Mineral Makeup 101

Mineral makeup’s growing popularity has been counterbalanced by some of its shortcomings. While mineral makeup is definitely more natural and simple in its ingredients, it is messier to use and its high physical sunscreen content often causes the makeup to look thick, chalky and “kabuki-like” when worn. Some of the more well-known mineral brands, such as Bare Minerals, contain an ingredient that causes itchiness and irritation called bismuth oxychloride.

Once you have knowledge on it, mineral makeup is not difficult to figure out. It’s basically a concentrated version of regular makeup without the emollients, waxes and filler ingredients. Here are some guidelines to follow if you’re venturing out to the world of mineral makeup.

** Read the ingredients and ALWAYS avoid bismuth oxychloride.
** If you still itch after avoiding bismuth oxychloride, you may be mica-sensitive. Contact me if you need recommendations. I'm always searching for mica-free minerals!
** Use minerals that are NOT “micronized” or “nano-particles”. While they’re not always advertised, these are to be avoided and a reputable brand should be able to provide this information. My top 3 brands of non-micronized minerals are Larenim Minerals (they make pressed minerals too!), Barefaced Minerals and DreamWorld Minerals.
** Avoid food-type ingredients, the most common are rice starch and corn starch.
** Good mineral sunscreens tend to have a lighter-colored finish from the natural physical sunscreen titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide. To avoid looking too pale or pasty, make sure the color you choose is not too light.
** Minerals are easy to apply. Forget the buffing, lightly dust face with a thin layer of minerals and build up with additional thin layers if you need extra coverage. Use a small taklon brush for a high-coverage concealing effect. If you prefer a liquid makeup, mix a small amount w/ 2 pumps of your favorite moisturizer.
** Some people get oilier while wearing mineral makeup. This is due to the natural physical sunscreen and the fact that there are less filler ingredients to block and absorb excess oils. If you’re wearing mineral makeup, I suspect that wearing something natural is important to you. If that’s the case, blot with powder-free blotting sheets regularly and know that you’re doing something good for your skin.

Farmgirl Beauty Secret #55: Coconut oil as a head-to-toe treatment.

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil smells absolutely decadent- like a richer, creamier version of a freshly cracked coconut! If you are sensitive to synthetic fragrances, wearing this as your daily body moisturizer will not only nourish your skin but also leave your skin with an air-brushed sheen, smelling subtly delicious. My sister uses Extra Virgin Coconut Oil as a cleansing oil and it works wonderfully on her acne-prone skin (This didn't work for me as a cleansing oil though, so your results may vary). Try it on dry hair 20 minutes before you shower. Then, shampoo and condition as usual. It leaves your hair silky soft and stronger against heat damage. Before going to the pool or Jacuzzi, lightly coat dry hair with coconut oil to protect it against chlorine. It’s also a great oil to cook and bake with! Available at most supermarkets in the baking aisle, it usually comes in a large screw-top jar because it’s a solid oil (melts upon contact with body heat).

Farmgirl Beauty Secret #21: Get your eyes checked.

Might not sound like the most glamorous beauty tip in the world, but it’s an important one. Constantly straining your eyes to read or look afar causes involuntary squinting that inevitably results in not-so-fine lines between the brows and around the frames of the eyes. These lines are etched deeper because it’s reinforced by the same muscle movements repeated over and over by the squinting.

If you are already plagued by these lines, Frownies Facial Pads can help re-train your muscles to lay flat (and your wrinkles relax with it). I’ve yet to try this because I’m too lazy to apply this every night. It might have an air about it that makes it sound too good to be true, but I’ve heard amazing results with regular use. If you’ve tried it, feel free to share your experience!

Farmgirl Beauty Secret # 90: Wearing Antioxidants underneath your SPF.

SPF is a must for all 365 days of the year, but we’ve all been guilty of slacking off on the sunscreen-wearing department upon the arrival of cooler months when the sun starts to play hide & seek. Not only is it important to continue wearing SPF when the weather cools, it’s also smart to protect your skin against the harsh environmental elements. For an added boost of protection from the sun and pollution, always layer an antioxidant serum underneath your SPF! The term “antioxidant” has been thrown around so much amongst beauty companies that it’s actually diluted the importance of wearing antioxidants. In my humble opinion and experience, my skin has greatly benefited from using antioxidants. Here are my 2 favorites that I’ve enlisted into my skincare arsenal.

Garden of Wisdom Concord Grape Antioxidant Serum: This is amazing! Garden of Wisdom is an etailer that sells a plethora of ingredients for those who dabble in mixing their own skincare. They’ve also created a line of finished products that is just out of this world! I’ve been using this religiously every morning and the results are obvious. There’s a definite glow that wasn’t there before. It contains a chockfull of the latest and greatest antioxidants, including Resveratrol, which is the super antioxidant that is responsible for the anti-aging benefits of red wine. Like many of their products, this serum has ZERO fillers. The texture is light and watery, absorbing readily with zero residue. The price is totally right at $16.85 (there’s even a travel-size version for $5.25!). I wasn’t able to take a picture of my bottle, but the picture above features their different travel-sizes (I just love their containers- very DIY-esque). This line is perfect for oily and acne-prone types who are looking for anti-aging and antioxidant skincare. More reviews to come for this amazing brand!

Juice Beauty Green Apple Antioxidant Serum: This is another great antioxidant serum for oily skin types. The light gel serum is packed with good ingredients from beginning to end. I love reading potent ingredients, like Ubiquinone and Milk peptides, on the top of the ingredient list. I’m very impressed! Instead of using water, they incorporated antioxidant-rich, organic fruit juices as their first ingredients. This also has Willowbark Extract, which means it’ll help treat blemishes and exfoliate while providing antioxidant protection. I rarely break out anymore, but this helped clear up some clogged pores I had around the jaw line. I even use this on my neck and décolleté for a more refined neckline.

Product-analysis: Cover Girl Simply Ageless Foundation

If you’re in the market for a new foundation that is all quality and of drugstore-cost, Cover Girl has been quite innovative with their latest foundations. Much of their products is lackluster but they do have quite a few gems if you know what ingredients to look for. CoverGirl Simply Ageless Foundation provides spf 22 using physical sunblock. High on the ingredient list sits niacinamide, which is a star-player ingredient in the field of anti-aging skincare.
Because it is a cream, I recommend this for those with dry or mature skin. Use a bit of oil or moisturizer under this and you’ll find that the product glides on effortlessly. The fact that this foundation contains chockfull of good ingredients and a fairly high physical sun protection earns a thumbs-up from me. Having Ellen DeGeneres as the spokesmodel makes it doubly awesome.

Farmgirl beauty secret #49: Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Diaper Ointment as a skin-soothing deodorant.

I'll let you in on this little secret- Burt's Bees Diaper Ointmentis the best natural deodorant...no joke! The zinc oxide in this product combats body odor and the zinc oxide is basically suspended in a base made of natural oils and butters, which makes it extremely soothing.

5 years ago, I had a severe case of allergic reaction to a "natural" deodorant. Since, I’ve figured out how well zinc oxide calms and neutralizes odor. I was on a hunt for the most desirable zinc oxide-based product. You can use the conventional zinc oxide diaper cream, but you'll smell like cod liver oil the whole day, which is unpleasant in itself- eww, stinky! This actually smells pretty because of the essential oils. I've been really into natural essential oil scents recently and it really does smell like lavender due to the lavender extract. If you haven't had luck looking for a natural deodorant, this comes highly recommended by me. My armpits smell nice :)

Must Read: Dinotopia

I don’t care how perfectly arranged one’s skincare regimen is, no one can escape the wrath of bad skin if they don’t get enough sleep. I used to suffer from moderate to severe insomnia but I’ve kept it in check by reading good books in bed. It’s a surefire way to get me started on my beauty sleep every night.

My latest obsession is the Dinotopia series. I was told about it by a balloon artist working at a colorful local restaurant. She had just finished making a balloon T-Rex for me after Boyfriend and I shamelessly gushed about my love for dinosaurs (what? They’re cool.). She asked “Have you read Dinotopia? It’s about a world where humans and dinosaurs live together in harmony”. Well, that’s all she had to say to get me squealing. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Dinotopia. Boyfriend knows that squeal well; he acquires the first book in record time (not to be gag-inducing but Boyfriend is awesome). Soon enough, I was reading that big, gorgeous book in bed. The first book took my breath away with each turning of the page as it contains out-of-this-world illustrations and an equally stunning plot.

3 Dinotopia books later, I am still amazed. I can’t decide which I like most because each book is remarkable in its own way. What they all have in common is a seamless blend of facts and fantasy that delights me to no end. Author James Gurney is genius, I can’t wait to collect more of his books. As long as he keeps writing and drawing, I’ll always have plenty of beauty sleep with fantastic dreams to match.

Farmgirl Beauty Secret #71: Use beer as a hair rinse and/or volumizing tonic.

I absolutely love beer. Nothing else goes better with bratwursts and fried chicken (hey, if you’re gonna be bad, you might as well be REALLY bad). I also keep my alcohol consumption to a minimum so imagine my delight when I discovered a way to incorporate beer into my beauty regimen. Save that half bottle of flat beer next time you grab a cold one and take it in the shower with you. After shampooing, pour the remaining beer unto scalp and rinse after 2-4 minutes. Condition as usual. The proteins in the beer provide incredible body and shine to the hair.

You can also use it as a light volumizing styling product. Store a small amount of beer in a spray bottle and spray roots with the solution. Blow dry as usual. Keep bottle refrigerated and replace beer about every 2 weeks. This is a great way to obtain fuller hair without using conventional volumizing products that build up and leave residue on your scalp.

Cheers!

Product Analysis: The Healing Seed Shampoo

I really take my time in test-driving my beauty products before I rave about them here. At times, it takes months in using a product to make sure it really is up to my standards. But I must confess, I just got this shampoo recently and I know it’ll be residing in my shower for a long time to come.

I first heard of The Healing Seed in a magazine. I’m always on the hunt for new and innovative natural brands and The Healing Seed’s use of organic hempseed oil made it stand out in a cluttered sea of “natural” products. I knew I had to investigate further. As I researched the brand, I found out that they revamped the products with a cleaner (and greener) formulations to further highlight their star ingredient, virgin organic hempseed oil. As you know, I’m very impressed with companies that are always striving to better their brand and formulations, even if it means changing a thing or two. The Healing Seed Shampoo is a sulfate-free gel shampoo that leaves hair squeaky clean but nourished at the same time. I have extremely oily hair that I have to wash on a daily basis. Because of that, I never use conditioners on my scalp in fear of making my hair even oilier. This concentrated shampoo allows me to get my hair thoroughly clean. And with the addition of virgin organic hempseed oil, it moisturizes and protects my scalp without any greasiness or residue! The scent smells subtle and expensive, I was extremely happy to find that it contains no synthetic fragrances. After checking the ingredients, I’ve also used this as body wash in a pinch and it worked so well. All in all, a gold star awarded to The Healing Seed Shampoo from Brilliant Farmgirl.

Brilliant Farmgirl Beauty Secret #8: Recession-proof your beauty habit!

Fellow skincare/cosmetics junkies, times are hard and it can be difficult at times to support our addictions. So many temptations; so little pocket change! This is precisely why I love brainstorming for ways to save money in other areas so I can maintain my beauty budget. That way, I don’t feel nearly as guilty the next time I give in on a must-have product. Here are some strategies I’ve been implementing to recession-proof my beauty habit:

-Saving beautiful catalogs and using the pages as wrapping paper: I find that J.Crew and Anthropologie have the best-looking catalogs, the images looks amazing draped on gifts! Simply open to the middle of the old/used catalogs and carefully remove the staples that hold the catalog together. It’s a great way to reuse before you recycle, which is my absolute favorite method of conservation!

-Bringing lunch to work everyday: This sounds totally nerdy but I’ve been successful at this for the last year. This has saved me money and helped me avoid additional fat/calories from take-outs.

-Cutting my own hair: I don’t remember how this got started. It was about 4 years ago. Perhaps I was having a bad day and decided to vent via taking a pair of scissors to my hair. It was strangely liberating and turned out surprisingly good (which is probably why I continue to cut my hair to this day). There’s no rhyme or reason to the way I cut my hair. I literally take a strand that I want to cut and cut it. After a few mullets and uneven haircuts, I’ve pretty much got a system down. I mess up every now and then. Oh well, it’s just hair and it’ll grow back! Before you gasp at the thought of taking hair into your own hands, I admit that my farmgirl ways may have warped my thinking on this. I totally understand if this sounds too dangerous to try at home. Nonetheless, I grin every time I think of the money I save cutting my own hair.

-Sewing/duplicating expensive dresses: I love making skirts and dresses! The entire effort of sewing makes me too tired to go out and spend money *HAHA*. I also love being able to duplicate dresses that are too expensive to buy again. See below for my favorite summer dress and the copy I made! Like my haircuts, I don’t really follow a pattern when it comes to sewing. I copied this dress by simply turning the original dress inside-out and studying the pieces sewn together to make the dress. Miraculously, it worked out!

Twirling in Bycorpus Circle Dress in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Cost: $58

Twirling/skipping in Brilliant Farmgirl’s Circle Dress in Newport Beach, California. Cost: $8+hard work in front of a sewing machine.

How do you recession-proof your beauty habit?