Friday, March 20, 2009

Mineral Makeup

Todays question is - Q. I love the light feel of mineral makeup, but not the way it accents the wrinkles. Can you recommend a light makeup?

Mineral makeup is the hot new trend in makeup, unfortunately, not all mineral makeups are created equally.  Different ingrediants, size of the mineral particles, and the condition of the wearer's skin need to be taken into consideration when choosing a brand to use.  

The only mineral makeup I wear is Glo minerals.  I wear Glo because the company uses pharmaceutical grade components that have been triple milled.  They currently have the smallest particle size available in their makeups.  This means that the particles are going to have less surface area and be less reflective.  The small size also means that the particles can slide into wrinkles instead of gathering on either side of the wrinkle.  It is often this is 'gathering' that makes wrinkles more noticeable when wearing mineral makeup.   The lower reflectivity of the particles is also important.  If you have ever worn mineral makeup and looked great but then noticed in photographs that you look washed out it is because the particle size is to big and is reflecting the light back at the camera.  With Glo you don't have this problem so don't look washed out in photos.

Skin condition is also another point to consider when choosing a mineral makeup.  If you have dry skin you may find pressed or powdered mineral makeup can accent the dry patches.  If you have oily skin you may find the pressed or powdered makeup can pool in oily areas.  The pressed and powdered makeup works best on normal to slightly oily skin.  If you have dry skin or oily skin you should look into a mineral makeup that comes in a liquid form.  The liquid forms will give you coverage without accenting the dry or oily parts of your skin.  They also often feel lighter than the standard liquid foundations.  Glo minerals has both the pressed and liquid foundations which is another reason I like this line.

Ingredients is the third thing to consider when choosing a mineral makeup.  Many mineral makeups advertise that they are Talc free.  Don't let the presence of talc scare you away from a brand of makeup unless  you are allergic to it.  Talc is a natural earth mineral and while dismissed by many companies as a cheap 'filler' ingredient the higher grades of talc are commonly found in some of the most popular makeup brands and give their powders a silky feel that many mineral makeups only wish they could provide.  Bismuth oxychloride is also a commonly used ingredient in mineral makeups.  In makeups that use larger particle sizes bismuth oxychloride can cause the product to look cakey on the skin.  Glo minerals uses bismuth oxychloride but being triple milled I have never had a caking issue with it.  However, some people are sensitive to bismuth oxychloride so be sure to keep an eye out for it if you do have that sensitivity.

Paula's Choice is a great website for information on the various brands of makeup.  A link to her article on mineral makeups can be found here.

For the woman who asked the question, if you try other mineral makeups in both powder and liquid form and find they don't perform as you would like or don't feel light enough, you may want to try a silicone based foundation.  These foundations are both lightweight and do a great job of hiding flaws.

I hope I have answered your question.  

Readers - if you have any skin care questions you would like answered here please don't hesitate to leave your question as a comment or email me at hhertziger@gmail.com.  Thank you.

1 comment:

knittingdragonflies said...

I found you on Twitter, I had just heard about Glo mineral makeup! Thanks for the info. I am a longtime user or bare minerals and was looking for another option. Great blog
Vicki