can anyone reccomend some decent powder foundation,thinking of trying bare minerals

[diamondlizard]

something naturalish looking

Does anyone else find the brushes rubbish and they moult?!
I like BM but need to get some different brushes...

I swear by Elisabeth Arden Pure Finish Mineral Powder - it has a little grinder that you turn, giving you a small amount of powder. Brilliant stuff, looks natural.

I bought some and hated it. I have good skin and very few lines but it sat in those I do have and accentuated them making me look about 10 years older!

Their brushes are appalling quality, moult and shed all over your face! I actually complained to customer service and they told me to wash them more, which I did and made no difference. They then sent me their brush shampoo, or rather they said they would,I waited weeks it didn't turn up. I complained again and it eventually arrived and made no difference at all to the brushes.

I gave up and use a big Mac one or the real techniques domed one.

Can I ask a question to the BM wearers? I've been using it for about 3 years but never feel its quite right for me. I use about a thumbnail sized amount and buff like mad (probably happy birthday 5 times!) But the coverage never seems decent. The girls on their counters always look perfect. Do you think I should use more or just give up?

I didn't get on with Bare Minerals - made me look older, I thought - but I've just started using Youngblood mineral make up and I love it. It provides coverage that looks really natural. It is also free of paraben, petroleum, mineral oil and talc and seems to suit my skin (fewer spots).

Angie do you use mineral concealer?
Most of my skin is in great shape but I have a few healing scars and pigment spots and some areas with redness. I touch those areas up with mineral concealer and use a very light layer of mineral foundation - in total about 1.5 rice grain's worth for my entire face. The end result is airbrushed and subtly glowy.

Chantecaille Compact Makeup is a compact powder foundation and its brilliant. I have oily olive skin and using this with a primer and a finishing powder keeps my skin flawless and matte all day.

I use bare face affection minerals, can get it in ebay from Intelligent-cosmetics - its basically a cheaper version of bare minerals but looks just as good - dont have the time for foundation anymore since having 2 boys and nearly give up on makeup until I found this, cheap, quick and easy to apply, small tub lasts for ages!

Angie-I agree about using the concealer but also try using less, that sound like quite a lot. Maybe do a couple of layers?

I didn't get on with Bare Minerals - it made my skin itch (due to the bismuth I believe) and I couldn't get a good colour match (I'm quite pale).

Lily lolo makes my skin look very powdery.

I love Estée Lauder Double Wear Mineral Rich Loose Powder as a powder foundation (it's sold as a powder but if you look at the reviews lots of people use it as a natural looking powder foundation). It's the only foundation I've ever repurchased.

I use a lot less than that. I do a quick tap for each side of my face and buff for probably 3 happy birthdays! I like a natural finish so it's not the flawless look but I like it, but I think I do need a concealer ( and have thought this for a long time, before even using BM) as I still get spots (at 42!! aargh).

Thanks frugal dame and 42. I wonder if I press too hard on the skin when I buff as I think I'm rubbing it in rather than buffing. I use the buki brush. I do have their small loose concealer but never use it as I feel I would rub it off with all the buffing. I'm going to carry on practicing and take a 'more gentle' approach. On another note, a woman at my gym was talking to me about BM and mentioned that they are trying a new mineral brand in Debenhams in the Bullring, Birmingham and it looks really promising but have forgotten the name! I think it's a local brand but could be wrong.

To those of you who buy online, how do you know what shade to go for? Thanks.

I bought the starter kit for £29 from lookfantastic.com.
Went to boots and figured out what shade I was before buying. Best foundation I have ever used! And I've used a lot!!

I bought a starter set that had a couple of different 'fair' shades to see which suited best

I highly rate Lily Lolo too. If you go on their site, you can buy a tester kit for 12.99 (or thereabouts) and you get 3 sample shades, a sample of the mineral finsihing powder and a mini buki (which i might add, I still have after 3 years and does not moult). Their shade range is great for fair ladies. I found that bare minerals were just too dark and unnatural looking for me_ I am almost porcelain. Jane Iredale is brilliant too, but quite a bit pricier than Lily Lolo. For compact powder foundations, Guerlain Parure is beautiful, but I find that I use up compacts more quickly if using on a daily basis for a full face.

If ypu decide on bare minerals buy ftom qvc for thier money bavk guarantee even if you use it.

Agree that the BM brushes are awful. They moult everywhere.

I'm using mac loose mineral powder (an impulse buy at an airport when I realised I'd left my make-up bag at home), and I do like it- the colour is natural, but I think I'll try Laura Mercier next. I'm not terribly loyal with make-up.

Angie I often touch up with concealer after buffing. I use a MAC eye shadow blending brush or fingers and just dab on some concealer. The shade match is great so it's just a final touch. I use Lily Lolo, not BM, have lots of sensitivities and they have even fewer ingredients, and I found a perfect shade match at once (so haven't needed to look into other options). But it's also possible that minerals don't work well on every skin type!

Thanks very much for your advice

I'm a bit muddled now

Guess I won't know until I try some