RMK UV Powder Foundation : An interesting powder to cream finish with SPF30

Goodness! I haven’t used a powder foundation in goodness knows how long! So when RMK introduced their UV Powder Foundation with SPF30 and asked me to take it for a whirl, I thought “Oh, ok. It’s been quite a while since I did powder foundation from any brand anyway!”

Like many if not all Japanese brands, the product is sold separately from its case. The reason, as we are always told, is that you can later buy refills after you’ve finished using the product, and refills cost less. In a way, through experience, it makes sense.

Back in the day when I would only use powder foundation, I would actually finish up powder foundation and then buy the refills and it always made sense. The Japanese brands also usually thoughtfully include a new sponge applicator with every new refill so you don’t have to worry about that.

The downside to this however, is that your initial purchase is always more costly because you pay for the case and the foundation refill separately.

Now, before I get stuck in, I know some of you have already sampled this thanks to RMK’s sampling offer for MWS readers early this month, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. You can still pick it up until the end of March 2014 so check out how to in this post.

This new powder foundation comes in 9 shades from light to dark, and contains SPF30 PA+++ UV protection. Hence, the UV in the product name. While not ideal, if you aren’t already using a product with SPF then I suppose some is better than none.

I haven’t tried RMK’s powder foundations. The only powder product I’ve tried is their Pressed Powder N which is an awesome product! I still use it, usually to set liquid foundation and it leaves my skin velvety smooth and shine free all day long, looking even better as the day wears on. Understandably therefore, I had very high hopes for this product.

The powder is velvety soft and so fine. The sponge included picks up just enough product to cover a pretty wide area of skin so it is really quite impressive. The new UV Powder Foundation is supposed to contain 2 kinds of powder – one to shield the skin from UVA and UVB rays, and another that reacts with moisture on the skin to form a longlasting fit on the skin.

Interestingly therefore, this is a little like a powder-to-cream texture. I find that it glides on skin easily and doesn’t leave skin with the powdery or cakey look associated with using powder foundation. I do however, find that it takes a while for the powder to fuse with the skin to give that invisible “creamy” effect.

However I ran into a bit of a problem. Colour-match.

In RMK’s liquid foundation and gel creamy foundation, I take shade #201 their lightest shade with a slight pink tone. It is a perfect fit for me.

In the UV Powder Foundation however, #201 looks to me to be a bit light. My worst fears were confirmed when I applied it to my skin and it made my skin look a shade too white. I eventually warmed it up with some bronzer and warm illuminating powder, but I wasn’t too happy with how it looked because I noticed a white cast to my skin that wasn’t glowing nor brightening nor healthy.

Over the course of the day, the product sort of “fused” with my skin and although when I run my fingers over my face, I only feel velvety smoothness associated with powder foundation, when I look in the mirror, it looks like I’m wearing a liquid foundation, barring that whitish cast. It is quite interesting.

In terms of coverage, I’d peg this for light-medium coverage which is buildable within reason. You can’t build it up too much or it might look too thick and powdery but if you use the sponge, one swipe gets you a fair enough coverage to cover redness on skin and even out your skintone.

This isn’t the best of photos but I thought a quick before/after shot may show you what I mean about the cast and the coverage.

With bare skin, you may noticed the redness around the nose and the shine on the nose and cheek area. With 1 layer of the powder foundation, the skintone is fairly evened out with the redness and shine taken care of. But you may also notice the whitish cast, which I believe isn’t characteristic of the product, but of the shade.

In this case therefore, I’d suggest trying one shade darker or in my case, perhaps trying #101 which has a yellow base tone and therefore might take away that white cast? I don’t know. I’ll have to check at the counter when I’m next there.

Don’t judge the quality of the foundation by these pictures though. I believe the shade is wrong on me. The product itself isn’t bad.

Longevity was also fairly good. I thought it actually looked far better in the afternoon than in the morning when I’d first put it on which is a first for me. However, if you have drier skin like I do, then you may not like this as much as you would their liquid foundation because I did feel it to be a bit drying. This is true of all powder foundations on dry skin which is why I rarely use them much. If you have oilier skin then I think you may like this but grab a sample from the counter if you can, and get colour matched properly. It’s the best way to know if it’ll work for you.

In a nutshell

The RMK UV Powder Foundation is a new powder foundation that protects skin  from UV rays with SPF30 PA+++ as well as brightens skin. The product goes on skin very smoothly and I find that applying the powder with the included sponge makes it go on more evenly. The product also melds with skin oils and eventually settles on skin like a cream so you don’t have the powdery texture associated with powder foundation, yet it is velvety to the touch. It’s kinda weird. But a nice weird. I do urge you to get properly colour matched however. I found that the same shade code I regularly use in the liquid foundations is too light in this powder foundation. So either go a shade up, or try one of the warmer shades that start with 1. Pink based shades start with 2. Also, if you have drier skin you may not like this as much as someone with oilier skin might.

Pros: Sold as refills, Melds with skin and does not look powdery, Leaves skin feeling velvety soft and smooth, Covers redness, Included sponge applies product smoothly and evenly

Cons: Pricey, Drier skin types may find it a bit drying, The shades are different from the same shade numbers in the liquid and gel texture, Refill and case sold separately

Who will like this: Anyone who likes using powder foundation, Anyone with combination-oily skin

The compact is err…. compact 😀 Slim and slips easily into your makeup pouch for quick touch ups. The included mirror is also large and this can be used wet or dry. All in all, not a bad product, provided you get your colour right.

Did you manage to sample this? Do you like using powder foundation?

I used to use powder foundation for years until the makers of liquid foundation finally got their act together and made liquid foundation that didn’t apply like spackle 😛 Then, I switched over because it just felt more comfortable on my drier skin. But for quick, portable and easy application, powder foundation is great 🙂 If you picked up a sample, please share your thoughts on it!

Paris B

RMK UV Powder Foundation comes in 9 shades Price: RM205 (Case + refill) Refill price to be advised Availability: RMK Counters