Recently I came across some mineral makeup ads in magazines featuring “freshly shaved” mineral powder foundations.  Essentially it’s a pressed powder makeup with a built-in grinder to scrape the surface of the powder block, one thin layer at a time.  These “freshly shaved” mineral powders, offered by a couple of department store brands, are claimed to be better for your skin, to stay put longer and to give you smoother finish.

So are “fresh” minerals better for you?  Well, it’s a trick question… There’s no such thing as “fresh” minerals.  Minerals are inorganic, meaning they are not considered “live”.  While minerals oxidize (and that’s why you see all these oxides in ingredient lists), they do not deteriorate the same way and same rate organic (or live) materials do.  Mineral pigments harvested or made today, with proper storage*, are not different from the pigments harvested or made 5 years ago.  Try that with an apple or a piece of chicken…

But if you have to know, my answer is these freshly-shaved minerals are not necessary better than their loose cousins; and here is why:

• Better for your skin or not, it’s not about whether the powder is freshly milled or shaved.  It depends on the powder’s actual constituents – what go into the powder to make the powder.  If the powder is full of junk, fillers, irritating materials, or stuff that clogs your pores, it is bad for your skin, freshly milled or not.

• A foundation’s lasting power, again, depends on the ingredients and the skin on which the foundation is used.  Mineral powder foundation with oil in it on oily skin means that product is going to slide right off.  Oil absorbing powder formulas on dry skin means the powder is going to flake off and fly away.  It’s about choosing the right formula for the right skin type.  Nothing to do with freshly shaved or not.

• Powder particle size does determine the finish of the product: It is easier to achieve a smooth, even finish with finer particles.  And this is the claim that bugs me the most about these “fresh” minerals . The particle size has already been predetermined when the loose powder is made into the pressed form.  Scraping it or grinding it fresh from the prepackaged, pressed cake will not make the powder particles any finer than what they already are.

So my conclusion is, it is all gimmick.  While I applaud the companies for trying to find new ways to make their products distinguishable from the millions of mineral makeup out there, and I do find this grind-as-you-go form is a bit less messy than loose mineral powder, but that whole “better for your skin, longer lasting and smoother finish” pitch?  Well, it’s just a pitch.  Not falling for it.

By the way, YOU can achieve that same “fresh-shaved” effect with your existing mineral powder too! Find a powder jar with sifter and pack the jar full of powder as tight as possible by pressing the powder using a spoon. To use, shake the jar to loosen up, or “shave”, the compacted powder… Viola! Fresh “shaved” powder!

P.S.  Having the powder brush or puff sit in the compact, touching the powder constantly, is definitely NOT fresh…

*By proper storage, I mean just keeping them in a closed container so there is minimum contact with oxygen for oxidation to occur, and to keep dust and stuff from getting into the powder.