Mineral Foundation Transformer

Happy Ano Nuevo y'all!

I hope that the new year ushers in new goals and challenges and memorable moments for you all. My new year was spent quietly with my family. While the baby slept me and the hubby and my daughter who woke up to the sound of fireworks, had glasses of sparkling cider.  It was quiet and wonderful as she watched the vivid colors of the fireworks illuminate the night. 

Today I'm reviewing, a God send of a liquid that I purchased on Etsy via AceNaturals that makes any powder mineral foundation into a liquid foundation.  I recently have noticed that even with exfoliating the apples of my cheeks were getting dry patches and it was very revealing when i used my powder mineral foundation.  Even though i do moisturize with Argan oil and prime using mark. Primed for Perfection, my cheeks were still drying out. This was quite disturbing that despite all my efforts my skin still was not receiving enough moisture.  So the search for a liquid mineral foundation began...much to my dismay.  I abhor looking for foundation. It's a lot of testing and disappointment and frustration..not to mention a lot of monetary investment , even if it is samples. One and two dollars here and there really adds up. 

However, I pressed on, looking at sellers on Etsy who made liquid foundation, established indie companies that had their own line of LMF (liquid Mineral Foundation) and much to my dismay were the ingredients. I love PMF (Powder Mineral Foundation) because of the lack of ingredients. I in my current foundation there are 5 ingredients, all safe and lovely. In the light formulation of it there are 6 but again all stuff i trust and know won't harm my skin.  when liquid is added to PMF the issue of preservation becomes strongly apparent. Keeping the soft creamy feel of the foundation also is another issue and blending and not settling in fine lines etc..all the hassles of traditional liquid makeup comes back (of which i heartily tossed when making the switch to MMU year ago).

Ingredient lists get longer and more complex. Not the route I wanted to go. So i looked to see if there was a mist or a liquid by itself i could add to my PMF that would help.  Lots of sites suggest a mist of filtered water to set the makeup, but i hate misting my face.  Not a feeling i want everyday, plus it would ruin my hair in the process. Curly hair gals have enough to deal with. There were a couple of mixing mediums but the paraben preservatives immediately disqualified them.

Enter AceNaturals. Founder and owner of Organic Mobile Tanning, Erik Ace in Miami Florida, is an esthetician student and  handmakes all his products.  He has this liquid that is a mixture of oils which, when combined with PMF, creates a creamy luscious liquid foundation. The bottle of oils sells for $5.99. So, a small investment and oils, which work with my skin such as avocado, carrot and chamomile seed oils- all of which are great for the skin no matter your condition- how could i be dissapointed?

When it arrived in the mail I was so excited! Here is this small bottle of liquid gold that will help my face. The bottle was shrink wrapped and  came with a paper of detailed instructions and a small .15cc measuring scoop for my PMF.  The mixture of oils is silky smooth. When you follow the directions and incorporate with the PMF the result is a creamy, luxe combination of MMU. I didn't think this small scoop of PMF would cover my face but it does! The LMF glides on and sets to a powder finish that is light and barely detectable. My face felt soft, moisturized and lines were not visible. Remember, I do moisturize and prime before.  I also put on a very light dusting of finishing powder. Still had my glow from my foundation and the bennies of a liquid..yay! Great day in the Nation!

Test run was a girls nite with a friend and it was a great test run. My makeup didn't itch, my friend said I had good coverage and it looked great. Wasn't shiny and i didn't feel like i had a layer of stuff on my face!

So this Powder to Liquid Transformer (yes my name for it) gets 5 stars from me!
Check out AceNaturals on Etsy!

LA Minerals a Texas cosmetics company..Fabulous!

Well, in my journey for the ultimate mineral makeup I have encountered quite a few web pages and have greatly increased my delicious list. Upon good reviews from several makeup blogs, I decided to get samples from LA Minerals.

They offer a full line of cosmetics from foundation to lip balm and skin care. All made in the US and at great prices. Slightly less expensive than BE in the foundation area but a little more expensive than Everyday Minerals, the quality of the LA Minerals product that truly speaks for this company.

LA Minerals offers 3 levels of coverage with theier loose mineral foundations:(descriptions are from the website)

1) Hollywood: Hollywood Face BaseTM is a premium, medium to heavy coverage mineral makeup foundation that includes the best minerals and all natural mineral pigments, blended into a light-reflecting powder. Enhanced with pure silk powder, silica micro-spheres, and boron nitride minerals. Sweep on our luxurious, premium mineral foundation for a natural and flawless finish.

If other mineral foundations left you overly glowy and itching...give Hollywood Face Base a try.

2) Valley Girl: Valley Girl mineral foundation is our newest addition to the L.A. Minerals line. Designed with specific skin issues in mind, this heavy coverage, matte formula is gentle, pure and soothing.

• Acneic skin: the addition of Allantoin, famous for it's healing properties, acts as an antiseptic and skin soother. Acne is often aggravated by pore clogging makeup which holds onto dirt and oils, causing more acne. Our Valley Girl mineral foudation is free of talc, perfumes, bismuth, and chemicals. Gentle, pure minerals, infused with healing ingredients.
• Oily Skin: the addition of Kaolin Clay, world reknown as a centuries old secret to absorbing oil, will help keep your makeup looking fresh all day long. Instead of trapping the oil in your skin, our Valley Girl formula wisks it away into the millions of ultra-fine, oil absorbing, Kaolin Clay particles.
• Scarred Skin: Using industry leading minerals created for more opacity, the Valley Girl formula is the perfect choice for skin with scars or uneven skin tones

3) NoHoGlo:
NoHoGlo Face Base:

North Hollywood, otherwise known as NoHo just added you to the hotty list! Are you ready to transform your dull, lifeless skin into that ready-for the camera look? Then NoHoGlo is for you! This formula leaves you with a flawless, lit-from-within look with light to medium coverage.

This Boron Nitride based formula offers the benefits of increased adhesion, lubricity, soft-focus effect, dewy appearance, air-brushed look, anti-inflammatory, and a silky natural feel. Fantastic for young and aging skin alike. It has a tightening effect while absorbing excess oil, without drying out your skin.



I got some foundation samples and found that I am a Medium Neutral in Hollywood formulation. The sample cost only $2.00 for a mini sifter jar. Also ordered some eyeshadow samples in Aladdin's Lamp and Playful, which were $1 each for a 1/4 teaspoon in a small baggie. Today I'm wearing the foundation and Aladdin's Lamp eyeshadow and I went out running errands in the Texas heat with no air conditioning ( trying to save gas since it's $2.35 in some areas and $2.25 in other areas and that just irks and worries me).

Let me back track, putting the foundation on was like placing silk on my face. I don't even feel it on my face. A little goes a long way with this product. My initial application resulted in a color slightly darker than i had anticipated. This morning, I lightly applied the product and found that the color really blended lightly. My pores were covered and the result was immaculate.
Running errands resulted in slight itches but were soon over and my face has no oily shine, just a luminous look. The Texas heat can't beat this stuff!

The eyeshadow went on so lightly and i needed very little to get a great hit of color. Considering the baggies is only 1/4 tsp that says a lot. There was also no fallout and it felt creamy on my eyelid.

The full on foundation jar costs: $19.95 for 8 grams of product. Given that this stuff will last longer since so little is needed, this is a great price for a long lasting product translation= more bang for your buck.

Full size eyeshadow costs: $8.95 for a jar of 5 grams. It's a dollar more than Coastal Scents where you get 0.05 oz of product with them. Everyday Minerals costs $6 and 3.5 grams I have yet to try the shadows but i bet they are nice as well)

Blush is $10.95 for 20 grams (nt wt 4g), Coastal scents 2 grams (NT weight) for $8.95, and EDM for 8g NT weight at $8. Must try thier blush as well.

I'm very happy with this company as well. So exciting to find local companies that offer great products at great prices and care about what they do and how they make their products. Fabulous!

Customer service is quick and they are very helpful with recommendations and getting you to find the right shade.

Overall, this company has impressed me and i think so far this company may be the one I go with for my trip to Puerto Rico. I have one more sample set coming in from a company called Buff'd Cosmetics. They are out of Canada so we'll try them out as well my samples are on the way already. Happy Blingn' yall!