More Coverage, Mineral Style

Photo: Garance Dore

This goes out to my friend Rae Lynn, who facebooked me with a couple of great questions. I'm going to field this one first:

you are a Bare Minerals-user, correct? do you ever use a foundation under the powder? do you have recommends for one that would work complementarily with it?

I'm going to talk in detail about using mineral makeup. I am a huge fan of Bare Minerals, have been for over three years. In that time, occasionally I stray to a couple of different types of tinted moisturizer. But, inevitably, I come back to BM (that's Bare Minerals, not to be confused with bowel movement.) One of the reasons may be that just when I feel uninspired, I happen to turn on QVC and catch a tutorial. Instantly, I am so thankful that I have a makeup with natural-yet-buildable coverage, that doesn't break my skin out and comes in a yellow enough shade for me. I also like the slight shimmer, because I don't want to look like I'm wearing full, matte makeup.

The key to flawless mineral coverage is prepping the skin. Mineral makeup (really any powder makeup) will accentuate any flakiness. I love BM Rev-er Upper because it has salicylic and glycolic acid in it (they chemically exfoliate the skin.) I use the Rev-er Upper, then my SPF 55, followed by a couple of spritzes of Mario Badescu rose water/aloe spray (read all about it here.) For my skin, I have to moisten it before applying powder.

Then, I follow with the standard swirl/tap/buff routine. When my skin is fairly clear, this does an adequate job of evening out my face. However, sometimes I need more coverage than the full mineral foundation can provide (including going back over the problem areas with the concealer brush.)

So, in answer to Rae Lynn's question, that's when I use a very sheer foundation or tinted moisturizer underneath the mineral foundation...to cover and to stay put longer. I use Clinique Almost Makeup, because that was my face makeup of choice for years before I started BM. I also suggest a very sheer foundation, like Prescriptives Traceless. Again, I like to cover what needs to be covered without looking like I'm wearing a thick layer of makeup. If you don't want to purchase a new foundation or TM just to wear under the mineral makeup, then simply use a damp sponge with whatever liquid foundation you may have...to make it a little more sheer. Or, make your own TM by mixing one part of foundation with one part moisturizer.