Mineral Makeup Series - Foundations

A good foundation, much like a good partner is hard to find. I think that sometimes we're so eager to get to the end that we forget that we can have a lot of fun along the way. A good foundation has to fit with the condition of your skin and help bring out the best of it. Once in a while, you need to re-evaluate the situation at hand to see if it is still doing its job. And finally, remember not to settle for second best.

I have given the following mineral foundations a good test run for the past month and more. They were tested based on their wear, texture, packaging, and their range of shades. I thought it would be interesting to put them all side-by-side to see how they do against some of their competitors. Of course, do try them out and judge for yourself, but here is what I think about them.

Lumiere Cosmetics
Formulas: Flawless, Veena Velvet, Luminesse, Cashmere
Range: 6 (from fairly light to deep)
Tones: 5 (cool, neutral, beige, golden, warm). The swatches on their website looks ashier than they do in real life.

Formulas:
**Veena Velvet
Ingredients: premium grade serecite (colorless mica), titanium dioxide, avena sativa, zinc oxide, iron oxide, magnesium stearate.

Wear - starts off on the dryer side then settles in as it wears. Lasted the day for me with only one touch-up.
Texture - sheer with no sheen. Light to medium coverage which takes 2 light layers to cover skin imperfections. Works even better worn with well-prepped skin (moisturizer & silicon-based primer).
Packaging - Works well and looks classier than many other companies'. I prefer transparent over opague labels on the bottom of these jars.

Cashmere
Ingredients: silk powder, serecite (colorless mica), titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, boron nitride, iron oxides

Wear - starts off on the dryer side then settles in. Lasted the day for me with no touch-up.
Texture - with slightly more of a sheen than Veena Velvet. Medium coverage which I use sparingly and a moisturizer underneath. Works even better worn with a silicon-based primer.
Packaging - Works well and looks classier than many other companies'. I prefer transparent over opague labels on the bottom of these jars.

Flawless
Ingredients: premium grade serecite (colorless mica), titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxides, boron nitride, silica, magnesium stearate, squalane

Luminesse
Ingredients: premium grade serecite (colorless mica), boron nitride, zinc oxide, avena sativa, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tocopherol (vitamin e)

Overall:
I have tested both Veena Velvet and Cashmere. They go on slightly dry at first, they becomes more natural after couple of hours of wear. I find the Veena Velvet formula sheerer and more flattering on my skin. Those with dryer skin may find these two formulas a little dry initially. I would use a silicon-based primer to help the foundation glide on and to make it more dewy-looking. Color range is fair and it can be difficult finding the right shade based on the colors on your computer screen. Do purchase a sample first before commiting to a full size.


Everyday Minerals
Formulas: Semi-matte, Matte, Intensive, Original Glo
Range: 6 (from fairly light to deep)
Tones: 6 (warm, golden, cool, beige, buff, olive). The swatches on their website looks more ashy/pink than they do in real life.

Formulas-
Ingredients:
Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Zinc Oxide (CI 77947). May contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77491), Ultramarine Blue (CI 77007)

Semi-matte
Wear - No color change and no touch up for me at the end of the day. May not control oiliness well enough for those with oily skin.
Texture - Quite creamy and seems to smooth over face. Very slight sheen.
**Packaging - The best I've seen. Samples come in small jars with sifters. Regular size jars have a wide mouths (wide lid), great for swirling a big brush in (see picture). All have clear bottoms with clear labels which make it easy to see through. They are also stackable (see picture).

**Matte
Wear - No color change and no touch up for me at the end of the day. This formula is not more matte than semi-matte. May not control oiliness well enough for those with oily skin.
Texture - Not chalkier or that much drier than semi-matte. There is slightly less sheen as well.
**Packaging - The best I've seen. Samples come in small jars with sifters. Regular size jars have a wide mouths (wide lid), great for swirling a big brush in (see picture). All have clear bottoms with clear labels which make it easy to see through. They are also stackable (see picture).

Intensive
Wear - Too intensive for my liking, so no touch-ups for me whatsoever.
Texture - Thick and chalky on my skin so it will cover well if that is what you're looking for.
**Packaging - The best I've seen. Samples come in small jars with sifters. Regular size jars have a wide mouths (wide lid), great for swirling a big brush in (see picture). All have clear bottoms with clear labels which make it easy to see through. They are also stackable (see picture).

Original-Glo
Wear - It feels lighter and sheerer than other formulas and did not last as long on my skin.
Texture - It definitely has the glow factor which I am not too crazy about. Even if it looks natural, I don't enjoy the way it emphasizes flaws on skin.
**Packaging - The best I've seen. Samples come in small jars with sifters. Regular size jars have a wide mouths (wide lid), great for swirling a big brush in (see picture). All have clear bottoms with clear labels which make it easy to see through. They are also stackable (see picture).

Overall: I like all the formulas (but the Matte version the best) I have tried and will use them depending on the day. The color choices are average and it seems to be lacking for those who have darker skin tones. I believe though that EM is looking into fixing that. I find that it works best on well moisturized skin. It is great that the jars are stackable and have completely see-through bottoms.

Meow Cosmetics
Formulas: Purrr-fect Puss, Pampered Puss, Flawless Feline
Range: 6 (Lightest (almost white) to Very dark)
Tones: 13 (peach, peach/yellow, soft yellow, yellow/peach, golden beige, yellow/beige, neutral, warm, beige/pink, warmpink cool pink, cool beige, oliver/beige)

Formulas-
Purrr-fect Puss
Ingredients: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides


**Pampered Puss
Ingredients: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Oxides
Wear - Lasted the day with one touch-up at the end of the day.
Texture - Veerry sheer and light (very finely milled). I needed 3 layers to get medium coverage. More work for days when you may be rushed.
Packaging - Both 'munchkin' size and 'full size' have wide enough mouths for a good swirling of the brush. Full size is huge!

Flawless Feline
Ingredients: Mica, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Boron Nitride, Iron Oxides

Overall: I only tried Pampered Puss. I like this for days when I don't need much coverage and don't feel like wearing a primer. There is an impressive array of colors to choose from, which can be good and bad as well, as it can be overwhelming to find the right shade.


L'Oreal
Formulas: 1
Range: 10 (Light ivory to Cocoa)
Tones: 4 (Ivory, beige, buff, tan)

Ingredients:
1st formula - kaolin, iron oxides, mica, copper, boron nitride, calcium, manganese, magnesium, bismuth, titanium dioxide

2nd formula - Talc , Boron Nitride , Dimethicone , Carnauba Wax - Copernicia Cerifera , Cetyl Dimethicone , Trimethylsiloxysilicate , Triisocetyl Citrate , Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice , Tocopherol , Panthenol , Titanium Dioxide - May Contain , Zinc Oxide - May Contain , Bismuth Oxychloride - May Contain , Iron Oxides - May Contain

This is my review for the 1st formula -
Wear - Didn't control oiliness and emphasized dryness as well! The color changed at the end of the day.
Texture - Chalky, thick, shiny and just sat on top of the skin.
Packaging - The brush it came with is coarse and so it did not feel very nice to buff the product into the skin with it.


Overall: Not for me! I am too clumsy to work with this type of packaging and I did not find the right shade for me. It also does not come in different formulas to choose from.

Neutrogena
Formulas: 1
Range: 6 (Fair to light to Bronzer)
Tones: 3 (ivory, buff, tan)

Ingredients: Mica, Bismuth Oxychloride, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbic Acid, Pantothenic Acid, Soybean Flour, Silk Powder, Zinc Stearate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, may contain: Ultramarines, Carmine, Manganese Violet.

Wear - I gave up before I could tell.
Texture - Sheer
Packaging - The powder is dispensed through the brush by shaking and tapping the brush itself. It took a lot of work to get any powder out. The amount that I did get out was too sheer to cover anything on my skin.

Overall: I got so tired from shaking this thing plus it didn't look right on the skin. I don't think I really had a good chance to give this a proper test run. If you managed to try this, please let me know what you think.



Credits: Grayburn, lumierecosmetics.com, everydayminerals.com, meowcosmetics.com, lorealparis.com, neutrogena.com

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