Mineral makeup reacts differently to each and everyone of us. As no two people have exactly the same skin characteristics, one mineral makeup might work effectively and give a flawless finish for one, but would deem ineffective on another. Thus, we must set some criteria on how to choose the mineral makeup that is right for us. Here are some of the criteria that can help you identify if that certain brand of mineral makeup is right for you.

COVERAGE :

May it be light, medium, or heavy, you must be satisfied with the coverage that your mineral makeup provides. Mineral makeup is usually in loose powder form, and the beauty of it is that you can always start with a light layer, then apply more layers until you achieve the coverage you desire. Concealing is another important thing, for mineral makeup can definitely cover up flaws, and make them look like you never had that blemish in the first place. Make sure that your mineral makeup can give you whatever coverage you desire, as well as hide well your imperfections.

STAYING POWER :

Another factor that you might consider is how your mineral makeup stays on your skin. Does humidity cause your mineral makeup to slide or fade off in a matter of minutes? If your skin is dry, make sure that your skin is properly moisturized before applying mineral makeup, for mineral makeup to stay well. For those with oily skin, a primer or mattifier worn under mineral makeup is beneficial to make it stay. Nonetheless, the mineral makeup must independently have good staying power on your skin. If not, then the purpose of mineral makeup is totally useless, as mineral makeup is supposed to be like second skin, only better. There are mineral makeup brands that have their foundations specially made for oily skin and dry skin. That would make it easier for the users to choose their right mineral makeup.

SHADES:
To achieve a natural finish, it is a must that your mineral makeup shade must exactly match your skin tone. Thus, a variety of shades would really help you pick out the closest, or if not, exact shade of your skin tone. Some brands offer mixing of two or three shades to achieve the closest match to your skin tone. If a brand has limited shades, chances are, its customers would “compromise” and stay in a shade somewhat close to them, but it somehow compromises the natural finish that they want to achieve. Makeup done too light, or too dark, is definitely unnatural and unpleasant looking.

FINISH:

The aim of mineral makeup is to create a natural-looking finish that looks like you don’t have makeup on. Does your mineral makeup look natural on you? Or does it look cakey, as normal drugstore brand makeup would look like? Do you want a matte finish? Or do you want to have a dewy, or shimmery finish? Those factors are all to be considered. Chances are, cakey-looking finishes often occur in overapplying mineral makeup without tapping the brush, or the mineral makeup brand just being inferior, using inexpensive fillers such as talc, which is not only a comedogenic ingredient, but also does not give a smooth/fine finish on skin.

COMFORT:

Last but not the least, it is your skin, so what feels good on you must be right for you! If it feels itchy, then you might be allergic to something that was used to manufacture that certain product that you are using. You might want to consider switching brands, but it all depends on you. Some people choose to tolerate discomfort because they love how the makeup look on their skin.

picture credit : www.merriweathers.com

About the author: The Mineral Makeup Girl is the resident blogger of The Mineral Makeup Blog and Mineral Makeup Reviews. (http://www.themineralmakeup.com / http://www.mineralmakeupreviews.com ) This article may not be published without permission from the author. Please do ask first. Thanks.

Mineral makeup exists in three forms, and they are :

1. “Loose Minerals” – Minerals in loose form
Photo : i.d. Bare Escentuals foundations
“Loose minerals” look like loose powders and finishing powders. Traditional cosmetics that offer loose or finishing powders often offer transluscent shades, which functions as something that holds your tinted moisturizer, or something to perfect your look after applying your makeup, thus, the term, “finishing”. Finishing powders often provide luminosity, and flawless finishes, and can also be used for touchups. With mineral makeup in loose form, this is not the case.

Most foundations in the mineral makeup business take in the form of loose minerals, and can provide buildable coverage. To start, the loose minerals can be applied lightly to the face, then, the user can choose how “heavy” the coverage will be by gradually applying more layers until he/she feels that it is enough.

Aside from getting “buildable coverage” from loose minerals, another advantage of it is that the shades are flexible enough. If the shade is too light, or dark for someone, another shade can be mixed with the loose minerals to achieve your nearest shade.

Mineral veil is the “finishing” counterpart of traditional loose powders. It gives the skin a flawless, smooth finish that makes skin look that makeup wasn’t even applied to it. It also helps absorb the oils in the skin to prevent the greasy look from occurring. Skin is left dewy as it oils up, not slick looking. Other loose minerals available in the market are in blushes, eyeshadows, primers, etc.

Though alot of users complain about the “messiness” in applying loose minerals, spilling some on their vanity tables, or even in their bags, the “buildable coverage” is such an advantage that some people still choose to use loose minerals.

2. “Liquid Minerals” – In Liquid Form
Photo : Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals

‘Liquid minerals” and liquid foundations look like two peas in a pod, but in reality, they are very much different from each other. Traditional cosmetics offer liquid foundations for heavier coverage and concealing, and feels like a solid layer or “mask” on the face. Liquid minerals can provide coverage like traditional liquid foundations do, but liquid minerals also serve as “primers” and further nourish the skin by its moisturizing ingredients, and vitamins. Skin can still breathe with liquid minerals, and can also work as your normal “tinted moisturizer” with better coverage. To make your own liquid minerals, get your favorite moisturizer and mix with your loose minerals. Voila! Instant liquid minerals.

3. “Pressed Minerals” – Pressed Powder Form
Photo : Colorescience Mineral Pigment Pressed Powder

“Pressed minerals” provide great coverage. It can be applied like normal foundation using a flocked sponge or a brush for “buildable coverage”. It is not only used as finishing powder or for touch ups as compared to traditional pressed powders.

If the pressed minerals would be compared to traditional cosmetics, it would be a combination of two : a cake foundation, and a pressed powder. It works both ways – as a foundation for great, buildable coverage, and as a finishing powder – great for touchups. As compared to loose minerals, pressed minerals provide a higher level of coverage for concealing, and is good for people who have severe acne, hyperpigmentation, and scars .

Pressed powder is advantageous in a way such that it is very compact, and can be brought just about anywhere, minus the messiness brought about by loose minerals.

Loose minerals are minerals in the purest form because they do not have “additives” unlike liquid minerals, and they do not need “binding ingredients” as pressed minerals do.

About the author : The Mineral Makeup Girl is the resident blogger at The Mineral Makeup Blog /Mineralmakeupreviews. (http://www.themineralmakeup.com , http://www.mineralmakeupreviews.com). No material from The Mineral Makeup Blog/ Mineral Makeup Reviews may be republished in any form without written permission.

make-up n : cosmetics applied to the face to improve or change your appearance [syn: makeup, war paint]

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Natural and Organic is “in”
People nowadays are more vigilant and observant about the products that they eat, and use. They are more informed about the long-run detrimental effects of preservatives and artificial additives, that is why they take more time, as compared before, to read labels carefully to see what they are buying. Health and wellness is the new trend in almost any industry.

If organic foods are “in” nowadays, the cosmetics’ industry’s counterpart for that is mineral makeup.

Makeup yesterday, today, and tomorrow
If some of you have read Memoirs of a Geisha, it was mentioned there that the white paste used for the geisha’s face, we assume as that generation’s makeup, contained lead, made a geisha’s skin turn yellow when she gets older, and if she’s unlucky, she would be poisoned with the lead in her bloodstream. In the past, if you want to be beautiful, it’s a risky tradeoff in the long run with the lack of information about the products that they were using. That was the makeup of yesterday.

Makeup of today is the traditional cosmetics that we see everywhere. It’s a confusing plethora of beauty products, that you have to weed out the bad ones from the good ones. It’s a good thing that the cosmetics industry has progressed that comedogenic ingredients are slowly getting weeded out from the good brands, but there still exists some that have ingredients that make the skin break out . But still, almost every product out there has preservatives ( the “parabens” , as we call them ) and artificial color additives in their labels. Thus, the tradeoff of wearing makeup today, is having wrinkles tomorrow.

The emerging makeup revolution is mineral makeup. Mineral makeup, as compared to traditional makeup, does not contain talc, oils, alcohols, fragrance, dyes, binders, fillers preservatives, and other potential skin irritants . Mineral makeup is made from, what else? Minerals! Minerals come from the earth, so they are naturally occurring. Cosmetic grades of these minerals are what mineral makeup manufacturers use to make them. Mineral makeup, is the makeup of tomorrow. No more long-term effects of makeup scare. Mineral makeup, is totally safe to use, and will not cause any problems in the future.

Mineral makeup is beneficial to the skin, and is even dubbed as “skin care makeup.” Surprisingly, mineral makeup has gotten nods of approval from dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons as safe-to-use healthy makeup.

To name some benefits, here are a few :

Mineral makeup does not contain presevatives.
Preservatives, such as the parabens, have detrimental effects not only in the skin, but the body as well, in the long run. .

Minerals are inorganic substances, and contain no moisture, and with that, bacteria will not be able to grow, or thrive in them. So, mineral makeup do not contain, or need preservatives because they will literally last forever! With this, we have preservatives out of our makeup routine.

Mineral makeup is finely milled, so it won’t clog your pores. Mineral makeup is non-comedogenic.
A plus of mineral makeup being finely milled is that it won’t look cakey on your skin. It would look as natural as possible, even with coverage. Mineral makeup does not have ingredients that would clog your pores such as traditional cosmetics do.

Mineral makeup has natural sunscreen – titanium dioxide.
You need all the help you can get to protect your skin from the sun, because wrinkles, skin damage, and skin cancer don’t sound good.

Mineral Makeup is safe to use for sensitive, acne prone skin, or people with rosacea.
Mineral makeup is not comedogenic, and is all-natural, so it won’t irritate or aggravate present skin problems such as acne, rosacea, or skin allergies. It lets the skin breathe, and would not clog pores. Mineral makeup helps acne and rosacea sufferers with ample coverage that would help them conceal their pimples, inflammations, scars, and other imperfections. Some users of mineral makeup even claim that mineral makeup helped heal their acne condition.

Mineral makeup can be used right after dermatological procedures
Traditional makeup can be heavy and make the skin hard to breathe, thus, it is being avoided to be worn after facial procedures. With mineral makeup, this can be worn right after the procedure to camouflage scars or some redness. Mineral makeup is preferred by dermatologists because of the absence of common irritants and preservatives.

Mineral makeup has great skin-nourishing ingredients
Zinc oxide, a key ingredient in mineral makeup is beneficial for acne prone and inflammed, irritated skin, as well as titanium dioxide, which provides sun protection to the skin.

Mineral makeup looks great, and gives you the ultimately natural look.
The main goal of makeup is making us look good and feel good about ourselves. As they say, when people notice that you are wearing makeup, that means either you did not do a great job in applying your makeup, or the makeup brand you are using is not good enough to make your skin appear flawless and natural. The goal of makeup is concealing your flaws, and enhancing your natural appearance. Mineral makeup provides good coverage that allows you to hide away your complexions, as well as achieve a totally flawless, smooth finish that no one would ever notice that you have applied makeup on. Instead, they will compliment you on how good your skin looks, instead of how great a makeup job you’ve done.

Mineral makeup also has light reflecting properties that help minimize large pores, and fine lines. Thus, mineral makeup is “hope” in a pot that gives us our “second skin.”

Now that it is clear that mineral makeup is the new hope for achieving close to perfect skin without the “side effects,” I think everyone should try mineral makeup and see for themselves the results that they would get. Based on my research, the best judge for choosing your “Holy Grail” mineral makeup brand would be your skin – how it reacts to it. Almost every popular and good brand in the market have their own shares of rants and raves from clients, because everyone has different kinds of skin. I would also suggest to pick carefully their mineral makeup brand because some mineral makeup brands include ingredients that are not “mineral” in nature, that defeats the purpose of the concept of mineral makeup, that brings us back to traditional cosmetics again.

About the author : The Mineral Makeup Girl is the resident blogger of The Mineral Makeup Blog ( http://www.themineralmakeup.com )
Reposted from The Mineral Makeup Blog, Mineral Makeup Reviews’ sister site.

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