One for natural makeup lovers
About the Product
A few months ago Becca Cosmetics launched Be A Light Face Palette. These gorgeous rose-gold bars took Instagram by storm and what's more exciting - this is Becca's brand new light-diffusing powder technology, that should act like a real-life filter on the skin. I don't know about you guys, but "blurred luminosity" sounds right up my makeup alley!
Claims: blurring, smoothing/ even skin tone/ photo filter effect/ light as air/ buildable/ natural, effortless glow
Price: 46 USD (0.52 Oz/ 15g). Made in Italy.
Packaging: exterior is identical here, minus the fact that medium-deep palette comes in a darker rose gold packaging. This product has a lovely high-end weight to it and I absolutely love just how minimalistic and chic it is. Every palette comes with a large, high-quality mirror and there is a unique aspirational mantra on every single one. Mine says "Be Fearless" in a cursive font, that looks a bit like my actual handwriting, which is something I enjoy.
Colours: every palette has a special variety of shades that should work for a specific skin tone range. From what I can tell, the lighter palette leans towards neutral undertones, while the darker palette is quite warm.
Please click on images to zoom in; FYI my swatches are always raw and unedited
Now, there are a few things that come to mind when I look at these powders: a) shades that are labeled as "contour" look more like bronzers; b) there will be some people, who will not find their colour-match here. As much as I would want to say that these palettes will work for everyone (your puppy and frenemy included), truth is that even light-medium palette will not work for someone, who is extremely fair and certain shades in medium-deep palette will not be dark enough for some beauties of colour.
Texture/Formula: texture-wise, these remind me a lot of (you guessed it right) Hourglass powders. However, I would not call them identical. Yes, they are both finely milled, ultra-smooth baked powders, but somehow they have a slightly different finish. Becca's formula is a bit more sheer/less pigmented, which also explains why it is so natural-looking on the skin as a result. I actually quite like products that can be layered gradually, because I can be heavy-handed at times; that being said - there is not much room for error when you work with Be A Light Face Palette.
Application: I am your classic light-neutral, NC20 gal and in order to make the lighter palette work for my skin tone specifically, I have decided to apply powders a bit differently. Instead of using Contour to actually contour (a step I always skip anyway), I wear it as a bronzer instead. To set my foundation I mix both Brighten and Blur powders together; since the latter shade is a bit dark for me, I find that 50/50 ratio gives me best results. I do not use these powders under my eyes. As for Blush - if you are into your MAC Mineralize Blushes, then you will truly enjoy this soft/luminous formula. It looks darker in the pan, than it does on the skin, so you can either sheer it out and use as a pink highlighter/blush topper or add a few more layers and rock it as a true Carrie Bradshaw glowing blush.
Results: I didn't realize just how good my skin looked, until I opened my car's vanity mirror (aka the mirror of truth) during the day time. My skin was luminous, yet not shiny; glowy, yet not greasy. It almost felt like I just had the best vacation of my life, where I spent a lot of time breathing in fresh air, drinking clearest mountain water and sleeping every night surrounded by a dozen fluffy puppies. Be A Light Face Palette does create a smooth filter on the skin, feels ultra light and is perfect for people, who love that very natural/radiant/effortless effect. Since these powders are sheer, they will not add any extra coverage; as a matter of fact even the darkest shade Contour is almost undetectable on the skin, which is why if you love your bold bronzed-goddess look, it might be not pigmented enough for that.
Wear: I have dry skin and mineral powders [in general] are my jam. These Becca powders wear beautifully all day; I do not think that they wear off easily. Even after 8+ hours my blush is still visible. Since summer time is quite humid, I do find that my nose/chin get a bit shiny in 2-3 hours post makeup-application, so I will just grab a little Kleenex to blot the shine away and I am good to go. If you are on an oily side, you would certainly need to use a separate setting powder or mattifying primer, almost treating Be A Light Face Palette as your finishing step.
For this look I have used their light-medium palette; as you can probably tell Blur really warmed up my skin (which is a good thing, since my body is quite tan at the moment) and Blush added a nice glowy touch to my cheeks. Although eyes are quite smokey, I still opted for a light coverage foundation and the brand's Anti-Fatigue Under-Eye Primer (review here) + Aqua Luminous Concealer in the shade Fair. I then added a bit of Vanilla Quartz highlighter (review here) to the high points of my face and finished off this look with my favourite Glow Lip Gloss in Opal (review, swatches here).
Verdict
Minor contour/bronze issues aside, I think Be A Light Face Palette is truly well made. I often wear this palette on my no-makeup days, right over moisturizer when I want a little smth-smth but nothing dramatic. Blush is my favourite here; it adds a beautiful silky luminousity without accentuating pores or texture, which is an instant bonus in my book. Mix of Brighten and Blur give my skin the most perfect faux-filter and I will keep on experimenting with this palette to see what other products would work best with it. Naturally, I always add my HG Shimmering Skin Perfectors (pressed) to complete the look, because a magpie in me needs that blinding cheekbone-glow. The only shade here, that I don't see myself using, is Contour. It is a bit too warm and sheer, which is why I switch back to the brand's Gradient or Sunlit Bronzer instead. All in all, I give this product a solid B+.
Becca Cosmetics are known for being inclusive; they do have an impressive selection of products for people of all colours, so even if you don't find your match in this collection, I would highly recommend checking out their makeup line as a whole. I can assure you - you will be able to find powders, bronzers and blushes that will look and work beautifully on your skin tone.
PR samples; full disclaimer here
