It has always been my belief that the primary focus of makeup should be creating the most perfect-looking skin possible. Every woman wishes she was born with great skin, and didn't need foundation, concealer, or powder to achieve it. However, the reality of it is that our stressful lives, questionable eating habits, and pollution all contribute to tired-looking skin that breaks out or gets dry and flaky. A smooth, flawless complexion (helped along with all the aforementioned) can make all the difference in the world when applying color. With these things in mind, I am pleased to offer my review of T. LeClerc Loose Powder.

I had been reading about T. LeClerc powder for a few years now. After seeing it in the InStyle "best makeup buys" spring issue every year for the past three years, and hearing the raves about the product from women everywhere, I decided to try it out.

T. LeClerc is a French company that has been around since 1881. Their powder has been world renown since it was discovered by people outside the Belle Epoch. Finding the powder is no easy task; I had to order it from a store in Austin, TX called Beaux Visage because I couldn't find it in my home state of Ohio. Thankfully, they have a very nice website (www.beauxvisage.com) that explained the color choices very clearly.

What amazed me was the color variety; 20 colors that range from "everyday" colors, to specialty/corrective colors like soft lavender and yellow (yellow is apparently the choice of stars such as Sharon Stone, if that interests you at all.) It comes in both loose and pressed form. My skin is quite pale, so I chose "Camellia," a soft peachy-pink color, in the loose form. This color promised to enhance the "brightness and fineness of the complexion."

I was absolutely amazed with the quality of this product! This powder is ultra-fine, and "Camellia" did add an amazing lift to the color of my complexion (my skin has a real yellow undertone). As far as shine goes, one touch-up during the day kept my skin matte. I prefer to use only concealer and powder, and use foundation only when it is absolutely necessary. This powder made my skin look better than any foundation ever has!

While it isn't cheap (prices range from $45 to $60), this is definitely one of those cases where you do get what you pay for. I would highly recommend this powder as one of the necessary components of your makeup collection.