Beauty Classics: Bourjois Java Rice Powder

Now, I may be a little behind when it comes to this ‘new’ goodie, as it was released as a limited edition product by Bourjois in celebration of the brands 150 years on the market. It was released in Australia about September, but I never saw or heard about it back then. I’ve heard from the grapevine that Bourjois is making this a permanent product soon, but who knows if we will get it here in Aus 🙁 (I really hope so! I hope you’re listening Bourjois! No more of that Frenchy nonsense now!). It’s not available in Aus at the moment, but I bought mine from a trusted buyer in the UK (on wonderful ebay of course – check out the link here if you’re interested).

Originally, the powder was not only for mattifying the skin, but I also suspect that it was very pale in order to have a ‘whitening’ effect on the skin. With that trend pretty much done and dusted (especially in Europe) the powder was reformulated to illuminate the skin instead. I wish I could see what the original powder looked and felt like – I know that might sound strange, but I’m just so curious! Since we can’t have a look at the old formulation of the powder, we can have a look at some of the original ads for the powder and some are just hilarious!

Above: The old tin packaging.

LOL to the above advert! 😉😂🤣

The powder these days comes in a green round plastic pot. The packaging is light, durable and probably won’t rust like the old tins. Bonus! But the old tins do look like they have more character. They have definitely tried to keep the packaging as similar as can be to the classic tins, especially when it comes to the sticker on the lid. Funnily enough, I noticed that the powder was made in Italy as opposed to most Bourjois products which are manufactured in France. This doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but I thought I’d give you that fact. Maybe the secret ingredients of the powder are only found in Italy these days… Inside, the powder is kept neat and safe thanks to a good plastic sifter thingo… You can close the plastic sifter lid inside the pot completely so when you open the lid, you won’t find that the powder has gone everywhere. You can also easily dispense little amounts of powder at a time (or lots!) so it is very handy and practical.

I would describe the actual powder as a finishing powder, as it’s very light pink but it essentially goes on pretty transparently. It does have visible fine flecks of shimmer in the powder, so it’s not as fine as say the Hourglass Ambient powders which are illuminating without having any visible shimmer particles, however they are very fine, so it wouldn’t work as a highlighter. In some lights the shimmer maybe slightly visible on the skin. It’s finely milled and velvety to the touch. It has a slight rosey-violet scent like other Bourjois products (I find that the rose scent of the blushes is much stronger than in the powder) but it definitely has more of a baby powder smell to it. It smells ‘classic’ if that makes sense, as I guess the smell of baby powder is something we are all familiar with. It’s quite distinct without being over powering. I’ve tried to take some photos of the powder for you so that you can see the slight pink tone of the powder and shimmer. I think they turned out quite well this time! I’ve pilled the powder onto the back of my hand and then gently spread it with my fingers. In no way is this ‘blended’, so the effect on your face would be more subtle without a doubt.

This would be a great and lovely powder to use in winter, when the sun isn’t blaring and isn’t picking up all the shimmer particles. It’s also great for brightening up the skin around your eyes and setting under eye concealer.  It’s a very universal shade but lighter skin tones would particularly benefit from the illuminating effects of this powder. The packaging is just so reminiscent of the classic famous Java powder, so it’s just lovely to have it in your collection even for that purpose alone! It has to be one of the best ‘drugstore’ illuminating powders on the market (if not the best) and the feel of the powder (texture) is just to die for. You receive 3.5 grams in a pot which isn’t to bad at all. Here’s to hoping that they bring it into their permanent line, including in Aus! On ebay along with international airmail delivery, I paid around $30 Aus monies. It would probably cost around that price if I had bought it in a store here in Aus, so it’s very reasonable.

Have you had the privilege of trying this powder? If not, are you now tempted? 🙂

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Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

Check out these other posts in the ‘Beauty Classics’ series!

Bourjois Little Round Pot of Blush

Nivea Creme (and some surprising tricks/uses for this gem!)

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