Product Review: Mineral Essences Powder Foundation

By: Meg
Cost: 26.00

About a month ago I was in CVS' high-end beauty department, Beauty 360 (available at only select CVS stores), looking at the 100% pure display. I had about 5 products I was juggling and heading to the counter to check out. On  my way I just happened to glance over at another display for a brand called Mineral Essesnces. It looked like just another rip-off of Bare Escentuals but for some reason I picked up a container of their powder foundation and looked at the ingredients label. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! This was no rip-off, this stuff was even better than BE! It contains green tea and vitamin C, along with Alpha Lipoic acid, which is a strong anti-oxidant. There are no additives or harsh chemicals and no talc, which is in most powder foundations.
    As a foundation this stuff work great. I have really been impressed with the result. It's goes on silky-smooth and light. I was able to find a color that was light enough for my super pale skin, and believe it or not, they have one shade lighter- simply unheard of! Even though it feels very light, it has great coverage that doesn't look patchy or uneven. Redness just seems to vanish when I buff this on.  Another thing I just love about this is that it makes my skin look more even with it looking flat and one dimensional.
   One note of caution reguarding their ingredients list. They do include Retinyl Palmitate in their formulation, which has been shown to possibly break down and produce damaging free radicals when explosed to sunlight. That, combined with it's lack of evaluated SPF level, could spell sun damage. As always,  be sure to protect yourself from sun damage every day. Use a moisturizer with a high SPF value and if you have pale skin like me, it may be best to avoid anything that could increase your exposure.
  I have yet to try any other products from this company but I did ooh and ahh over their wide selection of illumiators and finishing powders when I was buying the foundation. I will for sure be buying this one again in the future but I will still have my eye out for their SPF formulation. If they are smart they will produce that sooner than later!