Before my current investigation into mineral makeup, what very little I knew about it was encouraging but pretty vague: it sounded kind of natural, and the few women I knew who used it were always immaculately made up. So why hadn't I tried it until now?
Mainly because the brands on offer were so shrouded in mystery, and mostly the preserve of what I call 'makeup addicts. But I was lucky enough to be taken under the wing of our resident makeup expert Zara, who has told me all I need to know about mineral makeup, where to get it and how to use it. She supplied me with some products to test from new brand Bella Pierre, which I've been dutifully wearing all weekend. I tried Ivory mineral foundation (£34.99) and desert sun mineral blusher (£24.99) Read on for my verdict so far.
I've got quite dry skin, so my first reaction to being given mineral makeup to wear was "oh no, powder!" I certainly wouldn't bother wearing powder normally, so was already out of my comfort zone. And applying it was a fun experience: I sneezed copiously as I applied the powder, which has to be applied with a broad brush. I can only assume there's a technique that comes with regular use. But I was pleasantly surprised at the result, which was even and smooth without the usual drying, ageing effect I associate with powder. My skin looked glowing, healthy and dare I say it 'young', while the powder covered problematic blemishes and redness.
My next concern was whether the makeup would set off my highly irritable and itchy skin. I did not notice any such ill-effects from wearing it over the long weekend, which is a definite benefit if true of all mineral makeup. It's said to be very hypo-allergenic, because its chief ingredient is Mica; a mineral that is found in nature as silica sand.
Overall, I wasn't entirely sold on the powder foundation (partly due to my aversion to powder, but I also found the 'ivory' shade a bit yellow), but as powder foundations go, this is definitely far superior to most I've tried in terms of blending ability and suitability for dry skin. The blusher was great, and a small amount went a very long way. Fortunate really, as this stuff ain't cheap! But we'll be testing out some budget and mid-ranage brands here shortly.
Sounds great I recently keep hearing about mineral powder, am anxious to hear about mid range alternatives as £35 is steep.
I have tried a few brands of mineral makeup and thought they were really good!
www.bareescentuals.com
www.puritycosmetics.co.uk
if you are interested in affordable mineral cosmetics please chaeck out our website. we offer only 100% pure mineral makeup - no talc or corn/rice flour fillers. samples available
www.jdrminerals.co.uk
I though I'd pop a little note in to say I've been getting quite a few orders lately from England off of my site www.shop.NorCalBella.com for Bellapierre Cosmetics. Our Mineral Foundation is $25 usd so I guess with the current exchange rate that might be worth having it shipped in.
A note on 1 ingredient found in Mineral Cosmetics. Bismuth Oxychloride is an ingredient that can be pretty harsh on sensitive skin. I had a bad rash when I used Bare Essentials and Pur Minerals because both of those had that ingredient. Its a nasty technical "mineral" that did a doosy on my skin so just fyi for the sensitive skin girls out there, avoid that at all costs!