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Mon Dec 08, 2003 8:31 pm  |
I ordered samples from Aromaleigh, Geografix, Monave, and Botany101. I received my samples from AL in two days and the Geograf. in 5 days. I still haven't received samples from Botany (3weeks) and from Monave(11days). I'll have a more complete review when I can compare all of them.
Firstly, if you have dry skin - do the opposite of what I say! I have adult oily skin (nose/forehead) and have been using Jane Iredale pressed powder for years. It stayed on fairly well but I'm looking for something better.
Aromaleigh is made with a MATTE mica powder (plus other stuff) so it truly does not have ANY shine, glow, etc. Can look pretty flat unless you have oily skin and get "glowy" on your own. They have a Porcelaine powder to absorb oil and it is absolutely wonderful. Comes in three tones so you aren't putting white powder on your skin. The feel of the AL is very light and I like how it feels when I touch my skin. They have a powder formula called Pure Powder for light to medium coverage and a Pure Cover for heavy coverage. I don't think anyone would use the PC alone. That stuff would cover up a strawberry stuck to your chin! I like the PP with Porcelaine. Unfortunately, my "guess" at samples isn't a good match for me but I still like it alot. At first I did'nt like that there were so many options - like mixing the PP and PC in various proportions to vary the coverage; or using a shimmer powder on top off everything. I just want a match for my skin that I can put on at 5:30am without thinking. Once I get the right color, it'll be fine. ....so....I really like the AL. Stays on my skin almost all day and no touchups!
The Geografix (also picked the wrong colors!) is easier to blend on your skin. I instantly liked it better than the AL. The look wasn't quite so matte and I looked wonderful....for about three hours. The makeup stayed but I got greasy really quickly. Maybe it was the AL Porcelaine that did the trick of keeping me un-oily so I'll try putting that on tomorrow with the Geografx. They have BEAUTIFUL, luminous blushes - really highlights the cheekbones with a soft flush. I'll post more as the experiment continues. Alexis |
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Tue Dec 09, 2003 4:21 pm |
Alexis, thanks for your thorough review. it's really helping me to decide where I want to order samples from. 
Besides a loose foundation, I am really interested in finding a good loose mineral eyeshadow as well. Although, I did like the B.E. ones; I don't like how the ingredients state: may contain carmine (crushed red female beetle that is in virtually ALL eyeshadows, lipstick, and even some juice for coloring--YUCK!   I want to know for sure-- does it or doesn't it? So I gave my loose B.E. shadows away and in the meantime am on the search. I haven't checked out Geografix website, gave up on Botany 101 (3 weeks for samples?!! forget it! :P ). I think I'm looking into Aromaleigh, Youngblood and Monave-- those were the ones that interested me most.
So it sounds like you like the way the Geografix looks on you, but you like the staying power of the AL? What did you mean when you said, "I don't think anyone would use the PC alone"? Does it look like a mask? Does it LOOK like your wearing makeup? I'm just wondering because I was interested in the Pure cover. I want something with good coverage. I have relatively clear skin, but feel that my pores on my cheek area are visible to me.
Looking forward to more of your mineral make up reviews! |
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Tue Dec 09, 2003 6:50 pm |
| Thoughtcrime, the PC is pretty heavy. I think the site even says to mix it with Pure Powder. But that's the neat thing. You can adjust your own formulation for how much coverage you want. Their site says that half and half PP and PC is equivalent to Jane Iredale. I'm in my fifties, so less is more! Today I wore the Geografix over the Aromaleigh matte control powder. It stayed on well but got kinda clumpy in spots by afternoon. So Geografix is OUT! Aromaleigh is #1 right now. Oh, just got my Monave samples at the door. I'll write again soon! Alexis |
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Fri Dec 12, 2003 8:50 pm |
I've now tested the Aromaleigh(AL), Geografix, and Monave. THIS time I based my observations on what other people said (what do I know). Even tho I thought the Geo looked "clumpy" the one day I used it, it was me, not the product. Tried it again the next day (every product tested had AL Porcelaine Matte Powder as a base. Geo is coming out with one in a few months) and my skin looked beautiful and stayed that way for 8 hours! Geo has a softer look to it than the AL. And the color was perfect! So I ordered that one. But the AL still attracted me because of its versatility with mixing color hues. This could be a pain if you don't like to play, but I do. And the matte mica used in the AL is perfect for me in the summer. Yes, I know it's not summer in Chicago but I was on a roll. And some days I'm oilier than others, so I bought 3 colors of the AL to accomodate summer tans. The Monave is similar to the Geo but I got more compliments with the Geo. I'm still waiting on receiving the Botany samples and was told it could be another week or two. No one ever responded to my emails, I got my info from a forum. So getting samples of Botany will be a total of a 5 week wait. What's that about? People on the forum actually trade USED samples to hold them while waiting anywhere from 4weeks to 3 MONTHS to receive their full size products. I'm much too impatient for that but it has me intrigued. They must be doing something right if all these people wait patiently for their product.
So for me, Geografix wins for the winter face and Aromaleigh wins for the summer (oily) face. Monave just didn't do it for me but there's nothing wrong with it. Oh, you'll LOVE this - ordered my AL on Thursday, received it on Friday! Alexis |
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Fri Dec 12, 2003 9:09 pm |
| Alexis, glad to hear you found your mineral makeup! I don't care how great Botany 101 is, I am also way too impatient to wait over a month for SAMPLES --that's appalling that people have to trade samples! Plus I like good customer service--i.e. returning e-mails/calls promptly. That's what I love about EDS. But I will order samples from AL. Are you going to try Youngblood or La Bella Donna or are you set with your mineral makeup? |
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Sat Dec 13, 2003 7:10 am |
| It was very time consuming, trying and testing all those products! Monave alone sent me 10 samples for $5! To tell you the truth, the Geografix looks soooo good and the AL looks great too - I'm done! How much better looking can a babe get? Alexis |
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Sun Dec 14, 2003 4:09 pm |
Hey
Great reviews. I just ordered some samples from Botany and Monave. Monave really has a good deal fot their samples and the fact that their shipping isn't higher for Canadian customers is great. I hate paying over $20 shipping. I also noticed that you said the Monave foundation seperates after a while. Well I ordered the primer powder from Botany which is supposed to prevent seperating of the foundation. I'll try that with both the Botany and Monave foundation and tell you how it works. Though that would be in another month or so seeing how long it takes to get stuff from Botany. I really hope I like the Monave foundation because they have good shipping rates (iits a big deal when everything is in US funds) lol. I'm also wondering what is the website for Geografix? I can't find it anywhere. I've done a search but came up with nothing. Maybe you spelled it wrong? Thanks. |
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Sun Dec 14, 2003 8:51 pm |
Yup, I did spell it wrong but that's cuz I wasn't paying attention. GeoGrafx is the name and the web page is:
www.geografx-cosmetics.com
Let me know if that doesn't work.
I really liked the Monave but friends at work said the "other" one, meaning Geografx, looked better. I dunno. But I will tell you that when you find the right color, it's strikingly beautiful. Alexis |
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Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:24 am |
| The link to geografx worked. I checked out their foundations but I don't think the shades would work for me. Even their lightest shade looks too dark. Plus it looks very yellow toned which looks unnatural on me. I usually also go for the lightest neutral or pink shades. I'm hoping I'll like Ashlie in the Monave foundation. |
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RedCoral
New Member
 
Joined: 18 Nov 2006
Posts: 1
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Sat Nov 18, 2006 9:00 am |
I think it's cool that everyones trying different companies. Here's what I found.
geografx - After hearing about how long everyone's been waiting for their order to arrive, I'm not even going to try them out! 
Bare Minerals - 1. Made my face itch. 2. Expensive!! 3. They make you join a club. 
Monave - 1. Looks great. 2. It takes TOO long to get your order. 
Elegant Minerals - 1. It looks Great. 2. The package arrived in about 4 days! Hooray! They mail out my order within 48 hrs! It's one of their promises. And now they've started their holiday packages. I'm gonna get something for my mom.  |
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Tue Nov 21, 2006 5:04 am |
id's is the worst.jane's is good
this is my opinion |
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Tue Nov 21, 2006 5:44 am |
After a few days of trying my Alima samples, I have broken out!
I'm returning to my beloved PureLuxe! |
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Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:36 pm |
| I've only ever tried L'Oreal Bare Naturale, but I really do like it. Mineral make-up is not readily available in the UK. |
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58. Fair, sensitive and dry-ish skin with freckles. UK. |
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Wed Nov 22, 2006 4:16 pm |
| Cesce wrote: |
| I've only ever tried L'Oreal Bare Naturale, but I really do like it. Mineral make-up is not readily available in the UK. |
Cesce, that's awful! I don't think I could go back to regular foundation; I just hate the way it feels!
UGloGirl is my HG MMU now. It's absolutely perfect. |
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42; medium, warm-toned; large pores prone to congestion; oily; using Karin Herzog exclusively right now!  |
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Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:26 pm |
| scalawaggirl wrote: |
Cesce, that's awful! I don't think I could go back to regular foundation; I just hate the way it feels!
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Tell me about it! Since joining this forum I have ordered 10 items (some from EDS), none of which are available in this country. I actually emailed the UK website of L'Oreal the other day to ask them where I could get this in the UK. I expected a flurry of apology along the lines of 'test market' and so on, but I got an email back saying that 'natural mineral foundation is not a part of the L'Oreal Paris range'. So I've mailed back saying that I am so terribly confused because it clearly says 'L'Oreal Paris powdered mineral foundation' on the packaging. I know it's only available in the US - I'm just pulling their chain. I just want them to admit that it's available to some and not to others. And then I'd like them to tell us why. A worldwide company should not pick and choose it's markets.It should give us all a chance to tell them what we think. Then again, on past performance: L'Oreal is rubbish: great products for two months and then gone. Get to like them and then gone.
L'Oreal, are you listening? I doubt it.
So sorry: such a high horse I can get on. But it really does make me cross. |
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58. Fair, sensitive and dry-ish skin with freckles. UK. |
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Thu Nov 23, 2006 5:45 am |
I agree Cesce. I'm in the UK too and am stumped as to why we are given such limited choices.
It is a bit much to have to have one's skincare and make up flown in, but that's what we do.
On a side note, Cesce, quite a few of us were wondering about the import duty for the BabyQ. How did it go? |
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Thu Nov 23, 2006 7:29 pm |
| Thank you for the detailed review! So cool that you have a few of the lesser talked about mineral makeup companies. |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 7:59 am |
L'oreal huh ... they test on animals what can I say.....
Mineral make up foundation whats all that about then, and yes I am in the UK...is it something like Bare Esenctuals or something that QVC sell ? |
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42, British |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:59 am |
| catski wrote: |
After a few days of trying my Alima samples, I have broken out!
I'm returning to my beloved PureLuxe! |
Catski - do you know what broke you out? I was all set to try Alima but now I'm a little hesitant. I've used PureLuxe but actually use J.Lynne (better color match). |
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mid 40's, Hawaiian/Japanese, combo skin, med/dark complexion. "If life hands you lemons, throw them at your enemies" |
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