Review: Purely Cosmetics Mineral Makeup

Robyn Bloom's first foray into mineral makeup came at a Los Angeles mall. Succumbing to a makeover for her daughter, she soon found herself paying $60 for mineral foundation, with a brush added for free. The results were so nice on her daughter, she decided to make the hour and a half long drive back to get one for herself. This time it was still $60, but no brush. When it came time to reorder, she tried to save herself a trip and pick it up online - and found it was priced at $85. That's when she took a look at the ingredient list and decided she would tackle the mineral market on her own.

Her company, Purely Cosmetics, celebrates its second anniversary this August, and Bloom couldn't be more pleased. She has focused on a line that incorporates the key ingredients that make mineral makeup such a hit, while leaving out micronized and inexpensive fillers. Why is that important? Mineral makeup is often referred to as healthy makeup due to lack of parabens or other preservatives. Micronized titanium dioxide is a recent, common additive in beauty blends, providing sunscreen and adhesion. However, tests have proven that micronized materials break the blood barrier and can pool in the brain. Scans have shown pockets of titanium dioxide in the brain of participants. While the long term effects aren't known, the presence of makeup on the mind seems far from healthy.

Bloom was also able to tackle the markup issues on the makeup. Purely Cosmetics foundation runs well below the $60 price she once paid. There are a multitude of shades to select from, with a reasonably priced custom blend. It doesn't end at foundation. There is a beautiful array of eye shadows, versatile powders, blushes, makeup brushes and other accessories.

Shipping world wide (read site carefully for details), Bloom sells via her website at www.purelycosmetics.com

Personal Experience:

I try to avoid micronized ingredients, so I was very happy to find Bloom does not use it in any of the products offered.

During pregnancy, I had melasma (skin darkening/reddening) which is quite common. However, it didn't completely go away after giving birth. Because of this I wanted to stay with foundations that provided stronger coverage, and wasn't convinced mineral makeup could provide what I needed.

It took a few tries to get the application to my satisfaction, but here is what I found:

• The product is buildable, so you can increase coverage with additional layers
• A silk & pearl primer is also available, which increases staying power
• You can build this on top of liquid foundation, if needed
• This product stops the dreaded sheen
• There is no mottled meltdown, a problem with any other type of foundation
• The line is very affordable
  

The shadow colors I tried are very pretty, somewhat sheer. I played with a combination of two colors that reminded me of one of my favorite nail polishes, OPI's Hollywood Blonde

• Rose Beige (base)
• Champagne (overlay)

I'm also fond of the burnished copper, cappuccino. Blue violet is a spectacular color that reminds me of a favorite creme eyeliner Max Factor used to make.

One of the best things offered in the accesories department?

• Brush Protectors

These slip right over the bristles protecting them from damage. I've never seen these before and they are invaluable for protecting your investments!

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Bloom is offering an exclusive 10% discount on minimum $10 orders for any item on the site, including the new Diamond Finish, through July 15, 2009. Use code sol at checkout (lowercase, case sensitive).