Is This Really Mineral Makeup?

I had a customer send me an interesting ingredient list for a mineral makeup company, which shall remain nameless, only offering it in liquid form. She wanted to know if this was considered a mineral makeup and would it be safe to use since she had dry, yet acne prone skin and using powders, she thought would be too drying? With this question asked, I decided to share with my readers my findings.

I took a look at the company's profile and what they offered, and their foundations came in 3 formulas and all of their other products are in liquid form as well....blush, eye shadows, etc.

Now there are other mineral makeup companies that also will provide a liquid version and for the most part they are kept basic and use botanicals and essential oils for creating the liquid form. Nothing harmful or weird, and they keep it as natural as they can. However for safety reasons, most will have to use preservatives to prevent bacterial, fungal, and mold growth once moisture is added to the formula. It is usually in the form of parabens or a preservative blend and isn't always disclosed on the ingredient list.

Below is the list of ingredients of this company in question and it comes in a very limited color choice of only 4 shades. Needless to say this list of ingredients is nothing short of pure chemicals, and should be approached with caution.

Active Ingredients: Zinc Oxide-7% & Titanium Dioxide-2.4%
Ingredients: C11-13 Isoparaffin, Iron Oxides, Decamethyl Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclomethicone, Deionized Water, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Lauryl Methacrylate/Glycol Dimethacrylate Crosspolymer, Ethylene/Propylene/Styrene Copolymer, Butylene/Ethylene/Styrene Copolymer, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Glycerin, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone Copolymer, Cetyl Dimethicone, Hydrated Silica, PEG/Ppg-20/15 Dimethicone, Alumina, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Magnesium Sulfate, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben

Now when I took a look at this list of ingredients, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. In reviewing this product, I can only tell anyone curious, this is not mineral makeup and is basically a liquid sunscreen with color using the Active ingredients of titanium and zinc. You can basically get the same thing in Revlon Colorstay, but with a synthetic chemical sunscreen offered and some pretty fancy and more synthetic ingredients to compliment this list above.

The first ingredient is a purified petroleum distillate which is described as an ingredient used as a solvent which can cause temporary dryness with excessive contact to the skin in the MSDS (material safety data sheet). I would say everyday use would be pretty excessive.

Second ingredient iron oxides are your natural colorants.

The third ingredient is a siloxane fluid that is used in personal care products for a luxurious feel and is used in dry cleaning for suspension of dirt and oils from garments.

The fourth and fifth ingredient are pretty self explanatory, just water and silicone oil.

Sixth ingredient we have seen in our deodorants and other cosmetics and is considered a modified food starch, absorber, thickener and anti caking agent. Skin Deep Data Base give this ingredient a 9 on the safety scale. But again remember, this watchdog group also has an 89% data gap along with this assessment, so take with a grain of salt.

The seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth ingredients are film formers, binders, smoothing agents and also are highly water resistant. Unfortunately due to their properties, this would be like putting plastic or vinyl on your face and the redundancy of these ingredients makes for a product which would allow for very little breathing of your skin. It is essentially sealing the skin and keeping the product from shifting or running down your face. Though considered quite safe for skin care products they are comprised of more than one monomer which when chemically bonded, become polymers creating some suspect portion of these ingredients to not be totally without problems for the skin especially for those with acne. You will find many of these ingredients in conditioners and hairsprays or gels for keeping hair silky and frizz free.

Panthenol is a form of Vitamin B and is a humectant and moisturizer.

Phenoxyethanol is a broad spectrum preservative and why this is in there with all the other preservatives....? Redundancy again.

The redundancy of dimethicone oils are also self explanatory, however when seen with a prefix or and end ingredient within the name it is also another film former creating more blockage of pores. It may also be necessary to use this high ratio to offset the first ingredient used to fight a feeling of dryness.

Hydrated silica is used as a anti-caking agent and moisture absorber, and is considered an abrasive and is widely used in toothpaste and dentistry for cleaning teeth.

Alumina is used in antiperspirants and is an inorganic substance mined from the earth.

The ingredients before all the parabens is just another siloxane ether and is used as an emulsifier for keeping the ingredients blended and preventing separation. And the magnesium sulfate is an epsom salt and is used in laxatives. Not really quite sure why it is in a liquid makeup!

The redundancy of parabens is amazing and quite disconcerting. Although there are no studies with unequivocal proof as to how toxic or dangerous parabens are to our systems, there has been enough concern of late that the FDA provides a statement stating their position in this ongoing debate. And seeing them in such a high proportion, this goes beyond due diligence of protecting this emulsion.

I will be doing a follow up article finally on Parabens...Truth and Research. Keep an eye out for this one.

This company purports how all other mineral makeup companies offering their minerals in powder form are always drying, no matter what. And how their own products are moisturizing to the skin. All I can say is this makeup is far from moisturizing. It is only sealing the skin, preventing moisture loss while also blocking the essential air flow to the skin which is needed to keep it healthy. And it is the feeling of moistness due to all the silicone oils utilized they proclaim to give soft skin. In customer reviews similar results were noted that their skin could not breathe and it felt like a mask on....but there were others that loved it, but it was really for only flawless skin. Results weren't quite as good for those who wished to conceal an imperfection.

Any dryness affliction with some mineral powders it is not a direct result of powders per se, but is a result of using too much titanium dioxide or minimal ingredients with basic formulations of Mica, Iron Oxides and of course your essential minerals, titanium and zinc. There are some formulations that can be quite drying, but there are others that will not cause dryness at all. And you can usually avoid most dryness with the use of a great moisturizer beforehand.

Soothing botanicals offer great skin conditioning benefits and prevent dryness by trapping moisture against the skin preventing trans epidermal moisture loss, while still allowing skin to breathe. Something I have been successful in accomplishing in my mineral makeup foundation formulas. In fact many testimonials have stated our foundations will not make your skin feel dried out. Ratios of individual ingredients is what makes the end result accommodating to all skin types.

The only thing I can say about this product is...if liquid minerals are what you are into then by all means use them, yet know that there are other companies utilizing a more natural approach. Just remember, having zinc or titanium in a liquid product does not make it mineral makeup. Mineral makeup will always be comprised mainly of minerals with the occasional company infusing botanicals in order to provide more healing to the skin. Always remember, fewer ingredients means fewer skin sensitizers keeping it simple and safer to use mineral powders in the long run. What they also forget to let the consumer know is a liquid will be absorbed by the skin, so the synthetic chemicals in this product can also be absorbed.

A company by the name of Miessence seems to offer a decent liquid makeup and one that I referred to this client. And with the use of natural oils, these would actually be a truly moisturizing product, not one that seals the skin shut with plastics and vinyls. Again, not really much in the way of actual minerals are being used, so again a very nice skin moisturizer providing color and only Zinc Oxide for sun protection. And also their color range is very limited. But far better and safer than what is listed above. Again, liquids are absorbed, so as far as staying power for lasting coverage this is debatable. Reviews on this product are mixed. Some love it and some, though they thought it felt good on the skin, stated it didn't cover their acne and wore off by end of the day.

However, you can absolutely get a similar effect by moisturizing with an all organic line of skincare, followed up with staying power of mineral powders.

Me personally, I would want to put on my face what I know works and won't harm my skin in the form of great skincare. And then add a diverse healing mineral powder to my skin of optimum coverage with a minimalistic ingredient list keeping my skin free from junk and irritating chemicals. Also to offer me maximum sun protection through layering of the powders. You try to do this with liquid and it will and can appear caked and heavy....mask like. And no matter how hard these companies try, liquid mineral makeup will still run when it gets wet or you perspire.

The other thing that bothered me about this company that is connected with the ingredient list above, and their claims as to how great and healthy it is for skin is in researching their lip colors, they are also using FD&C Lakes for the individual shades. And the synthetic chemical profiles on their blushes and eye colors is profound.

Even though there are many companies out there offering great products and diversity is great for the consumer providing them choices... any company would be better served by sticking with the facts and promoting their products on their merits rather than discrediting an entire portion of the makeup industry with claims and innuendo that simply are not true in certain instances. Not all mineral makeup companies are created equal and I am sure that the founder of this line of cosmetics has not tried every powder formulation on the market to make her argument.

Just like Miessence vs this other company. Both liquid, but does this make all liquid makeup bad for the skin...Or are all liquid makeups created equal? Not at all, and in my opinion one is harmful to skin, and the other is far healthier and gentler to skin and one I would choose if I were wanting a liquid makeup. That is why choice is essential also...even my company will not and cannot be all things to all people as hard as I may strive to be.....but I'll always do my best to meet my customers' needs.

So with all of this clearly stated...Is this really mineral makeup?

No...but a liquid makeup with sunscreen provided by Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide and for the customer that posed the question...Although potentially not drying, her acne would more than likely get worse due to the ingredient profile.

Remember the rule of thumb....you can call something anything you want, just like those that claim they have an all natural organic skincare, yet you read the ingredient list and out of 20 or more ingredients, there are only a few botanicals with the rest being synthetic chemicals....this does not an organic skincare make.

In closing..... the same is true with liquid makeup. Putting a couple of minerals in it with everything else synthetic or organic within the product does not a mineral makeup make.

Stay healthy, be wise and always read your ingredient lists and not go strictly by proclamations and fancy titles.

Wishing everyone continued skin health.