Love this powder! I use this every day to help keep the shine under control without adding a fake make-up color.

The finish is very natural and doesn't look obvious at all on the skin but it really, really mattifies! Looks ghostly white in the pan, just like the MAC Prep & Prime but doesn't leave an obvious white cast, just makes my face look more luminous, yet matte. I use it on my t-zone and under my eyes with a small rounded brush, and touch-up whenever needed. I'm quite pale myself though, so if you have a deeper skin tone might be wise to proceed with caution.

I love this product. It is really matte and keeps my matte almost all day. It can cake up on dry patches of skin so be careful.

Great i love this. it blends in very well. last a long time and don't get messy.

This powder is an excellent dupe for the Makeup Forever pressed powder, I find they both last the same amount of time on my skin.
This powder is finely milled, and doesn't make your face look powdery, which I notice with some translucent powders since I have dry to normal skin. For the price and quality you can't go wrong!
Also the powder is very soft, it doesn't feel coarse, and it's not like some powders that are too powdery, it's very soft.

I never use powder makeup and I was nervous to purchase this. Im so so happy that I did because its light weight and works great to cover up shine and blend everything in!

Love this product. Must be the best I have ever used from over the years.. And the price is amazing for the quality

I haven't tried too many different powders so I haven't got that much to compare this one to, but I love this one! Such an affordable product that works really well to keep my foundation in place. Even if I'm not wearing foundation that day, I can put on this powder and it just refreshes my skin and makes it look so much better. No problems with cakiness, you don't get any of that with this powder, and it will work for all skin tones and I think it should be fine for all skin types as well.
My only complaint is the cheap packaging. The lid broke off of mine so I have to be super careful when using it now.

I have tried two different colorless matt powders in the past :
L'oreal Matt Powder and NARS (which I was told is the best to buy out there).

Not to put down those two products, but seeing Essence products for the first time I decided to spend the $4 price because...that's a cup of coffee.

It had a great finish (no white residue, sorry L'Oreal!) and a good amount for the price (sorry NARS!).

Purchased my third one today and don't see any reason to try other brands that would be more expensive.

Tiny downfall - if you need to find one - no brush comes with it. Use those fancy face brushes we've all invested in ladies. :-)

I read a ton of good reviews on this powder and headed to my nearest Shoppers to get it right away. In addition to promises of keeping my skin matte, I was taken in by the cute packaging and of course, the price. I bought it for merely $4.99 and I figured it would be no big loss even if I didn't like it.

Before using this powder I was using Ben Nye's Neutral Set. It is certainly HG material, but I have a giant bottle of it and need to lug it along with a dish to dispense the powder for application. As I travel often, it is not the most convenient option and I was looking for a compact form of the same thing. The idea of this Essence powder was a godsend, as it was easy to carry around and offered the same function.

Using a large fluffy brush, I swirl it around the compact to pick up powder and stipple it onto my face, especially around the T-zone. It mattifies instantly, and I was impressed at the difference it made when I was applying the rest of my makeup. While I still love a dewy finish and apply highlighter every day, it was amazing to work with a clean canvas rather than my usual oil slick of a face. The texture is smooth and makes me look like I'm not even wearing makeup. I can still feel the powder on my face but it is not uncomfortable.

However, after about 3 or 4 hours I started to get shiny again, and needed to blot my face. This could be because I didn't use enough powder or press it into my face well enough. It is in any case a small complaint as I have incredibly oily skin and even the Ben Nye cannot keep me matte all day.

I would definitely buy this product again for the convenience and the nice packaging. I plan to get one for my purse and apply it with a powder puff to see if there is any difference in the longevity. I would recommend this for people with oily skin, as it is a cheap and nice alternative to more expensive mattifying powders.