[REVIEW] Etude House Zero Sebum Drying Powder

I struggle with a lot of sebum production on my T-Zone. A lot. My forehead is an oil slick. Most drug-store setting powders in the past have broken me out and done nothing for keeping the oil at bay or my makeup on my face.  Because of that, I started searching for a setting powder specifically for oily faces.

Today we have Etude House Zero Sebum Drying Powder. This powder claims to be a mineral powder that dries up sebum without being greasy, dry, or flaky. I was torn between this and innisfree's No Sebum Mineral Powder.
They had equally good reviews, but what won me over on Zero Sebum Drying Powder was simple.

Sorry about the damaged corner. That happened during shipping.

That packaging is too cute. 

Look, I'm not trying to pretend I'm something I'm not- I am, without a doubt, the type of person who will buy a product because the packaging is cute. Especially if it is said to be a good product as well.

All jokes aside, here is the ingredient list.

Water, Acrylates Copolymer, Cellulose, Mica, Silica, 1,2-Hexanediol, Butylene Glycol, Acetyl Tributyl Citrate, Laureth-21, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Alcohol, Pentylene Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Xanthan Gum, Bentonite, Titanium Dioxide, Polyurethane-11, Disodium Edta, Citric Acid, Allantoin, Simethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Iron Oxides(Ci77491), Iron Oxides(Ci77499)

I'm no expert on ingredients and how they work, so I'm not going to pretend to be. But, I will say, it doesn't contain talc or mineral oil, which is a plus to me. Mineral oil almost never fails to break me out. 

The presentation of this powder is to die for. I love it. It comes with a lovely, mint colored puff that has a golden Etude House band on it so you never forget where you bought it from. 

The puff is very soft and spreads the powder evenly. You can smack your face with it and you probably wont feel a thing. As with any puff, they get dirty. Mine is now covered in foundation and in need of another cleaning. I personally think you should clean or replace these often just because... you are using it to apply a powder that absorbs oils. Those same oils are probably getting absorbed onto the puff. Not a pretty thought, but neither are clogged pores.

The powder is dispersed through a couple of little holes in a plastic top. I'm sure you can remove it, I'm not going to because I love myself and not having powder everywhere. Some people said it smelled to them like baby powder, but it's not quite that clean smelling to me, for a lack of better words. It doesn't smell bad- I like it. But it's just not quite baby powder. 

The scent doesn't matter too much since as soon as you apply it, it's gone.

I know, my application skills are incredible. 

The consistency is definitely like baby powder: gets everywhere if you're not careful, appears white, but blends out to be translucent. 

Be warned: there is flashback. 

See on the right side where I had applied it? Yeah.

Now, granted, I did apply a LOT. One thin layer doesn't cause as much of a problem. But if you're using this for oily skin, you're probably applying this multiple times a today. Which is fine, just make sure you aren't taking any flash photography that day. 

It may also not be as much of a problem if you're fair skinned, but if you're darker than medium-tan  like me, be careful. 

As for performance, it's so-so. And I really wanted this product to perform well so I could justify buying it again for the cute packaging. It was no miracle product (I question if such things exist.) It does help to keep oil away for a bit. I wore it to work all day and it kept my face from getting unbearably oily for about 6 hours! Don't get me wrong, there was still oil on my face after 3 hours of wearing it, but it wasn't as bad. I did have to blot and reapply every couple hours after the 6 hour mark.

As for using it as a setting powder, you definitely can! It'll help with your foundation lasting longer, but nothing amazing. It will mattify your foundation well if you have one that is a little bit too dewy or sticky for you, and it leaves skin feeling super soft. My skin gets oily faster when I wear foundation, so I find myself having to blot every 4 hours. But that's in comparison to every 2-3 hours, so I guess there's that? Maybe this is related to my foundations more than my setting powder.

 

Overall, I’d give this a 3/5. It's not the worst out there, but it's not amazing. I will definitely be trying out new setting powders for oily skin. I do like carrying it in my purse as a backup for those really awful days.

 

Pros

☆ Doesn't contain talc or mineral oil. 
☆ Adorable packaging (does this count?)
☆ No strong scent- smells a little bit like baby powder, and that disappears after application.

☆ Leaves skin feeling soft. 
☆ Helps to prevent sebum production for a little longer than without it.
☆ Helps to set and mattify foundations.

Cons

☆ Doesn't help with oil as much when paired with foundation.

☆ Leaves a white cast in flash photos. 

☆ Didn't keep my face as oil-free as I would have liked.

 I will probably not repurchase this. I'd rather look around and keep trying new setting powders to see if I can find one that really 'wows' me.

I purchased this from beautynetkorea for $6.99. I do like this seller, and I've purchased from them a couple times.