I spotted this in the “ethnic hair” aisle at CVS and almost kept walking. Thank god I didn’t.
Every influencer is out here selling you $46 powders that do the same damn thing as this little rice starch miracle. Actually — worse. That one from Tatcha? Pilled on me by hour three. This one didn’t.
It’s a translucent setting powder in a compact. Costs $7.99. Claims to “absorb oil and blur pores” — which I’ve heard a thousand times and ignored a thousand times.
No Flashback
Pressed it all over my face before a night out. Friend took a flash photo. I looked like skin, not a ghost.
Zero Cake Factor
I have dry patches near my nose. This didn’t settle into them. It just sat there politely.
Travel Proof
Dropped it on tile floor in a hotel bathroom. Compact didn’t shatter. The universe wanted me to review this.
Photo: Nick Noel / Unsplash
First ingredient is literally *Oryza Sativa* (rice) powder. Not talc. Not silica. Rice. It feels lighter than air because it is — rice starch particles are smaller and more absorbent than standard talc. Here’s what else is in there:
- Rice Powder: Sucks up oil without sucking out moisture
- Kaolin Clay: The backup dancer for shine control
- Vitamin E: Keeps it from feeling like chalk on your skin
- Titanium Dioxide: Gives that soft-focus blur without SPF-level white cast
Photo: Nada Gamal / Unsplash
Swirled my brush in, tapped off the excess, pressed into my T-zone. It felt like brushing my face with a dry silk pillowcase. Zero drag. Zero dust cloud of powder flying into my nostrils.
Two weeks in, I realized I hadn’t touched my blotting papers once. That’s the test — not “does it look good in the mirror” but “do I forget I’m wearing powder.” I forgot.
Photo: Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash
My pores looked smaller for about 6 hours. Not erased — nobody’s erasing pores — but definitely softer. Oil control lasted until hour 7, then I got a little sheen on my forehead. Not greasy. Just alive.
Photo: Alexandru Zdrobău / Unsplash
For $8, this outperforms powders I’ve tested at five times the price. It’s not fancy. It just works. Put it in your cart next time you’re grabbing toothpaste.