Everyday Minerals : Mineral Makeup

I got some matte foundation samples from my mother, who is hellbent on getting me into the full spectrum of makeup and not just eye and lip makeup - bless her heart - for Christmas. I have sensitive, mildly cystic acne-prone skin and I am not sure whether it's dry or combination; if I don't moisturize it turns into a rough, ashy, flaky mess. But it can sometimes appear oily, especially on my forehead and nose, if I'm somewhere with hard water or if I wash it with something too harsh. I use a lot of natural hippie junk to try to control this and also keep my mild psoriasis at bay. Shea Moisture is my go-to brand, but I'm almost always experimenting with DIY natural stuff, like washing my face with honey and making scrubs and masks. It's a running joke in my family that I'm the hippie and because I'm so picky about what I put on my skin, I refuse to go near most foundations, cleansers and moisturizers and I read ingredient labels on everything. So when my mom found this stuff, I was pretty pumped! Because of the redness and discoloration I sometimes get from acne breakouts, especially around my menstrual cycle, I was excited to try this makeup out! I've never worn foundation of any kind because my skin is already so temperamental, the last thing I wanted to do was exacerbate it - but the coverage was nice, buildable, and smooth, even though I had to put 2 or 3 applications on to get it nice and even looking. I didn't find that it was cakey or that it worsened the appearance of lines. It seemed to last all day without rubbing off or "melting," maybe because I was using it in winter and not summer. It made my skin look more even, albeit not miraculously perfect, without losing texture and making it obvious I had makeup on; however, I had to be careful how much I applied and in what lighting, because no matter how much I moisturized beforehand if I didn't make sure to be careful with my trouble spots, I would apply it in one room only to look in a mirror in the other and see where the foundation made a spot look flaky and gross and adding lotion would just wipe away the powder. Because my skin is so dry matte was definitely not the right choice for me and I wanted to order some of their jojoba and semi-matte samples, but I'm not sure if I will now. My mother got me the 1W, 2W, and 3N matte foundations and I found that the 3N was a perfect match for me. It looked natural and brought out all the best tones in my skin, making me look fresh and glowing. The 2W powder I decided to use as a concealer and applied light layers beneath my eyes and over particularly red spots and it worked a charm at balancing out red and dark tones if I used it before applying the 3N as an all-over foundation. I managed to make the little pinch of powder you get in a plastic pouch last about ten uses, I think. Because it was matte I had to over-moisturize a bit with a creamy lotion before applying it, and had to do so before my face completely dried. Maybe this had to do with my skin's reaction to it, or maybe I should have been washing my brushes every time because of how acne-prone I am. I'm not sure. All I know is that the more I seemed to use it, the worse my acne seemed to get, no matter how good I was about washing it off and exfoliating. Now I'm stuck with an uncharacteristically horrible breakout of painful, itchy cysts and tiny little bumps and gross pores all over my entire face that has been present, and gotten progressively worse, for about three weeks. 'm just left with more to be self-conscious about and cover up. Now that I haven't been using the foundation at all for a week my skin is slowly recovering and healing up with a lot of tentative care. Like I said, I've never used foundation before this and some of it might have been user error. Maybe it was that I had to over-moisturize before applying it; maybe I should have been washing my brushes every time; maybe applying 2 or 3 layers clogged my pores; maybe my skin is way more sensitive than I figured it was; maybe it was to do with the fact I got matte samples in the middle of winter. I'm reaching here. I'm pretty bummed out about it because it did provide lovely, realistic coverage and worked great on my skin until a week after using it. I think for now I'm just going to try to figure out a skin care regimen that keeps my face as clear as possible and give foundation a skip. I'd be wary of ordering more samples of this in the future, but I'm not gonna tell people not to try it - it might work great for people with less sensitive and acneic skin than me. It just sucks that we're kinda the ones who "need" foundation most but we're also the ones who can't find anything that works without making the underlying problem ten times worse.

this isn't the best mineral makeup. i have to layer it a lot just to even skin tone so it takes longer than other mineral makeup brands with better coverage to apply. i ordered the free samples which came with 7 jars. the new samples are tiny pouches with a pinch of powder in them. the new sample sizes aren't worth trying. i prefer loreal mineral makeup, its about $12 at wal mart or cheaper if its on sale.