(Clockwise from upper left:Erth Minerals Foundation in 2.3
Eyeshadows in Fern, Night, and Snow
Bronzer in Glow,
Eyeshadows in Rose and Carbon )
More and more mineral makeup lines have been trying to grab a share of the market, apart from major players like Bare Escentuals. Erth Minerals (not “Earth”, to be clear…) is one of them.
Their website describes their foundations as matte and offering excellent coverage, which attracted my attention. After trying them out, I actually wouldn’t describe them as either. They are semi-matte and provide medium (on the sheer side) coverage. There is no obvious shimmer and the finish is all very natural.
For me personally, one drawback is the staying powder. On my oily skin, the foundation started to melt in about two hours (in the less-than-warm British summer). I would not recommend this for people with oily skin or with oily T-zone.
On the other hand, Moth Veil is a good finishing powder for me. Soft and silky, it mattifies my skin and conceals pores nicely (after my usual foundation). Only one shade is available, but I think it is translucent enough to suit most skin-tones.
Their eyeshadows work nicely on me too (I don’t have particularly oily eyelids). All the shades I’ve got are sheer and with multi-color sparkles. My favorites are Snow (pearly white), Rose (very pale pink), and Carbon (dark charcoal, can be doubled as an eyeliner). The sparkles make Snow and Carbon particularly beautiful, while Carbon is great for the smoky-eye look.
I need to point out that the eyeshadow in Night, which appears to be a pastel blue in the container (seen in the photo), looks almost completely grey when applied. Even though the website describes the shade as “deep blue”, it is just too much of an ashy grey to be called blue. This can make on-line ordering confusing.
Since it is also the case with von Natur Lip Shimmer in Sweet Violet (a rosy purple in the container, a brownish brick-red when applied), I wonder whether the blue pigment used in mineral makeup in general is simply not delivering. (I have never experienced this kind of color inconsistency with brands not marketed as mineral makeup.) If you have any similar experience, I would very much like to know about it.
On the whole, mineral makeup, with its simple composition, does not irritate my sensitive skin, but it takes much longer to apply. No surprise, it is the case with Erth Minerals. If you want your foundation to give you a good coverage and your colors to be vibrant, you might need to look elsewhere. But if you prefer your makeup to be sheer and natural (and with shimmer for the eyes), then Erth Minerals will be worth considering.
Related posts:
Von Natur Mineral Powder Foundation
Von Natur Mineral Color Makeup
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
hey PJ, what eye shadow color do you recommend for puffy eyes duh? I tried pink and blue.. they didn’t work.. seems more puffy.. I tried brown as well.. but with my dark circles and “not so big” eyes.. I feel more like panda.. Haha..
Hey, I love their mineral foundation. Maybe my face isn’t so oily so it works very well. Recently I also ordered the moth veil from them and liking it too. Better than my two way cake for sure.
Hello Iry!
Thank you for leaving a comment again!
I asked one of my friends that has a similar issue. Here is what we think might work for you.
Cool dark shades work better, such as greyish navy blue, dark grey, and dark purple (blue-ish purple rather than reddish purple).
Warm dark colors, like olive green and brown, work less successfully. (But you might want to try ashy browns instead of warm tanned browns.)
Also, avoid shimmer, glitter, and pearly iridescence.
My personal suggestion would be to experiment different ways to wear a certain shade. Try putting on a shade right alongside the upper lash-line and extending the shade away from the lash-line bit by bit. Ideally, there will be a point where your eyes are nicely framed, more defined, and less puffy.
Hope it helps, and let me know how it goes!
Hello Sesame,
Thank you for stopping by again!
I’d guess the foundation would work much better for people with less oily skin. Unfortunately it doesn’t work for me as well as many of my other foundations.
I do really like Moth Veil as well. It is matte and silky but not chalky. It is a really good finishing powder!
[…] A Touch of Blusher reviews Erth Minerals […]
Hi PJ.. thanks for your suggestion! I would try out the color that you’ve suggested! Another problem that I faced is actually finding non-shimmer eye shadow.. It seems that lots of brands include little shimmer stuff to the eye creams.. :P
Hello Iry,
Yes, it appears that it is getting more and more difficult to find matte eyeshadows.
Some of the Dior 5-color eyeshadow palettes feature matte finishes. I think Shu Uemura, MAC, and Rimmel also have matte eyeshadows. (Also, I think very minimal shimmer should be fine for you.)
I personally wouldn’t like all the shimmery bits in eye creams. I’d think they are rather distracting. (I’d want to see the skin around of my eyes properly.)
By the way, I don’t really use an eye cream. I have always believed that if a moisturizer is good enough for my face, it is good enough for my eyes. So far it has been working well. (I am quite pro-Paula Begoun in many of my skincare views, as you might have probably noticed…)
Let me know if any particular eyeshadow color works for you. I’d be interested to know!
I generally adore minerals and they are just popping up everywhere lately!
I’m currently very much a fan of PureLux and BE glimmers!
These are some I haven’t tried! They look great!
Hello A-Mused,
I am not familiar with PureLux. I am going to look for some information on it.
The eyeshadows are generally quite sheer, so I am not entirely sure if you will enjoy them. (But some of them have very nice shimmer.)
One thing I didn’t mention is that their products are generally very affordable, so it may be worth trying if you are interested. Let me know about it if you do!