This is an overview of all things mineral makeup- brands, brushes, application, and general makeup tips are all going to be covered in this guide.  Mineral make up can save your skin, it has none of the terribly damaging chemicals found in most foundations, eyeshadows, and lipsticks out there today!

Brands

There are many, many different brands out there for mineral makeup.  Bare Minerals, Everyday Minerals, Sheer Cover, L'oreal, Neutrogena, Physician's Formula, Pure Luxe, Bare Escentuals, Urban Decay and many more are either lines of only mineral makeup, or have mineral makeup in addition to their other cosmetics.

How do you pick the brand for you? Well, there are a few things to consider, budget, what you want to get out of it, and coloring.

• Budget- how much are you willing to spend, some of the brands listed above can cost you well over $200 for a full set of mineral makeup, while others will cost very very little.
• What do you want? If all you want is a mineral foundation, then you can look at the lines that hae mineral makeup in addition to their normal lines.  If you are wanting a full set of mineral makeup, you will need to look at some of the more specialized makeup lines.
• Coloring- This is the most important part of choosing mineral makeup.  Some brands will have more colors, and colors that are closer to your range of colors.  For instance, you may not be able to use the "A" brand foundation because it doesn't come in a shade to match your skin tone, so you choose the "B" brand.  Some of these lines have a very limited range of colors, and it is harder to get a good match with mineral makeup.  I recommend buying samples or going to a store to try on mineral makeup before buying here on eBay or online.

Some of you may be going, "Well, what about quality, why are some drugstore brands up there with boutique lines?" The answer is that most all mineral makeup is made of the same components, so all of these brands use almost the same ingredients to get the job done, some may be more heavily pigmented, and that can both be good and bad.  http://people.delphiforums.com/tracikenyon/IngredList22405.html is a site that lists the ingredients of many mineral makeup lines.   Since mineral makeup is free of the kind of fillers that destroy your skin, it's more about finding the brand that is best for you to use, based upon, color, price, and coverage.

Brushes

Brushes are almost more important than the mineral makeup. You cannot go cheap on brushes, a cheap brush will shed all over your face and will have soft spots that will make your makeup apply un-even.  You will need a few different kinds of brushes.

• Angled Stiff Brush- used wet to apply eyeliner
• Small Soft Rounded Brush- used to apply eyeshadow
• Small Stiff Rounded Brush- for applying concealer
• Large Soft Rounded Brush- used to apply blush, a Fan Brush also works well for this
• Kabuki Brush- used to apply foundation, arguably the most important one there
  
• Super Soft Big Powder Brush- Used to dust on finishing powder -- can also be used for foundation
  
• Small Soft Brush with a cover/cap- Used to apply lip gloss to hold mineral makeup on lips

I have all these brushes, and I recommend having a few of each one (well, you don't need more than one powder, kabuki, or fan brush, but the brushes for eye shadow and lip gloss are great to have extra of)

*Brush Care

Your brushes are what make the mineral makeup work, if you get good quality, they will last for many years with proper care.  It is imperative to wash them well about once a week.  Doing this ensures that there are no bacteria or oils sitting on the brush long enough to start breaking down the fibers. 

Wash your brushes in the sink, in slightly warmer than lukewarm water, with a gentle soap, I use my facial wash. Move the bristles gently by holding them in between your thumb and first finger and gently rubbing back and forth.  After washing, rinse very thoroughly, you do not want soap sitting on your brushes.  Pat most of the way dry and leave on the counter, or out i the open to air dry, do not return them to a make up bag or drawer until they are completely dry, or else mold and mildew could grow on your brushes.

Application

I find that many people who say they are unhappy with mineral make up are not applying it correctly.  I'm going to walk you through how I apply my makeup every morning.

1. Start with a clean, moisturized face, with the moisturizer completely absorbed.
2. Shake a small amount of your concealer out into it's cap. 
3. Dip a small stiff rounded tip brush into the concealer, gently tap on the edge of the lid to remove excess from brush
4. Apply concealer with a light dabbing motion, covering the area you want to cover.  Do not worry about blending, once you apply the foundation, it will blend seamlessly. 
5. Repeat #2-4 with any other areas you feel the need to conceal. Tap the powder left in the cap (if there is any) back into the concealer tub and close, and place your concealer brush to the side you will not need them anymore!
6. Tap out some of your foundation into the cap as described for the concealer, and lightly tap your kabuki brush to remove any excess.
7. Apply your foundation starting from the center of your forehead. Put a little force into it (not a lot, but so you are pushing enough to blend your concealer) and mover in a a small circular buffing motion down your cheek and to your chin.
8. Repeat on the other side, and then fill in the rest of your face, neck, and a little blended down onto the chest, this makes sure you have no lines!
9. Using your preferred blush brush, and the same processes above, apply your blush. 
10. Tap a little of the eyeliner powder into the cap of the container, and fill a random soda bottle cap about 1/4 full of water (just a few drops).
11. Dip a stiff angled tip brush into the water, and pull out dragging up the side of the bottle cap, to remove excess water.
12. Dip the brush, just the tip of one side, gently into the powder, and tap only once on the side of the container.
13. Apply the eye liner using the wet brush method on your lids, right into and next to the lashline (not on that little lip right by your eyeball).
14. Apply your eyeshadow with small soft round tip brushes, tapping off excess before application. A slightly stiffer brush is good for blending colors together, but not necessary, you can use your finger or a soft brush to do the same thing.
15. Using a lip brush, apply a clear lip gloss (sometimes called the lip base)
16. Using a small soft tip round brush, gather up some lip color powder (you dont have to worry about excess too much here),  and lightly dab on lips, if you feel a little bit of the brush sticking, get more powder on it.
17. Use lip brush (that you used to put the gloss on) to blend and make sure the application of powder is even on the lips.
18. Put on your mascara
19. Using a large soft round powder brush, lightly dust ithe finishing dust all over your face, this sets your makeup and keeps you looking good all day.

I know it sounds like a lot, but this routine takes me less than 15 minutes.  If I need to run out the door in less than five, I omit the eyeshadow, liner, and lip color.

Tips and Tricks!

• Never buy before you try! Unless you don't mind being unhappy with your purchase, or are very familiar with the line.  Shade matching foundation is incredibly difficult, I'd have to recommend always trying a foundation before buying it!
• Apply your mineral makeup THINLY in soft sheer layers.  If you want more coverage, apply another layer, and then another, until you are happy.  99% of complaints about the cakey look are attributed to people applying too thick of layers.
• Get the right kind of formula. some lines offer things like "glowing foundation," "matte finish," etc. If you have normal, oily, or combination, go for the matte finish, it will help absorb that extra oil and keep you looking fresh.  If you have dry skin go for the glow look, it will help your skin look less parched!
• Take care of your hair! It frames your face! A gorgeous picture in an ugly frame will never look as good as it will in a beautifully properly maintained frame.
• Get in touch with your true colors.  Don't wear neon pink eyeshadow unless it's for a costume type thing.  Stick to colors found on humans, mauves, light pinks, blues, greys, greens, browns, and so on.  They will be much more flattering.
• Put some powder in your brows if you have very light or sparse brows, just lightly dab it right on top of your brows, and it'll settle in.

I hope this guide has made ou more interested in mineral makeup. Aside from looking amazing, it is great for your skin, and isn't made with harsh chemical processing that pllutes our environment! If you ever have any questions, feel free to contact me!