Why you should use mineral makeup

31 Days to a Greener and Healthier Life (Day 4)

January 4th, 2010 Zee

Day 4 – Pretty up with mineral make-up.

What: Mineral makeup is more than just a new beauty trend – it’s also helping save the environment. It’s called “mineral makeup” because the products are made of all natural, finely ground minerals from the earth, without any of the chemicals, dyes, and preservatives found in traditional makeup. Today, mineral makeup is virtually exploding the beauty market. Because mineral makeup frequently eliminates classic “irritants” – like fragrances, binders, synthetic dyes, and preservatives, it is considered purer and kinder to the skin. It’s also less likely to clog your pores! A lot of mineral makeup includes built-in protection against the sun’s UVA/UVB rays, so your face will be protected from the damaging affects of the sun.

Why: What’s so fab about eco-friendly makeup? Mineral make-up contains no talc, mineral oil, alcohol, artificial colors, synthetic dyes or parabens – which means you’re getting none of the pollution, animal testing, or embodied energy associated with conventional products. This means that the ingredients you are slathering on your face on a daily basis come straight from the earth, not some chemist’s lab. Removing these ingredients from the manufacturing process also means removing a ghastly list of potentially toxic chemicals from your skin routine, and from the water system when you wash it off – so you can forget about polluting your body and our waterways.

How:

Take out all your make-up products and throw out bottles or compacts that are more than 9 months old. Regular makeup contains oils can go rancid, and dead skin cells from your face can accumulate in your compacts and can damage your skin! After getting rid of those old makeup containers, get rid of old makeup brushes as well.
Next, list down the cosmetics that you use the most. Do you wear blush and eye shadow everyday, or are you the kind who’s just happy with powder and lipstick? These are the items that need to be replaced with mineral makeup. Those that you use more sparingly can wait until your old makeup runs out.
Do your mineral makeup research. Shop around for the best products online, and check out deals. Don’t forget to check out brushes as well. Did you know that different kinds of mineral makeup require different brushes for application? Our advice? Get fresh new brushes. You wouldn’t want to spoil the new stuff with old makeup residue and dead skin cells!
If you’d like to test the products before purchasing, pop into a Sephora or any other beauty store where you can test the many mineral items available. If there’s not one near your area, ask friends who have been using mineral make-up and ask if you can test theirs the next time you meet.

Check out this mineral makeup buying guide for more ideas!

TIP: Before choosing natural mineral makeup, read mineral makeup reviews. Nothing like someone else’s experience to help you make a decision.

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Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 8:00 amand is filed under 31 Days To A Greener And Healthier Life, Earth Warrior Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Danika Carter

Be sure to read labels. Many conventional companies are calling their powder foundations "mineral" makeups because they put minerals in them, but they put a lot of nasty stuff in there, too. There really shouldn't be more than 4 or 5 ingredients in mineral makeup. I also like it because I'm not the best about washing my face at night. And I find it quicker to apply than liquid foundation. I have oily skin, so mineral make up works much better for me and, I can still see my freckles :) The SPF protection is just right for days when I'm not spending a lot of time in the sun.

I use Miessence. It's certified by the Biological Farmers of Australia, so you know there's nothing in it that shouldn't be. BFA registration requires at least 70% organically produced agricultural ingredients. Any remaining can be non-agricultural substances (eg, clay, bicarb soda, minerals) or non-organically produced agricultural ingredients, with strict processing criteria (eg. absolutely no GMOs or synthetics chemicals). For Miessence, anything that CAN be certified organic IS. Everything else are natural, non-agricultural ingredients (mica, zinc & iron oxides)
puremineralmakeup

One reason I use naturally pure mineral makeup is that it is friendly to our environment. And there are several more:

* My skin LOVES it!
* I can be creative & make my own shades by mixing the basics.
* Great quality doesn't have to cost a fortune.
* You can bring it on airplanes.

Be sure to read ingredients labels. Some companies are still putting nasty things in their mineral makeup, even though it's not necessary to.

The people I know who haven't had good luck with it are either using a brand with cheap fillers, or they are not using a good moisturizer. If you're switching from a liquid foundation to a powder, you'll want to replace the moisture you would have gotten in your liquid makeup. Then you will get that beautiful look you see on TV.