Purely Cosmetics Mineral Makeup

If you’ve tried one mineral foundation you’ve tried them all, right? Wrong. For a product that is supposed to be “simple”, there are a lot of options out there. The major differences are in ingredients and coverage. As far as coverage, well, that’s pretty much a personal preference issue. But ingredients effect the health of your skin and, depending on what studies you read, possibly even your body as a whole.

Many women choose mineral foundations because they want a more natural product and hope that mineral products will have less risk of irritating their skin. Though these products are usually marketed as the “natural” choice, the amount of added junk in many of the major brands would make your head spin. Parabens of all kinds, dimethicone, and bismuth oxychloride. Now, there are tons of women out there who have reactions to bismuth oxychloride, a by product of lead mining,  but companies still use this because it’s an inexpensive filler and adds a dewy, shimmery look. But the first time your face starts to itch like crazy I doubt you’ll think the shine is worth it. If you are currently using a mineral makeup that sometimes irritates your skin, especially when you sweat, or if you tried mineral foundation but your skin reacted badly, check your ingredient list. Bismuth oxychloride might just be to blame. The basic story behind these added fillers and parabens is that they’re an easy way out, cheaper and easier for companies to mass produce, more “bang for their buck” as it were.

There are few mineral companies out there that don’t use these products. One that has been gaining recognition lately is Purely Cosmetics. Purely Cosmetics not only avoids bismuth oxychloride, but goes the extra step in avoiding hotly debated ingredients like talc and micronized particles. The jury is still out, but Purely Cosmetics decided  “better safe than sorry”, and showed that you can create an effective product without including those contraversial items.

Originally I took this picture trying to capture the color of the cream shadow I was trying out, but as I flipped through the pictures and looked at my face I thought “Holy cow, would you look at how gorgeous  my skin looks!”.  I had buffed on Purely Cosmetics Pure Mineral Foundation Powder in Peaches & Cream, and the color was just a tad too yellow/deep for me so I had moved on to playing with my eyes. As the foundation absorbed the oil from my skin and “melted” into my complexion it gave my skin such a soft, even look that I couldn’t help but notice. Does it look like I’m wearing nothing? Well, not quite, but most of that is because the color isn’t right. This is a medium to full coverage foundation but could be lighter if you wanted to buff it out more. Without micronized particles you won’t get the look of completely natural skin, but with micronized particles you can’t have the complete coverage of blemishes and spots like you get from Purely Cosmetics. In my book, fewer spots=better. Even without micronized particles Purely Cosmetics has a nice breathable feel to it and  it wears incredibly well through the day. Since the color didn’t quite match I stayed inside cleaning house and it looked great, even after time spent scrubbing counters and floors. I think next time I’ll try  Fair Maiden, which looks like it might be a better match for me.

The selection of eye colors is pretty commendable, considering that Purely Cosmetics uses no FD&C dyes. Both Bionic Beauty and I recently waxed poetic about our love of Soft Moon, a charcoal gray with a slight turquoise shift to it that simply has to be seen in person to be appreciated. There’s a reason this is a customer favorite!