Loose Powder

This Mineral Wear Correcting Powder is another Physicians formula 3-in-1. The powder is advertised to correct skin imperfections, smooth skin textures and skin tone. Like most of the other Mineral Wear the correcting powder is talc-free, hypoallergenic, fragrance free, non-comedogenic, and paraben free.

I tried using the correcting powder by itself, but I found it didn’t do much covering up or evening out of my skin tone. It mostly just made my complexion lighter. The correcting powdered consists of four colors, pink, yellow, green, and peach swirled together on the palette. The three main colors are Pink for brightening, Green to tone down redness, and Yellow to add warmth. The compact also comes with a built-in mirror and a flat brush. I have expressed my dislike of the brushes that come with the Physicians Formula compacts in the past, so I refrain from using the included brush and use a mini kabuki brush from eco-tools instead. Since the powder doesn’t work well as a primer or corrector for me, I’ve been using the powder as a finishing veil. In fact the powder works quite well as a finishing veil in absorbing any access oils or moisture on my face.

So if you are looking for an alternative translucent finishing veil this talc-free correcting powder might work for you.

I thought I would give Physicians Formula new Correcting Primer a try since it had a Try Me Free sticker attached to it. Additionally, I was in the market for new concealer. This primer is promoted as a 3-in-1 corrector + Primer + Sun protection, since this primer also has SPF 15.

This Correcting Primer comes in three different colors, green, yellow, and pink. I opted for the green color since I tend to use the green concealer to offset redness from my skin blemishes.

The correcting primer comes in a container with a flat brush shaped like a concealer brush. With a couple twists of the tube the correcting primer will flow through the brush and you can apply the correcting primer without having to use your hands, which is very convenient.

However, having only used foundation primers that give my face a soft silky feeling, this primer did not give the same effect at all. This primer is more of a concealer than a primer since it is a lot thicker than the face primers that I am used too, but still smooths out your complexion just without the silky feeling.

Despite this correcting primer not give my face an instant silky smooth feel, this primer does managed to hold my foundation in place for the whole day and it did not feel heavy or constricting to my pores since this correcting primer is also talc-free, hypoallegenic, fragrance free, paraben-free, non-comedogenic, and oil free.

Overall, this correcting primer does its job in concealing my blemishes effectively, smoothing my complexion, helping my makeup last longer, and giving me some sun protection. If you don’t mind not having the silky smoothing feeling for a primer, I’d recommend this correcting primer since it is 3-in-1, and we all know we can use a few less things in our makeup bags.

After reading Saucebox’s review about gel liners I decided I should give it a try. Being a fan of Physicians Formula’s cosmetics I decided to pick, up their gel cream liner for brown eyes.

The brown eyes gel creamliner comes with three colors: brown, purple, and black. The three colors come in three separate stackable containers that stick together or can come apart if you only want to carry around one color. The set also comes with a liner brush. The brush could be a bit on the thick side, but I found it a good size since I need a thicker line for my monolids.

The colors in the set complement brown eyes very well. I did not think that I would use the purple color liner much, but the color of the purple is a dark purple and works very well as a liner if you want bold color that isn’t black or brown.

I’ve always had been a pencil liner girl, since I have horrible hand coordination when it comes to using liquid eyeliner. It always turns into a disaster.  But gel liners are the best comprise for someone, like me, who is horrible in drawing a straight line without it smearing the liquid all over her eye lids.

Gel liners give you the bold lines of a liquid eyeliner without the mess, and I love it.

This gel cream liner goes on very smooth and does not smear or crease. It also lasts all day with a primer. Lastly, the gel liner cleans off very easily. There is no need to scrub your eyelids raw to remove this.

I may be disappointed Physicians Forumlas mascaras, but their Gel Liner has definitely not disappoint. However, they might be a bit on the prices side since the containers are a bit small, but then again you do get a sample of three colors that you can mix and match for the look that you want.

After reading Cyn’s review about a different Organic Wear Mascara, I was a bit hesitant on trying the latest Jumbo Lash Mascara, but since there was a Try Me Free sticker on the one I picked up, I thought I’d give it a go.

For those that like green products this product has the following listed on the box:

• 100% Free of Harsh Chemicals
• 100% Free of Synthetic Preservatives
• 100% Free of Parabens
• 100% free of GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms)
• 100% Free of Synthetic Colors
• 100% Free of Synthetic Fragrances
• 100% Cruelty Free
• 100% Natural Origin

I love the packaging, it’s not your conventional colorful tube, instead it is a metallic green and looks like a fancy leaf. However, the leaf like shape can get a bit clunky when stuffed into a small makeup bag, but the look of it is shiny and different.

The brush of the mascara is similar to the CoverGirl LashBlast brush which is fat brush with spikes, which I really like. Now for the important part if the mascara. When I applied the mascara it gives some volume and does lengthen my lashes. I would use this mascara every day, but after only a few hours of wear this mascara also flakes. I get little black flakes under my eyes and on my glasses. In addition to the flaking, I also get smudges on the bottom rim of my eyes.

I really wanted to like this mascara, because it gives my lashes volume and lengthens, in addition to, being very easy to clean off. Unfortunately, after a few uses and having to deal with flakes on my face, I have to say this organic and green mascara doesn’t work for me.

Who doesn’t want longer eye lashes? Right now there are a ton of prescription and over the counter lash growth serums, but a lot of them seem to have really scary side effects (like changing your eye color) or are packaged with mascara that makes my eyes itch!

Early this year, Physicians Formula launched their Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner and Serum. I was definitely interested in trying this out as the formula is free of fragrance and parabens. The Try Me Free promotion in January made this an easy purchase!

First up, here’s a look at the packaging.

I like the easy to open packaging as well as the sleek design of the eyeliner pen. The top snaps on securely and after 4 months of use, the pen hasn’t dried up and still draws a great line.

The tip of the pen is actually a brush, rather than a felt tip, with a nice length I found easy to draw lines with. You can get varying thickness in line with the brush, including a very fine line if you wanted.

So as an eyeliner, I really like this pen and would buy it again once it runs out. However, how did it work as a lash growth serum? Here are two photos I took about a month apart. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of my lashes before I started in January.

It’s very minimal, but you can definitely see some lash growth! Okay, so it’s not very noticeable and I didn’t get nearly close to the results advertised on the box, but I’m still impressed that it worked at all with no irritation.

The eyeliner is paraben free, although I am not sure what all of them are, so they might still be a bit dubious. In any case, here are the ingredients as listed on the company’s website:

WATER. ETHYLHEXYL ACRYLATE/METHYL METHACRYLATE COPOLYMER. BUTYLENE GLYCOL. SD ALCOHOL 40. BEHENETH-30. AMMONIUM ACRYLATES/METHYL STYRENE/STYRENE COPOLYMER. GLYCERIN. MYRISTOYL PENTAPEPTIDE-17. 1,2-HEXANEDIOL. ACRYLATES/OCTYLACRYLAMIDE COPOLYMER. CAPRYLYL GLYCOL. ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN. PENTYLENE GLYCOL. POLYGLYCERYL-3 DISILOXANE DIMETHICONE. PHENOXYETHANOL. SODIUM HYDROXIDE. DISODIUM EDTA. BLACK 2.

Overall, I enjoyed using this product as a liquid eyeliner and the lash boosting properties are just a bonus. I’ve used it fairly frequently over the last 4 months (3 or 4 times a week) and haven’t run out yet, but when I do, I will probably pick up another.

Since becoming more active with outdoor activities, I have been looking for an alternative foundation that was sweat resistant, protected my skin, and had a light tint that smoothed out my blemishes like a foundation. Because I could not use just any kind of moisturizer, I had to find one that had all of the above in addition to being oil free, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, and paraben free.

I hit the jackpot when I found Physicians Formula’s New Healthy Wear Tinted Moisturizer. It contained everything I was looking for and it was SPF 50 since most makeup with SPF protection tends to stop at SPF 15. Though recently there have been higher SPF cosmetics being produced.

SPF 15 is sufficient protection for your skin. A higher Sun Protection Factor (SPF) number only means that your skin is protected longer. The number basically says that your skin is protected x times longer from burning than without sunscreen. So I tend to like higher SPF products because I have a bad habit of not reapplying sunscreen in a timely fashion.

I usually use one or two pumps of the moisturizer, and the coverage of this tinted moisturizer is quite decent and it is like having a light weight liquid foundation on. Though I have to admit, this tinted moisturizer does make my skin a bit oily, but I usually dust my face with a mineral veil to control oil and shine on my face.

I have gone hiking and snowboarding for hours using this tinted moisturizer as my main facial sun protection and it does its job. After hours of sweating and exposure to the hot sun, my face remains burn free. Of course, I don’t suggest you go hiking for 13 hours without a hat or other supplemental sun protection.

I use this tinted moisturizer as an alternate foundation for my face when I know I will be outdoors, swimming, or sweating. I highly recommend this product if you are looking for a cheaper tinted moisturizer that gives you coverage and protects your face from the damaging rays of the sun.

With everyone “going green” or picking environmentally friendly products, Physicians Formula’s Bamboo Wear definitely brings that to mind with its bamboo motifs on its boxes and pressed powders.

I only purchased the Bamboo Wear Compact, Mirror & Brush because Physicians Formula had a “Try Me Free” rebate special going on. I figured it couldn’t hurt, and I was looking for a new compact mirror that wasn’t an old Clinique mirror that came from free gift set my mother bought eons ago.

The exterior of the compact is very natural and sleek looking since it is made from bamboo and has a simple green colored bamboo motif on the front lid. The compact is on the thick side, but the three layers of the compact swivels open in any direction you prefer. Each section is snapped shut with a magnet. The magnet feels pretty secure and does not feel like it would snap open accidently in your purse or gym bag.

The top compartment is where the mirror and brush are stored. The bottom compartment is where the refill pan of either the Silk Face Powder Refill or Silk Bronzer Refill can be dropped in. The refill pan is held down by two magnets on the bottom. Since the compact does not come with a refill pan, I was hoping I could put the brush in the bottom compartment and just flip open the top section and use the mirror. Unfortunately the bottom compartment is thinner than the flat brush, so I couldn’t stash the brush below. Since I don’t care for the Physicians Formula flat brushes, I’ll probably just leave it out. However, I don’t think putting the brush and mirror in the same compartment was a good idea, since after usage, the residue powder from the brush would fall onto the mirror making it dusty. Then again this is a problem for all compacts.

I like the idea of a refillable compact. How many times have you finished a press powder compact and thought, “What a waste, the mirror is still good,” before chucking it into the garbage bin?  Unfortunately, the Silk Face Powder in this collection only has colors that ranges from light, lighter, to translucent though I may consider the Silk Bronzers in this collection.

Overall, the compact has a nice natural Eastern look and feel to the design. It gets a plus for being refillable and recyclable even though it can be a bit bulky.

I was strolling through Rite Aid when the new Physicians Formula display caught my eye. Because I am cursed with blemished skin, I am constantly looking for concealer and cover-ups that can help my skin look smoother and blemish free. When I saw the nifty packaging that contained a trio of colors: 1. Correct (Soft Green or Soft Yellow) 2. Cover (Natural Light) 3. Highlighter (Pink), I knew I had to try it.

Each of the .2 oz. vials can be attached or detached from each other for easy fitting into your purse or makeup bag. I really liked the idea where all the concealer colors I needed were all in one package though I could have done without the pink highlighter color. I purchased two sets. One set with the Soft Green and the other with Soft Yellow since there was a $4.00 off manufacturer coupon on the package which normally would have retailed for about $8.95. Each vial also comes with its own little applicator brush, so you can dab the concealer onto wherever it is needed.

On the back of the box, there are some instructions indicating that the Soft Green is to cover blemishes and redness.  Natural Light is to conceal and cover spots where Soft Green or Soft Yellow were first placed, and Pink is to highlight your brows and temples. For the other set, the Soft Yellow is to neutralize dark under eye circles.

I mostly wanted to try the set with the Soft Green because I was running out of my usual green correcting concealer from Neutrogena which contained salicylic acid for acne prone skin. While this concealer did not have salicylic acid, I figured it was talc-free so my skin might be fine with it. I was wrong. I tried using the concealer for a couple days, using only the Soft Green and Natural Light, but I had to stop because I could feel my skin start to breakout by the end of the day.

Each vial can snap onto each other in any order you like.

As for the Soft Yellow, I did not see much of a difference in covering dark circles after using it with and the Natural Light concealer under my eyes. Instead I just got a thick caked look under my eyes. Also I did not see much of a difference in my brows and temples after using the highlighter color. Then again I also wear glasses, so even if they did anything no one would notice.

Aside from the problem of the concealer being a bit thick, I found that the concealer gives pretty good coverage for blemishes, but may be a bit thick for under eye corrections. When I looked at the box again, I noticed it was for Medium coverage, but for some reason my brain thought medium skin tones. Also I found the Natural Light color is quite light and too light for my skin tone. Basically, I didn’t know that there were different coverage “strengths” for concealer, but now I do. But most importantly for me, I need concealer that contains salicylic acid in order to control and dry my acne.

So even though I got a good deal with the manufacturer coupon, I’m going to have to return it and try something else.

I found this Flawless Complexion Kit when I was browsing at Target and searching for a mineral face powder and blush. When I came across this kit, I thought it was perfect. The kit included a Mineral Face Powder, Matte Finishing Veil, and Blush all for $19.95, and they were all Talc-Free.  Just the mineral face powder and blush alone are about $25 total, so I figured this kit would be a steal even if I ended up not liking the Matte Finishing Veil.

I’ve have only seen two complexion colors offered in this kit: Light and Medium.  The kit I have is for Medium complexion.  The Mineral Face Powder is in Beige, the Matte Finishing Veil is in Translucent, and the Mineral Blush is in Nude Glow.

Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Face Powder – Beige

So far I quite like Physicians Formula’s Mineral Face Powder.  The powder is very lightweight and it feels as if I have nothing on my face.  The face powder includes a mirror and brush in the compact. I have to say it now; I loathe the brushes that come with the Physicians Formula compacts.  At first I thought they were handy to have, and they are when you don’t have access to a proper brush, but I found that using a flat mini brush to powder my whole face took forever, and I was paranoid about leaving streaks of powder on my cheeks or forehead.  So I tend to use my own powder brush to apply the face powder.   Aside from the brush, I like the face powder.  It gives me the minimal coverage I look for in a foundation powder and it manages to even out my complexion after applying concealer.

Mineral Wear Talc-Free Matte Finishing Veil – Translucent

This matte finishing veil is a loose powder in a container that has a brush attached to the head.  The idea of this design is for the powder to flow through the brush without having to go through the mess that comes with using a brush on loose powders.  Additionally, there is a small mirror on the cap.  I hardly use the mirror because it is very small, and I prefer using a mirror bigger than my thumb to apply my makeup.

At first I wasn’t sure if any powder was coming through the “flow through” brush, but after closer observation, I noticed that powder was coming out of the brush.  As you can see in the picture, it is lighter in the center of the brush where the powder flows through.  Eventually I could feel the powder on my face as well as I applied it over the mineral face powder. I like how it is a very light layer of powder, and it also helps to smooths out my complexion a bit more and eliminates shine.  But there have been times when I forget to apply the finishing veil or just don’t bother because the mineral face powder does a pretty good job by itself.  The matte finishing veil is nice to have, but not necessary for my makeup routine.

Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Blush – Nude Glow

Like the mineral face powder, I do not use the brush that comes with the blush, but aside from that, I like the color of the blush.  It is a pretty neutral color.  It’s a color that does not stand out too much, but it still gives color to my cheeks.  If you are going for the natural minimalistic look, this blush color definitely contributes to the look.

I recently started using this Flawless Complexion Kit as it was intended after I started to run out of my usual liquid foundation. Usually I used the products in this kit to complement other products that I already use.  However, I was pleasantly surprised by the final look achieved by just using these three products.  Previously, I was under the impression that with the badly blemished skin I have, I would need liquid foundation for better coverage.  But even without liquid foundation, the mineral powder and matte finishing veil managed to smooth out my complexion and give me a matte finished look. It was even able to smooth out my very blemished complexion. Please keep in mind to achieve this smoothness on my severely blemished skin; I would put concealer on my blemishes before applying the mineral powder all over my face. This combination manages to give me a final look that is very similar to as if I had used a liquid foundation, if not a more natural look because the mineral face powder is much more lightweight and does not clog my pores, and this is a plus in my book.

At the request of Cyn, I am posting before and after pictures of my test. I apologize in advance for giving anyone nightmares. First picture is me with a clean face. It’s quite horrifying. Again I apologize. Second picture is after I’ve applied concealer then applied the Flawless Complexion Kit. Last picture is after I’ve added bronzer and eye makeup.

Last month I decided I wanted to start wearing mascara. However, because of my sensitive eyes and general allergy to many cosmetics, I didn’t have too many options.

Physicians Formula’s Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara was one I was really hoping to like.

(Sorry about the stock image. I don’t have the product anymore.)

The company’s site describes the product as:

• Revolutionary 100% Natural Origin formula contains the purest ingredients and provides 5x Lash Boosting for lash length, volume & definition naturally.
• 100% Recyclable Eco-Brush defines each lash with ultra-soft plastic bristles.
• 100% Free of Harsh Chemicals, Synthetic Preservatives, Parabens, Clumping, Smudging, Flaking, Fibers & Dyes.

All of that sounds really good! Even looking at the ingredients on the box, I didn’t see anything objectionable:

INGREDIENTS: CITRUS AURANTIUM DULCIS (ORANGE) FRUIT WATER*, GLYCERIN, IRON OXIDE, MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, GLYCERYL STEARATE, WATER, BEESWAX*, JOJOBA ESTERS, TAPIOCA STARCH*, COPERNICIA CERIFERA (CARNAUBA) WAX*, STEARIC ACID, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE*, CELLULOSE GUM, CUCUMIS SATIVUS (CUCUMBER) FRUIT EXTRACT*, GLYCINE SOYA (SOYBEAN) OIL*, HYDROLYZED ORYZA SATIVA (RICE) PROTEIN, LEUCONOSTOC/RADISH ROOT FERMENT FILTRATE, MAGNESIUM ALUMINUM SILICATE, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) LEAF EXTRACT*. MAY CONTAIN: TITANIUM DIOXIDE *PRODUCED FROM ORGANIC FARMING.

So, I went to my local Rite-Aid and picked it up. I can’t remember the price exactly, but it was about $8 – which is an average drug store mascara price and very inexpensive for a natural mascara.

I wanted to like this product, I really did. First problem – it had a weird smell. It wasn’t really a chemical scent, but it smelled a bit sharp? Possibly a little glue-like. That went away though, so it didn’t bother me that much.

The weird, bendy, spiked wand didn’t bother me. Actually, I think it worked pretty well for application. This mascara doesn’t add volume, but it does add some length. It was what I was expecting when I bought, so I was happy with it.

The huge problem was after about 4 hours, it started to flake like crazy. I had black specs all over my face and some of it got into my eyes. I wear glasses constantly and don’t rub my eyes, so it wasn’t even from that.

I figured I would give this product a second chance, so the next day I applied the mascara again. Same thing occurred and this time, my eyes got a bit red and irritated — probably from the black flakes falling in them.

So that was it, I gave up. Thankfully, Rite-Aid has a great cosmetics return policy, so I was able to bring it back and get a refund.

Which is funny, since I bought the Organic Wear because I’d previously returned a L’Oreal Double Extend Mascara, but I’ll talk about that in another post.