Saturday, March 22, 2008

Everyday Minerals Review (Mineral Makeup/Eco-friendly Cosmetics)

I realized I never wrote a review of Everyday Minerals on my blog! (Though I have mentioned it a couple of times). Since I love their products I decided to write a full review.

Foundation:Their foundation is my holy grail! Not only is the color a perfect match for my skin but the finish is amazing! Since I started wearing mineral makeup five or so years ago, I've found many good/great matches (I thought all of them were perfect matches until I sampled more and found better and better matches: anything is an improvement from conventional makeup that is typically pink and peach tones!). Everyday Minerals is high in mica so its coverage for most of its formulas is light to medium, though it is very buildable, and they also have an intensive formula, which is medium to heavy coverage. I usually don't use their intensive formula (anything too heavy dries out my skin) but I love their matte and semi matte formulas. Many women also like their original glow formula, though some people say it's too shiny and others say it's perfect. I just got a sample of the original glow, I've only used it once but I thought it was too shiny for me. I love their matte and semi-matte formulas because it doesn't dry out my dehydrated skin yet controls oil. I don't really wear makeup for coverage or to hide flaws but I wear it to keep my dry yet oily skin in check, and also for some sunscreen, so I usually don't wear foundation most days but when I do I usually reach for this one. Note: because their formulas are higher in mica, and lower in titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, it would stand to reason the sunscreen properties of this line is lower than other mmu lines that use titanium dioxide or zinc oxide as their first ingredients.

Foundation color I wear: I am of Chinese descent and my skin is light-medium strong yellow with a lot of golden tones and a hint (and I really do mean a hint!) of olive. The color I wear is: winged butter. It is usually hard for me to find an exact match because I don't have the lightest skin, but my skin is not medium either, but falls in between. But this color is perfect for me :)

Blush:I am not really a blush person but as I've gotten a few free sample blushes, I've tried them. I like their product because the colors are very wearable, light in pigmentation, and blendable. Very nice formulation.

Eye shadows: Most of the time I wear my own (eye shadows are the color cosmetics I use the most), but I was pleasantly surprised at their eye shadows. I've heard from other women on some forums that they usually are not pigmented enough but I found this not to be true with their two newest colors (I have no idea on how pigmented their other colors are though). I like how the colors stayed put and the pigmentation was very rich. I've only tried two colors so far (which were free, but they were full size!) but they were very beautiful.

Concealers:I don't use concealers most of the time but ended up with some samples from the sample kit (see below). Usually I can not wear concealers because most concealers are too heavy in coverage so dry me out and settle into my pores (I have very fine textured skin). But this is one of the only lines in which I've been able to wear their concealer without it settling. Sunlight is nice for those days when I don't get enough sleep and don't want to wear a full foundation.


Lippies:
I've only tried one lippie so far. I really love how it glides on my lips and the texture. It leaves the lips plump and also shiny (but not too shiny)! The color I got was cherry fizz. It is a medium pink color, but this lippie doesn't have too much pigmentation--perfect for a day look. My lips are very naturally pink so it didn't give my lips much color but made them a little shiny. A good natural look with a little oomph! Love the formula so next time will choose a color that's not that close to my lip color! Note:I just read on a forum and also checked their site to be sure, but they have reformulated their lippies. They are supposed to be more pigmented now and the texture is supposed to be different too. More pigmentation=great, but I'll have to try their new formula now to see if I like the texture and glide or not!


Cream:
A very simple, waterless cream (so technically a balm not a cream). I like using this all over. For the face, I think it would be better for those with dry and normal skin; it may benefit some people with oily skin but others it will be too heavy. (Be sure to apply to damp skin/dampen skin with toner). Great on the hands and neck area! Smiled when I saw hydrogenated vegetable oil as an ingredient, ha!

Samples:
I highly recommend people getting either their samples to start out with. They offer a free sample kit (you just pay shipping) in which you get
full 3 gram jars of three foundations, a concealer, and a blush/face color (your choice). They say on their website it's only enough for 3-6 applications but honestly it's really enough for a lot more! I apply makeup with a very light hand (one light coat) and if I wear it every day, their samples last me about a month or more. Most people wear more foundation, so this will usually last others at least a week or two (I don't think I've ever met anyone yet, or talked to anyone on the forums that applies as little foundation as I do). I like to use them when I travel.

Kits:
They also offer many great kits, which end up being a lot less expensive than buying the product individually--and they are inexpensive to begin with! I just got their custom kit for $32.00, in which you can choose your own products--so I got 3 vegan brushes, 2 full size foundations, and the cherry fizz lippie. In addition they were having a weekly special when I bought from them a couple months ago so I also got a lot of free specials: 3 other brushes and two beautiful full size eye shadows. Be sure to check their website for weekly specials!

I will be reviewing the brushes in another entry, but they are fantastic: very nice!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Li,

Are hydrogenated oils bad for skin? I did a quick google and it says it's bad to eat compared to nonhydrogenated but did not find anything about skin care.

Thanks, Kris

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad to hear that you have had the same positivt experience from Everyday Minerals as I have. I just got my first free samples the other day and I'm already in love! This is the first time I ever try mineral foundation but now I don't think I will ever go back to regular foundation. I was amazed how well it covers my blemishes although it feels as if I'm not wearing any makeup at all.

Since I didn't order a brush I just use my regular blush brush, but it still looks great. Now I have ordered the kabuki brush and I guess it will probably improve the results even more, if possible.

I've had problems with rash on my forehead, I'm guessing due to the heavy foundations I've been using every day for the last couple of years, but after only one day of using the mineral foundation the rash is almost completely gone!

I think I have found the perfect shade, "Medium Beige Neutral" in Original Glo, actually the first one I tried. I have somewhat dry skin and it gives it a healthy glow. Yesterday in school four people asked me if I had done something to my hair. Since I hadn't I'm thinking it has something to do with my new makeup :)

I was about to try Bare Escentuals foundation at first, but then I stumbled upon EM and I'm glad I did. I live in Sweden and here the BE foundation costs about $65(!) whereas I can buy EM from their website for $12, and the quality seems to be just as good or even better.

Take care!

Solarkat said...

Hi Sandra

Sorry for the late response (I'm a grad student/working on thesis)

Thanks so much for posting and your comments. Great to hear that you love it! EDM is a wonderful company!

Cheers,
Li

Solarkat said...

Hi Kris

I am pretty sure I answered this question a few months ago (if you are the same Kris that emailed me or posted on the forum about this! :) ).

But I just saw this very old blog entry I never answered so wasn't sure if you were the same Kris or not. So if you aren't, sorry for the extremely late response.

But a short answer: they are probably fine for the skin, or at least there hasn't been much research done on this. I've used them in skincare and have never had a reaction.

Cheers,
Li

carson.krislov@gmail.com said...

I am an environment beat reporter for the Medill News Service in Washington DC. Do you have an email address?

Thank you,
Carson
carson.krislov@gmail.com

Solarkat said...

Hi Carson Krislov

Thanks for posting :) It's solarkatsecoblog@yahoo.com

Cheers,
Li