Makeup Alley Board: Go Green!

I have never been very active on the Makeup Alley boards, but I am really interested in a new board they started called "Go Green."

It is described as:

Go Green Board: Related Topics of Green Products + Eco-Friendly Living

Check it out, there are already some pretty interesting topics on there!

Organic Wear Pressed Powder

It's taken me a while to post this review because my interest in this line waned quite a while ago, but I want to take the time to write about my experience with the Physicians Formula Organic Wear Pressed Powder.
I had high hopes for it initially, the price point is so low and the ingredients are great. I matched the color to my current compact--translucent medium seemed the closest. The wording of the colors threw me off, to my mind translucent means that it offers no real coverage, but is mostly used for setting foundation or concealer and creating a matte finish. I wasn't sure if Translucent Medium meant it would actually be a powder foundation or not.
It turns out that it was a powder foundation and the first time I used it, I was really impressed. It had a soft glowy finish and covered amazingly well.
Once I looked at it in natural light, however I saw how wrong it was. It was far to shiny and highlighted pores and fine lines. It was very similar to the finish I experienced with Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals foundation.
I used to work for BE and I would leave my house feeling beautiful only to find myself blending frantically once I checked my makeup outside in natural light.
However, they were the first mineral makeup I was exposed to and I still believe that minerals are the way to go. Bare Escentuals just isn't the right brand for me.
And it's no wonder they seem similar, here are the ingredients:

Organic Wear

MICA, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS SEED OIL*, ZEA MAYS (CORN) STARCH*, MAGNESIUM STEARATE, KAOLIN, CALCIUM CARBONATE, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL*, GLYCERIN, GLYCINE SOJA (SOYBEAN) OIL*, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, CINNAMIC ACID, SODIUM LEVULINATE, TOCOPHEROL, WATER. MAY CONTAIN: IRON OXIDES, TITANIUM DIOXIDE. * PRODUCED FROM ORGANIC FARMING


Bare Minerals

Bismuth Oxychloride, Mica, Iron Oxide
*Bare Minerals Foundation May Also Contain:
Titanium Dioxide


It is definitely the mica that gives it the bizarre finish. It is wonderful in highlighters and shadows but terrible as a foundation. BE recommends that you follow up with the corn-starch based Mineral Veil and *surprise!* PF has a corn-starch based finishing powder. Although mica is, again the first ingredient leading me to believe that there is just no way to avoid a waxy-shiny finish with the Organic Wear powder products.
Also, if you'll notice that the BE products have a much shorter ingredient list since they don't add the gratuitous organic ingredients. I call them gratuitous because they could have a very similar product without adding any of the small amounts of botanicals that they did, leading me to believe that they just wanted to have a line that they could call "organic."
I really don't want to use more than one powder product, not only do I not want to take the time but I live in a warm climate and don't want to pile on a lot of products. I am very happy with my Glominerals foundation and you absolutely do not need a finishing powder. It is three times as much as the PF powder but once you factor in using a separate finishing powder, it's not much of a bargain time or money-wise.

Bottom Line:

My overall opinion of these products isn't very high, but I still like that companies such as this one are making more natural options widely available, I think that is very important. This line may work beautifully for some people, and most definitely Bare Minerals fans will love this foundation and it is about 1/3 of the price.
When I returned the concealer and powder that I bought I was hoping to exchange for the tinted moisturizer, but it was out of stock. If I do try it I will review it on makeup alley and link it here, to avoid yet ANOTHER post about this line.

Organic Confusion

I wanted to post a blog about organics and what that means in cosmetics.
Mineral makeup is a huge trend right now and it's a bit misleading...most powders are mineral-based. (whether it be talc, mica, bismuth, zinc, titanium dioxide, etc.) Liquid makeup is usually water or oil-based and can have mineral or synthetic coloring agents.
So what does that mean when you are looking for a "natural" or "organic" makeup?
Natural will mean that instead of chemical colorants like FD&C colors and synthetic lakes there will be pigments that are derived from plant and mineral sources. Natural can also mean that they avoid preservatives such as parabens and sometimes add anti-oxidants such as pomegranate, green tea and vitamin E to help further protect the skin.
Organic, on the other hand is only referring to the plant ingredients. It just means that any plant ingredients were grown without the use of pesticides. Minerals are mined from the earth and not grown so they can not be labeled organic.
I have discussed this issue a lot when I was working in beauty retail and was motivated to write a blog to clear up some confusion when I read a review about Physicians Formula Organic Wear pressed powder.
The reviewer seemed to think that because it was labeled "organic" and was pressed, not loose like a lot of popular mineral makeup that it was not mineral-based. This line is basically another mineral makeup line with the only difference being that the few plant ingredients are organic. This is not to say that it's not a great thing, I definitely want to avoid nasty pesticides whenever I can, but it worries me that the organic label can be confusing for consumers.

Makeup Alley

There have been a few things that have enriched my life on the internet. One is Google...another is Makeup Alley. I joined a couple of years ago so I could read product reviews. I love keeping up on current trends but I am mostly exposed to natural products. Makeup Alley helps me keep up with conventional brands that I may not have known about otherwise, especially after canceling my Allure subscription. (too anti-esthetician/anti-natural/pro-dermatologist/pro-plastic surgery)
Makeup Alley also lets you trade products you are not using for others that you want. This has been so fun for me, I've gotten some great stuff and (cyber) met some really great people.
I looooove natural products but have to admit I enjoy fun new colors. I'm a sucker for Smashbox, they've always been a somewhat guilty pleasure since they are a conventional line. I've been able to acquire a lot of their products on Makeup Alley.
I've also gotten a lot of Bare Escentuals (I worked there ten years ago and became addicted to their glimmers) and some really yummy candles and essential oils.
I have almost gone through all of my product "stash", all of the excess stuff I wasn't going to use and wanted to trade, so I am nearing the end of my swapping career. It's been really fun and I have a really satisfying new mix of products.