.:: mineral makeup ::.
.what it is.
mineral based makeup consists of natural mineral elements of the earth, such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide and iron oxide. titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are known to carry the added benefit of being a natural sunscreen with protection levels of SPF 15 to 20. moreover, mineral makeup eliminates ingredients like talc, fragrances, synthetic dye, preservative, known as potential skin irritants. thus, it allows skin to breathe while protecting skin from pollutants. plus, it reduces risks of allergic reaction or acne breakouts.
note that some mineral makeup also contain bismuth oxychloride, an inorganic white pigment that may or may not cause a reaction to skin. for some people, bismuth oxychloride causes itching, especially when their face sweats. though it is a common ingredient in traditional makeup, it is used in a higher concentration in mineral makeup, hence the reaction.
however, those who doesn’t react to bismuth may enjoy the benefits it offers. bismuth oxychloride gives makeup a silky feel and good adhesion, which help makeup to stay on skin longer. it is light reflecting, thus camouflages lines and wrinkles, and offers a glowy effect.
.products.
the most basic range of products consist of foundation, finishing powder/veil, and concealer. to complement all that, there are also blush on and eye shadow. most brands break down their foundation into several categories, depending on skin type and color, giving customers a lot options to choose from.
.application.
most mineral makeup comes in the form of loose powder, including their foundation and concealer. to get the best of mineral foundation, a fluffy brush of nice quality is needed for the swirl-tap-buff routine.
first, swirl a small amount of foundation with a brush. then, tap off excess until no foundation is visible on the bristles. finally, buff foundation onto face in a swirling, circular motion until you’re satisfied with the coverage.
for more coverage or a dewy look, you might want to try applying the foundation wet. spritz some amount of face spray onto brush before swirling some foundation onto it. same thing goes for mineral concealer, the only difference is obviously the brushes 
.brands.
there are limitless brands you can find out there. in addition to that, a lot of makeup company also jump into the mineral makeup hype and provide their own version of the stuff.
unfortunately, most brands are not widely available in our beloved country.
.trial and error.
unfortunately, i haven’t tried a lot of brands. those i’ve tried are :
- foundation : ciel minerals, prestige skin loving minerals, everyday minerals, lumiere
- finishing powder/veil : ciel minerals, everyday minerals, silk naturals
- primer : fyrinnae powder primer, pure luxe eraser
- concealer : everyday minerals
.:: prestige skin loving minerals foundation ::.
pertamanya, gue beli ini cuma iseng-iseng berhadiah aja. alasan pertama, karena foundie yang gue pake sebelumnya, dari ciel minerals ( shade fairly light ) dah sekarat. kedua, karena sehari sebelumnya baru aja baca di FD kalo produk ini termasuk MUA top picks. walau cuman satu orang yang ngomong begini, tapi cukup membuat gue langsung nyabet tanpa pikir panjang coba punya coba, gue ambil shade 01-fair, shade yang paling terang. pas pulang, baru ceki-ceki website prestige *telat* oalah, ternyata mengandung bismuth. emang sih gue pribadi ga pernah cobain produk yang mengandung bismuth, tapi santer terdengar kalo banyak yang ga cocok sama ingredient yang satu ini. jadi sedikit cemas juga..
langsung gue buka dan pake besok paginya. sedikit shock pas liat warna nya di jar. walaupun kemaren nya cobain di toko, tapi pas dibuka di rumah ko keliatan gelap bangets. apalagi kalo dijejer sama ciel. keliatan butek dan ashy. gue sampe cek ulang, bener ga sih itu shade nya yang gue ambil. berdasarkan label sih bener..
ciel in fairly light – prestige in fair
jadi gue coba pake aja. berhubung lampu disini koneng semua, jadi rada susah juga nentuin masuk engganya. nah begitu gue liat di natural lighting di wc kantor, ternyata warnanya masuk banget! ga keputihan, dan ga kegelapan. ga nyangka
dan setelah sekitar 5 hari pake produk ini, my verdict : me likey!!! kemasannya plastic jar yang lebih keliatan robust dibanding ciel. tekstur foundation nya cukup finely milled, dan ukuran jarnya lumayan besar, jadi harganya (£9.99) menurut gue cukup sangat masuk akal. walaupun shade nya di jar keliatan gelap, ternyata sangat masuk di kulit gue. pas banget! malah entah bagaimana, bikin muka keliatan cerah. finishnya juga halus. soal oil control, hmm sebenernya gue agak ga ngerti juga yah.. percobaan gue 2 hari pertama tanpa finishing, sengaja buat liat warna aslinya dan oil controlnya. ternyata pas sore muka terasa agak berminyak, tapi kalo diliat di kaca juga ga mengkilap. selanjutnya beberapa hari terakhir, gue set make up gue pake bloom compact powder warna flesh. dan sangat amat mengejutkan, ternyata dari sekitar jam setengah delapan pagi sampe jam setengah enam sore, muka gue tetep rapi jali. blush on tetep stay put, dan semua bagian muka gue ga ada yang mengkilap. muka tetep keliatan putih cerah dan glowy segar. sampe bolak balik ke wc buat meyakinkan diri kesimpulannya tetep sama. ntah gue yang ke-geer-an ato gimane ye. hahaha..
kalo dibilang compact powdernya yang bagus dalam soal mengontrol minyak di muka gue, rasanya ga tepat juga. ritual gue buat percobaan ini : Revlon absolutes eye cream – Revlon absolute c total radiance serum – Bourjois brush concealer – TFS black label concealer – Prestige Skin Loving Minerals foundie in Fair – Bloom compact powder. dan kecuali si bourjois, ritual lainnya sama percis sama pas gue pake ciel, dimana hasilnya ga se-oke ini, dan area hidung mengkilap pas udah sore. so i believe that this prestige foundation is actually doing a very great job *thumbs up* dan sejauh ini, gue kayanya blum ada break out gara-gara produk ini tuh. jadi mungkin gue ga masalah sama bismuth ( sekarang jadi pengen cobain range mineral make up nya bloom deh ) so i really really love this product, at least for now
duh duh duh.. jadi terpikir pengen finishingnya juga kalo begini caranya!
.:: purchases after purchases ::.
been a bit lazy writing anything about beauty lately, and these pics have sit on my cam for several weeks now, so here’s my recent purchases :
Caring Colours Lipsticks and Lip Gloss
surely you know that there’s an event called JFFF. and one of the biggest event you can find there is the beauty brands sale. anything under Martha Tilaar group is sold with a 20% discount, which made lots of women come and spoiled themselves in the booths. of course, this is something that i wouldn’t miss. i chose a Moisture Rich Lip Colour in True Love, and an Everlasting Lip Colour in Pink Romantic. but then i saw a package of three which would mean bigger discount. so i ended up with another item, a Evergloss Lip Colour in Melted Caramel. okay, so here’s my review.
* Moisture Rich Lip Colour
this is my third tube of this lipstick, so you can pretty much guess why i keep buying *i hardly ever finish a tube of lipstick. i just love it!! it has a sweet taste and a nice smell, and from three tubes that i’ve tried so far, all three colours suit my liking. at the center of the lipstick, sits a lip moisturizer, an extra bonus for women with dry lips. the packaging is simple, yet it’s pink! so i love it!
* Everlasting Lip Colour
i usually will say ‘no’ before you finish saying ‘matte’. but when i found this colour, i instantly fell in love. the colour were so gorgeous, and considering there’s a discount, i just have to have it. and i have no regrets. quite unbelivably, the formula doesn’t dry my lips. it enhances my lip colour and looks natural. thinking to grab another one, but i think i have enough lippies for now!
* Evergloss Lip Colour
i’ve had two other colours, and i must say, it’s quite decent. the colour selection is very poor – they only have 6 colours. i know, right? and it only lasts a while. but it’s decent for everyday wear. and cheap. so no complaints!
PAC Powder Eyeshadow No. 10
i was actually looking for Bourjois’ loose e/s in Bleu Swimming Pool, but it’s not available at the sogo counter! so i went to PAC instead, and found this powder e/s. it’s not exactly the same, but this is the best i could find. i’ve heard so many raves about this, so i thought, why not give a try. i’ve always loved green-turquoise-tosca anyway. i like the colour, although it’s a bit too bright for office wear, so i think i’ll just use it on weekends, then. and it comes in small jars, but considering it’s only an e/s, i think it’s gonna last forever…
Ciel Minerals Powder Foundation in Fairly Light
i know i said i wanted the Light one, but the Fairly Light works okay for me, and i haven’t really tried on the Light one, coz it fell on my first or second try. fortunately, the packaging is a lot better than the samples, shouldn’t be hard to put the lid on its place, so there’s less probability of falling down.
Courreges Eye Shadow
found this pallette last weekend when wondering aimlesly on the drugstore aisles. cute, it consist of a cream base, and two shades of eye shadow. ended up with blue-ish and green-ish ones. have only tried the blue one once. the base turns into a powdery texture and dries instantly once it touches your skin, and i don’t think it helps much as a base. and the e/s is so-so only, it’s not too pigmented or something. decent only. but i’ve only tried it once, so i probably am wrong.
UPDATE!!
i was wrong. have tried the green one, and i loooveee it!!! the colour is so cute… it’s pigmented enough for my liking, and i never thought i’d like this shades of green. but, it turns out to be great. and the creamy base is doing a decent job. i think i like this one better than the blue one. but will try put more effort with the blue one! i won’t give up that easily, you know..
Eye Shadow Brush
another drugstore finding. it’s just cute, so i bought it..
i know. this has got to stop at some point.. but sometimes a girl just can’t get enough of these stuff…
.:: it’s here, it’s here! ::.
yaay… i’ve finally received the free sample from Ciel Minerals. i ordered them over the weekend, which meant i had to wait a little longer for the package to arrive. huhuhu… but it’s in my hand right now.. yippie! the package consists of two mini jars of foundation, each has different colours, fairly light and light; a jar of pink rose blush, and a mini brush. they also kindly gave two packages of refills, a medium coverage of foundation, and a mineral veil. the packaging was very simple. loathe the lid, it makes the product looks cheap. although overall it looked quite decent, i’ll be really glad if they replace the lid with a more sophisticated looking one! or maybe only the samples have those lids. maybe the full size ones have better looking lids?
i can’t wait to try them on tomorrow.. will get back to you with a review in a few days *hopefully i won’t be too lazy to write one*
Update!!
after a week of using these products, all i can say is, i will definitely repurchase and continue using the powder foundation! it is very lightweight, and given that it is in the form of powder, the coverage is good. although not as long-lasting as liquid foundie, but i find it quite decent for everyday use. and it gives better result when combined with peach sake pore serum, which helps to control the excessive oil on my T-Zone. both of the colours seem fine, and perfectly match my skin tone. however, i think i’ll go with the light instead of fairly light, coz i strive for a more natural look. unfortunately, the first time i put on the light foundie, i struggled to close the jar, and it fell. hix… hopefully the full size foundie has a better packaging… if not, then they really need to get a better one…
although the foundie works great for me, the others don’t. the mineral veil does a great job when used as a finishing touch, but that’s just it. nothing special.. and the blusher is almost transparent, not pigmented enough for my liking, except i use a generous amount of it. so it’s certainly not my favourite.
.:: the hysteria ::.
* and can you imagine having a lip balm that tastes just like your favourite Ben & Jerry ice cream! and packaged just like the BJ ice cream pint! this is certainly a guilt-free product to crave!
* or ones that taste like Hershey chocolate in vintage-inspired tins!
* E.L.F Cosmetics had me fell head over heels with the Earth Rose lip element. i’ve been dying to buy a peachy-orange lip gloss, since i saw carly smithson in yesterday’s performance of american idol. and this E.L.F lip element really got me! i think i need to go grab something in similar color this weekend, or else!
* and lots of high-end brands lip glosses in simple yet elegant tubes…
* and also korean products with packagings as cute as always…. but these korean products are the ones that i’d likely to buy coz they’re widely available here. hix.. i want those cute lip glosses and balms above…
and those are just to name a few!!
in addition, i’m really eager to try some mineral makeups.. they’re widely available in other countries, even middle and low-end brands carry mineral makeup products.. i don’t know whether they’re widely available here!! i’ve heard loreal indonesia had carried mineral makeups for a while.. gotta check them ^^ and i’ve found this website Ciel Minerals plus, they are willing to give free samples.. hmm.. this is a must try!
