REVIEW: EX1 Pure Crushed Minerals Powder Foundation in M300

  

Name: Pure Crushed Minerals Powder Foundation by EX1 (shade: M300)

Price: £13.50 for 8g. Purchased instore at Topshop in Oxford Circus, London.

Ingredients List: Mica, aluminium starch octenylsuccinate, squalane, zinc stearate, magnesium carbonate, lauroyl lysine, glyceryl caprylate, p-anisic acid, chlorphenesin, retinyl palmitate, tocopheryl acetate, tocopherol, calcium sulfate, manganese sulfate, tourmaline. May also contain CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77019 (Mica), 77491-77492, 77499 (Iron Oxides), 77007 (Ultramarine Blue), 77742 (Manganese Violet), 77289 (Chromium Hydroxide Green), 77288 (Chromium Hydroxide Greens), 77510 (Ferric Ferrocyanide), 42090 (Blue 1 Lake), 75470 (Carmine), 19140 (Yellow 5 Lake), 15850 (Red 7 Lake), 45410 (Red 28 Lake).

Quick Review: Very sheer coverage but a great shade match for my skin. Long lasting, but my oily skin needs more oil control. Packaging is a bit fiddly to use when applying, so it takes a bit longer to apply compared to a pressed powder.

Full Review:

EX1 Cosmetics is a small UK company that sells cosmetics based around olive skin tones. The range is small, and finding them in a store is a bit difficult to say the least (I think there are only five stores in London where you can find them) but they are widely available online. I can't remember why and when I came across them, but I was curious and sought them out when I was in store in London. They have a foundation matcher that's based on MAC, but I was completely off, so I was glad I swatched them instore first before purchasing (it was only 60p more buying at Topshop than it was buying from Lookfantastic, and students would be able to use their NUS discount there for those in university). 

The plastic packaging is just absolutely gorgeous, a lovely rose gold colour in a small circular jar. Naturally the lid is a magnet for dust and fingerprints, but it's easily cleaned. The product is a loose powder and there's a sifter inside. 

I apply by laying the lid on a flat surface and tapping the jar to get product on the inside of the lid. Then I swirl/pat my big Real Techniques powder brush to pick up the product, then pat/buff it on my skin. 

With a powder brush, the application is really sheer. It's super natural, but so incredibly sheer. What it does best (and probably only does to the limits of sheer coverage) is evening out my skin, but blemishes/spots will still be around. I found a combination of concealer and foundation is enough for a no makeup makeup look (IF you generally have unproblematic skin, and only really want to even out some slight variations in skintone). This would be a good product for those looking for a very light foundation. 

I purchased the powder instead of liquid foundation because I thought it was a better shade match, and also since I have oily skin I might have better luck with a powder foundation. I previously use a tinted Bourjois pressed powder, so I'm comparing this to a pressed foundation with oil controlling properties. Using the EX1 powder foundation I find that my face feels oily after a couple of hours, which I found a little uncomfortable. But the foundation didn't actually melt off, and I found that the EX1 held up on my oily skin. My skin takes on shine when it gets oily very easily, but I found that the foundation mutes the shine and while doesn't mattify my skin, but keeps it looking slightly dewy the whole day.

L: one finger swipe, R: blended in (completely disappears! Note the slight blurring effect the patch has)

I found that it didn't emphasize my pores like some other powders have previously done, but while I find that there's a slight blurring effect on my pores, I don't think it particularly lasts beyond 1-2 hours on my skin. 

It's hard to have a caked look with this powder, so you've got massive room for error and still manage a fresh and natural look. It's partly the formula, and partly the fact that the coverage is so sheer. I do have some issues using this powder foundation with cream products (caked on effect instead of setting the makeup), but I found that everything works better when you apply the cream products AFTER applying the powder foundation.

You can apply powder foundation with a makeup sponge or a damp beauty blender for higher coverage, but I don't have any on hand to test it out. 

The biggest issues I have with this is that the lid is too small to work with my powder brush. Application takes far longer than with pressed powder because I have to constantly tap, sweet, buff repeat until I'm finally done with my face. My face also feels (but doesn't look) oily after a couple hours wear. Lastly, it doesn't play particularly well with cream products, and the blurring effect on pores doesn't last beyond a couple of hours. 

Verdict: Great formula with sheer coverage, but the packaging is a little fiddly and hinders application.