Baubles, Rouge & Tulle: Powders and Foundations and Concealers, Oh My!

By Nicolle

If I could get away with wearing no make-up, I would. Unfortunately, my face is never quite as clear as I’d like, and the extra-cold, dry winter weather is making my skin pale, thin and sallow.

That said, I also don’t want to goop on a layer of chemical-ridden foundation every morning. I much prefer a lighter-coverage make-up that lightens my acne scars and doesn’t make my face break out.

Enter clean foundations and powders. They are great for both concealing and actually improving your skin. (That got your attention, right?) But powder or liquid? THAT is the question.

I used to be a hardcore liquid foundation advocate. I thought it covered better than powder, and I was looking for fuller coverage to hide ugly blemishes. Plus, as a former dance teacher, I needed something that held while I taught all day (in hindsight, it’s pretty disgusting how long I left foundation on whilst dripping sweat).

If I’d been on the clean makeup bandwagon then, I’d have gravitated toward Jane Iredale’s Dream Tint Tinted Moisturizer. It’s pretty light coverage, but its ingredients make it as much a moisturizer as a make-up. Your skin feels better after you put it on, which is rarely the case for a liquid base.

Jane Iredale also has a great Liquid Minerals. With more color choices than Dream Tint, this foundation is specifically formulated to be good for your skin. It feels silkier than the tinted moisturizer and it covers more fully too.

RMS Beauty also has a great concealer-foundation duo called the “Un” Cover Up. Again, its ingredients are meant to feed your skin, so you can feel good about what you’re slathering on. Use this as a spot concealer or a lightweight foundation.

Since diving into the clean beauty movement, I’ve become a mineral powder convert. I used to be convinced that it couldn’t cover my blemishes, even my skin tone or stay on as long as a liquid but the best powders have proved me totally wrong.

Praised for her fantastic (though not clean) tinted moisturizers and foundations, Laura Mercier actually has a great, clean mineral powder. It covers as well as a liquid and earned me numerous compliments on my face, which is always a good sign.

Heavy-hitter Jane Iredale comes back with the holy grail of powders: Both the PurePressed Base Mineral Foundation and the Amazing Base Mineral Foundation work wonders on concealing and providing great coverage (you can layer for fuller coverage, as long as you have the right color for your skin tone). I currently have one of each, a PurePressed that matches my winter skin tone and an Amazing Base leftover from summer that I’ve been using as a bronzer.

I also recently discovered Orglamix on Etsy. I haven’t tried the powder foundation yet, but have heard rave reviews (and I love their eyeshadows). Of course, there’s also the ever-popular bareMinerals, which I’ve heard gives great coverage and clearly has a huge following. My only caution: bareMinerals contains Bismuth Oxychlorid, which can cause irritation to sensitive skin (and why I haven’t tried it yet).

Mineral powder disclaimer: Any and all of these powders look horrible on dry skin, so make sure you’re drinking enough water, taking your vitamins and moisturizing well before you apply. You can also turn your mineral powders into tinted moisturizers by mixing a drop of your daily moisturizer (or facial oil) with a sprinkling of powder.

Your turn: Do you use a powder or a liquid? Are there any great clean foundations I’m missing? Leave me a comment below or shoot me an email at [email protected].