Mineral Makeup Review : Lauress Cosmetics

My friend, and fellow mineral makeup addict Aileen was so gracious enough to take part in the Mineral Makeup Blog’s series of reviews of various mineral makeup brands. One of the brands that she has tried is Lauress Cosmetics. Here’s her review of the mineral makeup brand Lauress! Thank you to Lauren Sheahan, owner of Lauress Cosmetics for the products that Aileen received on behalf of The Mineral Makeup Blog!

Here is Aileen’s Review :

It was a tiring weekday afternoon when I pulled into our driveway and did my usual routine of checking the mail. I was surprised when I saw a hefty Priority Mail box together with all the usual mail. It said it was from LaurEss Cosmetics, and I finally remembered I was supposed to expect some samples that they were sending my way as the Mineral Makeup Blog arranged it for me to review their products. I just didn’t realize that the “samples” I got were actually full-size containers of not less than six of their products! I was floored. I carefully opened the package and marveled at how generous the amount of product was. I received the following: foundation pots in Gentle Beige, Light Natural, and Subtle Beige, a pot of Fantastic Finish in Light, Blushing Lights in Serendipity and Lip Gloss in Treasure. The products were technically gifts that I was quite thrilled to receive.

What I did have a little difficulty in though was finding the correct shade for my skintone. Light Natural was too light, Gentle Beige was too dark, Subtle Beige a tad dark as well. It took me a couple of days to find the right shade for me: 2 parts Light Natural with 1 part of Gentle Beige. I have my own unique way of applying mineral makeup: I spritz my blush with a moisture spray like MAC Fix+ for a longer-lasting, flawless finish. I decided to apply the same with my LaurEss mineral foundation, and I was just amazed with the results. I mix Light Natural with Gentle Beige, swirl the minerals in my MAC 182 buffer brush, tap excess, and spritz some MAC Fix+ moisture spray on my brush, and buff as usual. The effect: flawless, creamy, beautiful buildable coverage, amazing texture. LaurEss is the most velvety of all the mineral makeup I have tried. Running my knuckle along my jawline is like running my hands on plush velvet. It doesn’t have the drag I expected with mineral makeup that lacks the bismuth oxide ingredient. It has a very lightweight feel, and doesn’t even feel that I have any makeup on.

Their finisher is also a remarkable product. I received their Fantastic Finish in Light and I was amazed on two points. One, the texture of the product is unlike any other finishing powder I have tried, even those of other mineral makeup brands I’ve tried. It doesn’t have the powdery texture I’ve been used to, instead the Fantastic Finish is almost creamy, like the foundation itself. Point number two: the clay ingredient. The secret in the texture is the kaolin clay, which is used instead of the usual cornstarch. Needless to say, the finish is flawless and the oil-absorbing properties are outstanding.

The Serendipity blush,on the other hand, barely showed on my skin. Maybe I needed a darker shade to make it show on my skin. The blush size is very generous, however; I can’t imagine how I can ever finish it all.

The lipgloss in Treasure is nice; it has a pleasant chocolate scent and taste, and the color is an opaque shiny pinkish mauve that looks so pretty on the lips. I am a chocoholic and having a pretty shade of gloss with a definite chocolatey taste is such a treat for me. I’d love to try out more of the shades and it really complements my skintone.”

Is there a drawback to this mineral makeup line? I would say all things being equal, yes, and that is, the price. I was amazed to find out that this is even more expensive than the leading mineral makeup brand (just a dollar difference; however, the leading brand uses 9g pots whereas LaurEss has 8g pots). I have also discovered another mineral makeup brand that is sold for less than half the price of the leading mineral makeup, and it is slowly gaining fans all across the globe for their outstanding makeup quality, excellent coverage and flawless finish. Other lower-priced mineral makeup brands have sprouted all over the internet and a good number of women in makeup boards has attested to their beauty and outstanding coverage. I am just concerned that a company like LaurEss might end up fading into the woodwork because of its high prices. Sure, it does not contain bismuth oxide, nor cornstarch, but the lower-priced mineral makeup brands do not have bismuth as well and are starting to eliminate cornstarch in their finishing powders, which leaves LaurEss offering nothing new. Bottom-line is, the price is a major drawback for me despite the excellent properties of LaurEss mineral makeup, mainly because there are other mineral makeup brands that offer the same flawless finish and excellent coverage or less than half of LaurEss tag price. I’d love to patronize LaurEss products should they make their prices more competitive. As it is, however, given the global economic crunch and given great mineral makeup brands sold at less than half the price of LaurEss, it is indeed very tempting to buy lower-priced mineral makeup brands that perform quite good, as well. LaurEss is one of the best brands of mineral makeup I’ve tried, however, and it’s such a shame on my part to let go of it based on the price. Hopefully, LaurEss makes its prices a little bit more competitive, and I’m pretty sure it will convert more loyal patrons of the “other” brands because pound for pound, LaurEss feels better on the skin and looks wonderful, as well.

The Mineral Makeup Girl’s Note :
Aileen looks totally radiant with Lauress Cosmetics! I can see in the picture that the foundation and finishing powder looks totally natural on the skin, and gives off that creamy complexion that Aileen has in the picture. I can’t even distinguish if foundation was really applied, because the foundation applied looks like bare , beautiful skin! Nice! Thanks Aileen!