there and even those tend to melt after a while as it's just so hot and humid there.
This powder did an amazing job of keeping my eye makeup intact, especially the undereye area where I usually have the most problem. My eyeliner or eyeshadow and mascara that I apply to my lower lash line just tend to travel downwards after about an hour in Fiji's humidity. But with this product, I was able to go out the entire day and not worry about my eye makeup traveling. 
At the end of the day, whenever I would feel my undereye area, it was smooth and dry which told me the powder was still there and doing its job.

So, for me, the performance of this product, especially for my problem area, which is my undereye area, is absolutely great and for this alone, I would repurchase this product.

This product gets a 7/10 for me. For me, it's the packaging that keeps this product from scoring higher but it's definitely going to be a regular in my makeup collection and routine.

UPDATE: Sunday 8th July, 2012

Hey guys, I decided to update this review as I've discovered tow more things that I love about this product. I've found that this powder actually erases the fine lines under my eyes! I just have a fine line under each of my eyes (natural lines that form when I smile) and I have found that when I apply the powder on my undereye area to mattify it, it actually covers the lines and makes the area look matte and flawless.

Just thought I'd add that to this update because it was definitely a surprise for me! And I hope it will do the same for you guys, especially if you want to diminish the appearance of fine lines.

Another quality, this powder is great over concealer! It not only helps to set the concealer, but also helps it appear more even so you get a more flawless-looking application.

With these two discoveries, I'm raising my rating to 9/10. I love this product!