let's talk about mineral make-up

[TheMysticMasseuse]

hello everyone, just wondering whether anyone uses mineral makeup and if so which brand? i have been using bare essentials and like it a lot (the only makeup that doesnt give me eczema!), but i find it quite hard to apply... also quite hard to get hold of (i buy online but would like to see before i get it). also i would prefer a liquid foundation.

anyone tried other brands? i see clinique has brought out a new range, and MAC does a liquid one.

any experience?

l'oreal is three for two in sainsburys at the mo

Bare essentials.... aaaaahhh I so so so love it, love it, love it... but....

Hate the price...

I am interested in if anyone has tried the Bodyshop's cheaper version and how it compares...?

I feel I am wasting money on the expensive stuff but don't want to waste even more by buying the cheap stuff, then chucking it away and buying the expensive stuff too!

[rolls eyes at self emotion]

I can remember when the mineral stuff first came out, and it was either really expensive from Laura Mericer or bare essentials...then L'Oreal launched theirs and you couldn't get it anywhere! I went into my local house of fraser store to see if clinque did minerals as a slightly more expensive alternative and was told by 2 very very snotty clinque ladies that clinque didn't make it because mineral makeup wasn't very good!
Lo and behold a good while later...

I bought the Bare Minerals one and it was terrible - one of my more expensive mistakes. It was much too dark for me (they seem to think everyone wants to look orange) and you can see the powder on your face once you apply it - shows off all your pores !

I then bought a Vichy one on a trip to Paris, and it's much better - at least it's the right shade for my skin, and not as course. But I am using it as a powder over tinted moisturiser.

I went through a whole load of brands.

Bare Escentuals = terrible, bad colour, cakey

Bare Minerals = wrong wrong wrong colour. never got a match to anything resembling my skin tone

L'oreal = ditto, bad colour, cakey

(I am fair, but not a British Rose, so makeups here tend to look too pink on me, even the spendy ones)

Now I order Everyday Minerals www.everydayminerals.com from the US because they have a "fair olive" colour and the prices are very reasonable. They also do various textures. I prefer the "original glo" formula because it doesn't dry my skin out.

That said, I don't use a mineral makeup for daily wear for three reasons:

1 - they can be a bit fiddly to put on, especially if you need concealer for any reason

2 - the powder gets EVERYWHERE - clothes, room, etc. You have to put it on before clothes and dust every few days

3 - in daylight it tends to look too "perfect" and therefore looks a little odd.

Also, my mother has told me that she cannot use mineral makeups at all because the powder tends to settle in lines and make a lady look older FWIW.

Even if I don't continue with the mineral foundation I will still buy the finishing powders and my eyeshadows from everyday minerals. The shadows are particularly gorgeous.

to all who are talking about the wrong colours of mineral make-up, making you look orange etc, caking, not being good on dry skin, powder getting everywhere etc. etc. you are not applying it right!
I am a make-up artist and mineral make-up works on ANY skin type but there is a fine art to applying it!

BODY SHOP stuff is great, I've found. Using this stuff got me out of the liquid foundation habit and I now have less spots! They also sold me a brush for it, which I am really pleased I purchased because its much better than cheap brushes I have used before.
Not so keen on B.S. since they were taken over by another (big)company and now have all those annoying marketing strategies (no I won't be doing the card thing again!) BUT this is good stuff, try it!

notjustapuppymum not being snarky, actually curious: how would improper application affect the colour of the powder? I have a really tough time finding makeup that matches me (a deceptively fair olive tone) and have shopped around all the major brands of both liquids and powders. Surely if applying the powder differently makes the colour look different, you have the wrong colour for your skin tone?

Also, it's not unfair to say that, while it looks good at first, mineral makeup doesn't exactly hold up to wear very well, especially in heat or humidity. It's easily sweated or rubbed off, tends to "float" if your skin is oily, and there's always castoff from applying it (really, even with excellent application, there is). I find it's not practical for me because I play with a baby all day and it rubs off on her. I don't wear lipstick these days for the same reason. That's not a criticism of lipstick, just the nature of the thing and for now I use a stain.

Those aren't reasons not to get or use mineral makeup, just things that need to be taken into account. It's no use saying that it's great for all people in all situations because nothing is.

Hi marenmj - the colour might well be wrong for skin type, with most mineral make-ups you have to go for a lighter shade than you would normally but it also depends heavily on how you blend it in. Mineral make-up needs to really be 'pushed into' the skin, with a soft kabuki brush and this should eliminate tidemarks etc. Also, it's sometimes necessary to combine a couple of colours to get the right skin type.

Also mineral make-up should last and hold a lot, lot longer than normal make-up. Remember it was originally designed and used for many years in the film industry, where staying power is a must!

It's also a major selling point of mineral make-ups, that they have better staying power and can survive gym workouts without needing retouching!

As with all make-up though it's down to a good base. You need to be looking after your skin correctly in the first place, using the right moisturiser and if necessary a base too.

Hope that helps explain my first post a bit better?

Oh, and should also add that the colour might be affected by the application technique by putting on too much at once so making it look darker than it should. Needs to be layered on and you really don't need much to get good coverage.

Noting what others have said about it going quickly indicates this might be happening as a Bare Minerals foundation pot would last me 6-9 months and that's using it everyday, sometimes twice a day.

Thanks, notjustapuppymum. I know I have to mix two different colours and a pot of everyday minerals used to last me about 9 months, so I know what you mean about it going a long way

I don't know about it being more or less long-wearing than other types. Perhaps it's because the coverage is so good I notice any bits that have rubbed off (almost ALWAYS the tip of my nose) more than I would with a different type of foundation.

I have done a couple tv shows and been complimented on my makeup by their makeup artists so I can't be doing it all wrong

Do you find that the mineral makeups look lighter in photos? Something to do with the zinc content reflecting the flash... I have a whole raft of photos where my face/neck skin looks TOO perfect and therefore pasted-on

twopeople - mineral make up is generally better for sensitive skins so that's probably why you've found that. I was the same with MAC liquid foundation.

marenmj - yes it does do that in photos, that's what it was meant to do though as originally used for modelling/filming etc. so meant to give an airbrushed finish.

wow thanks! so many opinions.

a few follow up questions:

notjustapuppymum, so what brand would you recommend? and what brush should i be using? i have two from Bare Minerals, the "flawless" one whcih doenst give me enough coverage, and the handy kabuki which make me look too cakey. I really, really do love the texture of BM and i swear my skin has been miles better since i started using it (i am very prone to eczema), but it doesn't look right atm so no doubt i am doing something wrong... but how do i learn? also i really need a concealer for those 4am wakeups dark circles and don't know which one or how (before or after?) to apply it? and blush on top of mineral makeup just looks way too makeuppy, but without the skintone is too even.

so i guess the bottom line is that i am struggling to get a natural look with good coverage

twopeople- very interested in your MAC experience, i may well give the liquid foundation a try, if that's the one you're referring to? or was it the powder?

TMM - it's difficult to recommend a brand without seeing your skin. Professionally I nearly always use Bare Escentuals so am confident they will suit any skin type but Lily Lolo is also very nice and often better for very pale skins as they do a porcelain foundation which is very pale and a lovely natural pinky blush.

The bigger the kabuki brush you can get the better and just blend, blend, blend round in big circles all over your face, jawline etc. Layer on the make-up and then you won't get the cakey look. It'll feel/look as if you're not doing a lot, IYSWIM, but you will build up a natural coverage like this.

I think Bare Escentuals do a how-to dvd but not sure where you get it...will try and find for you.

I totally understand what you mean about the blusher. What you may find better is an all over face colour, which you just use where you would normally use blusher. "This would be good www.lookfantastic.com/beauty/bare-escentuals/bare-escentuals-complexion/bare-escentuals-all-over-fac e-colour/bare-escentuals-bareminerals-rose-radiance.html"

It'll give you a nice natural glow, like after a walk, rather than a 'blush'.

"This is also good www.lilylolo.co.uk/blushpots.php"

Then get a concealer brush and one of the Bare Mineral Multi-Tasking Bare Minerals in a shade lighter than your skin tone and use that as your concealer. Or, if you don't mind not sticking to 'all mineral', you can never ever go wrong with YSL Touche Eclat!!

Sorry the post is so long, and hope the links work as I've never posted links before!

Oh, they didn't really work out right did they :-(

no it worked out fine, thanks!!!

would i put that all over colour over the foundation? and with the same blush or a different one? I have this, would this do the same thing?

and do i put touche eclat (i already have it) under it or over it?

thanks!!

See how you get on with it, try it on top of your foundation first and if you want to tone down even more (don't think you will) then use it underneath. Yes you could do the same with Benefit one, looks nice.

Use the touche eclat under foundation.

notsohotchic - Thanks for your bodyshop info... You have given me the confidence to go purchase next time I am near a bodyshop!

Bare minerals has got an offer available at lots of department stores- 10 days free trial of their foundation. Lots of Debenhams stores have started stocking it so check on the BM stockists. I went today, got my sample and full make-up done- fabulous for a Wed morning!

I've got Laura Mercier's mineral powder (and have just ordered samples from Lily Lolo) and its great and very easy to use (though you do need a special brush)and it's excellent at covering up some really horrid red patches on my face. I was very sceptical at first but I haven't had to use a seperate concealer in yonks.

In Debenhams they have a Bare Minerals starter kit which contains brushes, foundation, powder and the instructional dvd - it's £45.

Jane Iredale does really good mineral makeup for problem skins. They also have salon stockists so you can check to see which ones suit you.