Maybelline Mineral Powder

I have fantasies about finding amazing and comparable drugstore products and being able to expose the 'truth' about those high-priced cosmetics. I wish I could tell you Olay Complete Defense is as good as La Mer for my skin. But having been the guinea in this piggly situation, I can tell you there is a marked difference. I still heart Oil of Olay and use it-- don't get me wrong. It's just like Jell-O and Creme Brulee. Jell-O can never be Creme Brulee (but weirdly Jell-O can be delicious flan. The metaphor is running away from me now so I will stop).

Anyway I recently received some Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Powder Makeup in Classic Ivory, about $10. (color match success! And being a medium tone, I would never have ever thought myself to be an ivory.)

Anyway, I use mineral makeup-- Bare Escentuals has served me well and I was eager to try out something new. You know when you find that one thing that works, you keep thinking if I got it right on the first try, I should be able to find things that are even bigger and better. Let me tell you, that is not the case here.

In terms of look of the product, it is the same as Bare Minerals. However, the application and wear are very different. Whereas Bare Minerals tends to more or less blend well and melt into my skin, I felt the Maybelline Mineral Power Powder (say that fast!)-- anyway the Maybelline powder 'sat' on my skin. It lacked some of the creaminess that I get from the Bare Minerals. It was way more drying and instead of the 'candlelit' glow I have come to know and love from Bare, I got more of a 'powdered' finish.

The brush it comes with is way too small and ineffective (the size of the brush in proportion to the makeup is not to scale in the photo). It's actually kind of cute in that it is so small, but it doesn't work as a serious makeup applicator since this product claims to have medium coverage. I switched to my Trish McEvoy brush that I usually use with Bare Minerals. Switching brushes helped a little in the application process, but I definitely felt drier and more powdered and less 'lit from within' (as my dear infomercial darling Leslie Blodgett always boasts about her precious Bare Minerals on QVC).

I don't plan to continue using this product unless I am in a jam. And-- one more little sidenote: I dropped the little plastic jar, and it cracked. Just broke in two. So I am more or less forced to throw this stuff out. I don't know if it was just the angle upon which it fell, but I was severely disappointed that something as minor as falling the 3 feet off my bathroom counter was enough to straight up crack this little thing.

SO my one huge caveat is that even with Bare Minerals, I really emphasize the importance of exfoliating, otherwise the powder will highlight the uneven texture of your skin. I used the Maybelline powder after an excellent exfoliation session, and it still left that 'sitting on my skin' feeling. Bare will do this usually only when one has not exfoliated properly.

Back to Bare Minerals for me. Sorry Maybelline.

Candlit Kisses!

S.