My plan this week was to sit down and write up a guide to selecting the best mineral makeup. Then today I came across this blog article by Viva Woman in Singapore that perfectly explains just that!

http://www.vivawoman.net/2015/04/tips-to-select-the-best-mineral-makeup/

Viva Woman has taken the time to research several mineral makeup brands and give you her feedback on the best way to select your own.

“I particularly avoid mineral makeup introduced by the big brands as part of their repertoire of cosmetics because their foundations typically contain 10 ingredients or even more, including Boron Nitride, Magnesium Stearate, Zea Mays, Talc, Bismuth Oxychloride, which are known to be skin irritants,” she says.

These are commonly talked about ingredients to avoid so I thought I would give you a bit more info about each.

Boron Nitrade: ‘used as a lubricant and an additive to cosmetic products.’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boron_nitride

Magnesium Stearate: http://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/magnesium-stearate

Zea Mays: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21772025

Talcum Powder/Talc: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/talcum-powder-and-cancer

Bismuth Oxychloride: http://www.paulaschoice.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary/definition/bismuth-oxychloride

Knowledge is power! And while I’m not a scientist or a doctor I can see that some of these ingredients might be skin irritants or more importantly harmful for your well-being. So check the ingredients of your cosmetics and if you’re in a good store you should be able to ask questions before you purchase.

Also look out for products that are filled with plant matter such as rice flour! While this might be healthy in a cake (and is non toxic) it’s not going to provide you with great colour or coverage.

100% pure mineral foundation should provide you with excellent coverge if the minerals are of a high standard so always test the product before buying it and see how it looks on your skin.

Another easy way to test your mineral makeup is to apply it with a wet brush. If it’s pure it won’t go gluggy!

I hope this article has been helpful and love to get your feedback.

Be natural and be beautiful!