Pressed Powder Compacts

I have been an avid user of Manic Panic for a good 3 years now & have used quite a few of there makeup products with rather wonderful results but I have to say that out of all of all of the companies cosmetics the crown jewel is there pressed powders. I have gone through about 3 copies of the Virgin snow (both for personal & professional use) and 1 copy of moonlight/ vampires veil and I have to say both are amazing products.

Virgin snow is a pure white; not translucent, not sheer, just paper white. The good thing about it is that it can be used lightly either as a matte highlighting powder to add dimension to the face or you could layer on the powder and use it to achieve that flawless gothic complexion. It goes on thicker under a foundation or concealer but I enjoy using it as a matte white eyeshadow for various looks.

The Vampires Veil is just the perfect shade of foundation for my skin tone; it's just a shade lighter which I can use to cover up slight blotches and redder areas or I can use it all over to create a more naturally pale complexion, and both paired together can create a long lasting dynamic skin base using the vampires veil as an overall and the virgin compact as a highlighting powder.

Overall the Compacts will last quite a long time depending on how often you use it. I use mine at least once or twice a week just on myself and I've had it for a little under a year now & haven't hit pan yet. The product is some of the smoothest pressed powder I've tried or even sampled and it comes with a great sponge powder puff that is great for packing it on or touching up through out the day.The price can sometimes be a bit high (sometimes around $15.00 USD for a single pan) but it's worth it and definitely one of the best white powders on the market *a photo of a face I used the "moonlight"powder on, paired with a foundation that was about 1 shade lighter and dusted with a light coat of "virgin" to give it a natural pale look

I got this to help me re-create some Pat McGrath for John Galliano Fall 2007 inspired makeup looks for my beauty school final. I wanted to powder the face, then do dramatic eyes and lips- Vaudeville meets goth meets Victorian meets 20's Old Hollywood glamour. I wanted theatrical and dramatic looks. I think this helped, for the most part.

The trick to using this is to add light layers, then gradually build up. You can't cake it on all at once and expect white color payoff. (Virgin is the matte white powder). You need to build it up slowly to ensure it doesn't look patchy and it will build opacity. I've used it on myself after just using it for that assignment of sorts and I think this works great if you want to subtly pale out the face. I tried to use this for highlighting and it doesn't quite work as a highlighter without making your look seem powdered- instead of highlighting you might look a little Marie Antoinette-ish, even when that's not the look you're going for! So, I'm still playing with this. I have not used this damp/wet, so that might also help kick up the intensity of the white.

This wasn't dirt cheap, but I think its doable. The packaging is awesome- but I think my mini crystals fell off the top of the compact. I also don't use the sponge, but its nice to have a second compartment included. I'd be interested to see how the other powders of this line perform, especially when damp/wet. I'm glad I got this- not just for the look I thought I would need it for, but to experiment with on myself!