BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Cosmetics MIneral Makeups

Anyone try the mineral makeups? I have one girlfriend who said it really made the wrinkles in her skin stand out.
I dont know anyone else in real life that uses them. I want to try it out but I want to hear from others first

I use them and I love them! Well, most of them, anyway!

I started with Youngblood in Pearl, the lightest of their shades. I like the color but the powder, I think, has too much mica in it and if you apply too much, your skin looks shiny. And if you skin is not in good condition, i.e., bumps, dry patches, the mica in the powder really shows those off. Which none of us want to do.

(I started using mineral foundations because I had troubled skin: acne and because I am a very fair skinned gal, the red spots of post acne healing, and the dry spots of post-post acne healing. I wanted to cover all that up and I had a hard time finding a makeup with enough pigment to make any difference besides the derma-something for scars. The pigment is expensive so what you can buy in Wal Mart and drug stores just didn't pack enough of a punch to let me feel covered.)

Here is what I have learned since I started with Youngblood, who by the way, will send you a sample set to choose your color, for about $5. It is totally worth it. Learning to apply mineral foundations takes practice and a light hand. Although after a while though, you will get the hang of it and you will be able to quickly scrub it on with a kabuki brush and you're out the door. The blushes are great too. I am trying a couple of new brands of mineral foundations. I have tried Bare Escentuals mineral foundations but their Fairly light and light are too dark for me except in the summer when I do get a little sun. However, I have learned that I can mix the BE lightest and my Youngblood Pearl and get a good shade. Bare Escentuals has a pretty good starter kit. I love their Mineral viel which is a very good setter. It doesn't really have color but does have a slight drying effect for me, which is often good. (I use less in dry weather and a little more in humid weather.) You can apply it anywhere. I have even found that it is very good as an eyeshadow base - no creasing of the shadows! Woohoo! The mineral viel goes over the foundation after you have your blush on too. It's also good for matting down the finish of the Youngblood which sometimes is a little to shimmery, perhaps it is just the light.

Here is a little extra info. I have since found an excellent treatment for the acne which is working very well. Alternating low-strength salycilic acid and glycolic acid treatments. I have "sticky pores" meaning they don't want to let go of naturally exfoliated stuff. I do these at home and I moisturize like crazy and wear big hats outside with big ole Jackie O sunglasses like I am hiding from the paparazzi. I do not need other sunscreen for my face because the mineral makeups are actual physical sunblock, not chemical, which is better and lasts longer. By the way, since I stopped using the liquid foundations, my skin improved quite a bit. I attribute that improvement to the very pure mineral foundation. No binders, no fillers, no [censored]. Did you know that most liquid makeup contains wax? How can that be good for pores? and Yuck!

Now, I have noticed that since the bare escentuals has nearly taken over sephora and then there was the informercial, and now the bandwagon, which many are hopping on. I saw in wal-mart, I think it is Loreal, a new mineral foundation. I would look carefully at the ingredients. If there are more than 4 to 6 (and !never! talc), then it probably is not a good product. It has to be cheap to sell in wal-mart so the quality goes down. In comparison to the youngblood stuff, which is about $32 a jar but you get 4 to 6 months out of one container, without even trying. Same for the Bare escentuals jar too. It is about $25 on sephora.com and lasts as long. The BE kit comes with two super-useful brushes too, which makes it worth while.

And yes, it will make the wrinkles stand out if you apply too much or the wrong product for her or if she uses a moisturizer that is too oily for her. As with other types of foundations, every brand has a different formula, and you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the right one. (and by the way, I know, mineral foundations have been around since the egyptians or earlier, so they are not new. They are just regaining popularity.)

My advice is to try them. But remember, keep a light hand! Light, light, light!

Gert

Gert, thanks for all the advice. I too am a fair-skinned girl with acne (sigh, the teenage years skin didn't seem to let up and now I am in my late 20's with the same battles) and I keep hearing rave reviews of the mineral makeup.

I tried taking a month off from my powder foundation and my skin improved noticeably. I switched to applying tinted moisturizer and dusting with the powder foundation- that led back to the same problems, which is frustrating bc I am buying "good stuff" from Sephora- stila.

I feel your pain! I know the frustration!

I shop from sephora too and all I can say is thank goodness for their return policy. I wouldn't abuse it but I am awefully glad it is there. I can buy without feeling like I am gambling. I am no gambler.

What kind of tinted moisturizer do you use? I would like to try some but they are usually not for the light-to-fair skinned. I mean they tend to be too dark even though they are just tinted lotion. And it would be great to find one with a good physical sunscreen... I love to double-triple up on my sunscreen!

Thanks,

Gert

Yes, I hate the whole gambling on products- esp. when they are pricey. I use Stila Tinted Foundation the shade is Tone (just checked it on the bottle)

However, since Stila is being pulled out of stores w/ the whole Estee Lauder selling off of it thing, don't think you'll find it too easily. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

And I so hear you on loading up on sunscreen- it is critical. I'm trying to convince my boyfriend to wear sunscreen on his face daily- of his own he often forgets to wear it for outdorr activities, so it is a process.

I've used Bare Escentuals for 2 years now and I love it and will never use anything else! Any other foundation I have ever used (and I tried many) made my skin flaky, but not the BE. And the Mineral Veil is awesome! I also shop with Sephora because they seem to have the best prices.

Hi ladies!

I just bought Bare Essentials and have started using it. I got the Fairly light and the Mineral Veil (and the brush) I didn't pick up the Warmth, though. (The Fairly light doesn't come in a kit like the rest of the colors do) I get mine at Ulta - they've closed down all the Sephora's near me. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

But I'm not seeing where this is actually covering up any of my blemishes. It is setting on my skin nicely and evening out the rest of my skin tone, but not covering acne at all. Do y'all use concealers underneath? Or do they make a "mineral" concealer?

Thanks

The fairly light does come in the kit called Light. The kit contains also the concealer brush which is used with the foundation to cover blemishes or acne. It really works! I can be purchased separately, its called the Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush. The kit also comes with the dvd that shows you how to use everything. And if you buy it from Sephora online, and you hate it, you can return it. By the way, the Warmth is not for everybody. I find that the color, even when barely applied, is intense (on my coloring) so you might not miss anything there. I bought the Sorbet blush and like it instead of Warmth. The Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush is available on Sephora.com for $20. (Another reason the kit is a good buy, just the brushes alone are worth $60!)

Hope I helped,

NG

My mom recently bought Bare Essentials, the starter kit...I"m not sure how I feel about it.

I don't think I like it any better than I would like a liquid foundation, plus it's a lot more expensive...and it's hard for me to wear a powder foundation as I have seborrheic dermatitis, which makes the skin on my face flaky, so even if it doesn't show up on its own, powder tends to make it show up. Yuck.

Plus, the lightest shade is barely light enough for me.

I goofed - my color does not say "fairly light" it just says "fair". The sales girl said it is the very lightest of all the colors (I have like NO color - I am between a red-head and a blonde)

To be quite honest, there's not much difference between it and the mineral veil, LOL! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />