Effective and brightening mineral powder (Maybelline Mineral Foundation)

Member Name: ambrosino

Product:	Maybelline Mineral Foundation
Date:	23/10/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good coverage, well-matched colour, reasonable price

Disadvantages: Awfully messy to apply, not ideal for full-face wear

Every make-up manufacturer worth their salt is jumping on the bandwagon at the moment. I think Maybelline have one of the more convincing products out there, and unlike some companies they haven't priced their foundation out of most people's reasonable affordable range.

I wouldn't wear this product on its own - a powder foundation is still a powder, and is never going to provide as natural and easy-looking coverage as a mousse or cream, particularly if you wear it all over the face. Mineral foundations do NOT provide a fix-all - applied too heavily, they all over-mattify the skin and cancel out the natural glow that makes skin attractive, and this one's no exception. If you have problem skin it provides good coverage, though, and it's much more effective than normal powder on blemishes, dabbed and blended discreetly over concealer or a normal light foundation. The colour is good though; it provides a natural match to pale skin, and doesn't have the deadening greyness of the last mineral powder I used. It's a good tidyer-upper.

My other big problem with it is how messy it is to apply. Unless you have a big tidy dressing table to work at, pots of loose powder are always dangerous. It's easy enough to put it where you want it on the skin, it's everywhere else it lands that's the problem. No matter how careful you are, dots of it will flick everywhere, and stain harder than normal powder. Do NOT apply while wearing black! The brush this mineral powder comes with is firm and a good size, though slightly stiff - I prefer to use a proper powder brush, as it picks up slightly less powder and applies it more evenly than Maybelline's brush. It also works VERY well with a medium-large concealer brush, as you can apply it lightly where needed and blend very easily. But it's definitely not a product to use on the go - the recent results from trying to use it on the bus were hilarious, though unfortunate...

All in all, a good workhorse of a product - it's a quick facesaver on spotty days, provides polish for an evening look, and sits well on the skin, but it can be a bit inconvenient and it's definitely not one to take along on a night out. Great for your skin, but a bit of a pain in other respects! But I'll award it a high mark, because it's a good skin product that does what it should.

Summary: A good and convincing introduction to mineral foundation