Product Review – Mineral Foundations

A word of advice regarding pressed mineral powders... If you are going to use these products as a foundation product alone, you will have a much better result if you apply a primer first. A primer will help the product adhere to your skin, and will fill in any pores or lines before you approach with these multi-dimensional powders. I have chosen to look only at the pressed powder compacts in this review.

MAC - Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
The MAC website advises this product is a low coverage powder which can also be used to set and fix liquid foundation, or for touch ups throughout the day. Without doing my own research, I bought this product thinking it be a duplicate or perhaps an up-market version of the Pur Minerals range. The sales person at MAC sold it to me as a lighter coverage mineral foundation for days when I can’t be bothered to apply a full face. Follow the same rule of thumb as mentioned in the review below for brushes to use for the coverage you prefer.

In my opinion this product is a poor comparison to the Pur minerals pressed powder when used as a foundation alone. My complexion can be quite ruddy and this powder just won’t hide the redness or pigmentation no matter how much powder I apply. It is excellent when used for its intended purpose such as setting my Studio Tech or liquid foundation. No obvious shimmer in this product but the finish is not quite matte either. The powder is baked and I have barely made a dent in my product despite regularly attacking it vigorously with a MAC Kabuki brush.

Product size = 10 grams
AUD Price $46.00 ($4.60 per gram)
USD Price $25.00 ($2.50 per gram)

PUR Minerals – Pressed Mineral Makeup Foundation with SPF15
Includes a sponge & mirror well hidden in the base however the sponge is not really intended for applying the product, just touching up if required. For a light coverage apply with a fluffy powder brush, for a medium coverage try a Kabuki style buffer brush like the MAC 182 or the Sigma SS182. For full coverage apply with a dense flat top chisel brush, like the Sigma SS197. Pur minerals sell their own chisel brush but I find this a little scratchy on my skin. To cover spots or under eye shadows you can apply a little extra powder with a small fluffy brush however I prefer to apply a separate concealer to my trouble areas before applying the powder.

I use this powder on days where I don’t need a full face on, however this product gives excellent coverage and does cover my very red cheeks quite well until about lunchtime, and then needs a touch up. Its intended use is as a foundation / concealer / powder all in one however you can use it over a liquid foundation to set it too. The finish is quite matte so be sure to add a touch of blush.

Product size = 8 grams
AUD Price $49.50 ($6.19 per gram)
USD Price $24.50 ($3.06 per gram)
Buy online from TVSN http://www.tvsn.com.au/ in Australia or http://www.purminerals.com/ in the US.

BEFORE: Note the redness and freckles are very obvious















AFTER: Although the lighting is a little different you can see the redness and most freckles are well covered. I applied Pur Minerals in LIGHT using a flat top chisel brush - Sigma SS197. For this photo, I hadn’t even used primer, just threw it on my bare face at the end of a hot day!