My favorite foundation and concealer on earth is mineral based. I am a huge mineral makeup fan! I have used cream to powder, liquid and stick foundations. I love my Perscriptives Custom Blended Concealer but in the end I always go back to mineral. Summer and I are not exactly the best of friends and heavy face makeup is a big no no for me which I realized after having my foundation literally roll down my face. Due to the constant dabbing of sweat on my face liquid makeup tends to smear and shift and I end up looking like a blotchy fool. Mineral makeup is light, a little goes along way and I can sweat and dab all I want and my face still looks good.
Looking for something light I was introduced to Bare Minerals. I think I'm the only woman of color I know who 1. actually likes it and 2. it actually works for. For the most part my friends can't stand how it looks on them. I will admit when I first got it I was heavy handed so I was looking a tad ashen but once I mastered the swirl, tap tap, buff I was good to go. Up until a year ago I also used mineral concealer. Yes you can use mineral powder as a concealer I've done it successfully but switched to liquid because I wasn't getting the coverage I wanted. Bare Minerals has added new concealer colors but I don't think that they're anything to write home about so I don't use them. I actually prefer to use the foundation as a concealer and since I do that I had to find a new foundation.
There are a lot of mineral makeup companies out there but I think that their colors for dark skined women are limited. Since I didn't feel like playing find perfect color I only tried 2 companies. The first company I tried was Everyday Minerals. They'll send you five samples and you pay for shipping and handling. I think shipping and handling was like $3. I got four colors and a blush. I wasn't really thrilled. The only color I liked was the Deep Tan. As a foundation it doesn't work but it's great as a concealer. Go figure.
The second company was Valana Minerals. I've blogged about them before. It's by a woman of color for women of color so I knew something had to work. Each sample is $2. If you get 6 samples or more you get a $10 off $50 purchase coupon. I got six colors. and the winner...
I've worn it for a week and I'm very happy with it. I didn't do a swatch because honestly you couldn't see it. It's very light, all I need is a little bit and I'm good. It has a little bit of gold in it which is really pretty in the sun. I will admit that sometimes when I use Bare Minerals Warmth if I sweat there is this burning sensation. It doesn't happen a lot but it happens enough that I don't use it often and I've never tried their blushes. I'm not trying to walk around with my face on fire just to look cute. It really ain't that serious! With Valana Minerals there is no burning!! The best part about the line is everything is multi-use so the samples that didn't work can be used as eyeshadows, blush or bronzers. How great is that?! If you're interested in mineral makeup I say give them a try.
Twinkle Twinkle here is the swatch of the bronzer you asked for. It's Bahia Tan Blazing Bronzer.
My Valana Minerals prize came yesterday!!
I am so in love with this brush! It is is so so soft. It feels lovely against my skin. It had no smell and did not shed when I washed it. I can't wait to use it. Well I can't wait to use the angled shadow end. The liner end is somewhat soft so I'm not sure how it will do when applying liner. I tend to like a harder brush when applying my liner.
My prize included 2 shadows, 1 cheek color and 1 bronzer.
From top to bottom: Eye Indulgence - Sage Spirit
Eye Indulgence - Mystic Lava
Blazing Bronzer - Bahia Tan
Cheeky Cheek Pots - Cheeky Orchid
The colors are gorgeous!!! They go on so smooth and look beautiful in the light. The best part is that everything is multi-use. Cheek and bronzer colors can be used on eyes and vice versa. I can't wait to use them. They have the right amount of shimmer in them that I think will be perfect for summer. I will defiantly be purchasing from her in the future especially since the makeup is formulated with woman of color in mind. Check her out.