Review | The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Foundations

Made with Community Fair Trade cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil from southern Italy and marula oil from Namibia, these foundations promise ‘exceptional glide, blendability, whilst also moisturising the skin’. Three different formulas for three different finishes are available: liquid (fresh), powder (radiant) and cream (matte).

I was very impressed with the texture of the press sample of Extra Virgin Minerals Liquid Foundation SPF 30 (S$36.90/30 ml) that was sent to me.

Packaged in a sleek and hygienic glass pump bottle that makes it look more expensive than it really is, this liquid foundation is dreamily creamy – it glides onto my skin perfectly.

I love its emollient feel and the buildable coverage it affords. On me, it seems to give medium-to-heavy coverage.

Unfortunately, the shade I was given is too orange for me at first application – According to local makeup artist Larry Yeo who demonstrated the use of these foundations at the recent Extra Virgin Minerals press event, the dense pigments also appear darker because of the olive oil content. Thankfully, buffing out the foundation tempers the overt orange tone and the colour adjusts after I layer the loose powder version over it.

The Extra Virgin Minerals Loose Powder Foundation SPF 25 ($36.90/5 g) is smooth in texture, so finely-milled is the product. In fact, the powder particles are so light that they fly everywhere – the powder dust inevitably float up and out when my face brush grazes the jar…and when I put brush to face. It’s a little disconcerting to see the product float everywhere; a powder puff or flocked sponge might be better to contain the flyaway powder.

On its own, it imparts sheer-to-almost-medium coverage and has a satin finish that slowly becomes dewy as the day wears on. It’s really a cross between a loose powder and a powder foundation (more the former than the latter!) and doesn’t have the density of Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Mineral Powder Foundation SPF 20. That said, it works well to set the liquid foundation for flawless coverage.

I use it to set the Extra Virgin Minerals Cream Compact Foundation SPF 15 (S$39.90/8.5 g) too. The latter is creamy yet light; it goes onto the skin very smoothly to give a semi-matte, velvety finish. It has an initial feel of floating on the skin but settles nicely by the time I finish doing my entire face.

It has a lovely emollience (thanks to not only to its olive oil content but also the silicones such foundations contain) and though it’s a cream foundation, it doesn’t streak or cake, unlike Laneíge Snow BB Essence Balm SPF 33 PA++ which I recently reviewed.

The coverage is buildable, so you can obtain the coverage you desire, with added layers. This is one of the lightest cream foundations I’ve tried and I like how comfortable it feels on my skin.

It comes with its own synthetic half-moon brush housed in the bottom compartment of the compact – it has a nice foam wall to secure it in place but I dread to think of the staining!

The bristles pick up the foundation fairly well and feel comfortable on the skin (they aren’t scratchy and have a silky yet firm touch to them). The brush does a decent job of application with gentle stippling but makeup novices might prefer a sponge which is easier to work with.

Unfortunately, all three products do not do much to control sebum production – I see glints of shine quite quickly, post-application and have to blot often. As such, it is best that you use a good oil-controlling base before applying the EVM makeup. I imagine they’d be great for dry/dehydrated skin (do moisturise beforehand, nonetheless, to bind the foundations to the skin).

This trio of foundations will launch locally on 29 August 2011. The Body Shop Singapore Love Your Body members are entitled to a 20% discount on the EVM range from 29 August to 18 September 2011.

Image source: The Body Shop Singapore