Natural Mineral Makeup, What's The Fuss?

By Rachel Ray


I'm a cosmetologist and wanted to share my experience and gleanings in experience with natural mineral makeup with you.

Natural mineral makeup has really been popular recently with good reason. It still is a fairly new concept however and there are still people who've never heard about it. It's basically makeup made from finely crushed minerals of various types in powder form.

The main properties of mineral makeup are gentleness, long lasting, pure, and many have almost a healing type of action to various skin conditions. Of course you will have to experiment to find which brands are your favorites.

I have low thyroid which means I have super dry, flaky skin no matter what I use on it. Also with that every type of makeup I've ever tried in my life, is absorbed quickly into my skin and disappears within about 2-3 hours. I also avoid powders because of this too and they tend to make flakiness look worse, so I was nervous about how mineral makeup would work on my skin. The first thing I noticed was it was the first thing in my whole life where it was still on 12 hours later! It was also light and fresh and looked completely natural. It didn't dry my skin out more or make it look flaky. I was impressed!

Another challenge for my skin in rosacea which is extreme redness and inflammation due to abnormal blood vessel flushing). Green cancels out red, so for those with this try to find a green base or top coat under or over foundation to cancel the red. Works great.

For any brand out there, here are some common tips. Less is more. Mineral makeup tends to be very concentrated and its common that new users will use way too much. You can always add more if needed. Try doing very light layers for coverage.

Get some good quality brushes, they make all the difference. Be sure to wash them gently and regularly according to the maker's directions.

If after using small amounts, with good quality brushes, things still don't look right, or you're not thrilled, next look at the possibility that you're simply using the wrong shade. Sometimes it takes experimenting to find what shade is best for your skin. I found with Bare Esentuals, I wore a significantly darker foundation than I ever thought possible, yet it was the perfect shade for me. Be sure to moisturize your skin preferably about a half an hour before applying mineral makeup.

When finished applying, except mascara and lipstick, spritz a very fine mist of water on your face. This helps set the makeup and gives a fresh young looking appearance. Then finish with mascara and lipgloss or stick.

Play with the colors and applications. You can use blush colors as eyeshadow. You can also brush on your lips, then apply some gloss over top.

At first when applying eyeshadow, it will look stark and harsh. Don't be concerned. Just take either a Qtip or clean applicator or brush and keep blending to soften it down. In most cases they come down to the perfect hue.

Ebay many times have great deals on trying different samplers of different brands and colors. You can have a blast trying. Many different companies also sell small samples very reasonably priced to try as well. Remember, a little goes a long way. Have fun trying this wonderful category of makeup.

About the Author:
By Rachel Rae - The Comfortable Life is a website exploring many ideas for making life more comfortable on a wide range of topics including money, creativity, beauty advice, work life balance and more.

Add to: File Insurance Business article Teen Photo Images