Product Review: Everyday Minerals

Sometime back I ordered the Free Everyday Mineral Sample Kit. It arrived in five adorable jars containing:

• Matte Foundation in Olive Fair & Light Olive
• Intensive Foundation in Light Olive
• Concealer in Intensive Light
• Sparkle Bronzer

After using the products for the last week or so, here's my take on them.

Foundations
I was very impressed with the shades available. The numerous colours even come in 6 different undertones - including the rare and coveted Olive. Initially I was dubious. The last thing I wanted to do was buy a foundation that made me look like this:However, the clear and detailed descriptions provided convinced me. Until now I had always assumed that I was either "warm" or "golden" but truthfully, the former has always been a wee bit beige and the latter a wee bit yellow on me. The Everyday Mineral description opened my eyes:

"If you look at the underside of your arm, your veins are probably greenish. You tan very easily and never burn. You can not wear pastel colors, bold colors work much better on you!! You have probably found that many foundation colors end up looking ashy or pink on your skin"

All the above, with the exception of the bit on pastel colours (I look good in pastel AND bold. HAH. I just have to change my blush and/or lippie), is absolutely true. And sure enough Light Olive in the Matte formulation proved to be just right for me. Olive Fair was a bit too light, and Light Olive in Intensive is too dark!

Matte Foundation
This formulation is the one I prefer by far. Its coverage appeared smoother and heavier to me, and of course, on my terribly oily skin it wore better. However, its coverage was not as complete as J.Lynne's foundation, nor did it hold off the oilies as well even when combined with J.Lynne's matte primer.

It applied well, leaving me with that air-brushed look that only mineral foundations provide. However I was blotting in 2 hours of appliaction, and had to continually touch up during the day. Under this assault the coverage got a little cakey and patchy.

At $12 for a large foundation it is more affordable than J.Lynne and if my skin ever calms down a little I will probably go for it as it is a lovely foundation.

Intensive Foundation
Everyday Minerals intensive foundation is definitely not for me, although others may perfer it. I found that the colour was distinctly darker in the pot than the matte formulation and applied darker too. Its coverage is light - medium and is comparable with Silk Naturals. It has a more shimmery finish though, which is nice, but completely useless against the oilies. I oiled up in an hour and it just melted away by the end of the day.

If you prefer a lighter, more light-reflecting coverage though, this is the foundation for you. Only remember that the shades do seem to run rather dark.

Concealer
This would have been a lovely product if it wasn't too light for me. It covers completely and feels light and airy. It doesn't appear cakey (or at least I'm sure it wouldn't if it matched me better) and lasts quite well throughout the blotting and touching up. This light shade proved to be really quite good at hiding undereye circles without creasing, providing I used a light hand to avoid undereye racoon circles. I may give this concealer another try in a shade that matches me better and provide a fuller review. At $8 for a full size it's pretty good value for money, but a sample pot will last you ages.

Sparkle Bronzer
Described as a "deeper bronzer with a fine hint of sparkle, ideal for light to tan complexion" this product turned out to be a rather alarmingly dark brown in the pot with lots of multicoloured shimmer!

Applied it actually looks quite good, but it's highly pigmented and needs a light and cautious hand. The first time I was in a rush and just slapped it on I looked like I'd been in a dirt-wrestling match!

Colour-wise it's ok. The shimmer isn't too crazy when used, although it's not really subtle enough either. The colour also has a slight reddish undertone which I'm not crazy about as it doesn't look as flattering as golden-toned bronzers, and it really looks awful as an eyeshadow. I look like my eyes are irritated, which is a shame because it is so pigmented it would make a great eyeshadow.

Conclusion
Everyday Minerals is a good solid line of cosmetics that won't disappint, but I wasn't blown away by any of their products. Do give their free sample kit a try as its amazing value and the products could be just what you're looking for. I may give it another go myself as my ambivalence could be simply due to poor colour choice.