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THE COSMETIC REPORT
January 27, 2005

Greetings from the Cosmetic Report newsletter! We hope you enjoy our straightforward approach to beauty products and trends. If you've been searching for real women's experiences and advice on beauty and wellness, that's what Cosmetic Connection is all about. Our panel of reviewers are consumers just like you who face the same issues and challenges, and look to the beauty industry to help solve them. Thanks for reading!

Judith, 57, lives in Washington, DC, where she works part time in the advertising department of a major newspaper, runs an online jewelry business, as well as a major mailing list and web site for art quilters on the WWW. A natural blonde until she reached her 40's, her dark blonde hair is cropped short and highlighted. She has brown eyes and sensitive/normal to dry fair skin with yellow undertones. Makeup concerns vary from season to season in Washington, as the weather goes from one extreme to the other. Judith prefers a liquid, cream or gel foundation with sheer to medium coverage and never leaves home without foundation, blush, mascara and lipstick. Her main skin care concerns are fine lines and uneven skin tones and she is always in search of a perfect new product!

Mineral Makeup
Long intrigued by all the claims made about mineral cosmetics, a last summer I tried to give Bare Escentuals a try. The fact that mineral cosmetics are so pure and contain no synthetic ingredients, dyes or scents really appealed to me.

My introductory mineral experience was not a good one. In addition to being the outright messiest cosmetics I have ever used, the Bare Escentual minerals, even when applied strictly by directions, made my dry skin look even drier than it is. The mask-like, albeit somewhat shimmery, effect was not what I had in mind at all and the minerals came off making me look even older than I am! Don't get me wrong! I'm proud to be one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) panelist on Cosmetic Connection, but I'm also proud of the fact that I look a lot younger than I am! Bare Escentuals did not help me achieve this at all. Also, at my age, I am not interested in having my face sparkle, and Bare Escentuals blush and eye shades seems to be too sparkly for me. The only item that I decided that was worth keeping out of all the things I tried was the Mineral Veil powder, which does a great job of setting makeup and erasing shine.

Don't get me wrong. The benefits of mineral makeup are many. They are water-resistant, long-wearing, non-comedogenic, non-irritating, hypoallergenic and they have a natural SPF of 20. What could be bad? I just had to find a way to make minerals work for my aging, dry skin.

Fast forward a couple of months. While cruising the web, I came across a site extolling the virtues of Youngblood Liquid Mineral Foundation. Infused with reduced salt deep sea water, which hydrates the skin, Youngblood has added botanicals and sea minerals to produce a creamy textured foundation which has all the benefits of mineral powder, with much less mess.

This sounded like just the ticket for me, so I pressed on. While not easily available online, I found a great website, Makeup Artist's Choice, that sold samples of Youngblood products. A 3 gr sample jar of liquid foundation, which actually is enough to last almost a week if used sparingly, is $3.75. (MUAC also offers samples of other Youngblood products, which is a great deal if you want to try products before purchasing a full size.)

Actually, the samples arrived very quickly and I set about trying Youngblood Liquid Mineral Foundation in the shades of Sand and Pebble. Both colors worked for me, but I found that yellow based mineral cosmetics are REALLY yellow, so I settled for the Pebble which was more neutral. I really like the smooth, creamy finish of the foundation, which provides medium to heavy coverage. It does, however, require that I wear a good moisturizer underneath, or the finish turns powdery during the day, just like the Bare Escentual mineral powders. Available in a pump container, Youngblood Liquid Mineral Foundation retails for $37.95, although you might find better prices by searching on the web.

The Makeup Artist's Choice web site is definitely worth checking out. In addition to Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics you will find lots of unusual items and tools at very fair prices. I purchased Makeup Artist's Choice Pump Brush ($17.50) which is a nifty cylinder gizmo that you fill with your favorite face powder or blush (I used Bare Escentual's Mineral Veil). With the built-in brush, you have a neater way to apply your powder cosmetics!

Okay, now that I had discovered a mineral foundation I could use, I decided to see what else I could find. More searching on the web turned up yet another liquid mineral foundation - Jane Iredale's Liquid Mineral Foundation. No samples were available for Jane Iredale's products, but her website had done a great job of explaining the different shades offered. (Unfortunately, just a few weeks later, the color info on her website has been removed. I did, however save notes, so I can give you a general guideline about the colors.) The lightest warm shade, which is what I have been using, is Warm Silk. I also tried Bisque, which is the lightest neutral shade. Actually, both shades worked well for me, as they seem to adapt to your own skin tone. Jane Iredale's Liquid Mineral Foundation also comes in a pump bottle, like Youngblood's, but the difference ends there. Instead of a cream foundation like Youngblood, Jane Iredale's liquid minerals are comprised of tiny little beads of encapsulated mineral spheres which are, in turn, encapsulated in spheres of Coenzyme Q10, Vitamins C and K, Willow Bark Extract, Chamomile, Calendula, and Seaweeds, all of which are suspended in a gel of aloe vera, lavender flower water and vegetable glycerin. When the container is pumped a couple of times, a delight mousse of mineral foundation is formed. (It has a delightful light scent, too.) As the resulting foundation is light, it is perfect for layering and you can control how heavy you want the coverage to be. As for finding Jane Iredale cosmetics in your area, if you go to this page the "Where To Buy" page on the Jane Iredale site and type in your area code or zip code, you will come up with a list of resources in your area. There are many Jane Iredale dealers online and their prices vary widely. I've seen the Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals priced anywhere from a high of over $46 at some sites to $34.50 at freshskincare.com.

As I mentioned above, no matter which liquid minerals you choose, it's important to make sure your face is well moisturized. I have been using L'Oreal Dermo-Expertise Age Perfect Day Cream for Mature Skin (around $15 for a 2.5 oz jar at most drugstores or from drugstore.com). On days when I need a little bit more moisture, I use Bobbi Brown's Vitamin Enriched Face Base ($42 for a 1.7 oz jar from bobbibrowncosmetics.com, neimanmarcus.com or nordstrom.com). When wearing liquid minerals, you'll find as the day goes on, your face will look just as if you had just applied your makeup. The minerals seem to melt into my skin and the result is fabulous!

After applying my moisturizer to damp skin, I let it soak in for a few minutes before I apply the mineral foundation. Smoothing everything with a cosmetic sponge, I'm then ready for a swipe of blush. I really like Jane Iredale's PurePressed Blush ($21.50) in Dubonnet, which is her most neutral shade, and Cream to Powder for Cheeks, Eyes & Lips ($20.75) in Cedar Rose, a neutral rose. Infused with sunflower and jojoba oils, the Cream to Powder also has a light scent of lavender. Both colors are extremely natural and go on like a dream. They are available at freshskincare.com.

Experimenting with mineral makeup took time, but was worth it. I love the fact that I'm wearing makeup that is not going to irritate my skin and that looks absolutely terrific, too!

Happy Shopping!

We hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report!


 

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