Mineral Makeup
By Karina | January 16, 2008
When I was in Georgia visiting my family, my cousin, aunt and I went to a cosmetics store and tried out mineral makeup. Have you heard? It’s so 2006, but it’s still a popular and trendy cosmetic. It’s marketed as natural, without chemicals, and as something that will protect your skin from environmental hazards. Part of their popularity is that they’ve been advertised as environmentally friendly, because (as one article states) “Mineral makeup … is made from naturally occurring minerals like iron oxides, mica powder and titanium dioxide. This means that the ingredients you are slathering on your face on a daily basis come straight from the earth, not from some chemist’s lab.” And this article goes a step further and states that “mineral makeup is free of toxic chemicals.”
bareMinerals is one of the most heavily advertised brands, and they state
We pride ourselves in the quality of ingredients that nature offers us. Please be assured that bareMinerals never has nor will contain preservatives and other chemical ingredients. It’s just as important what’s not in bareMinerals as it is what is in them. We advise you to read your labels. Because we only use the purest, cleanest ingredients, we are able to offer you the look of bare skin while giving you the full coverage you desire without the chemicals your skin doesn’t need. This is critical in giving you the 100% natural look and no makeup feel — a unique distinguishing feature of our bareMinerals.
It sounds pretty good, right? I tried on a couple of kinds in the shop before purchasing Pur Mineral Makeup, which I liked because it includes shea butter - which I use as my sole moisturizer anyway - so it’s better for people with dry skin. From their webpage:
Pür Minerals combines the finest in technology, with the finest in nature, to produce high quality mineral based color cosmetics, treatment products and our claim to fame, the 4-in-1 Pressed Mineral Makeup that works for all women, all ages, and all skin types.
Pür Minerals products contain the finest micronized minerals that give you excellent coverage yet look and feel as if they are part of your skin. Our products contain no harsh chemical dyes, just pure pigments from minerals. There is also no fragrance to irritate, no talc to dry or dull skin, no oil to clog pores and no fillers to take up space. We have even taken our minerals one step further by adding Shea Butter & Vitamin E to bind them together. You get the fantastic “good for your skin” benefits without any of the traditional mineral mess.
Again, sounds pretty great, right? I don’t usually wear foundation or powder but I wanted to give this a try. And I liked it - it evened out my skin tone, which is on the pinkest side of pink, and I could apply it directly to problem spots as well.
And then our Special Waste Correspondent Michelle started to research it before purchasing, and she uncovered some really interesting information. Apparently all those pure minerals? from natural sources? Also include some not-so-pure stuff. For example: bismuth oxychloride.
I had never heard of bismuth oxychloride! but there is a pretty solid review of mineral makeups on WebMD and they say:
A pearlizing agent that gives mineral makeup that “candlelight glow,” bismuth oxychloride is a mineral, but it’s not found in the earth. Bismuth is a byproduct of lead and copper processing. Bismuth oxychloride is also frequently used to fill or “bulk up” or bind products, says Adams, and some say it comes with a heavy price.
“Bismuth oxychloride is considered a skin irritant and can cause itching and rashes and in large amounts it can cause cystic acne as well – it’s one of the ingredients you should try to avoid if you have acne or rosacea or sensitive skin,” says Frew, who also reminds us that some products in a line have this ingredient, while others do not. “Some products also contain very little, so it doesn’t act like an irritant, but you won’t know until you try it.”
A byproduct of the lead and copper processing industries? that doesn’t sound natural to me. Those industries are highly regulated and pretty toxic. Regardless of that, if you read the description of production of bismuth oxychloride on wikipedia, does that sound natural to you?
So now I don’t know what to do. I don’t really need to wear foundation and frankly, I’m happier without it. And I really don’t want to support the lead and copper industry (though I’m glad they’re finding a home for all of their byproducts). I guess sometimes a girl just likes to feel like she’s doing something fancy, and sometimes a girl can accomplish that by putting on a little powder before going out in the evening. Plus, while the idea of these minerals being mined from the ground and then refined was a little weird, I did love the idea of having some makeup without a giant list of multisyllabic ingredients.
And special waste correspondent Michelle isn’t sure what to do either - there is a girl with true combination skin (acne prone, sensitive, and dry), and while she’s interested in the concept, she is NOT interested in putting something known to irritate skin onto her face.
I have come across a brand called Alima during my research - they’re bismuth oxychloride free, and also don’t test on animals. I may order a sample to see how it feels - maybe it’s psychosomatic but now that I know that my mineral makeup is a possible irritant I have noticed that it’s drying around my nose and eyebrows! Do any of you have additional recommendations? Any mineral or other types of makeup that work well for you?
Additional resources:
- Treehugger’s take on organic mineral makeup.
- The Environmental Working Groups Skin Deep Database has some information about mineral makeup.
- and the EWG also answers the question: is mineral based makeup safe?
photo by cristina101 via creative commons.
Topics: Health |
I’ve been using mineral makeup for about a year, and I love it. I’m fair skinned with darkness under my eyes and ocasional to frequent blemishes, and mineral makeup just seems to do a good job “covering” while still looking and feeling “natural”. I used a company called Mineral Basics. Here’s the page where they address bismuth oxychloride: http://mineralbasics.com/store/what_is.php and they also have a full list of their ingredients: http://mineralbasics.com/store/ingredients.php. Hope this helps!
thanks! I am also fair skinned, don’t sleep enough aka darkness under the eyes, and occasional blemishes.
I’ve been using Alima for a couple of years and I love it. It’s also a bargain, it costs less than Bare Minerals.
I like also that Alima has very affordable sample sizes. Thanks for the input!
Afterglow Cosmetics is free of bismuth oxychloride and ranks very well on Skin Deep.
I recently ended up purchasing from Everyday Minerals after trying samples from both companies. Last I checked, Everyday isn’t on Skin Deep, but has the same ingredients (from what I could tell) and no bismuth oxychloride. Their prices are also more affordable.
what made you choose every day minerals over afterglow?
It seemed to sit differently on my skin. The afterglow made the blackheads on the end of my nose stand out on several occasions. There might have been other factors involved, but since everday minerals was cheaper anyway…
I’ve been using Aromaleigh mineral make up and it’s great.
http://www.aromaleigh.com/
I like that they have more natural and totally weird colors. I use the Eyeliner sealant for putting on the glitter or making the bright colors brighter and stick around longer (for stage work).
The BO in Bare Minerals makes my skin itch, and I don’t like the oil slick shimmer that comes from it either.
I’ve heard good things about Everyday Minerals too.
I just checked their color charts and it’s so intimidating to try and pick a shade! they do have a lot of great variety.
I went through two rounds of samples before I found the correct one (shipping on samples is free!). They also have forums, so you may get more info (or ask questions) there.
Right after I posted my last comment I bought a new container of foundation and went wild with sample: mineral hues, glittery eyeliner colors, and concealers!
ha! i like how you referred to it as “BO” while i suspect it wouldn’t make my skin smell, as the abbreviation would imply, “BO” certainly embraces the unwanted sentiment!
Mary Kay now makes a mineral foundation, I just tried it, but I am not sure how I feel yet. I don’t know if I like the coverage compared to their liquid foundation. I thought it would be less time consuming than regular foundation, but I am not sold on that yet either.
I was planning on asking you what you thought, Sarah!
As an added bonus, Alima takes back their jars and rewards your stewardship with a free eyeshadow of your choice! And get this, they’re so serious that:
“2. Pack them in recyclable materials like paper or cardboard. Items sent in bubble wrap, packing peanuts or other non-recyclable materials will not be eligible for the rewards program.”
https://secure.alimacosmetics.com/alima-mineral-cosmetics-jar-return.html
that sounds great! maybe we should have a sampling ordering party and try them all out?
i was nervous after reading this article. i’ve been using jane iredale’s mineral makeups for about a year and my skin adores it. i’ve never gotten so many compliments on my skin. i teach yoga and ride a bicycle every day and this stuff stays lovely through everything! i wrote to ask them about bismuth oxychloride and this is what they had to say, to my great delight:
Thank you for your inquiry. Early in 2007, we changed the formulas for
our PurePressed Base, Amazing Base, Eye Shadows and Blush by removing
bismuth oxychloride and adding more boron nitride. For a complete list
of ingredients, please visit our website at
http://www.janeiredale.com/janesguide/jg_ingred.html. There are still
products out there with the previous formula. This can be determined by
reading the ingredients on the box and seeing the batch number on the
bottom of the product, which would end with the letters “BN”.
For best results, we do recommend in-person shopping whenever possible,
because it allows you to try out the products and get more personalized
service. For a list of retailers in your area, please check out our
“Where to Buy” page at
http://www.janeiredale.com/wheretobuy/wheretobuy.html.
Sincerely,
Christine
Iredale Mineral Cosmetics
what a great response, and great customer service!
Hi
i know that most mineral makeup claim to be natural but the only one that has NO fillers is Elixir of Eden from Australia
It has no chemicals, no bismuth oxychloride, no boron nitirde, no talc, no dimethicone…NOTHIN artificial!
just zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, iron oxide and ultramarine pigment.
It also has TWICE the levels of zinc oxide so its got twice the UV & skin protection of Jane Iredale!
Try a sample & compare
http://www.elixirofeden.com/anti-aging-mineral-makeup.php
or
www.elixirofeden.com
cheers
shaquetta