Christina Loves… Elizabeth Arden’s Pure Finish Mineral Foundation!

I am a huge fan of mineral makeup – I have tried a slew of brands and most are about the same (which is good).  Same powder, same color, same packaging.  My biggest complaint about mineral makeup is that it doesn’t travel well – that’s really my only complaint.  I don’t haul around a big ol bag of makeup in my purse,  but it is awfully nice to have a little in tow for touchups, no? 

So, one of my very favorite companies, Elizabeth Arden, has a new mineral makeup – Pure Finish (link to Beauty.com).  This is a LOVELY entry into the mineral makeup niche.  The foundation has all of the great qualities of mineral makeup (great coverage, easy to blend colors, great looking skin) and improves upon a couple of important things.

It is hard to describe without seeing it, but you give the compact a little twist, and a little freshly ground powder rises up.  Wow!  This is huge to me.  No more powder explosions when I open it.  Also, the compacts come with a little fluffy puff which is nice, but EA also sells a couple of fantastic brushes – one big kabuki brush, and one little bitty one that FITS IN THE COMPACT.  Both sold together ($28).  Just wow.  Very cool stuff.  So this little grinding mechanism keeps my mineral makeup fresh, non messy and very portable.  Perfect.  Elizabeth Arden’s Pure Finish Mineral Foundation, at $37.50 for .29 oz is a little more expensive than Bare Minerals, but is right in line with what I would normally pay for a foundation.  Furthermore, you don’t need to use a finishing powder with it, so that really saves you money right there.  And this compact is definitely a little more expensive from the manufacturers point of view, so all in all, I think this is a great deal, and one I will be taking advantage of.  Will this really take the place of Bare Minerals in my list – it really might.  The test will come when it is time to rebuy.  I’ll let you know!