Althea Petal Velvet Powder

Althea has launched their very first product and I think I am not the only person who is squealing with excitement! When the product first came through, the first thing that made me really excited was the soft pink packaging of the product! It is not the same pink as the Althea boxes, slightly warmer and a touch deeper than the box colour.

It cannot just be me that gets overly excited whenever I see the Althea boxes coming through! I have so many at home and I use them as makeup and skincare storage boxes!

Now this is what Althea says about their new Althea Petal Velvet Powder :
Althea's very own product range is here, and we're starting off strong with the Petal Velvet Powder! This debuting beauty is a translucent powder that sets makeup and leaves behind a silky finish to the touch. Infused with oil from Althea seeds, this powder works to keep sebum production at bay without drying out the skin for a radiant, fresh look, all while giving out a gentle scent. Keep your makeup looking great all day or dust some on to stay shine-free!

The ingredient list for the Althea Petal Velvet Powder is:
SILICA, MICA, VINYL DIMETHICONE/METHICONE SILSESQUIOXANE CROSSPOLYMER, DIMETHICONE/VINYL DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER, METHICONE, HIBISCUS SYRIACUS SEED EXTRACT, HYDROGENATED LECITHIN, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, MALTODEXTRIN, FRAGRANCE

Althea definitely claims that the ingredients are pure, natural and cruelty-free.  I will be honest in that I don't really understand what pure and natural are supposed to be, because any mineral you mine are technically natural (Silica in this case) but some of the ingredients are so synthetic and scientific sounding! However, I have included the ingredient list so that you can double check if you are sensitive or allergic to any of the ingredients!

The powder is housed in a really dinky plastic tub. The actual tub is see through so that you can see how much of the 3g of product you have left, and the lid is "millennial pink". It is just a really pretty pink shade. Now the name  Althea Petal Velvet Powder might have given you a hint that this powder smells delicately floral. It is hard to describe it but there is definitely no muskiness, more like a fresh floral scent.

The Althea Petal Velvet Powder comes with a little powder puff and it has the matching pink stripe which just ties the look together really well. I know that aesthetics is only one small part but I would never take something which is bulky or ugly along in my handbag whereas this is so cute that I would have no issue taking it out to touch up on the go!

I feel like businesses are really stepping up their game and knowing how to make their customers feel special. Look at this sticker which instantly brightened my day up (I can be quite shallow, but I will take a compliment when I get one!)

Obviously the sticker is included to keep your brand new powder fresh and hygienic!

The little puff included is very soft and I expected no less from Althea's own product! The stripe allows one or two fingers to be slotted in to hold the puff securely with no issue.

I thought of a myriad of ways to demonstrate how finely milled this powder is and I am hoping you can see it here. This is one tap of the tub onto the palm of my left hand. You can clearly see that the Althea Petal Velvet Powder is a translucent shade so it just appears as white. If you have a very deep skin tone, this might flashback or have a grey cast on you. I can't personally test that out as I am light-medium and this works perfectly for me as a setting powder.

I then mixed it all in and you can see that it has pretty much disappeared but my palms are fairer and smoother. It has not settled into the lines. The brightening and whitening effect is more because I am using a fair bit here for such a small area.

Here is another experiment, with the powder poured onto the satin pink ribbon.

When smoothed in, the satin pink ribbon went matte where the powder is smoothed in. The sides are still satin and sheeny in comparison!

Now, just to compare the Althea Petal Velvet Powder powder puff that is included! Althea claims that is is thick and fluffy and as compared to the Aritaum powder puff here, you can definitely see that it looks a little fluffier. They are the same in thickness but the Althea one looks a little fluffier, perhaps because I have washed the Aritaum one!

Another photo to show you that the Althea powder puff is definitely fluffier than the Aritaum powder puff.

I have been testing this out for 2 weeks and using a combination of methods to apply. I first tried applying it on with a brush and there is a fair amount of kick up and kick back because it is so finely milled. Even when you tip the product out onto the lid, you have to be gentle because you can easily overdo it and get it everywhere due to how fine the powder is! For a quick dusting, the brush method is nice and not too mattifying. I would recommend using a brush if you have drier skin or prefer the glowy look.

If you have more combination or oily skin, you may prefer applying it with the powder puff that is provided. I pour out the powder onto the lid and then pick it up with the puff and use the "roll and press" method on my skin after foundation. It really presses the powder into the skin and the powder puff does not pick up the foundation when you do that! Foundation is set, instead of being moved around. This method uses a lot more powder and mattifies the skin down completely. If you are oily, this finely milled powder can actually help lock in your foundation for a minimum of 7 hours. I have a really oily nose but with this method, my nose did not need any blotting or powdering until about 8 hours in! That is completely mental and unheard of for me!


The Althea Petal Velvet Powder is RM16 and you can purchase it on Althea's site. Considering that a lot of high-end powders cost so much more, (It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Silk HD Anti-Aging Micro Powder is RM125 for  6.8g and Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Loose Powder is RM175 for 8.5g). The larger jars are obviously not great for on the go and they cost so much more in comparison to the Althea offering so you have a choice ;)