Loose mineral foundation

Loose mineral foundation is foundation sold as a loose powder made mainly of finely milled minerals. Mica or sericite gives it slip and a soft glow; titanium dioxide and zinc oxide give it whiteness and cover; iron oxides give it colour; some formulas add bismuth oxychloride for a pearly finish. Unpressed and usually made without oils or binders, it is not so much applied as built: a little powder is buffed into the skin in thin layers until the coverage is right.

Most foundations are coloured with mineral pigments, so the word describes a form and a formula rather than a secret ingredient. What sets this kind apart from its neighbours is what is left out. A pressed mineral foundation adds binders so that it can be pressed into a compact. A loose setting powder has little or no pigment and is meant to fix a foundation, not replace one. A powder foundation is pressed and usually built on talc. Loose mineral foundation is the unbound version: adjustable, light on the skin, and messier to carry.

The method matters more than with any other foundation. Shake or tap a little powder through the sifter into the lid — less than seems enough. Swirl a kabuki or dense flat-top brush in the lid so the powder works down into the bristles, then tap the handle against the side so the excess falls back. Buff the brush over the face in small circles, starting at the centre and working outward, and repeat in thin layers until the coverage is where you want it.

Buffing, not sweeping, is what makes the powder look like skin: the circles press it into the surface and warm it slightly. Where you need more cover — over redness, marks or shadows — press or stipple a little extra on with a smaller brush. Start on moisturised skin that has had a few minutes to settle; on damp or oily patches the powder grabs and goes blotchy.

A loose mineral foundation also sets whatever is under it, so it can be buffed lightly over a concealer or a liquid base. For a less powdery finish at the end, mist the face with water or setting spray and let it dry.

Loose minerals look different in the jar from the way they look on the skin, often lighter or pinker, and some deepen a little over the first hour of wear. Test on the jaw, buffed in rather than dabbed, and judge it in daylight after some time has passed. Undertone matters as much as depth: a shade that leans too warm or too cool shows as a cast on the face.

Finishes divide broadly into luminous and matte. The luminous ones, often with mica or bismuth oxychloride, catch the light and suit normal to dry skin; the matte ones hold down shine and suit oilier skin better. If a luminous formula looks too shiny by midday, a matte one, or a light layer of a matte powder over it, is the fix. Coverage depends on how much powder is on the brush as much as on the formula: two or three thin layers look far more like skin than one heavy one.

A loose powder travels badly. Close the sifter after each use, keep the lid tight, and tap rather than shake. Wash the buffing brush every week or so with a gentle soap, since it goes back into the lid every day, and let it dry flat.

Keep the jar upright and dry: a damp brush pushed into loose powder leaves clumps that are hard to break up, and a clogged sifter can be cleared by pushing a clean, dry cotton bud gently through the holes. For travel, a pressed mineral foundation, or a brush that holds a little powder in its handle, spares the handbag.

As a named category, mineral foundation is recent, and its history is best documented through one company. The Bare Escentuals brand, according to its annual report, dates back to the opening of its first boutique in 1976.^[1] The company dates the launch of bareMinerals to 1995.^[2]

It was sold on television. The line was on air at QVC from 1997, and from 2002 in a long-form infomercial, programmes the company said were meant to “communicate the unique properties of mineral-based cosmetics and educate the consumer regarding proper application techniques”.^[1] The company went public on 4 October 2006. Its annual report filed in February 2008 described the products as “made primarily from finely milled minerals”, without the “preservatives, oil, fragrances, talc, waxes, binders” found in liquid, cream and pressed cosmetics, and noted that Avon, L’Oréal and Neutrogena had “recently launched mineral-based makeup”.^[1] In January 2010 Shiseido agreed to buy the company, presenting the purchase as an expansion into “the mineral-based cosmetics market”.^[3]

The record before bareMinerals is thin. The company called itself “a leader by sales and consumer awareness in mineral-based cosmetics”, a claim about its position rather than about who came first, and no source read here names a first loose mineral foundation.^[1] What has lasted is less the label than the method: a little powder in the lid, a brush swirled in it, and coverage built in thin, buffed layers.