I tried many many mineral makeups since the whole fad started 10 years ago and I have to agree with some of the negative reviews. Semi-mate foundation is cakey, powdery, It accentuates all the flaws as wrinkes, dry patches etc. Yet its very very drying. It made my skin so dehydrated! I looked older with this makeup on than without. Carina recently started adding lauroyl lysine into the orignal formula and it causes me to get itchy. I believe it's a coconut derivative. So for those who are sensitive to nuts this is going to cause you to do some itchy and scratchy show. I love their concealer but their foundations do not last, they change color, no coverage, become muddy and runny, drying, and just does not look natural and smooth like other mineral makeup. My pores looked huge. It accentuated everything - every crust, every dry skin, every flakiness. The worst part is it looks thick and crusty without covering any imperfection. The skin below my eyes just look hideous when I sweep this mineral across my eyes. The lightest color turn muddy on me. IT doesn' stay fresh and youthful.

This just doesnt have enough coverage for me. I love the finish and how it isnt cakey. I just wish it had more coverage and the intensive was discontinued which what was my favorite from them

I'm amazed I haven't already done a review on this, because this foundation is my HG. Yes, I like it that much. (If you don't want to read the whole review, scroll down to "Overall")

Color: I use the color "Fair" and it's the best match for my skin, not just in EM but in foundations in general. It's pale but not too pale, with pink but not too pink undertones. It's soo hard to find a foundation that matches my skin, and this does it perfectly.

Texture: I ADORE the texture of this stuff. It is surprisingly, well, CREAMY for a powder. It sounds strange, but it just feels kind of soft and silky on my skin. It isn't completely flawless though; this tends to get a bit cakey around the creases of my nose (very oily area for me) and gets flaky if my seborrheic dermatitis is acting up. Also, this sometimes tends to accentuate the pores on my forehead for whatever reason, even though they aren't particularly dry or oily. My skin is definitely combination: it is oily and acne prone on my forehead, nose and chin, and dry and sensitive on my cheeks. This doesn't accentuate the dryness or oiliness, though I must say it doesn't really help with mattifying my skin either. I'm not looking for mattification in this though so that doesn't bother me.

Coverage: I would say this is a medium coverage foundation, it is extremely buildable though. It won't give you super-full Colorstay coverage, but I don't need that because I mostly have redness to cover up and not a whole lot of heavier stuff to cover like acne. In my opinion this has excellent coverage for mineral makeup. It doesn't cover my under-eye circles or any zits that I may have, but that's what a concealer's for. I wear powder blush over this, and they go beautifully together. Again, this is VERY buildable; I can put it on in the morning and go back and put some more on and it won't look cakey at all, though I don't really need to touch up that much, which brings me to staying power...

Staying Power: This lasts me a good 10 hours, from when I put it on at 7:00 in the morning to about 5:00-ish. After 10 hours it starts to fade, but not too terribly much. I can still see it on my skin when I take it off at 10:00. Mind you, I don't do a whole lot of vigorous activities when wearing this (working out, etc.), but this still has really good staying power. It comes off very easily with jojoba oil; I don't know if it would come off with a cleanser alone seeing as I use the oil to remove my eye makeup anyway.

Ingredients: So, I have SENSITIVE skin, and I cannot use a foundation with irritating ingredients. (Added fragrance is the worst for me.) This stuff has awesome ingredients, even for mineral makeup. It doesn't have bismuth oxychloride, unlike Bare Minerals, and doesn't have any fragrances or oils of any kind. Plus, well I'm a teenager, and let's face it, sometimes I'm gonna fall asleep with makeup on. But at least this doesn't have super bad/irritating/pore-clogging ingredients so I don't have to worry TOO much about it.

Packaging: Let's face it, the packaging SUCKS. The sifter-thing doesn't close all the way, and it's hard to get the last few specks when I'm running low on this. I couldn't imagine taking this in my purse because it would spill everywhere. But I mean, as long as the packaging doesn't affect the actual PRODUCT inside, it doesn't really bother me that much (which is why I didn't take any lippies off for the bad packaging).

Application: The application is not exactly convenient. It's not like a liquid foundation where you just squirt some out and rub it in; you have to pour it in the lid, get it in the brush, and buff it around your face. BUT, this is a mineral foundation, and what else could I expect? I apply this with the EM Long-Handled Kabuki, and it's a good combo, though not flawless. When I put it on my forehead, sometimes some falls down and lands on my eyes and lashes. Yeah... I don't exactly want blonde eyelashes. But this isn't a huge deal because I put my eye makeup on last, but I'd rather it not happen, you know?

Price: The price is wonderful. For a foundation with non-cheap ingredients and wonderful coverage, this stuff is beautifully priced. I buy these in 3s in the EM "Custom Kit" and I get 25% off.
Availability: I dislike having this only being available online. I like to go to the store and pick things up; this way I can use whatever it is right away and I don't have to pay for shipping. But this doesn't stop me from buying it, it's totally worth it. You usually can get free shipping if you purchase a certain amount on the EM website, so I try to get that because I'll end up buying more eventually. :)

Overall: This, again, is my HG. It has a really nice texture, not perfect, but the rest of the pros outweigh this con. It has great coverage and staying power for a mineral foundation, and fantastic ingredients. I don't like having to order this online, but it's worth it. the price is wonderful for a foundation this good. I have yet to perfect hte application process, but it's not bad. The packaging sucks though, but that's alright because the product itself is wonderful. :)

Sorry for the novel, by the way. :)

EDM was my fisrt MMU I've tried. If I wouldn't checked for another brands, definetely I would stay dissappointed from mineral makeup. Semi-mate foundation is cakey, powdery, hardly blendable, requires a lot of time and efforts to set it up. It accentuates all the flaws as wrinkes, dry patches etc. Yet its very very drying. It made my skin so dehydrated! Then I had a sample sunlight color corrector, which I liked very much for it's coverage of dark undereye circles and shimmery effect but when I ordered afull jar I recieved absolutely different product which didn't have anything in common with the previous product. The corrector in sample jar was chicken yellow color with lots of tiny sparkles and full jar which i recived contained dirty yellow powder, completely matte and applied to my undereye zones made my look tired and older. I am completely dissappointed with this brand. The customer sevice is quite unattentive, you don't get the warmth and attention you get from small family companies. Since I tried another brands I discovered that mineral makeup can be good, cheap and various. Compare EDM with other brands and you'll see how overpriced they are, not worth of those cheap ingridients. There are much more nice foundations with such ingridients as borone nitride, serecite, allontoin, which makes your skin look smother and not drying it out.

At the time I loved this foundation. This was the first mineral make up I tried. It gave great coverage and a nice finish. The containers are a nice size, big enough to swirl your brush.
Unfortunately the price become not worth it, especially after finding other mineral foundations that did just a good job if not better for a fraction of the cost. Love the product but not the price.

Oh, how I love, love, love this foundation... I had been using the Intensive formula, and I was very sad to see that EM decided to discontinue it. I ordered a semi matte, and I found it to be far superior to the Intense base. I literally can't rub this foundation from my face, I tested it. And wait, I will go now and test it again after an hour of putting it on my face... goes to the mirror, rubs her face... and yes, it is still perfect, and I can't rub it off. (Well, I could rub it of, if I would rub very hard, but I won't.)
I am always in the need for a good foundation, my skin is very far from perfect, and THIS is it. The Good Foundation. The best. I will never be without this.
I use it with EM's flat top kabuki, over Skin79's pink BB cream and Laura Mercier's Camouflage. Perfect. Fair is a perfect color match for my ridiculously fair skin. EM, please never discontinue this product.
Oily and combination skinned girls, try this, you won't be disappointed. This is one of the products from all the things I have ever tried, that I can really wholeheartedly recommend. Try it. Cheap. Good. Lasts a long time. Good range of colors. Try it, try it.
Oh, and I forgot to say, that I find it far more mattifying than even Mac's Prep and Prime or Kryolan's Anti-shine.

I started using PurMinerals two months ago, which is in a pressed form. I really like it but it is way too expensive at $26. I wanted to try EDM since its really cheap compared to other mineral makeup brands out there. I ordered some samples to find my shade. And boy I wish I'd never put it on my face! I have normal-dry skin, but not sensitive. I can try on many things and still not have a reaction. Imagine my surprise when I started breaking out a day after I started using the samples. I still wanted to give it a try, so I continued it for a few more days, only to make things worse. I've stopped it now, but the red bumps and half formed zits are yet to go away. I think I'll stick with PurMinerals.

I love this foundation, especially this finish as it gives the perfect natural look. The only problem I have with this foundation is that multiple colors match my skin tone when I buff it out all over my face, lol, it's only a miniscule difference in a slight yellow or darker tone. I guess it's a good thing, but I always have trouble trying to decide which color to use so I have a few shades. I started with their samples, make sure you get samples as a color you thought would work might not turn out to work. Love how cheap shipping is too and I normally don't like to pay shipping for online orders.

Great everyday powder. Super affordable, non-irritating to my skin, very natural finish. Awesome selection of shades - was so happy to have found a perfect match to my light, asian skin tone. Too many other attempts at trying to find a good powder resulted in powders that made me look sallow, ghostly pale, or ruddy. Will repurchase forever! And again, I have to mention the price - $12 for 17 oz.!!! This lasts me at least three months with everyday use. HG!

Hooray!
I used Revlon Colorstay for years. I needed the heavy coverage due to acne, although since it clogged my pores it was always a vicious cycle. Finally at age 40 my acne has calmed down and my combination skin is drier. I need less intensive coverage, something to even out my reddish, sunspotted skin tone and to cover remaining dark spots.
I wanted to try mineral makeup again because of the fast application but after a shiny,orange, and horribly itchy experience with Bare Minerals I was leery. I did my research on MUA and decided on Meow Cosmetics and Everday Minerals. I didn't like the Meow foundation because it was too dry (the blushes are great though).
I tried the EDM semi-matte base in many different shades and found a perfect match in Linen (for ref I am NW15, Revlon Buff). The coverage is buildable and, combined with the multi-tasking concealer, covers difficult spots without getting cakey. I set it with a spritz of water and pat away the dry skin patches. It does not settle in my lines. This is not an oil-control powder, though. They may offer that in another product but I prefer to just blot midday. My t-zone gets shiny but the makeup does not slide around. I have fallen asleep in it a few times and it has not broken me out. No itchies. I apply with the flat top brush and use the eye kabuki to apply and blend concelaer. I love these brushes.
The price is very reasonable ($12 for a big jar) and shipping is quick. Great stuff and I will continue to use it.

I have been using EM's Semi-Matte bases for several months now, and am very pleased with the results. My skin has all kinds of issues - sensitive, oily with dry patches, prone to breakouts - so I was nervous that the mineral powder would irritate, not provide enough coverage, etc. Not the case! Semi-Matte isn't drying, and covers well with a slight "glow" (not greasy). So glad I made the move from liquid bases; my pores are thanking me! I will say I make a good effort to clean my brushes weekly, and that has helped minimize breakouts to where I hardly get any now (knock on wood).

The prices for the sifters are reasonable, and since I have a couple of shades on hand to mix based on my tan at the time, they last a good while. Packaging isn't fancy, but the value and no animal testing/sustainable practices make it worth it to me.

Their samples are generous, so try some out!

Packaging- I like how much product it has as compared to BareMinerals, but the sifter can be kind of difficult sometimes and it is hard to tell when you are running low on product which is frustrating since I have to order it offline and wait for it to ship. Don't expect to be able to remove the sifter either.
In general though, I love this product. I'm in college and HATE that I have freckles all over my face (yes, I realize they are cute) but it's not like I have red hair. I have blonde hair and blue eyes and pale skin with brown freckles. They are just frustrating. So, I mix moisturizer and some Clinque foundation and apply that first and after that dries I apply my EM foundation over that. I LOVE how it looks. My Mom even told me how much better my face looks than when I was using Bare Minerals. I will re-buy for now.

So I just got the sample kit in and haven't found my match yet, but I was more concerned with figuring out if it will break my skin out or not, so I've been wearing it every day. I have ridiculously sensitive skin. Anything and everything breaks it out, so I'll be extremely surprised if this doesn't.

I've worn this stuff for about 3 days so far, and while it hasn't made any noticeable new blemishes, it has slightly aggravated old ones. My skin has been super dry over the past few weeks, so I'm keeping a close eye on it. I haven't gotten cystic acne in a while though, and that seems to be what people are experiencing with this product, so as soon as I get more than one of those bad boys, this stuff will be going in the garbage.

I will say that I like the lack of bismuth oxychloride and Boron Nitride, which I've definitely had reactions to. They did recently add a filler called Lauroyl Lysine, which after poking around a bit, seems to be a safe amino acid derived from coconut. Not sure about long term effects, but it looks like the mica is only treated with it to create smoothness, so there probably isn't a whole heck of a lot of it. It seems to have good qualities, such as antimicrobial, and may even improve skin quality.

However, I did hear that they added this ingredient with no warning, so I'm wary about the company itself. I also heard that it did make people break out, so I'm waiting for that to happen to me. They don't use nano-particles (which can be embedded in your lungs when inhaled) so that's a plus.

Coverage - good coverage from semi-matte. It can be a bit cakey if you go overboard, so I may try a different technique.

Color - they have a ton of colors to choose from, and free samples, which is nice for somebody on a budget who doesn't know what skin tone they have. However, I'm finding it difficult, as always, to find a match. So far they either look yellow or ashy on me, so I'm shooting for an olive and I hope that will work.

Over all: Don't know if it breaks me out or not yet, but will update when it does. Hopefully it doesn't, but I have serious doubts. I don't really like the horror stories I've heard with the company and their marketing history, but it's kind of hard finding inexpensive mineral foundation to begin with (mineral foundation as a market is extremely overpriced), so if it doesn't break me out I might just go with them. Will update after a few weeks of using this stuff!
EDIT:
Unfortunately I think this may be the culprit for my latest breakout. Will stop use before I make a final decision.

Olive Medium is the only mineral makeup I have found that matches my euro-asian mutt skin! Love the finnish- more of a natural glow that isn't too shiney for my oily skin. The packaging is great, especially for travel. I have a problem with getting mineral makeup to last on my oily skin- altho this is by far the longest wearing one i've tried, I still wish I didn't have to touch up after 6-8 hours of wear... but for the value, perfect color match, & finish, I'm willing to reapply! continued >>

This is my HG foundation. I used to use Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Cream Foundation in Sandy Beige. My friend has amazing skin (her skin color is very close to mine) and her makeup is always flawless. Got me thinking about what the heck she was using. When I asked her, I found out that she was using Everyday Minerals in Winged Butter and she totally recommended that I try it out. There was nothing wrong with my IAR foundation, but I just hated the heaviness and oiliness of it throughout the day (for all you dry skinned ladies who like good coverage and a creamy foundation, Maybelline's IAR would be good for you...but I think they discontinued it. You can still find it on Ebay). I have combo skin, usually oiliness on my T-Zone. I first ordered the sample jars to find my perfect shade. EM has tons of shades to choose from, so I'm sure you'll be able to find yours too! I ended up choosing "Light" in "Semi-Matte" over "Winged Butter" because "Winged Butter" was a lot more yellow toned than my real skin color and because "Winged Butter" is sold in the glowy "Original Glo," it reflects a lot more light, which I sort of didn't like since I always use highlighter anyway. "Light" in "Semi-Matte" matches my skintone perfectly (yellowish-beige), doesn't make me break out at all, stays on all day, and makes me look AMAZING without the cakiness some other powder makeup gives me. It looks great with or without flash -- most importantly, it looks like my skin! It doesn't look like I have makeup on. I have started to use the Multi-tasking concealer underneath the foundation which is just as great in concealing dark undereye circles, pimples, redness, etc. Anyway, after applying the concealer, the foundation goes on like a dream! Oh so creamy and luxurious with EM's flat top brush. I love it so much and I'm so thankful that I found a good mineral makeup that won't harm my skin! I LOVE YOU EVERYDAY MINERALS!!!!!!

I'm currently on Accutane, so my skin is super dry, which is the only reason I'm using this product. My skin is usually very oily and acne prone and EDM's foundations don't hold up well to oil at all and transfer like crazy. However, now that I have dry skin, EDM's foundations hold up quite well, but still transfer a bit (not nearly as bad as when my skin is oily). It's actually really interesting to see just how incredibly different a product is, depending on skin type and this is why I feel it's very important to read reviews mainly by people with the same skin type as your own. The product will literally be two completely different products on someone with oily skin vs dry.
So, for dry skinned ladies, I would recommend this particular formula. It provides enough luminosity to mimic natural skin's semi matte appearance. On combo or oily skin types, it'll look straight up glittery. Normal skin types can pull this off, but it will look quite dewy in pictures and in person (may be best as a winter foundation).
I've found that the shades are MUCH lighter in the Matte and Semi Matte formulas than they are in the Intensive. I'm Golden Fair in the Intensive and it's slightly too dark for my skin. The Matte formula is way too light in Golden Fair and the Semi Matte Formula is a good match. I find intensive to have medium coverage and semi matte is really the same coverage, just a different formula. I feel that Semi Matte looks more natural than the intensive because it seems to be more finely milled.
With this product, I feel no need to use a luminizer powder on top because it provides enough glow on it's own.
I apply this on top of Mychelle's cream foundation (which is very sheer) and it adheres to it very well, providing me with more coverage, which I really need because of my post acne scarring and current acne.
Overall, I'd recommend this for dry skin types, but others should probably stay away. For the life of me I can't figure out why BE and EDM are the most popular mineral brands out there because their products are really just average----at least in the foundation category for EDM. EDM takes products of their site with no warning (what happened to Intensive?? and the pressed version?) and changes formulas with little to no warning. They have a "News" section on their site, but they never post anything truly relevant! And 12 bucks for 5.5 grams of foundation is an average price. I do like the container, though. It's the best I've come across for a loose MMU.
It also doesn't help my acne and may be contributing to some of it. But, I don't have the nerve to go Makeup-less with my skin looking like this.
Overall, if you have relatively good skin with no oil issues, then this foundation will be great for you. But for the rest of us out there, it's average. I'm going to continue my search for my HG product.

In comparing this to BE, I like BE's formula better. BE glides on more like silk and I like the overall finish better. However, BE has a somewhat limited color range for fair skins especially in comparison to EDM. EDM in both the Olive or Golden Fair is a PERFECT match for my skin. BE's Golden Fair runs dark and is TOO yellow I am finding for me personally. On the plus side, EDM lasts all day as well on me just like BE. And so far I haven't had any irritation or break outs from the ingredients. If I do I will update on that.

Somehow I only saw the positive, glowing reviews of this product before ordering the sample kit... Now, of course, I am finding all the reviews similar to my own! After a day and a half of use, this makeup gave me four, large, painful cystic pimples on my jaw and chin area. I have not had any cystic acne like this in almost 2 years, so the brief introduction of this is the sole cause.
I can't believe it after all of the hype I heard about it being the "best" mineral makeup. Apparently it works for some, but if you are prone in any way to cystic acne, DO NOT USE.

After using EDM foundation for 3 years now, I have to say I love their products! (thus the MUA profile name). I stumbled upon the site and decided to order samples of the tan kit...which by the way are very generous. All you pay for is s+h and receive several sample shades. When I first started out using EDM foundation, my skin was oily, red, broken out. A few weeks of using this stuff and I was beyond amazed. My skin actually began to clear up the more I used this foundation!! I actually stopped wearing any makeup for the past 4 months because I'm trying to be more natural. When I went back to my foundation, however, it broke me out with cystic acne. This happened twice with a 2 month gap in between. I'm not sure if its because the makeup went bad, but I had a really bad unexpected reaction. I'm afraid to go back to it, but its the only foundation I've trusted. I plan on applying it to half of my face to test it out. That said, ladies, give this foundation a shot! It truly is worth it.

This is an HG product for me. I love mineral foundation, and this is the only brand that doesn't break me out. It covers wonderfully, is buildable, and gives you a bit of a glow. The foundation powder actually has light reflecting minerals in it, which you can see in the powder before you apply. It stays all day. Definitely gives a finish much like Bare Escentuals, and is cheaper. I will keep coming back!