Be good to your skin! (Maybelline Mineral Foundation)

Member Name: Dooyaa

Product:	Maybelline Mineral Foundation
Date:	17/08/09 (94 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good coverage, skin benefits

Disadvantages: Powdery, expensive,

I have already reviewed the liquid version of this foundation, and for anyone who read that review, you know that my opinion was not very high and I found it to be a completely useless product that swiftly went in the bin after only a couple of weeks. The reason for buying this particular liquid version was simply that I had missed liquid foundation after months of using this product I am reviewing now, Maybelline Pure Foundation Mineral Powder. I had used this for a long time prior to my being unfaithful (it just happened I swear!) and have since gone back to it. For now, this is the foundation I am sticking with, whilst constantly being on the lookout for something else that is going to work as well. So as you can probably tell, my feelings toward this product are mixed. Why?


The product

Maybelline pure foundation mineral powder can be purchased from any Boots or Superdrug, and anywhere else where Maybelline products are usually stocked. My original pot cost £6.99 in an introductory offer but unfortunately this has now gone up to £9.99 which I slightly begrudge as I wouldn't usually spend this much on a foundation and it is a bit of a step up from the £5.99 I was previously paying for Rimmel foundation.
It is a loose powder foundation that comes in a plastic pot. The powder is held in an underneath compartment and a plastic filter slide with small holes allows powder to pass through onto a plate where it can be collected. There are 8g of powder in the tub. It comes in various shades, although not half as many as a professional makeup brand such as M.A.C can offer, and I purchased 02 rose ivory, which seems to be the palest one I can find so far.

What is different about this product compared to other foundations is its use of micro minerals. It contains no preservatives, perfumes, talc or oil and all of this is supposed to be beneficial to your skin, not clogging pores, allowing skin to breathe and providing the supposed benefits of minerals. Now, I always take these claims with a pinch of salt because no matter how many minerals they pack into these things, this is still only a powder which sits on the top layer of your skin and so the effect it has will be purely superficial. Any real improvements to skin always come from within such as following a proper diet and even the most advanced creams cannot fully penetrate the skin, so don't expect this product to produce skin miracles, it simply can't. It can however, prevent the skin problems that are directly CAUSED by horrible clogging foundations and thus can help to prevent spots.

The application
One thing unusual about this product is that it comes with its very own brush. It is a small kabuki brush, which has long bristles like a normal powder brush but with an odd little stubby handle. These brushes supposedly have denser bristles allowing finer and more thorough application and the small handle allows precision, making sure you can direct the product exactly where you want it to go. Personally, I like these little brushes and have kept them for applying all kinds of other makeup. They are small enough to be very compact and portable but big enough so it doesn't take forever to apply any makeup!! I find the bristles on them can be a bit hit and miss though - sometime you get a pot and the brush that comes with it is really soft and nice on your skin (but with the downside of being harder to control) or sometimes they are quite solid and provide real concentrated coverage but feel really rough on skin. They do harden slightly with use as powder gets into the bristles.

So to apply, you shake up the pot of product to deposit powder onto the slide, open the tub, and swoosh your kabuki brush around in the powder. Then tap the brush on the side to rid yourself of any excess (unless you like to look chalky) then BUFF the powder into your skin. This is important. Use circular motions in the hand rather than simply dusting it over your face like you might do with a normal face powder. Et VOILA!!

The pros
* Coverage is good if you apply quite a lot of product. Very good in fact, this does get one up on liquid foundation in that the very directed application gives you block coverage leading to practically flawless skin, with a nice soft velvety finish. Very nice.

* It does have a good effect on your skin with continued use. I find that my skin feels smoother and evened out in tone, plus it prevents breakouts that for me used to be so regular. Now they are limited to one or two mild spots a month that are easily covered using my mineral secret weapon!!
* It last for quite a long time, being powder. Liquid foundation has the tendency to slide off skin, particularly if you have oily skin. Powder however has a lot more staying power with the added bonus of mattifying if you have oily skin (which I don't by the way, so this is going to also be in the cons if you keep reading). I would say I get almost a full days wear out of this and it definitely withstands a night out in all its sticky glory.


The cons

* The cons all boil down to one thing and one thing only. I MISS LIQUID!! I miss the ease of being able to squirt out a load of foundation onto my hands and rub it in in like 2 seconds, this take forever to apply properly even if I would say the coverage is slightly better than liquid and definitely takes less product to achieve. I miss the smooth and dewy finish that you get from liquid, instead of feeling like I have rubbed my face with chalk (and it does sit on your skin feeling very chalky indeed). I feel like everyone can see it, everyone KNOWS! For dry skin like mine, it can cake and look dry on bad skin days, and when it happens I throw myself on the bed, bury my head in a pillow and swear I am not leaving the house, much to my flatmates' amusement.
But I am stuck for now, because I just cannot find that elusive liquid foundation that will give me this awesome coverage (and it is awesome) that I simply MUST have as well as not making me break out in spots every five seconds. Sigh, the search continues...and I feel it is going to end up costing me a lot of money...

* Also, I forgot, the price of this is slightly steep for sponging students like me. Not outrageous, and probably worth it, ish, but just a couple of pounds more than I like to pay for foundation.
* You don't get that much in a pot. If you use a lot, like I do (flawless skin is an obsession of mine) then it doesn't last very long, making the price even more annoying.


My verdict

I do like this product. It isn't perfect, but I have yet to find one that meets my impossibly high standards and so far this is one of the best I have tried. I will repurchase and I would recommend it, with a warning about its powderness. I know that that's obvious, because duh, its a powder foundation but I warn you you never know just how much you will miss liquid until its gone :( or maybe that's just me...

Summary: My new beauty staple