The Left Brain says…I was interviewed by a writer for WebMD who asked me questions about mineral makeup. I was curious what your beliefs are about mineral makeup are (because I’m curious to see how effective the marketing behind these products has been.) So, I asked the Beauty Brains Forum to share their beliefs about mineral makeup. Here is what they had to say…
Less irritating
I use it because it’s less occlusive than liquid makeup and it does not contain irritants (like chemical sunscreens) that aggravate my rosacea. But the same could be said for any powder makeup. -Sarahf
I think most consumers would agree with me in that they have come to know “mineral” as meaning a product containing natural, hypo-allergenic ingredients, as opposed to old-fashioned powders that may still contain skin-irritating synthetic ingredients. -Juliearnt84
Better oil control
I use powder mineral makeup but mostly just because it IS powder and on my oily skin that works better. A definite plus is that it doesn’t break my skin out. That being said it doesn’t work for me at all unless I use a primer under it. Go figure. -Lindygirl1960
The only benefit with mineral makeup I find is my forehead tends to be less shiny. I use liquid mineral makeup then put powder over that. Otherwise, it’s just the same, if in some cases not worse, than non-mineral. In the end, I think it’s a lot of hype. If it wasn’t for the fact that an hour after washing my forehead is shiny enough to signal airplanes at night I wouldn’t bother with mineral makeup at all. -JamiSings
Convenience
Oh and another reason…. it is powder and therefore does not have to fit into the 3-1-1 bag for travel! -Lindygirl1960
Non-allergenic
Well…I use mineral make up, because it is actually the only make-up that doesn’t contain ingredients that I am allergic to… But if I didn’t have any allergies I would go for all the ‘normal’ make- up. I don’t use it simply because it claims to better for the environment or that it would be non-toxic.Those claims do not sound very valid to me. So yes, I am very happy with mineral make-up, because it makes it possible for me to wear make-up (I could not live without…) without getting scary allergic reactions. -Kosmo
Better coverage
I just like the coverage I get…I think I can get the same coverage with regular powder makeup, but honestly I haven’t really tried. Almost every brand now makes some kind of mineral claim on their powder makeups that I haven’t noticed any powders without it! So that’s why I continue to use it. -LoveMyTwinGirls
Liquid foundation was making my skin dry and I never really got the same finish each time and thats in any texture very runny, thick or mousse (the mousse was a disaster and the blush too!). The powder oddly stays all day and it also gives a more natural finish. They had just the perfect shades of eyeshadow that i’d been looking for and it just so happened that it stays all day. -Bluecurls
Compelling Advertising
Marketing mind games was definitely part of the reason I decided to try some… cute name, pretty website, pretty product descriptions haha but hey the products work. It wasn’t about it being mineral it was just they had such good reviews and I was sick of horrible cakey skin.-Bluecurls
I admit, I started using mineral powder makeup because I saw a commercial of the “pioneer” brand on tv and thought it was a miracle. I totally bought into the “safety” aspect, and the “amazing coverage” messages. That was about 5 years ago…Now that I am Beauty Brains savvy, I don’t care whether it has minerals or not. -LoveMyTwinGirls
What do YOU think about the benefits of mineral makeup? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
And thanks to all the members of our Forum for their great contributions!
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i have to disagree on the less irritating part. Bare Minerals puts corn starch in their powder, and corn allergies are more prevalent than people realize.
I can’t wear mineral makeups. I’ve tried several different brands, because the whole “eco friendly” thing sounded good, except they all give me cystic acne. Give me traditional foundation and plain old coty powder any day.
Thanks to menopause-driven ever-changing skin, I’ve tried mineral makeup under many different conditions. It hasn’t worked – at all. It made my oilier skin look crinkly and pasty; it made my drier skin look cracked and mask like. In either case, it felt uncomfortable and overdone. Meh.
I started using Bare Minerals a couple of years ago and would never go back to using liquid or cream makeup. I find that that brand makes my 60+ year old skin look wonderful. It does not settle into my smile lines and the slight sheen seems to minimize wrinkles. I do not find it cakey at all. It is much more comfortable in warm weather and does not run when I perspire, as my liquid makeup used to do. I am totally satisfied with it!
Mineral makeup settles in my wrinkles, making me look older. And yes, I moisturize and use a primer beforehand. Also, I’m 25, so I don’t HAVE any wrinkles, only very fine lines… imagine the shock I had after putting on Bare Escentuals and seeing emphasized laugh lines and crows feet. Tried it for a few weeks, never again. Bunch of hype IMO.
The first time I tried a mineral powder it was too drying for my skin so I never thought I’d get away from my liquid foundation. As my sun damage started reversing and my skin got brighter, I wanted to try a mineral powder again because I didn’t need as much coverage. When Rodan + Fields came out with Mineral Peptides Powder SFP 20, I tried it and was immediately hooked. I get coverage, peptides that support my skin’s resiliency to being irritated (I have sensitive skin) and sun protection that I can easily touch up before my afternoon walk around my office. The powder reduces my occasional redness too! It comes in light, medium and bronze, and my only complaint is my coloring is in between light and medium. I have to blend — but now that I’m a distributor for the company (I loved it that much) I help others blend to match their skin tone also. It’s all about the coverage, and the service!
I want to control oil,I very hate the oily skin,so i have many pimpls in my forehead.
i want to get rid of them.
I’ve been using Bare Minerals for over 7 years now, and I too will never go back to liquid makeup…EVER. Since making the switch to mineral makeup, I’ve experienced less breakouts and irritation. Another thing I love about mineral makeup is not having to worry about that dreaded line of demarcation! I also have super oily skin and live in Florida, so I pretty much have no choice but to use mineral makeup in the summer.
I’ve never experienced any problems with Bare Minerals, but I have read quite a few reviews from others stating their problems with the makeup.
I am always on the look out for a better alternative. I’ve tried a few others, and had a horrible experience with one in particular. Pur minerals sent me to the doctors office with “the worst case of contact dermatitis” he’d ever seen! I’m not sure exactly which ingredients did the damage, but I have a sneaking suspicion it was the parabens.
I’ve also tried mineral makeup made by Zosimos Botanicals and really liked it. The thing that keeps me going back to Bare Minerals though, is convenience. I am a procrastinator and tend to put off buying things until I’m almost completely out. Being able to pick up Bare Minerals at my local Sephora or Ulta makes it too easy for me to pass.
I hate most mineral makeup. It also gives me cystic acne. I did some research and found that a lot of times this is due to one of the ingredients, bismuth oxychloride. I’m not really sure what that ingredient does but every product I use that contains is always breaks me out.
I have keratosis pilaris rubra faceii, which gives me bumpy cheek skin. Liquid and cream foundations just settle around the bumps and emphasize them. I started using Bare Minerals in 2005, and although it’s not perfect, it works much better with the bumps. Sigh. I would love to know something that would really help diminish keratosis pilaris rubra faceii bumps…