With my recent love for playing and experimenting with eyeshadows, I have tried Avon Smooth Mineral Eyeshadow.

Superfine powder pigments blend like a dream. Use one or layer, go sheer or smoky. Whisper-soft, air-light. Natural radiance, pure luxury.

Loose eyeshadow. Using loose mineral eyeshadows must entail a very careful application, for once powder falls on unwanted places ( like your undereyes ) , they are very hard to remove. A generous dusting of loose powder under the eyes is most recommended prior to playing with loose eyeshadows. Let the excess powder fall of there. Sweep them away later.

Checking out the packaging of Avon Smooth Mineral Shadow, it comes with an instant brush applicator. As you open the container, you get to pull up your brush with product on the brush already. You can always re-dip for extra color. The brush is made of animal hair - the quality is okay, but if you’re comfortable with longer handled brushes, you can always skip the brush.

Avon Smooth Mineral Eyeshadow has three shades - Mocha Goddess, Midnight Mauve, and Pixie Dust. What I have here is the Mocha Goddess and Midnight Mauve. Mocha Goddess is a very pretty shimmery medium brown with a hint of copper, while Midnight Mauve is a shimmery, buildable mauve color.

Though Midnight Mauve is a very very sexy color for smoky eyes, my personal biased choice goes to Mocha Goddess. Reason? Blame me, I’m a neutrals addict. I used this once for a date, and the brown had some hints of copper ( being not totally brown, a very very warm brown, in fact ) , and I loved how it looked on my lids. Take note that I only used the color, and nothing else. I played with gradient and packed and deposited more pigment near the lashline, working my way up, giving a lifting gradient ( from dark to light, going up ). Yes, you can play with just one color of eyeshadow!

To comment on the texture, and staying power, an eyeshadow primer would have to be applied prior to applying this, for aside from its being loose mineral, it won’t adhere as good on your lids without a cream product underneath - if you don’t have an eyeshadow primer, your trusty creamy concealer would do. This goes normally for loose mineral eyeshadows, or even selected pressed eyeshadows. So make it a habit to apply something creamy on your lids to prime before applying eyeshadow. It makes a HUGE difference. Color payoff is better, and staying power is definitely more satisfactory!

Well, if you ask if I love this? I’m like it. They’re beautiful and they’re wearable. Truth be told, there is one star product from the Avon Smooth Minerals Line that I’m giving a huge rave to. Stay tuned!

April 22 is Earth Day, and it’s never too early to treat yourself or a friend with a little gift that will both lift spirits and benefit the earth. Alima Pure’s new Cascadia Collection celebrates the natural beauty of our home in Oregon with four beautiful shadows that are named for some of our naturally gorgeous geographical treasures.

What’s a BOGO sale? it’s a buy one, take one sale! Now, isn’t that just fabulous! I remembered buying last year during Earthen Glow Minerals’ BOGO sale because I thought it was such a great deal. More mineral makeup, for just the price of one!

With The Purchase Of Each Full Size Item
You May Choose One of Equal or Lesser Value Free
**(see the list of not included items below)

Easy as 1-2-3
1.Make your selections.
2. Place the items you are going to purchase in the shopping cart (keep a list of your free BOGO items).
3.At checkout in ‘Customer Notes’ say “My BOGO Items Are:” and list your free items. We will include the Free Items with your order.

*** Not Included ***
*Kits & Samples
* Bath and Body
* Tools

Nowadays, with every product having the word “natural”, “organic”, “preservative-free” being the entice-factor to every person’s shopping decision, mineral makeup is the choice for the health conscious women ( and men ) out there.

I’ve been obsessed with mineral makeup, and made the switch almost the same time as I started my blog. If you ask me if I still use traditional makeup - I say yes, but it stays less than 24 hours on my face. And I use it sparingly. Mineral makeup will be my ultimate choice for everyday makeup, and even makeup for special occasions. Mineral makeup is the only kind of makeup that my skin feels home to. Alot of women ( and men, for that matter ) are starting to embrace and make the switch to mineral makeup, for mineral makeup does not clog pores and does not aggravate acne. In other words, mineral makeup is makeup that gives you no headache.

Say hello to Avon Smooth Mineral Foundation, Avon’s answer to the needs of women today, with its version of mineral makeup.

Looking at it overall, it’s packed in such a cute way that there’s already a kabuki brush that you can just use to apply your mineral foundation with. Nice, huh? It is actually a steal already for P 499.00, with a mineral foundation , and makeup brush in one!

When it launched in the Philippines just this February, it introduced two shades, a lighter shade called Almond, and a darker one called Buff.

Swatching it further, I was actually surprised that Almond, which was supposed to be the lighter shade, was still darker than my skin tone ( which was light, or light-medium ). Applying it on my face made my face dark. I conclude that Almond is good for those who use medium shades.

Buff, which is the darker color, will work great for those who use deeper shades of foundation - perhaps a tan complexion.

I was actually disappointed that Avon didn’t have a shade to suit my complexion, but take it this way - those who have trouble finding shades for their skin, might be able to find the perfect match with these deep shades of Avon Smooth Mineral Foundation.

Well, with me not giving up, I still decided to roadtest this and try to sport a tanned face for an entire office day. With my mom exclaiming on how tanned I look, I simply told her that I was roadtesting Avon’s mineral makeup line. Haha!

As for the texture, I see no shimmer on my face upon application. The color goes on smoothly, and it feels light on the skin. A few hours after, I don’t see or feel my face oiling up ( which is a good thing ), but after a grueling day, I felt that touchups were needed to keep the makeup on. One good way to make this stay on the skin is spritzing with moisture mist after foundation application, then setting with finishing powder.

Overall, Avon Smooth Mineral Foundation has the texture , but requires effort for it to last the whole day. Perhaps spritzing with moisture mist, or just bringing it along with you. The effect is natural, and does not look like the face is overly made up. Definitely something to try. I really hope that Avon launches lighter shades for their Smooth Mineral Foundation product.

Ingredients :
Kaolin, Zinc PCA, Sodium Hyalurion ATE, Sodium PCA, Lecithin, Urea C12-15 Alkyl Bezo ATE, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Water, Lauryl PCA, Threhalose, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Atelocollagen, Phenyl Trimethicone, Beta-Carotene, Polyquaternium-51, Retinyl Palmitqte, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Tocopherol, Nylon -12, Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben. May Contain : CI 77019, CI 771891, CI 77491, CI 77492/CI 77499, CI 77163

Larenim, the mineral makeup brand voted Best Natural Makeup 2008 for Eye Colour by Better Nutrition magazine, never fails to wow me. Their mineral finishing powders are simply superb, and their mineral eyeshadows are subtle, but very classy.

Aubrey Nicole’s having a fabulous sale this entire January!

Hi girls!

My apologies for my lack of updates in The Mineral Makeup Blog. But then, we here at The Mineral Makeup Blog are here to stay and give you the latest updates and more articles! Here’s to a great 2010!

Looks like there’s a new mineral makeup brand in the block!

Fresh Minerals, comes with a very “fresh” tagline, “beauty never felt this fresh.” I havent tried the line for myself, but what impressed me at first inspection on their website is the packaging.

The foundations are packaged just like Philosophy’s Supernatural Mineral Powder, the concealer tube with brush looks like a Tarte product, other mineral powders are in very convenient pump brushes, and the color scheme, including the lipstick’s packaging, is very much Shiseido. Mineral eye powders look like Bare Escentuals packaging. I must say, the packaging and presentation is very elegant, but, will it fare well on our skin?

The line looks complete, from primer, to loose mineral foundation, pressed mineral powder, loose mineral bronzer, light reflecting concealer ( in liquid form ), pressed mineral blush, loose mineral eyeshadows, and even mineral lipsticks!

Anyone who has tried this line? I’m very very curious about it!

Everyday Minerals
www.everydayminerals.com

Free Big size sunlight concealer, all orders over $35, minus shipping, discount and tax, no code required
Tons of new features:
New “try me” kits valued at $5 AND you can add 1 for free to your orders
25% off for 5 to 11 items AND 45% off for 12 to infinity!

Aromaleigh’s FB:
www.aromaleigh.com
Get a head start on our September sale! Save 20% off with code virgo20 through 9/6

LaurEss Back to School Sale
www.lauress.com
25% off all cosmetics! No coupon code needed. Prices are already marked down.

MELANGE
http://www.melangecosmetics.com/
25% Off Mineral Makeup with Coupon Code: AugSale25

Combine your MeLange Beauty Bucks and Facebook Friends discount for more savings!

MAD MINERALS Moving Sale!
www.madminerals.org
We are moving our facility to a new & larger location within the next 90 days. During this time we are offering many items at a huge discount making it a easier transition. Shipping times may be slightly delayed, but we will do our best to process orders in a fast & timely manner.

We appreciate your patience, support & understanding!
Hugs,
Barbi & the M*A*D Crew

15% Off! Everything in our store!
This includes items already marked down! Great bargains!
Check out our new category :
!!! UP TO 70% OFF !!!

Adorned With Grace Sale
www.adornedwithgrace.ecrater.com
* 10% off single, full sized mineral products
*price-off on some face brushes in both Ingenue and Premium Lne
* update : added a Limited Edition Custom Kit wherein you get to choose a full-sized foundation, with your choice of either one powder, one blush, or two eyecolors.

If you spend exactly $50 or more, you’ll get a 10% Discount Code to use for your NEXT order. If you end up spending up to $100, you will get a 20% Discount Code–so the more you spend this time, the more you’ll save next time! Just CLICK HERE to take advantage of the Blog Special which will run a little longer than our usual Blog Special, from today, August 19 to next Friday, August 28.

Joppa Minerals Sale
www.joppaminerals.com
* save 25% on all purchases over $10 with discount code BTS2009. Offer is good until August 27, 2009