Finding Black Mineral Makeup has been a problem for women of color ever since the mineral makeup boom. The skin tones of Black women span a variety of shades and most mineral companies tend to ignore these differences. Finding the right mineral foundation and mineral colors that suited my skin tone has always been a problem and I have thrown out many a mineral lip color because it didn’t look right after I bought it! Mineral eye colors always looked too light when they got in contact with my skin tone losing its’ impact. That being said, I was ecstatic to finally find Monave Mineral Makeup. The colors were vibrant and the choices for mineral foundations were staggering, I quickly dived in, not only finding my own personal mineral foundation but mineral eye shadows that were just as beautiful in the jars and on my eyes along with mineral lip colors that suited my big beautiful lips!
Working at Monave enables me to get first run colors straight from the lab and last month was no exception when the new Crystal Collection came rolling out! Mineral eye shadows with names like Tourmaline, a rich green, Carnelian, a vibrant orange and Peridot, an apple green were a sight to behold! Not far behind were two new mineral lip colors, Crimson Agate and Rose Quartz. I have been wearing both the Tourmaline and Peridot mineral eye shadows non stop since I’ve gotten them. Tune in next week when I give a tutorial of two of these fantastic new mineral eye shadows and the mineral lip glaze I pair with it!
Popularity: 15% [?]
Mmmmm! Let’s set the scene…. snow falling softly outside as you lounge in front of the fireplace of an exclusive ski lodge, sipping a decadent cup of hot Verona chocolate. Bliss! Back in the real world, chocolate eye shadows with golden highlights is a hot look for this winter! So off I went to my private playroom to find the colors that would express this look in all it’s glory! We have a few browns in our line but the one color that stood out was #77 Driftwood. The rich brown with golden undertones embodied the decadence of good chocolate. To offset this rich color I went for #31 Gold, the combo was amazing!
Armed with my Oval Fluff eye shadow brush I proceeded to put the look together. After lining the eye with Espresso eye liner I applied the Driftwood from the corner to the middle of the eye lid. Be careful to get the excess shadow off the fluff brush before applying as it could get messy. After applying the Driftwood, dip lightly in Gold eye shadow and apply to outer lid and brow bone. Blend to create a seamless transition of color. Voila! A beautiful Golden Chocolate look!
Popularity: 19% [?]
Every season there is a new challenge where mineral makeup is concerned and I always look forward to it as it gives me a chance to go play in the makeup studio! This Fall/Winter makeup was no exception with the runways depicting looks from Trueblood, a popular vampire series in cable. Vampire?? Yep, the pale monochromatic complexion with deep red/black lips and mysterious looking eyes.
Armed with this mission, I skipped with glee to the makeup studio! Now being a woman of color, I decided the pale complexion would not be a part of the look…ashy is not my favorite look. Sultry is the name of the game. So the eyes and the lips would be the main focus as I wanted to translate the look to women of color.
Since the eyes had to have a smoky eye effect with a matte base and shimmer overlay I looked to the Ultra Mattes and the Sultry Collection in our Versatile powders. For the matte color I chose the Charcoal Satin #120 and for the shimmery overlay in mineral eye shadow I chose Hypnotic#78. Moving on to the lips, I went to a color that is rarely used in our line but has its moment to shine this season, Hoochie Mama #155. This color is remniscent of Mac’s Vamp but with a darker edge to it. Lipsticks are the rage this season too, so go retro!
Now that I had the colors that I needed to achieve this look I proceeded to apply. First the eyes, Charcoal Satin #120 is applied to the lids on the outer corner up to the crease. Hypnotic #78 is then applied to the inner corner pulled to the middle of the lid and up to the brow bone. Everything is then blended to achieve a uniform look with no lines.
For the lips, line with Lip liner Blackberry, then apply mineral lipstick Hoochie Mama#155 Wow, now I was ready for a night on the town!
I’ve been wearing this look for a couple weeks now at night and I never fail to get compliments. If this look is too bold for you, just rock it for Halloween night! Happy Halloween!
Popularity: 48% [?]
A common complaint for women of color when using Mineral foundation is the fact that their face looks ashy and dry. The most dreaded condition for Black women is ‘ashy skin’! That is the absolute worst….and for it to occur on the face! ‘Ashy skin’ is the result of not enough moisture in the skin and the skin looks grey.
Loose Mineral foundation are dry, powdered products with no fillers that add moisture to the skin. This means the skin needs a good skin care regimen especially a good moisturizer before application. Even if the skin is oily there needs to be some form of primer for the foundation to adhere to. A lot of women of color have oily skin hence the slow aging process we enjoy. A lot of the skin care for oily skin in the commercial beauty industry actually strips our skin of the oils, this then creates a problem as the skin then produces more oil as it registers that it is dry. So, by midday we have an oil slick on the face.
My skin care routine is very simple…cleanse, tone, moisturize. Since I break out sometimes, I alternate between the Green Clay Bar and Honey Clay cleanser. The Green Clay bar is awesome for acne prone skin and the occasional breakouts at that time of the month. It has litsea cubeba, an essential oil, that is a great anti inflammatory while the green clay removes toxins from the skin. Honey Clay Cleanser is great for balancing the skin’s ph and won’t dry the face out. It’s also excellent as a weekly mask…we got an award from Natural Solutions magazine for this cleanser! The next step is using the Lavender Toner, it has aloe vera, Vit E and lavender hydrosol. A hydrosol is the aqueous solution of essential oils obtained by steam distillation of aromatic plants, in this case lavender buds, it retains the scent and content of the essential oils. I like to keep it in the fridge as it gives a refreshing boost to the skin in the morning not to mention taking the stress out of waking up in the mornings! Mmmm! My final step is moisturizing….I use Oil Control Humectant Light which actually controls your oil production throughout the day and gives you a matte look without the greasiness of regular moisturizers. I am now ready for the application of my foundation…Alicia!
Monave Flat Top Foundation Brush
The other key to a perfect look when using Mineral foundation is your brush! Yes… your brush, with our foundation I love the flat top foundation brush. This brush allows the product to settle in the bristles for full coverage when applied. Most mineral companies recommend the Kabuki brush, but I find the brush bristles are too loose and the foundations goes everywhere but the face
So try these tips that I’ve given you and I promise you a flawless and natural complexion.
Julian wearing Charlene Mineral Foundation
Popularity: 59% [?]
Joi
Foundation for women of African descent has always being problematic not because they are not out there but they never seem to match! Every major makeup company has tried to cash into this billion dollar Black cosmetic industry. But no one seems to really look at the skin tones and the different overtones that we see in the multitude of variations that is the Black woman’s skin.
Brandy Mineral Foundation
There is a richness and warmth that is never taken into account when you look at the skin from the diaspora. The deep golden tones, the bronze patina, the yellow overtones and a combination of them all are plainly visible but discounted by these companies. Situated in Baltimore, Monave wanted to address this problem as there is a high population of African American women here and in the surrounding areas of Washington D.C. and Pittsburgh to name a few. To that end we have 11 shades of foundation available for purchase on the website, www.monave.com .
Beverly Mineral Foundation
How do we come up with our foundation colors? All our colors have names of women who actually sat in our makeup studio while we developed the shade from their skin tone! How fun is that! We love when a new client comes in and we don’t have their exact shade! It’s another new color for our line, in this way we are constantly expanding!
Toni Mineral Foundation
Need help choosing the right shade? No problem, just contact me at sharen@monave.com .
Popularity: 66% [?]
