Wait, Mineral Powder Isn’t Bullsh*t?

by Anastasia Friscia

So President’s Day is coming up! And if George Washington were alive today, I’m sure he’d wear mineral powder, the most presidential kind of face powder. Mineral powder is mostly silica, zinc oxide, or titanium dioxide, which means it reflects more light and gives you better coverage than regular pressed or loose powder (which is mostly talc — a.k.a. baby powder). Supposedly it’s also better for your skin, which is great if you care about your health, good for you.

It’s hard to list celebrities who use mineral powder because if they use it right, it’s basically invisible. I can tell you that I used to use regular pressed powder, and my boyfriend would complain that my face looked powdery. But after I started using mineral powder, he was all, “See? You look great without makeup!” So it’s a good way to trick boys into thinking you wake up pretty. Also, I went on a job interview last week where the woman interviewing me said I had “great skin,” and refused to believe I was wearing makeup, even after I told her several times that I was. (I didn’t get the job, probably because she was intimidated by my beauty.)

Here’s what you need to know if you want to try this stuff yourself:

1. There are two basic kinds of mineral powder: foundation and “finishing veil.” The foundation gives you more coverage, and is tinted to match your skin color. The finishing veil is translucent, and sets your foundation. Both will make your skin look matte and airbrushed and “poreless.” (Not literally. If you want to look literally poreless, cut the face off a Real Doll, wear it on top of your own face, and no one will know you have sweat glands! Don’t forget to cut eye and nose holes. Not cutting a mouth hole is a great way to lose weight.)

2. Drugstore mineral powder is just as good as the high-end stuff. I use Too Faced Primed & Poreless Powder ($28), but that’s just because I had a Sephora gift card. I have friends who use Maybelline mineral powder (about $10 at drugstores) and it looks just as good. The main ingredients are the same.

3. Use a big round kabuki brush to apply the stuff — again, cheap is just as good as high-end. Tap off the excess, and dust the brush over your face in a circular motion. Maybe you want to do this in front of a lighted vanity in a silk bathrobe, I don’t know.

4. Don’t use Make Up For Ever HD powder! All those celebrities who get photographed with white powder on their faces — like, on their foreheads and under their eyes, not a coke-nostril thing — are wearing HD powder. According to this guy on YouTube who I’m just going to blindly trust, HD powder is meant for film, not still photography, so it shows up funny when the camera flash hits it:

Also, “Make Up For Ever” sounds vaguely like a threat. “This makeup will be on your face foreveeerrrrr.”

Anastasia Friscia has a cat named Roxy Meowsic.

Photo via Zbais