How to Look for Quality Mineral Makeup

I wrote this article on How to Look for Quality Mineral Makeup for my friends at Painted Ladies. But of course, I wanted to share it here as well. Please let me know your thoughts. 🙂

How to Look for Quality Mineral Makeup

When I got into mineral makeup in April 2008, I didn’t know much about it, so I started to try and read everything I could find. Surprisingly, I didn’t see a lot of reviews (there were some) about mineral makeup companies. So I started a blog and reviewed everything I’ve tried. Through my trials, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve also learned a lot by emailing company owners and asking questions. They’ve shared many tips for discerning quality products, which I will now share with you.

When there’s a company that you’re just dying to order from, before you hit that buy button, there are some things you should do.

Do they only make eyeshadow?

Look at the products the company makes. Do they only make eyeshadow? Or do they make other products? Unfortunately, many companies that only make eyeshadow may have poor-quality products or sell repackaged products. Most quality mineral makeup companies sell at least eyeshadow and blush; usually, they sell eyeshadow, foundation, and blush. Lipsticks and lip glosses are a labor of love for small, indie companies, so only some do them.

What are their ingredients?

What are their ingredients? Look to see what they list for ingredients. If a company lists components such as ‘shimmer, pigment, frost,’ that’s not right. Shimmer, pigment, and frost are not FDA-approved ingredients; you can see what is approved here.

Now, you can give the company the benefit of the doubt and email the owner. They may need to learn that they’re listing ingredients improperly. I’ve contacted a few companies who didn’t realize it. Once I spoke to them, they corrected their listings. So there’s no harm in asking.

If the owner gets defensive or hostile, you’ve got an answer, and I would avoid that company.

More information on ingredients

Learning about what ingredients are acceptable in mineral makeup helps, too.

EyeShadows
For eyeshadows, you’ll want to see an ingredients list like the following:

Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), May contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77499, CI 77491, CI 77492), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Ferric Oxide (CI 77491), Tin Oxide (CI 77861), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Silica
(From Aromaleigh’s Gothic Lolita collection.)

Mica, Titanium Dioxide. May contain Tin Oxide, Silica, UltraMarine Blue, Hydrated Chromium Oxide Green, Iron Oxides, Chromium Green Oxide, ferric ferrocyanide, Ultramarines, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Boron Nitride, Bronze Powder, Copper Powder, Silicon Dioxide, Cetyl Dimethicone, Zinc, and Calcium Sodium Borosilicate.
(From Dreamworld Minerals.)

Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Tin Oxide, Zinc Oxide.
(From Glamour Doll Eyes.)

Ingredients like zinc oxide, magnesium myristate, kaolin clay, coated mica, zinc stearatae, carnauba coated mica, silica, etc., should be on the list of ingredients helps an eye shadow to have lasting power and to blend.

It’s also possible to use some eye shadows as blushes. Most mineral makeup eye colors are multipurpose for use on the cheeks. Some can be used on the lips, but others are not lip-safe.

Blushes

Mineral makeup blushes usually are very pigmented, so you can apply them sparingly to get a beautiful flush.
Blushes tend to look like the following:

Sericite Mica, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Stearate.  May contain:  Manganese Violet.
(From Beautiful Girl Minerals.)

mica, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxides, ultramarines
(From Buff’d Cosmetics.)

titanium dioxide, iron oxides, ultra marine pigments.
(From Cory Cosmetics, mica-free blend.)

Foundations

For foundations, you’ll want to see an ingredients list like the following:

Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Oxides
(This is from Meow’s Pampered Puss formula.)

Zinc Oxide, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Kaolin, Magnesium Stearate, Silica
(From Fyrinnae’s Superpower Mineral Foundation.)

Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Zinc Oxide, Pure Silk Powder, Boron, Silica, Iron Oxides, Jojoba Oil (vegetable derived), Magnesium Myristate. May contain ultramarine blue.
(From Purely Cosmetic’s Skin Smoothing foundation.)

Lipsticks

If you’re looking at lip products, you want to see ingredients like the following:

Ingredients: Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil(soybean), Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Elaeis Guineensis (Palm) Kernel Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Ozokerite, Microcrystalline Wax, Sunflower Wax, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E). May contain: Shore Robusta, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter., Garcinia Indica Seed Butter, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter, Coffee arabica (coffee) seed oil, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Cucurbita Pepo {Pumpkin} Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Brassica Abyssinica (Abyssinian) Oil, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Polyethylene Terephthalate(glitter), Flavor, Tin Oxide, Tin Dioxide, Silica, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Palmitic Acid, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Oxides, Manganese Violet, Black 2(Carbon Black), Blue 1, Yellow 5, Red 7, Red 21, Red 27, Red 28, Red 30, Red 33, Red 40, Copper, Bronze.

(From Morgana Minerals.)

Certified Organic Castor and Jojoba Oils, Avocado Oil, Organic Candelilla Wax, Cranberry Oil, Raspberry Oil, Passionfruit Oil, Carnuaba Wax.  Also contains:  Mica, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, FD&C color
(From Silk Naturals.)

Cocoa Butter, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Sesame Oil, Castor Oil, Castor Wax, Candelilla Wax, Macadamia Nut Oil, Vitamin E. Pigment Ingredients: Mica; may contain Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Tin Oxide and Manganese Violet.
(From GeoGrafx Cosmetics.)

Ingredients I suggest avoiding:

Talc, Bismuth Oxychloride, pthalates and parahydroxybenzoate.

To me, talc is often a filler. Bismuth can cause itching, especially for sensitive skin. Pthalates are being phased out of most products in the USA.

Parahydroxybenzoate is also known as Ethylparaben, and it’s often used as a preservative.

Ingredients that I suggest looking at to decide if you want them in your makeup or not:

Parabens like butylparaben, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, and Propylparaben.

Some sites you can look at for more information are:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-methylparaben.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraben

Any Foundation Claims

If the company claims its foundation has an SPF, see how they word it. ‘This offers great SPF protection’ is a phrase to give you pause. If they say that their product does have titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, which offers barrier protection, but that they can’t indicate a specific level of SPF, that is fine. Companies cannot claim a specific SPF rating from the FDA without doing expensive testing. As of right now, the only mineral makeup company that I know of that can make a specific claim is Bare Minerals. They paid a considerable amount of money to get every single shade and every single formula that they offer tested. This is why only a very large company can do such testing. A small, indie company is just not likely to be able to afford it. So if you see one claiming the same thing as Bare Minerals, be very wary.

Google the Company

Google the company name with the word reviews after it. See what people have to say. Now google with repackaging after it, and then controversy and drama. If those come up, read what people say and weigh this with the other information you find on that company. You can also google the name of the eye shadows, as some companies keep the same names for colors if they’re selling repackaged colors. Sometimes, these companies even use the same stock photos for the colors and stock names. A set of pretty colors called Pops/Gumballs falls into this category.

Repackaged isn’t always bad

Just because a color is repackaged doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad. Many companies will list a repackaged color honestly and explain why they have it. Some companies have these colors due to customer requests. Other companies like these unblended eye shadows because they’re pretty the way they are. If a company is honest about it, and you like it, definitely try it. Most of these companies will add a base to the shadow if they’re good. Be wary if a company has no base ingredients for its unblended shades.

More to See

• Lethal Cosmetics Indie Makeup Features
• Very Fair Foundation swatches
• Biggest Regrets? Best Palette? 2022 Eyeshadow Tag!
• Autumn Beauty & Lifestyle Tag
• Wednesday Addams Makeup Tutorial
• Vampyre Cosmetics Cthulhu Cocktails Palette Review, Swatches & Tutorial