Mineral Fusion Makeup and skin care touts its products as “minerals on a mission.” Their goal is to beautify with natural products that also help to simplify your routine. I first found Mineral Fusion displayed at at a Whole Foods showcase (you can get these products at other retailers as well, both online and off-line). What initially impressed me was the makeup–natural colors that were easy to understand and use. Mineral Fusion makeup is triple-milled so the powders are silky and easy to apply. They use pressed powder instead of the typical loose powder in a shaker jar. This, I consider a real plus, because no matter how many loose powder products I try, and how many application tips I’ve learned, I still find loose powder terribly messy. But I do like the sheer, natural results of most mineral makeup.
Another nice thing about Mineral Fusion is that they give back. A portion of Mineral Fusion’s profits support the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a nice touch since women are the biggest users of mineral makeup. Mineral fusion cosmetics have natural minerals, of course, but also (depending upon the product) includes a melange of good for your skin ingredients such as licorice root extract, cucumber extract, mangosteen, papaya, hyaluronic acid, allantoin, shea butter, greet tea, grape seed, jojoba oil, olive oil, marine clay, meadowfoam, calendulam aloe vera, organic aloe, cocoa butter, white tea, red tea, sea kelp, pomegranate, plus Vitamins C and E. It’s exhausting just writing them all down! However, these ingredients are good for your skin, and are proven to provide good skincare benefits.
I checked out a couple of Mineral Fusion makeup products, including a unique, brush-on product that provides an SPF 40 against the sun’s damaging rays. It is good for all skin types. This natural, mineral, UV protection is nearly transparent($24.99) The key ingredients for sun protection are 17.3% Titanium Dioxide and 20.0% zinc oxide. The unscented, 0.7 oz. all-in-one powder with brush delivery system is perfect for travel. SPF 40 is a good amount of sun protection, too, plus it has the benefits of Sea Kelp and Vitamin E for antioxidant protection. My sample must have been a tester, because the push button that would normally deliver the powder through the clear tube to the brush tip, was missing. That was disappointing, but on the regular packaging all you have to do is push the button, and brush on the sun protection.
Mineral Fusion has plenty of other skincare choices grouped by oily, combination, normal and dry/sensitive skin, including a good for all skin types, SPF Mineral Facial Moisturizer with SPF 40 $24.99 3.4 fl. oz. This product features copper, zinc and magnesium and “age defying peptides” to help reduce the signs of aging, as well as 7.5 % Titanium Dioxide and 5 % Zinc oxide UVA/UVB protection. *note that on some deeper skin tones, zinc oxide can leave an ashy look on the skin. I like the light blue tube with copper flip top, but not so much the typical “clay-like” earthy smell of the very thick cream. You can use it both on face and body, saving you space on your shelf. All in all, it’s a nice moisturizing product free of gluten, SLS, parabens, phthlates, artificial colors or synthetic fragrances, it’s 100% vegetarian and not tested on animals.
I also tried a few items of Mineral Fusion makeup. The Pressed Powder Foundation, in a slim, copper compact with interior mirror, is good for travel, and can be applied with a variety of tools, including a puff, sponge, foundation brush, or fluffy brush. All will give you a matte finish with sheer-ish to full coverage, depending upon how, and how much you apply. I like the build-able coverage, but on my skin the product looked a bit flat and dry. I needed to make sure that my dry Winter skin was moisturized well, and then I applied a luminous blush. The powder is hypoallergenic, fragrance, artificial color, talc, paraben, and gluten free, and it has a nice blend of pomegranate, white and red teas, sea kelp, and Vitamins C and E plus soothing licorice root, aloe vera and cucumber. It’s good for all skin types and has (some) natural UV protection (but you still must use a true UVA/UVB product either in a moisturizer or a sun block). Another plus with this pressed powder mineral makeup is that it’s more forgiving if you are stumped as to which color to select, but this makeup still is available in cool, neutral, warm, olive and deep tones. I picked Warm 1, but I think a number of other colors would have been flattering as well. If you prefer, you can get loose powder foundation or a sheer tint in a tube. For travel, however, the pressed powder is my choice.
I also tried one of the Mineral Fusion Lip products, too. There are several lip color formulas including a lip sheer, lip gloss, a lipstick, and a liquid lip gloss. I tried the lip sheer in “Inspire.” It’s very silky and satisfying with Vitamins C and E, Shea butter, jojoba and olive oils, white and red teas, aloe vera, and sea kelp. I liked the gracefully tapered, copper tube, too. I’ve used it often on my Winter-dry lips because it covers enough and is kind to less than perfect skin. Alas, there are only two lip sheer colors, Inspire and Exotic which looks to be a medium pink. In the lipsticks the colors range from a deep berry called Mystery to a range of natural pinks and earthy browns and berries. “Inspire” is a warm, earthy brown that felt amazing on my lips, but the fairly fleshy/nude did nothing to add any color, it just sort of sat there feeling like a semi-sheer lip balm–and that’s how I treated it. An overcoat of a more zesty lip gloss would fix it, but I hope that Mineral Fusion will beef up the color selection because this is truly a lovely lip sheer. Check out more about Mineral Fusion skincare and makeup on their web site: http://www.mineralfusion.com/
