SimplyNaturale

As with all mineral makeup, it only takes the tiniest amount of eye color to get beautiful results that last all day.Many of the darker eye colors also make fantastic eye liners. Apply them dry for a more subtle, natural look. Apply them wet for a more dramatic hard line!

You will need brushes like eye shadow brush and eye liner brush to achieve those beautiful eye makeups.

Any of the eye colors (except greens and blues) make beautiful lip colors. Here’s a few ways to make it work: Dip your lip gloss wand and apply to your lips; Apply before or after your favorite lip protector (chapstick, Burts Bees, Carmex, etc); Apply with your favorite lipstick to create a brand new shade.

Source: www.signatureminerals.com

Introduction

Mineral makeup has recently become commercially popular over the years as most women are exposed to the emergence of more natural ingredients available for their everyday skin regimen. These natural products are more preferred as it is better for the skin and nothing synthetic that could worsen a skin’s condition. Mineral makeup is made from natural minerals found in nature such as mica, titanium dioxide, zinc, iron oxides, ultramarine pigments and calcium. These minerals are mined and then purified, powdered and then mixed with other inorganic pigments to obtain a wide color range. It is often recommended by dermatologists to women with sensitive skin, rosacea, post operative, laser and other procedures because of its intrinsic skin soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. It is a powder makeup of finely milled minerals. It can provide very sheer or very opaque coverage, depending on the formulation and application. However, it still allows natural skin radiance to show through, so you don’t get the dreaded “mask” look. It is typically free of fragrance and preservatives. Minerals cannot feed bacteria, so there is no danger of spoilage, thus it needs no preservatives. It does not go bad. It is very good for oily skin because it has several oil- absorbing components.(Source: Mineral Makeup – Natural Beauty by Lynn Starner, http://www.ez2find.info/beauty/Mineral_Makeup_Natural_Beauty.html )

There are so many ingredients that can be put into mineral makeup. Some are good and some are not so good. There is also a lot of bad hype about certain ingredients that is simply not true. This section is to educate people on the various ingredients that are used and listed as the ingredients in different mineral makeup.

The Good Stuff

Titanium Dioxide: This is a major ingredient in many mineral makeups. It is a natural inflammatory agent and a natural sunscreen. Therefore it offers sun protection, reflects light (only surpassed by diamonds), has high coverage, and helps adhere makeup to your skin. This product is the first choice for many (There is more where this came from … )

Here is a quick ingredient comparison (notice all the cancer-causing toxic chemicals found in the liquid foundation):

Average Liquid Foundation ingredients:
Propylparaben, Imidazolidinyl urea, Butyl paraben, Methyl paraben, Ethyl paraben, Stearic acid, Octyl stearate, Isopropyl palmitate, Cetyl palmitate, (There is more where this came from … )

This picture is a standard brush which comprises of 3 parts. The first is the handle itself where it is typically made of wood/plastic. Then comes the ferrule which holds the hand-tied hair with glue. It usually comes in aluminum material. The last is the hair itself where the type of hair is important for all makeup enthusiasts.

This guide is with reference to using Signature Minerals which can be referenced for other brands in the market.

With the correct shade and proper application, you will find that your mineral foundation really is the ‘foundation’ of a beautiful and natural complexion.

Finding your shade:

It is very important that your foundation matches your skin tone very closely. Foundation that is too dark may accentuate fine lines and even give you an orange-y appearance. Foundation that is too light may give you a grey-ish, chalky cast.

Because of the nature of minerals, the same foundation shade may look very different on different people. By the same tone, many people find 2 or 3 shades that ALL work great! For this reason it is really best not to make a choice based on what looks good on someone else.

The best way to find your shade is to try smaller jars or samples of several shades in your range (light, med-light, med, deep) to see how they look on your own skin. Always try the foundation on your face or on the area around your jawline, never try it on your wrist or forearm - it does not work!

If by some chance you don’t find a shade that works for your skin tone, BLEND! Mineral foundation is actually intended to be blended, so don’t be afraid to try your own recipes until you find the perfect blend for your complexion! Just don’t forget to write down your recipes!

Applying your foundation:

Wash your face, exfoliate if needed, moisturize, apply your concealer or a finishing veil (if you prefer), then apply your foundation.

Less is More. I can’t express this enough. You just need the tiniest amount of mineral foundation to achieve a beautiful and natural complexion.

1. Place a small amount of foundation into the lid (or container of your choice).
2. Load your bristles by swirling or tapping your Buki brush in the foundation.
3. Remove the excess foundation by tapping your brush on the side of the lid or container.
4. Using a circular motion, gently buff the foundation onto your entire face. For the most natural results make sure to blend into your hairline and upward along your neck and jawline.
5. Build your coverage. Apply one light layer at a time until you achieve your desired coverage. If you feel it takes too many layers to achieve your desired coverage, you might consider applying concealer or finishing veil before your foundation.

 

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Foundation trouble shooting:When you first start using mineral makeup, it may take a few applications to really get the hang of it. Hopefully these tips will help you overcome or avoid some problems that many people have when they first make the switch to minerals.

Problem: Chalky, mask-like or too heavy?

Possible Causes: Over-application; Color is too light; Wrong brush or not enough buffing; Too much moisturizer or moisturizer hasn’t set in enough.

Solution: Use less; Use a darker shade or custom blend; use your Buki Brush and buff, buff, buff!; Use less moisturizer and/or let your moisturizer set in more before applying your makeup.

 

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Problem: Orange-y Appearance?

Possible Causes: Over-application; Shade is too dark.

Solution: Apply less; Use a lighter shade or custom blend.

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Problem: Dry Appearance?

Possible Causes: Surface of the skin is too dry and/or needs exfoliation.

Solution: Exfoliate as needed; Use moisturizer

If your skin is REALLY dry, you might want to try blending your foundation in with your moisturizer.

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Problem: Large Pores and/or Fine Lines Accentuated?

Possible Causes: Over-application; Not buffed in enough; Wrong Brush; Need veil.

Solution: Use less; Use your Buki Brush and buff well; Try a dusting of finishing veil to reduce the appearance of pores and fine lines.

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Problem: Shiny or oily Appearance?

Possible Causes: Moisturizer contains oil; Over-application; Not using finishing veil.

Solution: Use oil free moisturizer; Apply less foundation and/or buff more; Apply Finishing Veil (before and/or after foundation) to control oil and reduce shine.

If you have “uncontrollable oily” skin, please consider trying using angel, petal or tawny finishing veil under your foundation. The kaolin clay in these 3 veils really helps absorb and control oil (helps heal acne too)!

 

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Problem: Streaked, blotchy or uneven appearance?

Possible Causes: Over-application; Moisturizer is too heavy; Moisturizer hasn’t set in enough.

Solutions: Apply less foundation and buff more; Use less moisturizer; Allow moisturizer to set in more before applying makeup.

More questions and answers are available on our other page specifically for our customers to post questions and getting it answered.

Source from Signature Minerals — Mineral Makeup Tips (http://www.signatureminerals.com/tips-foundation.html)

Brushes play and essential role in the flawless mineral makeup application.

This post will explain the various brushes that should be in your collection for that perfect look!

1) The Kabuki Brush

It is also known as the “Buffer”. It usually comes in short handles for the comfort of gripping the brush. It is particularly used to blend and buff entire face using buffing powder such as the foundation, finishing veil and loose powder. It helps reduce the appearance of pore size.

Kabuki’s comes in a wide range of size, structure and hair type, such as the long-handled buki and baby buki. The main difference that you would want to look out for is the density of the brush and also the type of hair used. The larger the kabuki brush, the larger the coverage area you would be able to obtain. It determines the amount of powder that it can pick with its bristles.

A good kabuki brush should be able to provide good coverage when applying mineral makeup and also do not feel ’scratchy’. In addition, the brush should never shed too much during application. However, it would be normal for a brush to shed during the first few applications. After a good washing and more applications, the brush should not shed as much.

2) Concealer Brush

As the name implies, the concealer brush is used to conceal those ‘don’t want to be seen’ areas. The concealer brush size could come in large/small sizes where the larger ones are used to cover up those freckles/blemishes and requires a larger coverage area. Whilst, the smaller ones are used for more precise coverage, like those lines surrounding the eye area and tiny freckles.

A concealer brush would normally be made of taklon (artificial hair) as it needs to be a little bit harder to help control the concealing.

3) Contour/Cheek Blending Brush

A contour/cheek blending brush is angled and not flat as it is used to accentuate the contour of the face in the cheek area. It would be ideal to use this brush to apply your blusher/highlighter around the cheek area as it follows the contour of the cheek bones.

4) Medium Brushes

 

Blender for eyes and also used for highlights and shading of other smaller areas that you might want to highlight/shade for under the eyes, temples, under the chin, sides of the nose and etc.

Some are used for all over eyeshadow application over the entire eyelids as well as, to help soften and blend the edges of the eyeshadows and other very small areas.

5) Smaller brushes

 

From the pic above it’s the brushes 3, 6,7 and 17.

 For Eyes/Concealer/Lips — Could be used for glosses, liners, covering tiny spots and etc.

6) Brow definer

 Has a small angle and the bristles are stiff to apply and define your brows while brushing the hair into place. This brush is used to fill in your eyebrows and obtaining the shape that you desire.

7)Mascara Wand

The mascara wand is brush No. 19. It looks like exactly like the mascara comb on the mascara. 

This brush looks like a mascara brush just without the mascara itself. It helps to brush and comb your eyelashes to separate them out after the application of mascara.

8 )Combination of a Comb and a Brush

 This brush is used to brush and groom eyebrows into shape. Also, to remove excess powders trapped on eyebrows.

Note: You can get all this brushes from our Simply Naturale Store!

How do I clean my makeup brush?

It’s best to clean makeup brushes that are used daily, every month (more often if you share them). This is to ensure that makeup is not dense and stuck in the bristles of the brushes. Thus, guarantees the right amount of mineral picked up by each bristle.

Cleaner for brushes:

First, you can wash the makeup brushes with any gentle shampoo such as Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo. It is not recommended to use harsh soaps as the brushes are made of natural hair which has natural oil on it. This oil is the ones that pick up the powders and provide the great makeup coverage that we want.

Steps to take to wash your brush

• First, carefully wet the makeup brush. Place some shampoo on your fingertips and gently shampoo the hair.

• You can try swirling the brush on the palm of your hands (Remember, brush facing downwards) like you do when buffering powder unto face.

• Gently but thoroughly wash the brush with mild shampoo in tepid water, concentrating your effort on the bristles, not the handle.

Important: Always keep your brush at a slight angle (almost perpendicular) with the hair tips facing downwards, NEVER UPWARDS! Never let cleaner or water run inside the ferrule, as this can weaken the glue used to hold the hair and cause shedding problems or even wobbly handles.

• Meticulously rinse the brush under running water until water runs clear.

• Carefully press out excess water from bristles and dab the brush dry with a towel.

• Arrange the bristles back into their original shape.

• Let the brush air dry lying flat on a dry towel or hang it up (suspended) with the hair tip facing downwards.

Remember: Never leave it to dry with the hair facing up, in a glass or container. It should not come into contact with any surface while drying! Makeup brushes that dry upright (with hair pointing or facing upwards) will cause water running into the ferrule and will soon begin to cause the hair on the makeup brush to fan out or shed and can even cause the handle to become loose or wobbly.

Everyday Brush Care

Alternatively, you can avoid washing your brush every month and prolong the state of your brushes by cleaning them after every use.

This can be done by cleaning the brushes with cleaning wipes such as baby tissue wipes which is easily obtainable in any drugstore.

Just clean and wipe the tips of your brush gently after every use and leave it to air dry on a flat surface.