Ok ... first let me confess - I am NOT a fan of loose powder mineral makeup. I remember when Bare Escentuals first came out and was all the rave. I was so excited to try it, purchased a kit, but with the the exception of the kabuki brush, I wasn't at all impressed. Since then, I've purposely not given much attention to mineral powder cosmetics - they irritated my skin, weren't effective in coverage, and generally just a mess and pain in the hiney to use.
That was until I was introduced to Erth Mineral Makeup. I actually looked into trying this brand for their skincare and not their makeup. Since I'm concentrating on ORGANIC this month in celebration of Earth Day, I was intrigued by Erth's Organic Skincare line.
I had the opportunity to try their Paraben-Free Balancing Moisturizer and I can tell you it's very gentle and hydrating to the skin. This creamy moisturizer has a light almost unscented quality to it, blends well into the skin and is loaded with organic herbs and essential oils. I am also pleased to find that it's very reasonably priced considering it is organic. 4oz bottle - $9.95
BUT ... let's talk about their mineral makeup. While I haven't tried their foundations, I can highly recommend the Erth Moth Veil Powder (bottom RT in image). This is ultra-fine in texture, helps to conceal pores and fine lines, and creates a soft matte finish to your face. There's no irritation (a nice switch from other mineral makeup brands for me). It comes in a 30g sifter jar (11g of product) for $11. Ingredients are: mica, zea mays, magnesium stearate, iron oxides. Yea! I can't believe I actually found one I like.
Now, these are Erth's gems! Erth's mineral eyeshadows and intense shadows/ eyeliners are wonderful to work with, yield fabulous color pigmentation, are non-irritating, and simply gorgeous in shades. I've tried a bunch of them in sample size and am loving them! Some of them compare very nicely to MAC pigment counterparts. For instance, Erth's Caddis is very similar to MAC Green-Brown pigment. Erth offers matte, shimmery, sheer, pearlescent shades from all different color ranges and are reasonably priced at $5.00 - $6.00 a jar (2 - 2.5g product in 5g jar - mine came in sifter jars, which is a nice touch). You can also score a whole eyeshadow collection for under $20 (some shown below).
Although I've not tried their other products and tools - yet - you should know Erth offers an array of mineral foundations, concealers, blushes, bronzers, lip balm, great looking application brushes (in all natural bristles), and various sized sifter jars. Their customer service is extremely personable and they aim to please. You really can't get the beauty of these shadows and liners from the pictures, although the website certainly does a great job at describing them. If I can find a camera that will do them justice (mine didn't capture the subtle details), I'll swatch them for you to give you an even clearer picture of what the products do - they're beautiful!
source: Erth
