A tale of two powders

I’m always on the lookout for a good pressed powder for touch ups throughout the day. At the recommendation some of my lovely readers I decided to pick up the 17 Shine Control Pressed Powder. I happened to have one of the £5 vouchers for No7 so their Crème Touch pressed powder came home with me too. Both 17 and No7 and Boots own brands so I thought I might be fun to do a little comparison. We’ll start off with the basics:

	17 Shine Control	No7 Creme Touch
Price	£3.49	£8.75
Amount	10g	20g
Price per gram	34.9p	47.45p

Hmm. It looks like per gram 17 has the edge here. Don’t forget though that with those vouchers the No7 only costs £3.75. Both come in rather plain black packaging however not all plain packaging is created equal. Yes both have those useless little puffs but only the budget (17) option comes with a mirror. The 17 compact feels a bit sturdier too. For some reason the No7 powder has a twist off lid which doesn’t feel that secure and frankly is a bit of a pain when trying to use it on the go. 

Here is the 17:

And the No7

When you get to the actual product though the situation is reversed. The No7 feels much more finely milled and yet is more densely packed than the 17 powder. It feels somehow better. It blends well and has never once left me looking cakey. The 17 has a tendency to be a bit dusty with powder flying everywhere as soon as a brush gets near it. It feels slightly chunkier too though not to the point of making you look cakey. It’s just not quite as fine as the No7. 

The colour selection for the 17 powder is erm... one. You get Neutral or nothing. It’s quite pale but I find it does sometimes oxidise on me slightly. No7 gives you a slightly better colour range with 4 shades, I have shade 01 Translucent. This shade is VERY pale. Don’t make the mistake of getting Translucent thinking it’ll be a one shade fits all deal. It will probably look ashy on you if you have darker skin. I have not noticed the crème touch oxidising on me. 

In terms of oil control the 17 powder is better. I need to blot slightly less often when I use it. The no7 does an ok job though and certainly leaves a more natural finish. I suppose what I’m trying to say is I’d like the No7 powder in the 17 compact and with 17’s oil control. Too much to ask? As for which I’d repurchase I think the hunt for the perfect pressed powder will probably go on. If I’ve run out and I have another voucher I’d maybe buy the No7 again but the 17 is a bit too messy for me even though it does do a fab job of suppressing the shine. 

*I bought these myself*