28 Anthracite Black

Make Up For Ever 28 Anthracite Black Star Lit PowderMake Up For Ever 28 Anthracite Black Star Lit Powder ($21.00 for 0.04 oz.) is a deep black with cooler, bluish undertones and blue, red, and silver pearl. Of all the shades I tried, this one had the greatest difference between dry and damp application.

Applied dry, it was softer, less intense, and warmer in overall tone, whereas damp application was intensely pigmented, very deep, and more metallic with a stronger, bluish sheen. The texture was soft, not quite as finely milled as other shades but still smooth. I tried to apply it as a cheek highlighter, but it was difficult to blend it out with the color looking patchy/cratered. I tried different brushes, using less product, and so forth, but I could never get it to apply evenly. It worked best as an eyeshadow, and it had the most impact with a damp brush, or else it was more like a soft, pearly black instead of a deep, inky black. On the lips, it was decent but was harder to manipulate for an even finish on light and mid-tone colors as any unevenness was very obvious--it worked well over black, though!

The Star Lit Powder is supposed to be an "ultra-fine" loose powder that can be used to "highlight eyes, lips and cheeks" either wet or dry to "customize intensity and luminosity." The powder was finely-milled, smooth, and very soft across all the shades I tried in the range, and the pigmentation was mostly opaque even dry, though damp application made it more concentrated and adhere strongly to wherever it was initially applied. Overall, I felt a little went a long way, so even though there was not much product in the container, it would still take many uses to finish it.

It took a few applications to figure out the best way to apply it as a highlighter on cheeks, as the opening is rather small and the product quite concentrated, so I often found myself with very strong, distinct stripes of highlight across the cheekbones that took some buffing to blend and diffuse out. It was better to lightly tap the brush in the opening, and then dab it in the interior of the lid, which had the effect of diffusing and dispersing the loose powder better throughout the brush. This yielded a glowing effect that still produced higher coverage but took the work out of blending it out. On the eyes, it was easier to get full distribution onto a brush, as eye brushes are smaller, but if you wanted a sheer wash of color, I would recommend the same technique as I used for applying it as a cheek highlighter with a fluffy eye brush.

FURTHER READING: Formula Overview, which is a detailed review of the range as a whole.

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