Mineral Makeup Uncovered

Seems like nothing is sacred these days.  Not even mineral makeup, the darling of the cosmetics industry and something that us green & healthy folks consider a step above conventional cosmetic products.  But alas, it turns out there's a thing or two to watch out for when choosing a mineral makeup brand.  I've been confused/concerned about this for awhile now and finally took the time to sort out a few things.  Hope this helps you too!!

Here's what you definitely don't want in your mineral makeup:

• Nanoparticles - Minerals ground into teeny-weeny particles so small they can be absorbed into the skin and enter the bloodstream, leading to health problems, including lung cancer.  (Not to be confused with micronized ingredients, which from what I have read, are 1000 times larger than nanoparticles.  Micronized minerals are found in most mineral makeup products and appear to be safe to use.)
• Parabens- Pure mineral makeup lines do not contain parabens....but now that the big brands are in on the mineral scene, you never know what they might slip in there.  Like this 'mineral' blush from Revlon that contains parabens and nano-sized titanium dioxide and is rated a 10 (worst hazard) on the Skin Deep cosmetics database!! 
• Bismuth oxychloride - A byproduct of lead and copper refining that can cause skin irritation in people with sensitive skin.
• Dimethicone - A silicone-based emollient that does not allow skin to breathe.  Basically it's like coating your skin in plastic wrap. Yuck!!
• Talc - Some brands use talc as an an inexpensive filler.  It cheapens the product and is dangerous to inhale.

   

Confused about which brand to buy?  Believe me, you are not alone!!  Here are a few brands that I've either tried myself or that have come highly recommended:

 

• Orglamix - I purchased some mineral foundation from this teensy company via Abe's Market and think it's just fab!!  Prices are very reasonable ($5 for 2g) and products are formulated without yucky stuff like nanoparticles, bismuth oxychloride, synthetic dyes, parabens or synthetic fragrances.  Shop on Etsy for the full range of this artisan-crafted mineral makeup.

   
• Everyday Minerals- People have been raving about this line but I haven't tried it myself.  It is vegan (meaning they don't use any animal-based pigments, like carmine) and free of dimethicone, bismuth oxychloride, fragrance, silicone, lake dyes and parabens.  Looks like pretty pure stuff and well-priced too.  Check out the try-me-free program where you can get free samples with any purchase!!
• miessence- Having raved about miessence skin care, I would love to try their mineral makeup. A very pure line that does not contain any of the nasties written about above. In addition they choose not to use titanium dioxide because it is an unstable ingredient that must be coated with additional ingredients to be safe. Prices are a bit higher ($20 for 6gm) but the quality is way high.
• Jane Iredale- Some of my Facebook readers recommended this line that appears to be sold mainly in salons (or online).  However, many products contain dimethicone and prices are getting up there ($42 for 10g of foundation)
• Christopher Drummond Beauty- This company claims to go "beyond mineral makeup"by creating formulas without titanium dioxide or zinc oxide which they claim are irritating.  Instead, they use trace minerals, plant extracts and botanicals that sooth skin instead of irritate it. But when I scoured the ingredients list (like a good, green detective), I discovered that a bunch of products DO contain titanium dioxide, which was a bit odd (apparently they feel it is necessary in some products).  The company sent me some free samples to try and I have to admit the products are very nice!  Their signature product, Saude Pele Radiance Booster, gives my skin a healthy glow without being at all sparkly. And the cream concealer goes on super smooth.  If you have especially sensitive skin, this might be the product line for you but at $65 for an 8 gram container of foundation, it would be a stretch for me.
• Bare Escentuals- One of the pioneers of mineral makeup, Bare Escentuals is now sold just about everywhere (including QVC - gag!).  Their Clear Radiance blush is in my bathroom cupboard and I've always thought it was a great product.  So I was bummed to discover that it contains bismuth oxycholoride. Since I don't have any sensitivity to that ingredient, I'll probably continue to use it (it's rated a low hazard on Skin Deep) 

All things considered, I like the idea of supporting small businesses, so I will likely give my business to Orglamix or Everyday Minerals.  What mineral makeup brands do you use?  What are your most important considerations when purchasing a mineral makeup line?  Product quality, Ingredients, Price??

Comments

[Ashlea]

I'm not sure if this one has any of these chemicals... I'm new to the whole 'going green' thing. I've been looking into Alima Pure makeup products. Have you heard anything about them and how would I find how safe their products are?

[Condo Blues]

I switched my foundation over to Bare Escentuals. I'm not sensitive to bismuth oxycholoride either so I'm OK with using it.

[Genevieve]

I recently switched to Cheek Cosmetics. They are made here in Canada (can be found on Etsy or on their own site). I've found my skin is waaaayyy less red then when I was using Bare Escentuals and there prices aren't that bad either.

[Tara Burner]

You should also watch for corn starch which some companies use like talc (as a filler) which lessens the quality and is nothing more than a cheap filler.

All the other points are excellent...
many people think that just because it's a mineral makeup it's okay but I know many companies put chemicals, etc. in theirs.

[Jenni Saake "InfertilityMom"]

I used Bare for a while without issue, but gradually developed an intolerance for the Bismuth, so that's something to be aware of if you start off fine and start getting irritation down the line. I was also glad for the free trial from Everyday because I found it irritated my skin a lot and I was glad I hadn't invested much in the brand. Still don't know what it was there that got to me, but I retried it a hand full of times and continued having issues with that line each time I pulled out my samples.

One item I didn't see on your "avoid" list was cornstarch or other non-mineral fillers like this as they can harbor bacteria and cause your makeup to "spoil" or expire, unlike brands that are purely mineral based (rocks don't spoil). Another important tip is to keep your makeup brushes very clean as they also can harbor bacteria. If you have been using any given brand of makeup for a while then suddenly find yourself with outbreaks and/or irritation, cleaning your brush might be all you need to fix that problem.

You asked what brand I use now. I need to give the disclaimer that I now am a representative for the company as I don't want this to come across as SPAM. I've been blogging about beauty and mineral makeup since before finding Affordable Mineral Makeup™ but when I found something I really loved that met all my criteria, I figured I should take advantage of being able to purchase at a discount and make some money sharing it with others as well. I have written a couple of articles on my blog that may be of interest, including:

Dr. Oz Warns About Dangers of Mineral Makeup

Breaking Out from Makeup? Maybe It's Your Brush

Healthy Makeup Application

Thank you for your great article and I look forward to reading more on your blog. :)

[Brenda Chesney]

Great Article!! So many people think that just because it says "mineral makeup" it is safe and pure. Sadly, that is not the case. :(

Like Jenni, I use (and love!) Affordable Mineral Makeup™ (I am a rep also). But before Affordable Mineral Makeup™, I used Bare Escentuals and liked it a lot also - the bismuth does not bother me. I love the difference in how my skin felt and looked after I switched from conventional makeup to mineral makeup and would never go back now.

[zee]

These chemicals are scary! And the fact that they are also found in mineral makeup is scarier! Thank you for sharing this. I'm thinking maybe we should modify the post we did last January to include this information. We wrote a 31 day series on going green and Day 4 was about prettying up in mineral makeup. Too bad that isn't very safe anymore, and that we should really take time to research the products' ingredients! Anyway, I've used Bare Escentuals and I've also tried Maybelline's mineral foundation but didn't like it that much. Here's a place where we can check cosmetics ingredients: http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com. Hope this helps.

[Micaela]

Jenni - good point about the brushes. It never occured to me that my brushes might get dirty.

[Micaela]

Ashlea - Thanks for the tip on Alima Pure. It looks like a good brand to me! Here's the link to their website if anyone is interested. http://www.alimapure.com

[Jenni Saake "InfertilityMom"]

Yes, if you use your brushes daily, it's a good idea to wash them weekly.

And some of us (talking about myself) have allergies to animal hair so another issue that can seem to come from makeup irritation can sometimes be allergy to natural hair bristles instead. I have to use synthetic brushes or I hive out no matter how wonderfully pure the quality of the makeup I'm applying may be!

[Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green]

I love Everyday Minerals. They have one that is light enough for me (Bare Essentials didn't), great service, mom owned, it's in Texas so pretty close to me (I'm in Oklahoma), it's safer than BE and cheaper!

Can you tell I really love it? lol

[WrinkleRepair]

Good read. There are a ton of products on the market, and thus a lot of things for consumers to watch out for before just buying the first thing they see on the shelf.

[Best natural makeup]

Natural beauty is no were now-a-days. Mostly brands contain so many chemicals that affect our skin very hard. I am confused which one is good or bad.

[mineral cosmetics]

It is very difficult to find a great mineral cosmetic company that is actually providing what they are offering. I have always liked Afterglow Cosmetics - just for this reason - I trust them

[Pure Fulvic Minerals]

When I managed a health food store this stuff sold off the shelves just because it was "natural". People still need to research what minerals they put on their skin and ingest.

[self tanner reviews]

Excellent post! I must say that some nano particles do good while some others do bad things to your health. Got to be careful though, although it might come from a good brand, but it doesn't mean that it is safe. I have seen girls with dark patches around the eyes due to using mascara, and people with dark lips due to absorbtion of mercury in the lipstick. Better be careful then to be sorry...

I had a good read! Thanks!

[Mineral makeup]

The Information present in your site is very informative and, it gives a wide knowledge about mineral make up. I was very much impressed with your site. It will guide me more.

[Jess]

I've tried almost every mineral foundation out there and so far the best I've come across is from oceanmistcosmetics. Good selection of shades (the only brand, besides LA Minerals, that matches my skin tone), the best finish, the longest lasting, and the most affordable at $12 for 8grams.

[Denise]

I think your site is really informative, thank You! As an Aesthetician/makeup artist,and small business owner, I have been trying for years to find a makeup line that delivered what it said, and now that iam a trained skin care facialist i have set out and come up with a truly VEGAN mineral makeup line! No parabens,dimeticone,talc,carmine,or titanium dioxide. What it does have is the highest grade of the following:Boron Nitride, chamomile,oat powder,allantoin, rice bran an jojoba oils,zinc. Custom color blending available. Please ck out our Facebook pg At ORGANIC SPLENDOR. samples are only $3.00 for foundation or blush. Bronzers and eyeshadows will be available in jan 2011. full size jars are 13.5 grams,and $29.99 for foundation, 5 grams for blush and $14.99. The complete website is under construction and will be linked to the existing organic splendor website. You can email me or call with your skin tone or send a pic. Thank you so much for reading :) Please email or call w/ questions Denise Kemp-Otterson

[Treatment for Acne]

Really it is absolutely true that Make-up can make you look ten years younger but how old do you feel and look is more important. Yes I love shimmer make up a lot. I liked your post. Really it was fully of my interest. Thank you.
Treatment for Acne

[mineral makeup]

I like the Neutral Peach foundation, honey matte and cashmere eye shadows & peach satin blush. They have a great selection of shades!

[dkeyss]

It is very difficult to find a great mineral cosmetic company that is actually providing what they are offering. I have always liked Afterglow Cosmetics - just for this reason - I trust them

[organic foundation]

It seems like talc powder is in all of the chemical makeups now.. They have to find a cheaper and cheaper way to to make more product while still charging the same if not more. It;s a horrible way to do business and they wonder why all of their customers are switchng to more organic brands.

[newblood]

It's an old post but I'll add my comment for those 'googlers' out there. I have been using bare minerals for a while and started to lose my 'porcelain'skin glow..In addition I developed dark patches around the eye area and finally I just sneezed and sneezed, and had difficulty breathing BEFORE realising that it might be my so called 'healthy' make-up that I was paying more money to be healthier! Before that i just used liquid foundation and mainstream cheap make-up, all kinds. Never had any problems. What are the odds hum? Now I switched to afterglow, I actually order it from England. Learning about those 'nanoparticles' now..Hopefully I'm not spending even more money to get slowely poisoned, under the flag of 'healthier' and 'better'..I have serious doubts about my make up, as about my mineralbased sunscreen.

[Carole Crisp]

This is so frustrating, confusing and time-consuming! I'm in my late 40's and have had problems with my skin for a couple of years now. I know it's partially hormones, diet and lack of exercise so I started by "cleaning" house of all the chemicals in my home and personal care products (hair, skin, make-up, etc.). I started using Sheer Cover thinking I was "going natural" until I researched further as my skin got worse in the past year only to find that Bismuth Oxychloride is the likely culprit.

In the article above, it says Christopher Drummond doesn't use titanium dioxide but he does. Maybe he reformulated? His ingredients list also include Kaolin Clay, Cornstarch, Dimethicone and others so I'm surprised to see all the green "certifications" on his site.

I would be happy to go virtually make-upless if my skin looked better but until then I think I'll try Alima Pure or After Glow. I saw both while researching the subject prior to stumbling on this site and now having seen them mentioned in the posts above is somewhat of a confirmation.

Thank you for the post ~ great site!