After a year or two of watching Laura Geller presentations on QVC, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a few of Laura's products at my local Sephora brick and mortar store. I was intrigued by the swirled makeup products especially. These are baked face powders and eyeshadows with swirls of different colors together in the same "cake". The first product I bought was this Balance 'N Brighten. While I am overall very impressed with the Laura Geller brand, this particular product is a below-average to average performer for me.


Product Details:

Laura Geller is a New York makeup artist who also has her own line of cosmetics. Her products are sold on QVC, the cable shopping channel, and also online at Sephora.com and at Sephora brick and mortar stores.

The Balance 'N Brighten Baked Powder is a baked pressed powder dome housed in a black plastic compact. The lid is half black plastic and half clear plastic, allowing you to see the product inside. This is helpful, since Laura Geller's other face powders and blushes come in the same type of compact - and if you have two or more of then in your makeup bag, it helps to be able to see what's in the compact through the lid. The inside of the compact's lid also has a small mirror. (Note: The compact has been updated and changed; the compact does not look at all like the one pictured here on Epinions.)

The "romance card" that came with this product consists of a note from Laura: My unique correcting and brightening liquid powder is baked in a terracotta pan for twenty four hours. This liquid powder has a luxuriously smooth and creamy consistency with swirls of soft tan which helps offset ruddiness, brightens sallow tones, and balances out most complexions. Use all over face in place of foundation or with your favorite base for an even and healthy glow. Mix with Bronze 'N Brighten to achieve a bronzed complexion.

The above note makes the product seem like it has a creamy or liquid consistency, but it doesn't. It's a pressed powder.

Balance 'N Brighten comes in one size, which is .32 oz. This product is made in Italy.


Ingredients (taken from packaging):

Talc, mica, caprylic/capric triglyceride, isopropyl palmitate, dimethicone, magnesium aluminum silicate, phenoxyethanol, jojoba seed oil, methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, sodium dehydroacetate, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, tocopheryl acetate (Vitamin E), BHT.


My Experience:

I was so excited to finally try Balance 'N Brighten, after more than a year of seeing it presented from time to time on QVC. I couldn't wait to try this swirled, pressed powder to see if it would balance my skin tone, tame a few areas of red blotchiness and brighten my skin a bit. This was always presented as being for ALL skin tones, so I didn't hesitate to purchase it for my somewhat fair skin.

I love the look of the three colors swirled together. There is a light to medium beige color, a darker tan color and a yellowish peach shade. Mix them together by swirling a face brush along the top of the pressed powder dome, and they form a medium beige shade. This powder does not have any shimmer in it, thankfully. I can use this stuff pretty freely without having to worry about too much shimmer on my face. I'm a bit too old to have a lot of shimmer on a daily basis!

It was weeks before I realized that this powder is probably a bit too dark for my complexion. I'm fair, but not super fair or porcelain. The day that I realized that Balance 'N Brighten is a bit too dark for me was a disappointing day indeed. I had just applied my concealer, including a bit on one of my small red blotches on my cheek. I then applied Balance 'N Brighten over my entire face, as I had been using this in place of my regular loose powder. I suddenly noticed that the place on my cheek where I had just applied the concealer seemed to look darker than the rest of my face - it looked like a powder that was several shades darker than was needed had been applied to that one area. I had to take a tissue and rub it off. I then reapplied the concealer, then took my face brush and rubbed a small area of it into a small area of the pressed powder didn't have a dark powder swirl in it and covered the concealer with that. Now I'm a bit worried that this will happen more often and I won't see it, or that one of my friends at work will notice it and point it out. So far that hasn't happened, though.

Despite the mix of "balancing" and "brightening" shades in this compact, I don't find that it balances my complexion, corrects any flaws or brightens my complexion at all. I notice no difference at all, really. I still have to use the same concealer in the same amount in the same places. I have resigned myself to the fact that this product just doesn't work for me. It does offer good coverage, though, and is not too sheer at all. It has a heavier feel, but in a good way...it is not too heavy and is not at all masky or cakey. I like my face powder to add a bit of additional coverage for my foundation.

Laura Geller Balance 'N Brighten performs pretty well as a face powder. I have a somewhat oily nose, so I need a powder that will absorb oil well. When I use this product, I don't get oil breakthrough for about three hours. This is pretty good for a high-end face powder.

I know that .32 oz. probably doesn't seem like a lot of powder, but that amount is average for a face powder. I have been using this powder at least twice a day for several weeks and have finally just made a dent in it. It should last at least two months or more.

Overall, this is just an average face powder. It really doesn't do what it claims to, so I'm subtracting one star from an average, three-star rating for that. I feel that, especially for the price, it should perform better. I do like the packaging, the mirrored compact and the coverage, but it should still "balance" and "brighten" on some level. It is important to keep in mind that if you have super fair or porcelain skin, this will be too dark for you unless you have a bit of a tan.


Price and Purchasing Information:

Laura Geller Balance 'N Brighten is $28 and can be found online at Sephora.com and QVC.com. It can also be found at Sephora brick and mortar stores.

Recommended: No