Mineral foundations and bismuth oxychloride

The term mineral foundations is often thrown around but what does it actually mean ?

Well, mineral foundations are a form of makeup that is created by turning minerals that occur naturally in the earth into a fine powder and using them in foundations. It should be noted however that just because minerals can be naturally occurring does not mean cosmetic companies use naturally occurring minerals in their brands. More often than not naturally occurring minerals such as bismuth oxychloride are recreated in industrial processes and packaged to look like natural products.

When mineral foundations are powdered and applied as a very thin layer across the face, the effect is that the foundation distorts the light to give a flawless or unblemished appearance. They also use bismuth oxychloride to their products because it gives skin a natural looking shimmery glow.

If you have sensitive skin mineral foundation can be mildly irritating, this is down to their crystal like structure.