Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Correcting Pebbles Review

This is one of the many products I bought during the CVS Clearance Sale and it is without a doubt one of my favorites so far.  I took me by surprise because I never had any desire whatsoever to use this type of product, so I didn't have any expectations for it at all.  I'm not much for powders with my dry skin and I tend to think the pebbles, while cool-looking, are kind of gimmicky.  But I'm happy to say this product, with its subtle but glowing properties, has definitely earned it's top spot in my makeup arsenal.  Read on for the full review and swatches!

For those of you out there like me who have never tried a product with powder pebbles before, let me assure you:  It's just powder and you swirl your brush in the product just like you would a normal powder.  Which is why I think the pebbles, aside from aesthetics, are kind of useless, if not slightly annoying.  Since the pebbles are not perfectly round and have corners, sometimes when you swirl your brush on them the one pebble will move with the brush, potentially blocking your brush from catching powders from other pebbles. That is probably me just being anal though, so it may not bother you much.


This product is supposed to serve 3 purposes as per the packaging:  correct, illuminate, and a powder.  The "correcting" is supposed to come from the 3 different colors of pebbles (green, yellow, and pink), but I didn't experience any obvious correcting benefits.  This didn't disappoint me however because I didn't really think that it would work in the first place.  Add to that I don't really have intense areas of concern on my face so it would be hard for me to really notice any changes even if it does work.  

Where this powder shines is it's use as an illuminator.  Do not fear, you're not going to look a disco ball.  This packs a subtle, finely-milled shimmer than helps give you a natural glow.  Because of it's subtlety, I guess you could potentially use this all over your face, although I prefer using it on the middle of the forehead, down the nose, chin, and the tops of the cheeks for a natural candle lit glow.  


Just as a powder, it works pretty well too.  As I mentioned before, I'm not keen on powder a majority of the time due to my dry skin.  However, when I used my Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation I found that it didn't set as well as my other foundations, which is what brought me to initially use the powder in the first place.  It definitely didn't cake up at all and it set the foundation to my satisfaction, but I don't know how someone who uses powders a lot would feel about this product.  For my dry skin, though, it's fine.  


Bottom Line:  Amber REALLY LIKES!!!


Just a note:  If you plan to approach the application of this product the way I did with only applying to places you want to illuminate, I would suggest using a smaller powder brush or a brush like the Real Techniques Blush Brush to get a more precise application.


I really like this powder overall and would definitely recommend it, even though I still don't get the purpose of the powder being in pebbles form.  Do you feel like pebble products like this serve a real purpose or do you just think they're gimmicky too?