|REVIEW| Removing Shine - W.Lab Sebum Out Finish Powder Review

TWO TRANSLUCENT POWDER REVIEWS

Has anyone noticed that Althea has just recently launched their own brand product, the Althea Petal Velvet Powder? I'm so excited and of course I got my hands on it. It just arrived in a super beautiful and good-smelling parcel a few days ago! But as the title suggests, I'm not here to talk about Althea's Powder. At least not yet. Because I want to review the W.Lab Sebum Out Finish Powder, i.e. my current Holy Grail before I do Althea's. That I can more easily justify my thoughts on the new powder! So, do expect one more powder review post on the coming Saturday! 😀

W.Lab Sebum Out Finish Powder (RM23 for 10g)

GO AWAY OIL
I seldom use makeup because I'm a lazy girl. But there's one item that I always use to get me through the day without looking like an oily mess, of course it is the W.Lab Sebum Out Finish Powder! It has been my life saviour for seven months now and I hate my younger self for not discovering it earlier! I've been battling oily nose (hello combination skin) for a long time and was constantly getting huge pimples on my nose (someone dear to me once called me Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer 😑) due to this. But my greasy nose problem has vastly reduced ever since I started using this powder.

IT WAS A ROUGH START
Another reason I seldom put on makeup is because I was afraid it would clog my pores and give me more acnes. It took me three months to decide whether to bring this sebum out powder in as a new member and help me control the excessive sebum my nose produces. When I finally bought it, I was worried whether it would actually work. What a worrywart I am! After hours of internal monologue, I finally started using it and boy was I amazed! I've used some other facial powders before but none of them smells as relaxing just as or feels as light and smooth as this one. I was so glad I chose this one over another brand (which smells terrible in store).

Back of the container.

ONE TOUCH IS ALL YOU NEED
Its description at the back in Korean says, 'Finish powder that gives you a smooth touch with one touch'. I can totally testify to that because one puff in the morning is all I need to last me till the end of the day unless I sweat a lot that day. I have used this in rooms with and without air-conditioners i.e. at normal temperature. Unsurprisingly, the powder lasts slightly longer (1-2 hours more) under the former condition as Malaysia's weather is warm on most days causing my skin, especially my nose, to oil up more easily.

SOMETHING GROSS IS BREWING
For you to see how crazy my nose can go, I've included a picture of it below. I reckon this is the best way I can show the effectiveness of the powder and to justify my love for the powder. Feel free to close your eyes and scroll through if you hate seeing things like that. I'm having quite a few breakouts on my nose currently HAHA.

*Gross picture of my problematic nose coming up*

Left:
How my nose usually behaves without the powder (7 hours after washing my face, face is bare after doing a mask) - can you see the oil droplets?

Right:

How my nose behaves with the powder (9 hours after washing my face, face has sunblock and essence) - my nose feels silky smooth to touch and is dry with almost no oil droplets. Can you see why I love it so much now?

SO WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS?
Naturally, I want to know what goes into this little powder product. But on the back of the powder, all it has is these paragraphs below which I've translated with Uncle Google's help.

Powder of porous structure absorbs excess sebum and keeps it smooth.
It prevents make-up disturbance caused by sebum secretion and improves sustainability.
If there is something wrong with this product, we will compensate you based on consumer dispute resolution standards.

So where is the ingredient list? This W.Lab powder came without a box (it was only plastic wrapped)! In the end I remembered seeing some posters on Hermo (where I bought this from) so I headed there and I finally got a hold of the ingredients:

(Skincarisma)

Aluminium Starch Octenylsuccinate, Silica, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Nylon-12, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, *Dimethicone, Fragrance, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Tocopherylacetate, Amethyst Powder, Tourmaline Nephrite Powder, Pearl Powder, Ruby Powder, Amber Powder, Coral Powder, Arnica Montana Flower (Wolf's Bane) Extract, Artemisia Vulgaris (Mugwort) Extract, Achillea Millefolium (Yarrow) Extract, Gentiana Lutea Root Extract, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract 

Note: Bolded are the star ingredients in the product whereas underlined are those flagged as 3 & above under 'Safety index'. Safety index ranges from 1-9 and the lower the number means the less hazardous. Those with asterisks (*) are more likely to cause acne than those without.

All the powders on that list makes up what W.Lab calls the jewellery mixture powder. With 1,000ppm, it has the ability to brighten up dull skin tone. Truth is, I can hardly see any brightening effect with the powder on. But my nose does break out less nowadays probably thanks to Tocopherylacetate (a vitamin E derivative) and the Centella Asiatica Extract. Tocopherylacetate is a strong antioxidant that can help protect our skin from pollutants and various irritants while Centella is famous for its anti-inflammatory properties (read my review on the COSRX Centella Blemish Cream).

p.s. By breakouts I'm referring to those huge red angry pimples (that Rudolph song is stuck in my head now grr)!

THE NEXT TWO BIGGEST WORRIES
Since pimple is not an issue, now comes the next two biggest worries for this translucent powder: how it looks in pictures taken with flash and whether it settles into fine lines. Those are my three main concerns when I was buying this powder. So the pictures that follow are me trying to show you whether it creates makeup flashback. Mind you I actually put a whole lot more of powder than I'd actually use on my skin on a normal day.

Without flash - only the right half of my hand has the powder.

With flash - only the right half of my hand has the powder.

FLASHBACK IS MINIMAL BUT IT SETTLES
And the answer is, the flashback is so minimal I could hardly see the white powder on the back of my hand in the picture I taken with flash! However, I was disappointed to see how all the fine lines on my hand were instantly magnified (super clear in the second picture). It actually settled into each and everyone of them! Now I finally understand why my Shiseido concealer creased even worse when I baked my concealed undereye with this translucent powder. Well, luckily my not-so-wrinkly nose loves this wrinkle magnifier as it doesn't seem to clog my pores. Or else this would immediately get tossed into that evil stash drawer and never see sunlight again!

Follow me:

Follow

Everything the W.Lab powder comes with.

The puff is white in colour so it gets dirty quite easily especially when I'm wearing foundation/concealer. So I wash it every time after using it for heavier makeup. I'd immerse it in a bowl of soap water for a few hours and let it dry overnight in an air-conditioned room. It's also a bit rougher and less fluffy compared to some other puffs I've seen.

The powder container is sealed so the only way to get the powder out is by pushing the stretchable rubber on top using the puff. When the product is almost finish you may have to turn it upside down and shake to get the powder out.

OTHER WAYS TO USE
As a powder it can also be use to make your lip and eye makeup more vivid. Simply dab it over your eyelids or lips before you apply your favourite eyeshadows or lipstick. Other than that, because of its oil absorbing ability, it can also be used as a dry shampoo as well as a deodorant. Our hair oils up much more easily especially under Malaysia's hot weather so this one allows us to be lazy when we don't feel like blow drying our hair (any long hair girls here? 🙌🏼). But I did find that it dried out my hair a little too much so I usually don't use it unless I'm home late and feel super tired. I've never tried using it as a deodorant because my armpit is seriously too dry according to the ladies at the hair removal salon.

I got a little creative.

This post contains affiliate links.

My review is complete! So here's where to buy it:

Malaysia only

Zalora - RM59.00
*Free shipping above RM75

You can use Shopback to save some money when buying from Zalora (save 2% for every purchase). Just sign up using my link: https://www.shopback.my/referred-signup-bonus?raf=OxeI66, and you'll be rewarded with RM5 immediately, followed by RM5 when you make your first purchase through Shopback. That's RM10 in total! It works in the form of cash back which you can cash out to your bank account. You'll can learn more on their website here.

International

Amazon - USD23 (approx. RM90)

*Free shipping

Thank you for reading, see you in the next post!

I post new contents on skincare every Tuesday and Friday. Follow me on Bloglovin' so you won't miss it when my next review is up!

Follow

PIN IT!

For the affiliate links: If you use my link, I can earn some commission and it won't cost you any extra money. You don't have to use my link, but if you do, it would really help my blog!

This is not a sponsored post and I bought the product with my own money. Please consult the person selling you the product before buying. Get samples if you can! As usual, all thoughts are mine and 100% honest with all pictures taken by me. Please read my disclaimer here.

SaveSave