The Perfect Make-Under - Natural Beauty Restored (Sheer Cover Mineral Makeup in General)

Member Name: Teena2003

Product:	Sheer Cover Mineral Makeup in General
Date:	22/04/09 (482 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: perfect cover, easy to apply, brushes included in first kit

Disadvantages: expensive, not everybody can find their perfect colour, top ups every 3 months, customer service

Mineral make up are the buzz words at the moment. Wherever you go, whatever you watch, there is bound to be someone raving about the advantages of pure mineral make up.

For the longest time I favoured Max Factor, don't ask me why, my skin just seemed to like it despite being rather sensitive to almost all soap, creams or foundations. But over the last year or so I changed my opinion. I decided to try the new revolution of mineral make up and ordered from a number of companies, Bare Escentuals (who actually have a small booth in Selfridges on London's Oxford Street) and UK based Lily Lolo. I was fairly happy with both companies for a while, happily mixing products to make them fit my skin and lifestyle.

One night, unable to sleep I watched a couple of infomercials on one of the satellite channels. And this is how I discovered Sheer Cover® Mineral Makeup. The spokesperson for this line of make-up seems to be American television personality Leeza Gibbons (I know her name and face but can't place her in anything). Leeza had actress Alyssa Milano as a guest in the studio with her explaining the product when I saw it.

Of course, infomercials are there to sell you products but for the first time ever I was almost tempted to phone up there and then to order the product. What I saw on screen was what I was after, simplicity perfected. It seemed that Sheer Cover® Mineral Makeup was the next step up from Bare Escentuals which sometimes left my skin looking a little blotchy. If the product only delivered half of what it promised I would be delighted.

After reading up online about Sheer Cover® Mineral Makeup I decided to take the plunge and order online.


=== How to order ===

There are only two ways of ordering, by calling the telephone number on the TV screen or check out www.sheercover.co.uk (there is a US version but I doubt they will allow you to order even though it would be cheaper - they seem to take pounds for dollars so the price seems to be like for like even if the exchange rate isn't plus they offer free shipping on their products - why do UK customers always seem to lose out).

I don't know how easy the telephone ordering service is but I am sure you will be able to talk to efficient people who will separate you from your hard earned cash if you are willing to spend. I prefer online ordering and after checking out what I could get for my money, opted for the 30 day introductory kit at £29.95 plus p&p charged at £5.95.

There is the deluxe kit for £59.85 plus p&p but I wasn't going to spend that amount on a product I wasn't sure about. I was sure I would know after a month if I liked Sheer Cover® Mineral Makeup or not and didn't want to spend twice the amount in case I didn't like it (no matter if the pots were a lot bigger, if I didn't like it, it would still be money wasted.)

Of course, if you don't like the product, just pack everything up and send it back - their 60 day guarantee allows you to return the products, even if you used all the product. They will not refund p&p so you will lose out on postage.

I opted for the medium shade as it appeared to be closest to my natural skin colour and from what I read it was the best one for me. I have read and heard from customers who had very light/fair skin and found even the lightest foundation too dark.


=== Introducing the Introductory Kit ===

A few days after ordering you will receive your package via courier. The innocent looking white box contains a treasure trove of beauty delights, beautifully wrapped in a see-through white ribbon tied bag. What you will find when you untie the sheer bag is:

2 x Mineral Foundation in two shades (1.5g each) - (in the shade of your preference, light, medium, tan or dark)

Duo Concealer in two shades (1.5g) - ( will allow you to mix two creamy colours to match your skin tone closest to your own to cover up blemishes, to conceal and cover up)

Extra-Length Mascara (4ml)

Conditioning Cleanser (60ml)

Nourishing Moisturiser with SPF15 (30ml)

BONUS GIFTS

4 Studio Quality Makeup Brushes (not unlike the Bare Escentuals kit you receive A concealer, foundation and contouring brush but my guess it's made from animal fur and I react badly to it, have to use my own synthetic brushes to avoid red spots and blotches)

Sheer Colour® Compact (travel brush with powder compartment for on the go touch ups - very poor quality brush, constantly losing hairs from the brush, not well made at all)

6 days, 6 ways Lip to Lid Highlighter Sampler Card (a compact with brush and different lip gloss and eye shadows)

Sheer Cover® Tips & Tricks DVD (showing you how to apply the make-up, also included is brochure with more items from the range)


=== Making the best of what you've got ===

Unless you have used mineral make-up before, I would suggest to actually watch the DVD that comes with the package. It will tell you all the basics as well as tips and tricks how to apply the product. Unlike ordinary make up, it does take some getting used to, in particular to get the shades just right and making sure that the product is not too light or too dark. The DVD gives you step by step instructions.

Sheer Cover® was not the first mineral make-up I used so I was fully aware of what I needed to do, how to mix the two shades and how to apply with the supplied brushes - or in my case, use my own brushes to avoid any problems with flare ups and over sensitivity to some animal hair based brushes.

The mineral foundations arrive in two sifter pots and it is suggested to use the lids of the pots to mix your foundation in. This is all fine and well if the lids are of a larger size. The introductory offer only has small pots so swirling the brushes in the lids is often counterproductive and you are likely to brush the powder out of the lids and onto the floor. I use an old lid from a compact powder that I still have to mix the foundation to mimic my own skin shade.

At the beginning with new brushes you will notice that you need more powder than the advertised amounts (of very little). Once the brushes are sufficiently full with powder you will notice that 'a little goes a very long way'.

The instructions say to swirl the brush in the powder, then tap on the edge of the lid to get rid of the excess, then starting either at the chin and working your way around your face, or starting at the nose and working your way out, you start applying the Sheer Cover®.

I have to admit, the first couple of times I was not impressed and I was glad I didn't try it before going out for the evening but one quiet morning with nothing else to do. It took me a couple of days before I managed to get the perfect mix of the two shades and found that using my synthetic small kabuki brush was the perfect vessel to apply and build up the foundation.

Don't be fooled when the show you on television that just by lightly sweeping your foundation brush over your face you will cover all imperfections and you will look flawless and airbrushed. You have to slowly build up the layers and while it takes a good few minutes as a beginner, once you have the hang of it will be a short process and I can now apply perfect make-up in under a minute. Also, you will have to work the minerals into your skin which means you have to apply some pressure even though you might resist it at the beginning, believe me, the results are so much better.

The result, however, when you get it right, is sheer perfection. The powder will ever so slightly turn into a creamy substance and will cover and camouflage a multitude of imperfections.

I have sensitive skin that is still prone to the occasional outbreak of spots. However, since using Sheer Cover® I have not experienced flare ups.
There is no need to use a finishing powder of any kind, my skin look perfect without it and there is no need for touch ups during the day. The only time I do add an extra layer - or apply fresh - is when I am going out and need to look fresh.

My skin looks fresh and natural without 'demarcation lines' where liquid make up shows or clogged up pores.


=== It's not all gold that glitters ===

Experiencing almost flawless skin does not come cheap. When you order your first delivery you will automatically be added to the club and every three months you will receive top ups through the post costing you £59.95 plus p&p. If you wish to spread the cost you can pay in three equal instalments.

I contacted their customer service the moment I received an email alerting me that my follow up parcel was ready. I explained that is used so little that I still had more than enough to last me for another month and I asked them to hold the 'deluxe' three months supply for another month. They were happy to do that and before the end of the second month I got another email alerting me that my parcel was due to be dispatched.

Not everybody can use mineral make up and it is hard to find the perfect mix of colours, in particular if you only have two to play with, sometimes you may need more than that. I happily mix Sheer Cover® and Bare Escentuals to get the perfect colour, although the latter often dries out my skin so I do not use too much of it. I also have to be very careful not to mix it with products from the Lily Lolo range as they make my skin look like I applied talc.


=== Ingredients ===

Sheer Cover® Mineral Makeup contains

Active Ingredients: Boron Nitride, Bisabolol, Aspalathus Linearis Leaf Extract, May Contain (+/-): Zinc Oxide, Bismuth Oxychloride, Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Iron Oxides.

It does not contain contain oils, perfumes, dyes or talc.


Sheer Cover® Mineral Makeup is part of the Guthy-Renker group

Established in 1988, Guthy-Renker is today one of the world's largest direct response television companies with sales of more than $1.8 Billion per year and an average annual growth rate of 25% over the last 10 years.

Originally launched as a television direct marketer by Co-CEOs Bill Guthy and Greg Renker, the independently-owned, vertically-integrated company has since broadened its focus into every area of electronic retailing, making quality products available to U.S. and international consumers through broadcast television, cable and satellite, as well as internet, telemarketing, direct mail, and retail channels.

© http://www.guthy-renker.com


=== Customer dis-service ===

I was happy for a while but lately things have gone horribly wrong. I had postponed a delivery by a month and instead of taking the money in instalments as I had requested, they took the lot. Suddenly missing £65.00 from your account when you expected no more than £25.00 was a bit of a shock.

Sending an email to the address on the Sheer Cover® website had it bounce back unanswered - in Swedish (a language I actually still speak fairly well). I called customer service, again freephone number is an advantage, and was told that they never send follow up emails confirming changes, it is up to the customer to remember who they spoke to and what was said. I work in customer services myself and we have to follow up changes in writing if there is time, or by phone all if time is too short.

What Sheer Cover® are doing is hide behind their terms & conditions when you talk to them. They are inflexible and their standard answer is "it's all on the website" or "it tells you on the back of the invoice".

I understand that I have to make sure that I remember things but it's human to forget and if a company doen't bother to update files properly then it is a receipe for disaster.

If I pay a premium I expect premium service. In the USA they offer free delivery (UK p&p is £5.95). The USA deliver via FED EX within 5-7days, in the UK you have to wait up to 28 day although delivery is normally within 14 days)

I told the customer service person that I would refuse the parcel and expect a full refund including p&p. As much as I like the product, I really do not like to be taken for a ride.



© Tempus_Fugit/Teena2003

Summary: Preserving beauty without preservatives - mineral make-up