Silk Naturals Mineral Foundation, Sheer Perfecting Powder, & Sleep In a Jar Concealer Review

Having used this foundation for over a week, I can honestly say that I love it! As it is self-customizable (more on that later) it is a perfect match. It is very finely milled, and you don't feel like you've got a layer of foundation on. It is long lasting (although it doesn't stand up to a night of sweaty club dancing - but what does?) and provides a natural, less sparkly finish than either Bare Escentuals or L'Oreal True Match Minerals.

Coverage-wise it is sheer, but buildable. Once set with the sheer perfecting powder, it lasts all day and provides decent oil control (better than BE and L'Oreal but not as good as New York Color Smooth Mineral Compact Foundation - which sadly, broke me out). I usually have to blot in 2-3 hours time and touch up with compact powder. But I am very VERY oily and breakout prone. With this foundation, no breakouts and my skin's looking happier and calmer than before.

The Foundation
As mentioned previously, Silk Naturals Mineral foundation is self-customizable. For $11.95, you'll get a bag of white, base foundation, a bag of coloured foundation, a measuring spoon, and a sifter jar. Then you get to play cosmetician and mix up your own personal shade. This is great for those of us living in temperate climates as when summer hits, it's easy enough to darken the foundation - just throw in an extra scoop of colour, shake and you're good to go.

The foundations come in three shades to suit your undertones. Ebony for cool undertones, Warm for neutral-warm, and Buttery Gold for warm with yellow undertones. Buttery Gold was created by Karen specifically at the request of her Asian clients! How often do we get that from a US brand, girls?

Karen recommends (1 Colour : 6 White) for fair girls, (2-3 Colour : 6 White) for medium, and (1 Color : 1 White) for dark. My particular "Kahani Blend" is about (1 buttery gold: 0.5 warm : 6 white) as I am a cool-toned asian.

Some handy tips when trying to find your perfect shade:

1. The foundation will appear lighter as a powder than when applied.
2. Give the colour 10-15 minutes to blend with your natural face oils and develop. It will darken and look more glowy and less powdery with time.
3. Try and level off your scoops so the formula you remember is as accurate as possible.
4. Remember your formula! =P

As previously mentioned the all-natural formula contains natural silk proteins and does NOT contain talc or bismuth.

Something else I love about the foundation is that for only $3.95 you get an adorable little sample kit with about 2 weeks worth of all three shades and a generous portion of white base. Full-sized refills are available of each shade for $5.50.

Sheer Perfecting Powder
Light as air, silky soft, and completely translucent, this powder is a miracle. It sets my concealer, foundation, eye shadow, eyeliner & blush without altering colour or shimmer. It also provides a lovely diffused look that makes my skin look airbrushed. Oil control wise - it could be better. But this makes it a great setting powder even for non-oily girls.

The powder is available in three different shades: Translucent, Dait Bate (bronze), and Love Lure (golden tan) and retails for $9.95.

Undereye Concealer
Karen provides a light yellow concealer powder, charmingly named "Sleep In a Jar" but I can't seem to get it to work for me. I've used a fluffy brush, a concealer brush, wet, dry, mixed with undereye cream and mixed with undereye gel - all to no avail. It's too sheer, and creates fine lines where there are none. So, although this concealer has received positive reviews from other users, I'm afraid it doesn't work for me.

What I'm wearing:

• SN Foundation (1 buttery gold: 6 white)
• SN Sheer Perfecting Powder in Translucent
• Clinique All About Eyes Concealer in 01 Light Neutral
• SN Mineral Eyeshadow in Cashmere (Highlight) and Nudge Nudge (Crease)
  
• W7 Gel Pencil Eyeliner in Black
• SN Mineral Blush in Petal (all over) & Nars Orgasm (pop)
• SN Lipgloss in Berry Nice
  

Read on for details and prices