Guest Review: Joppa Minerals - the most befuddling foundation

Eli gives Joppa Minerals a try, and she loves it - no wait, she hates it, oh yeah she loves it, oops no... oh just read it yerself. =P

I ordered a 3 piece mini sampler kit from Joppa a few months during a free international shipping offer. The reason why I am only reviewing it now isn’t because I am busy (although I should be studying for my exams right now…) but because I couldn’t decide if I liked their foundation or not.

This is the most confusing foundation ever.

Before I jump into that though, Joopa’s mini sampler kit allows you a choice of 2 foundation powder samples and any one sample of their finishing silks for US $3.50. I ordered the shades Medium #2 and #3 in their Soft coverage formula and their original sheer finishing powder. Medium #2 is my perfect match.

FYI, their samples are smaller than EveryDay Minerals. The wee jar comes without a sifter. Be very careful when you open the jar as the grains are so finely milled, they go “poof!” into the air if you are hasty.

I adored the foundation the first time I put it on. It made my skin look pretty, even and glowy although I wasn’t using BB Cream underneath. With the finishing silk on top, I had that lovely soft focus look I thought only achievable with Photoshop.

“Waaaaaahhh, me so pretty.” I admired myself in the mirror for a bit and then happily skipped off for classes. I came back 6 hours later with the soft focus look mostly intact and very little oil.

For the next 3 days, I was really impressed and was seriously thinking of switching over from Silk Naturals to Joopa.

Summer came along in earnest not long after. I changed my moisturiser to one with SPF and stopped using makeup for a while to let my skin adjust to the weather and the new moisturiser. Once it had calmed down, I whipped Joopa out of my cupboard again and dusted it on. It looked a little flat this time but still pretty. I went off to class without thinking much about it.

When I came back, my face had a slight orange tinge – the foundation had oxidised on me. Eeeeek.

I wondered if it was the BB Cream so I didn’t use it the next day. Came home, checked, wasn’t orange.

Next day, I didn’t use BB Cream again but came home orange.

Hmm, maybe the moisturiser with SPF is causing the oxidisation. I switched back to my old moisturiser and tried the foundation without BB Cream. Came back normal.

I used normal moisturiser for the next 2 days only to come back orange both times.

EEHHH??!!

Unwilling to give up the mystery, I took a break for a few days and tried again. This time, I tried using normal moisturiser for a few days, moisturiser with SPF and then BB Cream with both, giving a few days break in between. The results were so erratic, I gave up. BB Cream didn’t seem to be a contributing factor either.

My sister suggested that Joopa foundation suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder.

The Verdict? When the foundation works, I look unbelievably pretty. When it doesn’t, I look like an overtanned Playboy Bunny gone bad – and I don’t mean “bad” in a hot n’ raunchy way. Otherwise, the foundation offers pretty good oil control on its own which could give SN’s oil control primer a run for their money.

I prefer Joopa’s finishing silk to SN’s Perfecting Powder though. Joopa is much finer, gives better oil control and although it does not work so well with other foundations, it still gives a very polished look.

Thumbs up for Joopa’s Finishing Silk and a no-no to their foundation from me. Pity as it would be HG material if it worked all the time.