It seems like you're the board expert on Mineral Makeup so this one's for you, but others are more than welcome to respond :)

I really want to try these products but it's so confusing. Right now, I use a liquid foundation with spf (covergirl) followed by a loose powder than a little blush. I have type I skin with a bit of rosacea on my cheeks and some dark circles under my eyes. I tend to use nuetral colors in sand/beige/tan tones. However, I do use sunless tanners during the summer so my skin color changes to a light bronze. I also really love a very subtle shimmer - or more of glow that's not an obvious "sparkle" but haven't found anything that looks natural. My hair and eyes are brown.

I was wondering if you can suggest some mineral makeup that would be good for me to start out with. I was also curious if there are any department store makeup counters with decent mineral products that i can test at the store. And last but not least, the brushes - how do I know what to use? Do I need more than two? How do I know what's good quality and what's not?

Thanks so much for any recommendations you make!!

PS - I don't have tons of money to spend and since I don't really know if I'll like the products yet, I'd prefer to spend 25 or less on a variety of samples. (geez, I'm picky, aren't I...lol)

Well, thanks for your vote of confidence! LOL! I have tried quite a variety of mineral makeups over the past several years & I have tried a variety of application techniques, so I do have some experience that hopefully will help others.

I know there are a lot of loadies with rosacea that use Aromaleigh & they are very happy with it. They do have a place where you can ask questions and the ladies there are very helpful.

Aromaleigh has several products that can add a shimmer. They have Pure Bronze in 3 shades, but to me, that is more of a sparkle than a shimmer. They also have illuminating powders - but those don't really add any color. They have a new product called Perles - these have the sheen of a pearl. They are quite lovely & can be used on cheeks, eyes, lips - and all over the face. There isn't one that's *brown*, but they could definitely be added to foundation to get a nice sheen. I love them & use them frequently.

Since you have rosacea, I would avoid any mineral makeups containing bismuth oxychloride - it can be irritating to some & also cause itching. Since your skin is already ultra sensitive, you don't need any extra irritants.

I have to leave now - but when I get back I'll answer your other questions & give you more info.

OKay, I'm back! LOL!

Anyway, some mineral makeups that DON'T contain bismuth are Aromaleigh, GeoGrafx, Botany 101, & Monave. There may be more. But you'll want to avoid Bare Minerals/Escentuals, Youngblood, Sheer Cover, & Jane Iredale. You can get samples of AL, GG, & Monave for reasonable prices. The samples from Botany are reasonable but it can take up to 6-8 weeks to receive them - to me, it's not worth the wait - but they are available.

Also - I use sunless tanners, too, & don't have any problem matching my skintone! :-)

I know BE has their own stores in some cities, but again, I wouldn't recommend it because of your rosacea. You're probably going to have to order samples online.

Brushes - the type of brush you use depends on the type of coverage you want. With rosacea, you're going to want something super soft. I have a baby kabuki that I got from Aromaleigh - it is SO soft & is awesome for a flawless application. You can also use a flocked sponge - this will give you heavier coverage. You can get these at Sally's for a few dollars. A good foundation brush is going to be dense, but soft to the touch. The *hairs* should be silky & pliable, natural - not stiff & plastic, or spread far apart. A good foundation brush is not cheap - but it will last for years & years.

I'm happy to answer any questions you have!!

Thanks for all the info!! I'll do a search on the products you recommended.

However. I'm afraid of chosing colors. I don't know what to chose. There are some sample sets that look interesting but I don't know what's best. I think I'll do a search first and then post them to see what you think would be a best buy for me.

I'm a bit skiddish about buying makeup online and could use all the help I can get. Also, My rosacea is very mild. Just a couple patches and mostly on my left cheek and none on my right cheek. So far, nothing has irritated it or made it worse. I would just like to cover it and/or make it go away.


Thanks again for your input. I'll be back with some samples and prices to get your opinion. I really want this to work for me!!!

hi belle,

i spent a couple days researching this whole mineral makeup thing and asked a bunch of questions on aromaleigh and other sites. i decided to try samples from cory cosmetics which got huge raves from gals on another beauty site. i ordered a bunch of samples which are dirt cheap, but take awhile to deliver.

have you ever tried cory cosmetics?

Yes, I have - and I didn't care for them at all. I'm very experienced at using mineral makeups & I couldn't get it to look good no matter which application technique I used. It looked very cakey - even when I used just a few grains of the powder. It also made my face look oily - and I had difficulty removing it. Not to mention that I had to wait almost 4 weeks to get my samples. My dd tried it & it made her skin get little red bumps all over & it also gave her dry patches.

Hopefully, it will work out better for you.

hi belle,

i spent a couple days researching this whole mineral makeup thing and asked a bunch of questions on aromaleigh and other sites. i decided to try samples from cory cosmetics which got huge raves from gals on another beauty site. i ordered a bunch of samples which are dirt cheap, but take awhile to deliver.

have you ever tried cory cosmetics?

I didn't like Cory the 1st time I tried it either but after reading all of the raves, I tried it again and found that it works great for me! It looks great, gives good coverage, and is very inexpensive-ya can't beat it! I have tried several different kinds of mineral makeup and this is the very best I have tried. To get your order quicker, all you have to do is order 1 full size item along with all of the samples you want to order. She has great customer service as well, if there is any kind of problem she will fix it.