Beauty and Fashion Tech

Elf Cosmetics Mineral Makeup Kit

Elf Cosmetics is widely known for their $1 cosmetics, although some of their items run a few dollars more. Now they have released a full line of mineral makeup at excellent prices.

A Mineral Starter Kit is $20 and contains:

Mineral Foundation-SPF 15
Mineral Concealer-SPF 15
Mineral Blush
Total Face Brush
Blush Brush
Canvas Case

That is a good amount of items for the price. Mineral eye shadows are only $3 each. One thing to note though is that these items contain bismuth, which is common ingredient in many mineral makeup brands, but unfortunately, it is also an irritant to some people. The kit is paraben free.

Comparison Shop for Mineral Makeup

By Carleenp Posted in Makeup, Mineral Makeup | 1 Comment

DIY Mineral Makeup Kits From Bramble Berry

Here is fun item for the do it yourselfer, mineral makeup lover, or craft maven: Make Your Own Mineral Makeup Kits from Bramble and Berry. I spent a morning playing with the neutral and metallics kit and had a lot of fun. I also got some decent eye shadow from the process.

Below are some of the items before I got started (I supplied the larger measuring spoons and larger baggie). The entire kit contains: Titanium Dioxide, Dry Flo, Kaolin Clay, Sericite Mica, Super Pearly White, and the following pigments: Gold Sparkle, Bronze, Honeyed Beige, Sparkle Copper, Cappucino, Heavy Metal Gold, Vintage Grey, Patina Sheen, & Luster Black Mica. There are also 2 eyeshadow brushes, 5 mini measuring scoops, and 10 black containers to fill with your creations.

The kit contains all that you need to custom blend mineral foundation in varying levels of coverage and a variety of eye shadow shades. It also includes a booklet with recipes for various shades and well written instructions. I decided to make a light, medium and dark brown.

To get started, I followed the directions for a matte base and then added color from the included pigments according to recommendations in the book. It is fairly easy to increase or decrease shimmer by changing the mix of the base. The kit also contained a light brown sample. I didn’t end up matching that, but I liked what I got. My attempt at light was more of a neutral beige and my medium and dark turned out to be differing shades of taupe. Then I decided to make a darker brown/gray by adding a bunch of the darkest pigment. Mixing is pretty easy. Simply measure into a ziplock baggie, seal it, and shake! However, for mineral foundation, using a food processor or coffee blender to thoroughly mix the makeup is recommended.

Below are my finished eye shadows, the one on the far left is the light brown sample that came with the kit:

Here are skin swatches in the same order:

Oh, and I made a mess. Clutzy people like me probably should be more careful with shimmery loose powders! Fortunately it also was very easy to clean up.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this kit and I liked the results. It would be a great gift or something fun for your inner do it yourselfer. There is also a kit for vivid eye shadow shades.

Bramble and Berry actually specializes in soap making supplies, so if you have an interest in that, also take a look at the rest of their site. In addition, they have a lip balm kit, that I just might have to try for Girl Gloss!

Comparison Shop for Mineral Makeup

By Carleenp Posted in Beauty Tech, Eyeshadow, Holiday Gifts, Mineral Makeup | 15 Comments

Revlon ColorStay Mineral Foundation

Revlon, like just about everyone else, has entered the mineral makeup market. I rate their effort, Revlon Colorstay Mineral Foundation in the fair to OK category–I just can’t find anything special about this one.

This powder foundation provides decent sheer coverage at a fairly good price. For those that require an included brush, it also includes one that is serviceable, although it is rather small. I would recommend the L’Oreal mineral makeup instead for those who really want their minerals to come prepackaged with a brush (read review).

Unfortunately, there are also several issues with the product. The packaging does not allow for easy use with a different brush because the mouth of the shaker is narrow. I did not fare well trying to cram my favorite kabuki brush in it, and was unable to tap off excess back into the container without making a mess.

Also on the unfortunate side is Revlon’s decision to cut the product with both talc and bismuth. Leaving out the talc allows mineral makeup to provide better coverage and bismuth can cause irritation and itching in some people. For a drugstore mineral makeup without talc and bismuth that has a nice standard container for use with personal brushes, try Maybelline Mineral Power instead. Other higher end options, such as Jane Iredale (highly recommended), are available online.

Comparison Shop for Mineral Makeup

By Carleenp Posted in Mineral Makeup | No Comments

Ferro Cosmetics Mineral Makeup

Another entry into the ever growing area of mineral makeup is Ferro Cosmetics. I recently tried a few of their all natural products and was happy with them.

The mineral foundation is pure mineral and pigment. Unlike some brands, it is not cut with bismuth or talc–something that will be of interest for those looking for an irritant free mineral makeup. The company also offers a very good range of shades, allowing those with either very pale or very dark skin to be able to find a shade that works. When I used the foundation, I found the coverage to be good and had no issues with the finish becoming overly shiny, which is a problem I sometimes have had with mineral makeup.

I also tried a blush, mineral veil and eye shadows. The blush was well pigmented and blended well. The veil also was fine, although it got a bit shiny on me. The eye shadow was particularly good. I am a big fan of loose mineral eye shadows, especially when they have full pigment, and Ferro has a number of those in a variety of shades.

Because Ferro offers products in mini size, it also is fairly painless to give them a try or test out foundation shades without committing a ton of money. Thus, this company falls into my list of recommended mineral makeup brands.

Comaprison Shop for Mineral Makeup

By Carleenp Posted in Mineral Makeup | No Comments

A New Neutrogena Face: Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation, Sheer Highlighting Blush, and Nourishing Eye Duo

I love the new sheer blushes that are coming out. Neutrogena has a great one, along with a number of other new items, and I had the opportunity to put together a pretty nice look with some of them.

Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation Mineral Makeup

First off, Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation (above) is a great improvement on Neutrogena’s mineral sheers makeup line and it is refreshing to see so many new drugstore mineral makeup lines coming out. The powder foundation is easy to apply, and because it comes in a standard compact, you can also use your own brush . I recommend a stiff kabuki brush and personally use the Bare Escentuals Handy Buki Brush, which is my favorite for all mineral makeup applications. For those who need a supplied applicator though, it also has a sponge applicator in a little compartment in the compact.

I got a nice medium coverage and even finish from the foundation and was pleased to see that it was not cut with talc or bismuth. It contains soy for skin health and has an SPF of 20. It lasted fine through an evening and generally worked well with my dry to combination skin. The dry spots didn’t flake, and the oily part stayed generally matte. The shade classic Ivory worked fine with my very fair skin. I have recently taken to wearing this nearly every day when I want something to cover my hyperpigmentation a bit (I have mild melasma) and want extra SPF, but don’t want a heavily made up look. Overall it is a great drugstore mineral foundation.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends Sheer Highlighting Blush (above) pairs nicely with the mineral foundation. I really love this blush. It is quite sheer with a light shimmer to create a glow that does not look overly glittery. Like many Neutrogena products, it also contains various skin conditioners. I tried the shade Vibrant, which worked well on my fair skin, but would likely work fine on medium to darker skin tones as well. Overall, it gives a fairly light look that is perfect for the upcoming spring and summer.

Another new product that I love is the Neutrogena Nourishing Eye Duo (above). I tried this in Starry Night, which has blue gray and silver gray shadows. The shadows contain soy silk and vitamins, and have a light shimmer. What I liked about the duo was that for a drugstore brand, they were pretty well pigmented and the shades in this line are particularly nice. They are all good basic shades that just about anyone could wear, so I might go back and buy one of the duos with brown shades. The shadow lasted well, and I had no creasing issues. Overall, this is a good value shadow set that is also good for your skin.Neutrogena products are available online and at most drugstores.

Shop for more Neutrogena Cosmetics

By Carleenp Posted in Blush, Eyeshadow, Makeup, Mineral Makeup | 10 Comments

The Beauty Blog Network at New York Fashion Week

A number of members of the Beauty Blog Network will be attending and posting about New York Fashion Week, which begins today! As much as I wish I could be there, I declined in order to go to Texas to visit family. But that doesn’t mean that you need to be left out on all of the fashion week news!

I have placed a widget near the end of the right hand column that will run a feed of all posts from the network that have “fashion week” in the text. So if you would like to follow along with all of the news, just keep an eye on that widget!