Saturday, September 6, 2008

The Body Shop Nature's Minerals Foundation Review + Others

It's my 22nd birthday today! :D I feel old.



Reiterating from my previous post about The Body Shop's new mineral makeup collection, I have been using the mineral foundation since then, and now I think it should be the ripe time to review it. Turns out that I bought it right on the day it launched! @.@



The foundation shade I am using is 01. It's not very very light as I would have expected a shade 01 foundation to be, nor was it dark. It suited my skin tone just nicely without changing the tone. I also found that the texture of the powder was really very fine, as also mentioned in the previous post. Coverage wise it's good- sheer but buildable to a heavier coverage shall you need/want it to. I find that around 2-3 full dustings around my face does the job nicely. It's also not "shimmery" compared to the other mineral foundations I've tried (e.l.f. and Laura Mercier, which seems to "shimmer" and thus draws attention to my pores instead!) and gives quite a matte yet radiant, glowy effect and finish without the pore-attention-drawing. My skin does look healthier and I've had comments saying that my skin looks better!



A close up of the interior of the foundation. Here you can see the mesh-like net instead of normal holes as the sifter. It's really very unique and handy in a sense that it minimises wastage and spillage when trying to get the foundation powder, as it dispenses just about the right amount of powder onto the top. Or at least I don't experience powder pouring/spilling out when you tip the jar, shake it a bit and then open it. You also don't "poke" the foundation back into the sifter holes when using a brush... not like it's a problem, but just an observation XD



In my previous post I've mentioned that the brush is incredibly soft with very dense bristles, but upon using it I found that it sheds quite a lot of hair during application. I've washed it (And it's drying at the moment- should take some time since it's so dense), but no hairs seem to have shed during the wash. It's pretty annoying to pull the stray, falling-off and shed hairs from the brush, from my face and/or from the foundation jar, but otherwise it does feel soft on the skin and doesn't irritate it. Ease of usage is good- it allows me to buff the foundation around my face nicely and evenly.



This is my current and favourite kabuki brush, which is from Everyday Minerals. Granted, the brushes are not as dense as The Body Shop, but it's incredibly soft and very user-friendly in a sense that it's really very nice to use. It's survived several washes and the usage of different powders, and it hasn't shed a single strand of hair @.@ I've used it with The Body Shop's mineral foundation as well, and it also does the job nicely. I bought this for RM 45 from a seller in LowYat.NET and it's very worth the price! I've been wanting another one for about 4 months now :x



After using The Body Shop's mineral foundation I dust a light layer of Make Up For Ever's Super Matte Loose Powder. It really helps keep my skin matte and healthy-looking when combined with the mineral foundation, but I shall a more detailed review of the product sometime soon ;) I use a duo fibre face brush from Etude House to apply it, but I'm not very satisfied with it and am currently eyeing the 187 Duo Fibre Face Brush from M.A.C. The reason I am using such a brush is because application is lightweight and more natural as compared to when using a kabuki brush, which makes quite a thick, powdery-looking layer due to the buffing and all.



I then finish my whole makeup routine with a light spritz of Eau Thermale Avene, as recommended by the pamphlet at the very start of the post (Although it mentions mineral water) :P It really does help "fix" the makeup and keeps the shinies at bay for much longer, whilst adding a healthy, natural-looking radiance and glow to the skin. Perhaps it's the minerals in the water that "adheres" to the minerals in the foundation and reacts in such a way. I don't know, I'm just being scientific here because of my educational background XD It's also definitely cheaper to use than M.A.C's Fix+ at RM 18.90 at all major pharmacies such as Guardian and Watson's.

Removal of all these is quite a cinch. I don't really need to use a makeup remover, I just cleanse my face with my Dermalogica's Ultracalming Cleanser (I've stopped using the Essential Cleansing Solution as it was too rich for me and made my skin oily) and it cleans off very well compared to when I was using my previous foundations. Goes to show that mineral makeup truly is fuss free!

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