Green Face Powder? Laneige Anti-Pollution Finishing Pact Review

Laneige are one of those cult Korean skincare beauty brands, and seeing Laneige products makes me feel nostalgic. It was one of the first brands I tried back in 2014 when I arrived in Korea, and I really liked their sleeping pack at the time. I haven’t tried anything from them for a looooong while, although their BB cushion has been on my ‘to-try’ list for years. Q-Depot, a Korean cosmetics online shop, recently asked if I wanted to test the Anti-Pollution Finishing Pact, and with my combination skin a little more oily right now, I was definitely happy to oblige! So let’s see how it worked out for me.

This was provided courtesy Q-Depot, in return for honest review.

Purpose

The description on Laneige website: 

Smart protective compact that protects the skin from fine dust and UV rays while brightens and control excessive sebum for a bright, fresh and soft finish.

To sum up the rest of the information on their site:

• Laneige claim that their multi-ball defending technology (basically layers of different size balls of product which produce a dense film) protects skin from fine dust and sun.
• The compact has a green section, with green tea calming powder to soothe skin, and a white section, to absorb excess sebum (all in one pan).
• The green tea and saururus chinensis strengthen skin barrier and soothe skin.

Ok…these are pretty bold claims for a face powder. To be honest I wasn’t really looking for it to hold true to pollution protection or soothing skin. I just wanted a nice, light powder for use on the oily areas of my face, and possibly some toning up when my skin is more red.

Product Details & Ingredients

Full name: Laneige Anti-Pollution Finishing Pact SPF15+++

Amount: 12g

Ingredients (as per Laneige site):

TALC , SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE , MICA , SILICA , TITANIUM DIOXIDE , ETHYLENE/ACRYLIC ACID COPOLYMER, BUTYLENE GLYCOL DICAPRYLATE/DICAPRATE , OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE , TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891) , POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE , ZINC OXIDE , METHICONE , TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE , CHROMIUM OXIDE GREENS (CI 77288) , BUTYLENE GLYCOL , DIMETHICONE , ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN , GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE , SAURURUS CHINENSIS EXTRACT , MACADAMIA INTEGRIFOLIA SEED OIL , WATER , ZINGIBER OFFICINALE (GINGER) ROOT OIL , CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT

Packaging

The packaging is really nice, and exactly what I’d expect from Laneige. I love the iridescent sheen of the case with the green and aqua undertones- very on trend. It’s fresh, clean, and pretty.

The casing is also sturdy, which is good for carrying in my purse. I (accidentally) just dropped it on my wooden floor and the powder didn’t crack- hurrah! The mirror is a decent size and high quality.

The powder is pressed with predominantly green powder, and a sliver of white. It comes with a small brush. I’ve ditched the little brush. It’s just so annoying, slides out when I open the case, and doesn’t perform well. I know included brushes aren’t usually great, and this one definitely sticks to that rule. I’d have much preferred a puff, which would at least be useful for on the go top ups.

Texture & Scent

The powder is pressed, but easily comes loose with a brush, and is a very fine, light powder. I like the texture, as it allows for light application, or alternatively you can pack it on for a more dense covering. It’s pretty versatile. There is absolutely no scent.

Application

I’ve generally been applying the powder at the last step of my makeup routine, only in areas where I tend to get oily (nose creases, under eyes, between brows, and chin). Occasionally, I’ve been using it on it’s own on non-makeup days, after sunscreen. Here are some step by step photos so you can see the powder in application:

Base makeup, no powder:

Base makeup, powder on right side of my face (left side of the photo):

Full face makeup, with powder all over oily areas (T-zone):

I’ve been testing application of the powder with a couple of different brushes- one shorter bristle, more dense brush, to pack the powder on, and one long bristle, flexible powder brush to sweep the powder over my skin.

When I use the more flexible, long bristle brush, it picks up less powder, and results in a translucent, lightly mattifying finish. Usually for powders you’d go for such brushes.

However if you specifically want those green/white tones to play out, you may need to use something more dense. When I pack the powder on with my other, more dense, brush, it definitely comes through with the green and white shades, brightening and actually whitening the skin, whilst also mattifying.

I’ve been varying my brush use, depending which color finish I want.

Color

So as I just mentioned, the powder (when you pick enough up) definitely has that green-tint whiteness. I didn’t like that at first, as it was just giving a white, powdery cast to my skin and was kinda chalky. It wasn’t sitting well nor looking natural over my BB cream, so instead I lightened my application, and only used a very light dusting, which resulted in a translucent finish.

However I found that in the mornings when I wanted to run errands, but my skin was a little oily and red, using more of the powder totally toned up and mattified my red face, with the green/white tones coming into play. Using the powder this way shows how the green tint really does even out the skin tone, and brighten, as claimed. The whiteness was much less obvious when applied directly to red skin, as opposed to the unpleasant (IMO) white-cast finish over makeup.

Please keep in mind that I have very white, pink-toned skin. I honestly can’t see this being a good option for darker/more yellow skin tones, as I would guess the white cast is gonna be very visible, considering the whiteness and green is visible even on my super pale skin.

Finish & Lasting Power

The finish is, obviously, matte. If you apply lightly, it’s fresh and velvety with no cakiness. This really pleased me because I love my dewy look. I just really needed a powder to run under my eyes, around my nose creases, and between my brows. It works nicely for this purpose as a very light translucent powder over makeup, leaving a bright, fresh finish (see the photo below). Alternatively as I’ve already said, if you pack on more product it can give you a more matte, green-tinged/white finish, but it came up kinda chalky for me over my makeup.

For lasting power, it’s pretty good. I’ve definitely been less oily for longer. If only it had a puff insert for on the go top-ups. I’ll have to add a spare from my collection!

Overall Performance

In terms of how well it performed compared to it’s claims, I can’t be too sure.

It’s first claim is protecting skin against fine dust and the sun. I’m not aware of any way I can test this out. Would this powder really make all the difference against fine dust? I’m not sure. I can see it would perhaps form a layer between the air and your skin, as described, but more so than my sunscreen/base/BB creams etc already do? I wouldn’t be purchasing the product based on that claim alone. And I would not be relying on it for sun protection- I never rely on makeup for this purpose.

Next, it claims to soothe skin and absorb excess sebum. I don’t have particularly angry or irritated skin, but I can see that this would be a gentle option of makeup for those who do, although I’m not sure I’d say it actually soothes. I’d be looking for soothing from a liquid skincare product rather a powder I think. However it does definitely absorb excess sebum, and seems to continue to do so during the day. This is good for oily skin types, or combination like me.

Finally Laneige describes how the powder will strengthen skin barrier. I haven’t been applying it directly on my skin every day (instead, over sunscreen and other makeup), so I’m not sure how it would be strengthening my skin barrier, unless it means indirectly because it’s protecting from fine dust? Not sure at all about this one.

Although I can’t be sure about the big claims, I have found that this is working nicely as an (almost) translucent powder, to brighten and give a fresh, soft finish where I need mattifying. I’ve been consistently using it very lightly over makeup for this purpose.

I’d say if you have very red angry skin, and you’re pale skinned, this will work to tone up and counter balance the red, as it has done with mine in the mornings when I wear no other makeup. However applied over products that have already evened out skin tone (in my case, my concealer and BB cream), it comes out as white/green cast if you apply too much, and this isn’t a great look nor finish.

I sound kinda negative in this review, and I really don’t feel negative about it! It’s working nicely for me, particularly as a translucent powder, because it’s finer than those I already own. I was just a bit confused by the anti-pollution, skin-strengthening marketing. Those aren’t the reasons I’d invest in this pact, but I would quite happily repurchase to use it as a simple daily powder.

The price point is $29.98 on Q-depot. For a very fine powder product, that works well for me, my skin tone and skin type, I’d say that’s an okay price, particularly because I’m using very little product on a daily basis. But it really depends on how much you’re willing to pay for a powder.

So yes, overall, a nice enough product, although not mind-blowing.

If you wanna shop on Q-depot , you can get 10% off with this code below, and I believe they currently have 15% off for Chuseok too! I’ve never shopped there (I live in Korea so haven’t used any of the online stores), so it would be good to hear your feedback in the comments if you do shop from them. (These links and codes are non-affiliate).

Have you tried this powder? What’s your favourite Laneige product? I still really want to try their BB Cushion!