Makeup, Skincare, Fragrance and a Bit of Fashion

(image from www.clinique.co.uk)

Happy New Year!

Today I am reviewing Clinique‘s Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Powder. It is from Clinique‘s Redness Solutions range, which is mainly a skincare range that features products designed to calm down the redness of the skin. Instant Relief Mineral Powder is the only non-skincare item from the range.

As I mentioned in my review of ck Calvin Klein’s Subliminal Purity Mineral Based Loose Powder, in terms of beauty marketing (particularly with many mainstream beauty brands that are not traditionally associated with mineral makeup), a mineral or mineral-based powder is usually a talc-free powder (even though talc is a mineral ingredient) and it is usually not purely mineral. Instant Relief Mineral Powder is another example. It is talc-free and it contains non-mineral ingredients.

Purely mineral foundations/powders rarely suit me because they tend to be very drying and they usually don’t have a good staying power. Therefore, I have no problems with using powders that contain both mineral and non-mineral ingredients. Some non-mineral ingredients in foundations/powders add moisture to the products and help them adhere to the skin more evenly. Some of the non-mineral ingredients that act as emollients in this product are astrocaryum murumuru seed butter, isopropyl palmitate, lecithin, and squalane.

(The word “mineral” can mean “containing minerals”. (A mineral spring of course contains non-mineral substances.) However, I don’t think powders that contain non-mineral ingredients should be called “mineral” powders. They may confuse consumers since there are powders that are actually entirely mineral. Also, almost all foundations/powders contain some mineral ingredients anyway, and the word “mineral” in a product name, in many cases, does not necessarily differentiate one product from another.)

Instant Relief Mineral Powder is a yellow-toned loose powder that has a softly matte finish with no visible shimmer. The coverage is between sheer and sheer-to-medium. It has a fairly good shine control efficacy and the pore coverage is generally satisfactory.

I find that the yellowness of the powder does help even out the redness, but I also find that the yellow pigment goes on slightly too dark and too sallow on me. It does not have the brightening effect from some of the other yellow-toned products that I have tried.

(A yellow-toned powder from Kanebo Revue that I have works very well as a finishing powder that balances out my skin’s slight redness, which can sometimes make the skin look dull. Also, an Ettusais yellow-toned primer that I tried a few years ago had a very natural and long-lasting brightening effect.)

The powder does not contain parabens or fragrance. It contains bismuth oxychoride, which, according to Paula Begoun, may cause slight irritation but is not a toxic ingredient. (Some beauty companies, most of which are mineral makeup companies, claim that bismuth oxychloride is toxic, which, according to Paula Begoun, is not the case.)

If you are looking for a mineral loose powder, do remember that this powder contains non-mineral ingredients. Also, if you are looking for a matte shimmer-free loose powder with a decent oil control ability and would like to test out this product, do bear in mind that the yellow pigment in it may not suit all complexions.

(The product featured in this article is provided by Clinique.)

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