More Than Makeup
by Paul Jones
Updated June 6, 2008
  
   Say good bye to rosacea, acne and all other impurities that keep you from flaunting your gorgeous self around town and try the buzzed about products that help to heal, protect and provide luminous coverage for a more vibrant flawless you. I am talking about mineral makeup. And its finding its way onto shelves of beauty departments everywhere and into hands of makeup artist, aestheticians and consumers alike.

   More Than Makeup Most traditional liquid and compact foundations that provide full coverage tend to cause skin disruptions and rashes. Mineral makeup, on the other hand, allows your skin to breathe. Made of simple and natural ingredients, most mineral makeup brands provide protection from the harmful rays of the sun.

   Product lines such as Colorescience , Jane Iredale and Bare Escentuals instantly protect the skin from the sun with SPF coverage of 18 or more because of the minerals zinc oxide and titanium oxide, which provide natural sunscreen protection.

   With mineral makeup, there’s no need to wait 20 minutes for your liquid sunscreen to soak into your skin before applying foundation. Mineral makeup also improves the look and feel of the skin’s appearance and texture, hides scars that acne can leave behind and covers up rosacea. When you are done applying you foundation, especially if it’s powder, spritz on Jane Iredale's D20 Hydration Spritz or Caudalie's Beauty Elixir Both are meant to set your makeup and can even help to camouflage the look of fine lines and wrinkles.

Breaking It Down
   So, what exactly is in mineral makeup? Mineral makeup contains a combination of finely milled minerals such as Mica, titanium dioxide, Bismuth Oxychloride, Zinc oxide, Iron oxide and some others include Ultramarine blue, Chromium oxide and Hydrated silica. All those other names you see in regular makeup you can’t pronounce shouldn’t be there. Many minerals are used for a variety of reasons and different purposes, but when combined together can create a luminous effect on your face that will appeal to the masses like you spent hours applying and perfecting your look. But in reality , it only took a few seconds.

Decisions, Decisions
   Now that you’ve shopped up and down every aisle in your local beauty department store and specialty store you’ve hit a wall. And with so many new items of makeup out there ,who would blame you? The art of finding the right mineral foundation can have even the most up-to-date woman feeling overwhelmed and reluctant to settle on just one; sometimes resulting into buyer’s remorse.

   You’ve bought it, it doesn’t work and now you’re stuck with it. Well, luckily we have gathered some helpful tips to find out which mineral products are telling you the truth about their coverage, water resistance and everlasting effects.

   The most important one is make sure whatever product you buy, you can return it. No one likes to be left with a drawer of unused beauty products.

  After that, take these next steps to find out if what you bought is the real deal. Brush or dab some on the top side of your hand, or anywhere you can see blue veins or freckles. For some, this may mean on the inside of your wrist. Cover the area until you’ve reached your ideal coverage. After you foundation has set , place it under a running water facet. Does the foundation stay on after water? Does it look lifeless? Or, does it look full of life? Some copies might look good on the internet or in the stores, but you will be reapplying by noon.

The Message
   Beauty conundrums are everywhere. From eating right to working out, looking flawless should never be a part of your everyday stresses. Picking out what to wear in the morning, applying messy liquid foundations and poking your eye with your mascara wand are difficult enough. With mineral makeup, you don’t have to fret so much. It’s meant to work with you and your skin, not against it.

Author
Paul Jones is a fashion and beauty columnist and writes about hairstyles, makeup, weight loss and dieting.