Answer: It is always recommended for the best results, to use an excellent moisturizer before applying our mineral makeup. And you never need to wait until it is completely absorbed like with all other mineral makeup brands on the market. In just minutes, the time it takes to brush your teeth, you can begin putting on your mineral powders because our botanical ingredients combined with the minerals in our unique formulas is what makes it possible to do this, and sets us apart from other companies.
Most mineral makeup which is high in mica and bismuth oxychloride, make it impossible to apply right after a moisturizer, with typically a waiting period of about 15 minutes, since they will stick and cause a blotchy appearance, requiring a lot of excessive buffing to blend out the mineral powders.
We use very little mica, NO bismuth oxychloride and it is the reason for simple application without a caked appearance even if you get too much on the brush or face. It is the goof proof mineral makeup.
The reason it is not recommended to mix our mineral cosmetics directly into your favorite moisturizer, is due to the ingredient profile of our mineral foundation. As with others, Mica, bismuth oxychloride and the main minerals, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, a typical formulation of many mineral cosmetic brands, are not absorbent and offer no oil or moisture control. It is why with these minerals, this type of formula can be mixed easily into a moisturizer and is also the main reason women experience “melt out” by days’ end or requires many touch ups throughout their day. They basically become nothing more than a colorant to the moisturizing cream, much like a liquid foundation.
Our mineral makeup because of the rice powder, boron nitride and in two of our formulas, the addition of kaolin clay, cannot and should not be mixed into a moisturizing cream. These three ingredients are designed for a smooth, soft, feel to the skin, oil and moisture control and to give skin a flawless, luminous, lasting finish. Due to these functioning properties, mixing them directly into a face cream will cause them to absorb the moisture, making for a less than desirable application of mineral makeup. Plus it would negate the benefit of our organic jojoba oil which is perfect for keeping skin wonderfully soft and pH balanced all day.
Applying them over your moisturizer however, will help them meld immediately to your skin, becoming one with your face, and provide the protection from actual trans-epidermal moisture loss throughout the day, never leaving skin feeling tight, dry or chalky looking. Another reason why many women of mature years LOVE our cosmetics. And because our minerals are so easy to apply, they can be placed on the skin in a single dip of the brush, making for fast and simple application. In fact, it would take you longer to mix them into a cream than it would to moisturize and then apply our minerals.
Try our mineral makeup, and see if it is not the easiest you have ever used and has the most natural, long lasting finish compared to others you have tried.
When shopping for a mineral makeup for dark ethnic skin, there can be many shade variations due to the complex diversity of undertones and overtones within the melanin and how it reacts with the sun and the heredity of the individual woman.
In many cases it can require a mixture of two or more shades we created in order to achieve perfection with mineral makeup application for the most flawless appearance. Women of dark ethnic origin can have as many as 35 different shades within their skin, whereas Caucasian women will have as little as 7-10 shade variations.
With such a diversity in undertones and overtones within ethnic skin, finding the right shade can often be confusing and daunting. Ethnic Women can have light caramel, brown, reddish brown, golden brown, bronze, olive, red, orange, golden, blue, gray and peach, along with the many shade variations within these defining skin tones.
With dark ethnic skin it is important to note that trying to alter your natural complexion by choosing a shade with different undertones will contribute to the ashy appearance many African American, Indian, Latina, and Mediterranean women are concerned about.
Also our mineral makeup will never cause an ashy appearance due to titanium dioxide or zinc oxide being in the correct balance with iron oxides and a complex blend of other ingredients we use to offset this. However, a woman with dark skin can still appear ashy if she chooses incorrectly, a foundation shade that is for olive skin or a shade with blue / red undertones when she is golden red. Another example is choosing a shade with a lot of yellow in it when she possesses a lot of red in her skin or vice versa.
Utilizing correct shades will bring a luminous glow to dark ethnic skin without the ashy or ghost like appearance. These are examples to help get started on choosing the best shades for dark ethnic skin tones. But remember, it still may take a combination of two or more depending on the depth and complexity of the color ethnic skin possesses.
To see these in your foundation shade, simply click on any image below. Within the mineral foundation descriptions are some alternative choices for blending to a softer lighter version while maintaining the correct undertones.
MELANIE
KEIRA
ADRIANA
EBONY
JACINTA
MORA
OLIVIA
To add more yellow and to neutralize red, using Xantha is an excellent option. Mirabella, Emily and Tawny are also excellent for lighter ethnic skin based on preferred undertones. Blending mineral makeup for your correct skin tone has never been easier or achieved such flawless perfection.
Answer: In most cases, “yes” our mineral powders do an excellent job at concealing scars. As always we recommend using a lighter shade to correct the redness or neutralize the deepening of the skin pigment which accompanies scarring.
There is a small exception to complete coverage. Scarring which may also have a severe indentation, may not cover as well, but the appearance will definitely be close to being hidden through reduction in redness and softening and blurring of the skin.
In rare instances, indented scarring, such as from some acne cases due to destruction of collagen, can be improved, but the reality is, short of caking with most other brands of makeup, liquid included, the concealment of the dimpling effect won’t be perfect and may actually make them more noticeable due to the heaviness of the application. Let alone the problems wearing heavy makeup can cause skin.
However, with our minerals, scars will definitely be less noticeable even by applying our minerals sparingly. Heavy coverage of our mineral makeup can also be used to hide imperfections very well without an unnatural look or caking, while keeping skin soft and healthy.
One can achieve improved coverage also by applying with our “moist method” or by applying a small dab of Jojoba Oil, rubbed in well, followed by a light layer of minerals. Depending on the severity of the scar, continue to apply minerals until you reach the desired coverage. Jojoba is not occlusive, so it is very safe to use on the face. For severe scarring, then laser resurfacing may be the only recourse for achieving best results and something which should be discussed with your doctor.
Katherine, the owner of Sterling Minerals, just recently had a basal cell carcinoma removed from her temple and the minerals have done an excellent job at making her scar less than noticeable while also soothing the erythema which accompanied the now remaining scar tissue. The appearance improves everyday, but while the healing process continues, the mineral makeup works wonders and no one ever knows the scar is there. Coverage even works beautifully with our “Delicate” formula, the choice she uses daily for her cosmetic needs. She demonstrates the coverage in the video below.
Using skin healthy, gentle makeup is the better choice overall, while giving skin soothing benefits which improve skin color and tone, providing a beautiful new “you” and allowing your natural beauty to shine.
If you are viewing this in email or RSS feed, please click on our YouTube Channel to view this video below.
This tutorial is unique to our specific mineral makeup formulas and will provide the ultimate finish to the face with flawless perfection. It is the most preferred method for best results with Sterling Minerals Foundations by providing exceptional coverage, and it instantly sets the minerals. You will discover moisture added to the brush gives the mineral makeup a soft creamy feel and performs similarly to pressed powder when applied. This is how all of us at Sterling Minerals applies them, and we love it.
There are some who just can’t get past the fear of applying a moisturizer if they have oily skin or acne, so we recommend organic jojoba oil be applied to a damp face followed by the moist method, which further assists them with better adherence to the skin. However, for best results and to avoid a chalky appearance, we always recommend using some type of additional moisturizer before each application. Women with acne have had excellent results and performance with our ONATI Skin Care line.
No matter the application technique you can customize the coverage easily and they are impossible to cake no matter how hard you may try.
Moist Method Application:
Step 1: Tap the amount of minerals you desire onto your plate and get out your fine mist bottle filled with either Distilled Water or our Perfect Balance Facial Toner to use to not only set your powders, but to apply them. Prepare your face with cleansing, toning and moisturizing to create the best canvas for application of color. Remember, with our mineral powders, you do not need to wait for the moisturizer to be completely absorbed like with other mineral makeup brands. In fact, it only better serves you for increased adherence to skin.
Step 2: Take your Buki Brush, Flat Top Buffer or Jumbo Buffer and lightly spray moisture onto the bristles. Usually 2 to 3 pumps will do it and hold the bottle about 8 inches from the brush. You do not want your brush saturated or “wet” feeling since this will only make “mud” of your minerals.
Step 3: After spraying the brush, then lightly sweep brush quickly across the palm of your hand to disperse moisture droplets evenly across the bristles. Dip into your mineral powders and they will grab onto the moist brush, perhaps more than you may be used to. Don’t worry though, since the minerals will disperse beautifully across the face and will not cake, or you can tap off the excess if you wish.
NOTE: If you reduce the powders to a smattering out of a concern for caking, you will simply use fewer sprays on the brush. More moisture, more powder….less moisture, less powder. The powders are quite accommodating to your application desires. Also once mastered, this is by far the fastest method of application as well.
TIP: If you wish to use water instead of our Perfect Balance Facial Toner, then follow step 1 and never use Tap Water, only Distilled since “Tap” will leave skin feeling dry, chalky and itchy due to the mineral content it contains.
Step 4: Now gently press and rotate brush onto the skin. Continue to gently press and sweep to place the powders where you want them. If you didn’t get enough, repeat the process again. Once you have achieved correct placement of your minerals, lightly buff to even out the application and disperse color into hairline, neck, and décolleté.
You can use the moist method for mineral foundations and mineral veils only. The cooling effect of the Rice Powder when moistened is incredible and very soothing to the skin. Spraying moisture over your mineral powders will set all of your makeup and give you a clean, healthy looking complexion. The results are so natural, it is truly the optimum look one can achieve.
Remember:Our mineral powders do not require endless buffing to apply them. Over buffing can essentially remove them from the skin. Always just Press, Sweep, and Buff lightly….that is all that is needed. Our mineral powders are essentially goof proof!
TIP: It is not recommended to pick up minerals with your brush first, and spray moisture over the top of the powders, as this may cause a streaking effect on the skin. Even though our powders will always buff out to perfection despite this mistake, it just requires more buffing to smooth the shade back out.
Caution:Do not use this method to apply our bronzer since these are designed for gradual color intensity and not for coverage. You will end up with a less than perfect application if these are applied to damp skin or with “moist” method. Streaking or splotching will occur. It is best to apply spray mist to the finished face to set the minerals and to deepen the color faster.
Answer: No matter what your skin tone, always purchase a shade that closely matches your own natural undertones. Many women have been advised by the commercial makeup industry for years to use another shade to change their natural color in order to correct it or any flaws associated with it, with the idea they are making themselves appear more beautiful.
Olive skin in particular has been pushed toward using shades with more reddish orange supposedly to change the sallow or ashen appearance and the fact that olive shades are pretty much non existent in commercial brands of makeup, or pink shades should be used to tone down yellow skin.
All these shades do is make skin look orange and pink and are not enhancing when they are not remotely close to ones’ natural skin tone, plus the aging effect this causes to the finished look. When Olive skin for example, is matched truly with an olive shade, the results are nothing short of gorgeous!
Mineral makeup foundation should only be used to even out and correct facial imperfections, tone down redness or too much yellow, while giving a nice flawless canvas to work with. Love and live with your skins’ natural undertones and overtones and compliment it through shading choices with mineral blush, bronzer,lip color and eye color, and always let your own natural beauty shine through.
Simple Advice: Think in practical terms; if you apply a mineral foundation that doesn’t match your natural skin color, it won’t improve it or really even change your undertone. You will only appear to everyone around you, you have simply applied the wrong shade of mineral makeup, and then you are back to looking like you are wearing a mask.
Even with mineral makeup, you don’t want your face to possess a line of demarcation between jaw line and neck by choosing the wrong color. Another reason to always carry your blending technique all the way down onto the neck and / or to the decollete area if necessary. Again, this is the primary reason to use mineral powders since they will provide you with an even skin tone, mirroring your natural undertones, while allowing “you” to shine through, only with more natural, healthy looking skin.
In dealing with undertones and overtones, this leads many women to confusion.
When discussing these concerns with most women, they typically always refer to their shading as an undertone, when in reality it can be an overtone. Also it is best to avoid terms like “warm” and “cool” undertones as many women eventually discover this didn’t help them end up with the correct shade. Such as; because they see pink they assume they are a cool, when in reality they are probably a warm tone. A blend of warm and cool when needed will actually make for a beautiful finished complexion.
Determining what foundation shade you should look for:
Undertones: these are the underlying shades which give our skin its color tone and it comes from the melanin we possess in our skin. Melanin is typically yellow by nature in most women until you get to dark ethnic skin, which then will be yellow or red in undertones. Olive skin also possesses a lot of yellow combined with a green cast, but can lean red (pink) as the skin tone deepens. The fairer side of olive skin will typically appear to be a cool beige. Olive can also be an overtone when stronger yellow undertone is dominant. Also there are very fair women who still will have a strong yellow undertone, but it is less noticeable because they choose to avoid sun exposure, but once they burn, they will tan with continued sun exposure.
Overtones: these are the shades our skin casts when we are exposed to sunlight, damage caused by sensitivity or irritation, acne, rosacea, cosmetic procedures and other maladies that cause our skin to get a pink tinge to it. Again, in fair skin the overtone can have a pink cast to it even with flawless skin, since fair skin possesses a translucent, almost colorless skin tone which causes the skin to appear slightly pinkish. Yet in some instances, women may think they are olive by mistake due to lack of pigment found in fair skin types. In most cases, those with fair skin should be aware, this does not mean your undertone is pink, but that you possess very little melanin, and in the absence of it, the face can appear pinkish, and this skin type burns easily and will rarely tan. Many redheads fall into this category and can have freckled skin to accompany this skin tone!
How To Tell: So many women have been told to match their foundation shade to the jaw line carried up to the cheek. This is False! The face is where we have all of our damage from redness caused by so many things, including but not limited to broken capillaries, rosacea, acne and sun damage. All of these tend to tinge our skin reddish pink. This is not your undertone! This is the overtone of your skin. Plus it may require a mixture of two or more shades to achieve the perfect blend for your skin tone.
Best Place For Color Match: Stand in natural light with a mirror and look at your neck, shoulder, chest and inside of the upper arm. All of these areas will have different levels of exposure to sunlight. The inside of the arm is the least exposed and has the best comparison to the other areas we suggest. Look at how your skin appears in each location. A certain undertone will appear, whether it appears colorless (beige) which basically has no discernible hints of color (olive) except some yellow or pink, or if you see hints of yellow, combined with peach, pink, ivory, golden or reddish brown, all the way up to ebony, depending on if you are fair or someone who gets a bit of tan, or you are of dark ethnic origin. When this occurs, it distinguishes the melanin color within your skin. Our skin tones are a complex blend of shades, and mineral makeup beautifully mirrors our skin tones.
Example: When you tan you may turn golden brown or reddish brown. The latter means you have red and yellow melanin within your skin. This is how you want to choose a foundation shade, comparing the shading on these areas of the body, to the face. This is also why we do not create any true pink shades, but shades with undertones of yellow always and then shade with overtones of pink to address these variables within a skin tone. A true PINK shade ages the skins appearance and never looks natural.
You will know you are wearing the wrong shade, if your skin appears too light or too dark, chalky, looks like a mask compared to your neck, whether it be pink or yellow in tone, muddy, or other variables if when you look at your face it just seems to not blend with the other areas of the body. You’ll know!
Understanding True Fair Olive Skin
This has been historically a difficult shade of foundation for women to determine when they are in the fair to light skin tone range for olive shades. Determining your skin tone in this shade is crucial since when women are in the fair range, undertones are not as readily visible as described above. A ghost like appearance (gray pall) occurs when women purchase a fair olive shade when they are not a true olive. Basically, fair olive foundation is beige and colorless and works beautifully on fair olive skinned women. So if your undertone is anything else other than neutral, you will suffer with this very problem of trying to have a natural appearance. This is when sampling is most important in order to ascertain what skin tone you are when dealing with very fair to light skin. Until the color is applied, one may not actually realize their true undertones and overtones until the shade is actually sitting on the skin for comparison. Once the match is made, it is nothing short of breathtaking perfection!
Why Does This Work?
Melanin is the key to proper selection and why you must look at undamaged areas of the skin along with the areas that receive sun exposure other than the face. Other areas of our bodies don’t usually suffer from rosacea, acne or broken capillaries, and the skin on the face is easily damaged due to its’ thin structure, whereby being more readily changed, permanently.
Mineral Makeup Foundation is designed to correct this damage with the right color and coverage. So by wearing a shade which matches the face and jaw line, you are therefore enhancing the damage. By wearing a shade which blends flawlessly to the areas of the neck, chest and shoulders, you achieve correction with perfection.
Restore your youthful skin tone through proper shading with the correct base and add the subtle touches of shading through the use of gorgeous blushes, bronzer, lip colors and eye colors. Your face will never again compete with the rest of your body and will allow that healthy glow to shine through once more.
Answer: The most detailed answer we can give is the post from Katie’s Desk on the FDA and FTC Compliance.
There is no doubt Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide are proven to be effective sunscreen ingredients, and they are contained in our mineral makeup products. However, on any products that offer these two ingredients as sunscreen, and if they have done the required FDA approved clinical studies to make an SPF claim, then typically, the label will show them as “active” ingredients with percentages used. This is how sunscreens obtain their SPF rating.
However, according to the FTC and FDA, making an SPF claim or its’ approximate, or even referring to the mineral makeup as being a “natural sunscreen” is in direct violation of their regulations, based on the fact that Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide bear the monograph as an “over the counter drug” (OTC), approved for use as broad spectrum UVA and UVB sunscreens. So, unless the prerequisite FDA approved testing has been completed by each individual mineral makeup company proving their SPF claims, they cannot state any of these terms above in bold, legally.
Unfortunately, making SPF claims without the actual FDA testing is widespread among many mineral cosmetics companies on the market today, including some that will also show the ingredients as “active”. Then it boils down to truth in labeling.
Simply put, the best advice is to experiment with our mineral cosmetics and see how it performs for you in the sun. Every individual is different as is every application technique! Plus, this is the main reason we have not pursued an SPF Rating since it is subjective to use, and does not warrant the expense of testing. Costs can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars since each color would require its’ own series of tests.
Be aware, those that have received their actual SPF Rating, never advise how much must be used to achieve the rated SPF number. Since mineral makeup is rarely used for heavy coverage, it typically will not reach the level of sunscreen protection declared. Especially darker colors, since these shades possess far less Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide due to these being designated colorants also, whereby reducing the SPF number claimed. Yet companies will rarely make this distinction to their customers.
The reason it is not recommended to mix our mineral cosmetics directly into your favorite moisturizer, is due to the ingredient profile of our mineral foundation. As with others, Mica, bismuth oxychloride and the main minerals, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, a typical formulation of many mineral cosmetic brands, are not absorbent and offer no oil or moisture control. It is why with these minerals, this type of formula can be mixed easily into a moisturizer and is also the main reason women experience “melt out” by days’ end or requires many touch ups throughout their day. They basically become nothing more than a colorant to the moisturizing cream, much like a liquid foundation.
Answer: In most cases, “yes” our mineral powders do an excellent job at concealing scars. As always we recommend using a lighter shade to correct the redness or neutralize the deepening of the skin pigment which accompanies scarring.
method for best results with Sterling Minerals Foundations by providing exceptional coverage, and it instantly sets the minerals. You will discover moisture added to the brush gives the mineral makeup a soft creamy feel and performs similarly to pressed powder when applied. This is how all of us at Sterling Minerals applies them, and we love it.
Answer: No matter what your skin tone, always purchase a shade that closely matches your own natural undertones. Many women have been advised by the commercial makeup industry for years to use another shade to change their natural color in order to correct it or any flaws associated with it, with the idea they are making themselves appear more beautiful.
Best Place For Color Match: Stand in natural light with a mirror and look at your neck, shoulder, chest and inside of the upper arm. All of these areas will have different levels of exposure to sunlight. The inside of the arm is the least exposed and has the best comparison to the other areas we suggest. Look at how your skin appears in each location. A certain undertone will appear, whether it appears colorless (beige) which basically has no discernible hints of color (olive) except some yellow or pink, or if you see hints of yellow, combined with peach, pink, ivory, golden or reddish brown, all the way up to ebony, depending on if you are fair or someone who gets a bit of tan, or you are of dark ethnic origin. When this occurs, it distinguishes the melanin color within your skin. Our skin tones are a complex blend of shades, and mineral makeup beautifully mirrors our skin tones.
Answer: The most detailed answer we can give is the post from Katie’s Desk on the 
