The Beauty Buff Reader Q & A-Mineral Makeup

Ashley, A Beauty Buff reader, recently asked me about mineral makeup.  

Ashley said...

I have been using bare minerals for a few years and find that it doesn't always look like i'm wearing "enough" makeup these days. Any tips?

Thanks for the great question. Mineral makeup  is a great alternative to cream/liquid blush and foundation. It's great for people prone to rosacea and with sensitive skin. The finely ground product is beloved because of how light, natural and long lasting it looks and feels on.  While many love the stuff some critics complain it can be dry, irritating to the skin, accentuate wrinkles and leave an ashy undertone (the zinc ingredient in most solutions causes this). Regardless, you'll see that, if the stuff works with your skin, it will create a remarkable and unmistakable glow.

Here are some tips that will help your mineral makeup look great on:

Clean and moisturize your skin before applying. This means exfoliating when necessary to get rid of dead skin that might make your makeup look flakey on and using a gentle toner at night to get rid of the makeup clogging your pores.













I also like to use a serum underneath my moisturizer to enhance the benefits of the face lotion and help my skin stay hydrated all day. My two favorites are B5 Hydrating Gel by Skinceuticals and Idealist by Estee Lauder. Both make your skin velvety smooth and keep moisture locked in. Make sure you let your skin properly absorb all your lotions and potions before applying the makeup.

Create a perfect canvas to work on. A face primer helps prep your skin and makes the makeup you put over it stay on all day long. A good primer fills in the lines and pores on your face and smoothes over any wrinkles, crevices and scars to create an even skin appearance. Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer is a favorite among makeup artists and beauty experts. 

Use the right type of brush. Often times people forget the importance of using the right type of brush when applying powder, foundation or blush. A good brush with tight bristles is crucial in this process as it will evenly distribute the powdery substance all over your skin. A kabuki brush, which can be identified by its short, rounded, flat head and short stem, is most effective for mineral makeup applications. Sephora Brand Professionnel Kabuki Brush is made with goat hair and and "leaves behind an airbrushed finish".  Also, make sure you're cleaning your brushes with shampoo regularly and if necessary snipping away any fray ends so the bristles are a uniform length (which will make a difference when you sweep the brush on your face). 

Tap some of the powder onto your brush and then out into the lid. Swirl your brush into the powder and tap the excess off back into the lid.   

Use a circular motion starting from the jawline up to cover your skin.

If you have sensitive skin, avoid makeup with "bismuth oxychloride". The ingredient is used in some mineral makeup products and while its not harmful to the skin, it can make sensitive skin feel itchy. Bella Sugar recommends trying Alima Pure, an all natural Portland-based brand that doesn't use it in their mineral powders.

If you're still not satisfied try a few other mineral foundation brands. Lancome Oscillation PowderFoundation comes with a vibrating spongey-looking brush applicator and has SPF 21. Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Fresh Powder Makeup SPF 10 has an amazing range of shades for all skin tones. Mineral makeup tends to look too white and cakey on people with darker skin tones (e.g. me and my Indian skin) so I appreciate the choice of shades Dior provides for my range of the spectrum.

Finally, Smashbox HALO Hydrating Perfecting Powder & Brush Set comes with a mini kabuki brush and sample of Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation. Genius!

I hope these tips help!

Thanks to Bella Sugar for all the helpful tips!