Elegant Minerals Costume Make-up

I originally published this a couple of years ago following a post I had written on a report by The Campaign For Safe Cosmetics which highlighted lack of regulation in the costume make-up industry and the worryingly high levels of heavy metals in many of the most popular brands of children's face paint (you can read the report here). 

With sales of face paints soaring around this time of year, those of you looking for cleaner alternatives to conventional brands may want to take a look...

Elegant Minerals Costume Make-up is a cream-based paint produced using a mixture of organic vegetable and nut oils (and a few other bits and pieces obviously!). Being of a creamy consistency they are gentle on the skin they are not drying and do not crack on wear. The paint is housed in small 5ml stackable pots and is ready to use, requiring no water or mixing and they can be applied using fingers, brushes or sponges and then set using translucent powder. On having a little play, I have found you get much more colour payoff if applying it with a brush than with a sponge so this is worth bearing in mind if you are looking to make an impact...

There are fifteen paints in the range, thus covering all the standard colours plus a few little extras such as hot pink, brown and aqua. About half of the colours I tried are reasonably matte in their finish, however the rest do have a slight iridescence. The intensity of the pigments vary greatly, with some definitely having much more of a punch than others.

(L-R) Black, White, Red, Royal Blue, Yellow, Green,
Gold, Silver, Orange, Purple

I purchased a ten-colour kit (which actually arrived in the form of two five-colour kits - pictured left) consisting of black, white, red, royal blue, yellow, dark green, orange, purple, silver and gold. What is great about these kits is that you can pick and choose the colours you wish to receive, so every one is custom-made to order.

The kit includes the paint, an application kit (spatula, wedge sponge, cotton bud, disposable brush and foam applicator), a mini sachet of setting powder, sachet of natural glitter and a sample of the Elegant Minerals facial cleansing bar (Chocolate scented in my case). This is a pretty handy kit and the accessories make it perfect for one or two applications at home - Certainly worth the money!

I haven't tried the facial cleansing bar as yet (I admit I'm finding the scent a little off putting, but that's just my opinion) but the paint is easily removed using wipes or with soap and water.

The Elegant Minerals face paints are free from an impressive list of toxic ingredients including lead, talc, bismuth oxychloride, parabens, and petro-chemicals. These are a good choice for the vegans amongst you (unlike the Sante face paints) and of course they are cruelty free. It is worth noting that they do contain  low levels of phenoxyethanol, an ingredients that some of you may wish to avoid.

A US based, family run company, I hadn't come across Elegant Minerals before however they are available in the UK either through their website or via Etsy. I purchased the paints via Etsy for $21.95 (excluding international shipping) which is equivalent to around £14.00. The shipping costs were very reasonable too; just $8.50 (approx £5.60) and the package arrived within about ten days.

Elegant Minerals is a US based company that produces award winning, natural, mineral make-up. All of the Elegant Minerals products are free from preservatives, talc, synthetics, fragrance, bismuth, carmine and fillers. They are cruelty free and certified by the Vegan Association.

www.elegantmineral.com

Ingredients:

Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Castor Oil, Titanium Dioxide, Tin Oxide, Iron Oxide, Sericite, Cosmetic Grade Rice Powder, Mica, Triglyceride, Polyglyceryl Oleate, 1% phenoxyethanol-SA

Images: Laura Jane Sessions - Organic MUA