Mineral Makeup Review : Lauren Hutton Aqua Elements

A few months ago, some PR person representing Lauren Hutton emailed me and asked if I would like to review their product, and I was quite intrigued with the literature that she has sent me with mineral makeup , infused with “water”. So, I said okay because I was intrigued with the idea. Now, here is my review of Lauren Hutton’s “Water Mineral Makeup”, Aqua Elements.

First of all, let me introduce you to Lauren Hutton’s mineral makeup concept. When Lauren Hutton went back to modelling at age 46, she came up with her own line of mineral makeup that addresses the needs for women aged 35. What differentiates her mineral makeup from the rest is her matte, stone-based formulas to provide natural-looking coverage ideal for older skin. Her mineral makeup addresses the concern that some people don’t like “shiny white masks” that mineral makeup gives to its wearer. In my opinion, there are a huge number of mineral makeup brands that don’t leave shiny white masks at all, the trick is just getting your exact shade and you’d be fine. But still, Lauren Hutton’s mineral makeup is different in the sense that it incorporates these anti-aging elements derived from rock minerals into its mineral makeup, namely,

* Malachite – to act like a protective glove over the skin and defend it against everyday environmental damage; to provide deep moisturization benefits; to accelerate cellular repair and thicken skin’s elasticity due to its high copper content
* Hematite – to impart strength, suppleness and elasticity to the skin due to its high content of Vitamin C and iron; to fill in wrinkles and plump the skin; to optimize collagen production
* Smithsonite – to provide constant skin protection against environmental stress; to increase natural collagen production; to aid in elastin synthesis; to provide natural anti-bacterial benefits

Whew, the literature sure is impressive upon reading it. Another concern that Lauren Hutton addresses is the concern of some that mineral makeup can be drying for them. Thus,

To counter this problem, Hutton has designed AquaElements’ formulas with the hydrating benefits of water through a proprietary manufacturing process known as Aqua-Fusion – a proprietary process that that incorporates silica beads filled with water into the powders. These beads burst upon application from the heat of the skin, adding much-needed moisture and providing a cooling sensation. Aqua-Elements provides moisture but is comfortable to wear and good for the skin without any caking or clogging, common in most liquid foundations.

Okay, this seems to address concerns of women who are aging, who have dry skin, and who hate the whitish cast that mineral makeup imparts, as some say. I’m far from aging, but the PR repassured me that it was alright for me to use it because it looks great on any age bracket. Great. After all, it wouldn’t hurt to take years off my face to make me a teenager! Haha!

Okay, now that the concept’s well discussed, let me review the products one by one. The set includes 1 compact of Base Elements, 1 compact of Color Elements, 1 Aqua Elements Tinted Lipbalm, 1 Better Than Spice Lip Pencil, and Aqua Elements Premium Powder Brush. It comes in four shades, namely Pink – for the porcelain skinned, Yellow -for light to medium skin, esp. for Asians, Olive – for medium skin tones, and Brown, for dark skinned individuals.

First of all, let me just exclaim, and shamelessly swoon on the packaging. The packaging is simply gorgeous! Minerals housed in a two-layer compact? How cool is that! It is indeed very compact, and easy to bring anywhere, and it is just divine – when you see it, you’ll just sigh on how perfect it looks like. One thing though – for the loose minerals, it has such impressive rubber contraption that re-seals the sifter right after use. But my problem was I didn’t know how to get the product out of the sifter! I figured it out a few moments after that I either had to tap the whole compact, to get some product out, or remove the sifter stopper and turn the compact outside down ( closed ) to get some product.

First, Base Elements. Base Elements is the foundation-concealer combo of the set. It had a generous amount of loose mineral foundation on the compact, while on the second layer, it had two shades of concealer- a Sheer Shade for undereye circles and a Spot concealer for problem areas. First, I applied the foundation using the Premium Powder Brush. Let me just say that the brush sure picks up the product nicely, and it is close to the quality of Bare Escentuals brushes – it was just “alright”, but it wasn’t the softest brush. Sometimes , we don’t need brushes that are too soft, with the fear that it might not pick up minerals well. This was just right for picking up the foundation, which was very sheer, and lighter than other brands. One sweep, and I could see my skin actually looking better. I was surprised because it didn’t give ANY shine at all – it was incredibly matte, it was just like my skin, only more flawless and matte . But then, I still had the normal imperfections – my blemishes, and my under eye circle. Whipping up my ever reliable concealer brush, I used these and it concealed whatever I wanted to hide, alright.

But one word of caution – these concealers are really rich, so you might need to apply a heavier layer of foundation over it to cover the concealed parts. I needed to blend the cream-based concealers well on my skin and apply another layer of foundation using a sponge to do a full coverage look. And to my delight, no matter how thick I apply foundation, it still seemed natural on me. It didn’t look like makeup at all. I actually liked it. For the staying power, it seemed consistent on me and I still had to touch up once in a while because of my highly impossible skin. I also still had to apply a finishing powder to mattify my oilies since my skin is very, very oily. But to judge the quality of this mineral makeup – it is really, really good in terms of looking natural and no-shine effect. It has this “smoothing” away effect, that women aged 35 and up would surely surely love.

As for the Color Elements, it included one all over face color ( seemed like a blush to me, ), two shades of face color – Pooch and Nose, Contour Shadow, and one Wet/Dry Eyeliner. The blush looks really natural on my face, and I liked it alot. It gave me a natural, matte reddish flush on me that is just subtle. For the eyeshadows, I honestly didn’t know how to use it on the pooch , nose, and contour ( since I didn’t have pooch issues yet ) , so I decided to use it on my eyes, instead! I used the lighter shade on my whole lid, the medium shade on my inner V, and the wet/dry eyeliner ( in brow ) on my outer V and further blended. The wet/dry eyeliner is double purpose, in my opinion. I used it on my outer V, and used an angled liner brush on my lashline to pull off that ultimately classic smokey eye. I was far from disappointed with the compliments I got from friends on how pretty my eyes look. Coolness!

Okay, the last two products earn my biggest raves, ever. The tinted lipbalm is SO great. It’s in lipstick form, and it’s what I’ve ever wanted in a lipstick – it moisturizes, it stays for long, and it is the perfect red for me! It’s not matte , loud red, it’s sort of glossy ( since it’s a lipbalm ), but it gave my lips this reddish tint that looks absolutely lovely that I felt like Ashley Judd. Hahaha! The lipliner is another great thing. It stays on FOREVER, and it compliments the lipbalm very very well.

To sum it all up, I liked Lauren Hutton’s Aqua Elements. Though I honestly couldn’t see the anti-aging effect on me because I’m in my early twenties , I loved the quality of the product – it made my skin look flawless, concealed good though I needed extra effort for adding another layer of foundation. The foundation is very sheer, and it is perfect for women who hate thick, goopy makeup. It would feel like they didn’t wear any makeup at all. I’m sure that this is for the woman who wants to age gracefully, and keep themselves looking polished all the time. For the price, it is already an absolute steal at $ 60.00 – you’d get to have foundations, concealers, blush, eyecolors, eyeliner, lipstick , lipliner, and a brush. Total elegance for a fraction of the price! This makes a great mother’s day gift for any mom, because of its promising qualities , that I am happy to be able to review!