Avon • Smooth Mineral Make-up • Powder

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ydw220 on 4/2/2008 10:48:00 AM more reviews by ydw220

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Dark   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

Wow...I was hesistant to try this powder after reading the reviews, but I'm glad I did. I have sensitive dry skin, and this works GREAT. The color is close enough (Beautiful Bronze), although it looks more like my summer color. BE looked green on my skin, in EVERY shade I tried. This has great coverage, I love how dewy and airbrushed I look. I do get some t-zone shininess towards the end of the day but that's nothing new, I just blot with a Starbucks napkin. Avon has come a long way. This powder actually exceeded my expectations, but they weren't too high anyway. I would recommend and purchase again!
UPDATE: Ok, so I've been using it for a couple of months now, and here's what I love: It looks FLAWLESS. I've never gotten so many compliments. What I hate: This is not normal t-zone shininess. By the end of the day, there are little brown fingerprints all over my work. It turns into an oil field. I've NEVER had any makeup, especially powder, make my face this oily. And then, it slides off, hence the fingerprints (I touch my face a lot). I have to remove a lippie because I just can't deal with how oily it becomes. I'm wiping my face all day, and it's ridiculous. It rubs off on everything. This is crazy.

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JennyAvonPA on 3/26/2008 3:52:00 PM more reviews by JennyAvonPA

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

I was excited to get a book from a friend who just became a rep and I felt a little obligated to get something b/c she just started. I picked up this mineral foundation in the lightest shade cuz I'm pretty pale and it was sorta cheap. Firstly, After reading the reviews about a brush, I didn't get a brush..lemme tell ya what I got...RIPPED OFF!! Like I said, I'm pale, but this looked ghastly on me. I took the best thing I had to a powder brush, my MAC 129. I poured some into a loose powder pan and dipped my brush and tried to apply. The first thing I noticed was how light the powder was, second thing was that it was not as finely milled as I had hoped, Third thing was that it just wouldn't blend. I grabbed a loose powder brush, thinking it was my lack of experience, still no blendy blendy. I finally got it to blend with a foundation sponge. HOLD ON, I'm still not done. I had to bronze the HELL out of my face. After all was said and done, I got a glimpse of myself a few hours later and I looked so gharish and the powder looked cakey. I was as if it made my face grease up. I looked as if I were rehabbing from the brink of death. Save your money ladies, this is junk in a cheap jar.

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philly_meg on 3/19/2008 2:13:00 PM more reviews by philly_meg

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Today was the first AND last day I will ever wear this godawful makeup. First, I didn't even receive a blending brush so I made do with what I have already at home. Second, I have the tiniest pores on earth (even according to my derm) and this crap makes my whole face look like one huge pore. UGH! Third, as I am wearing it, it is caking in noticeable patches on my face so it looks now as though I have a skin disease. I've gone to the ladies' room twice so far today to blend and/or brush as much off as possible.

Very disappointing product and one that will likely end up in my trash bin tonight. Obviously will never purchase again nor will I ever recommend it to anyone...unless someone needed clown makeup for Halloween.

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*TOP REVIEWER* dbmiller on 3/10/2008 11:44:00 AM more reviews by dbmiller

Age: 25-29   Skin: Very Dry, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Green    

First of all, unless you're extremely light or dark, you will need to become your own personal mixologist. I was aware of this after reading the reviews on here and on Avon's website. I decided to purchase Ivory, Almond and Bisque. I ended up mixing Ivory and Almond for a good color for my light skin. This is pretty good stuff. I've tried all sorts of mineral makeups. This could be milled a little more finely and could also have an SPF to make me happier about it. But it applies smoothly and the price is right and so I'm satisifed. UPDATE: Bumping down two lippies as I can literally watch this stuff turn orange on my face just after it's applied. Not only that but it sucked every trace of moisture from my face, settled into my fine lines, and made me look just plain old. UPDATE: Avon must have reformulated this stuff, because now it's called IDEAL SHADE Smooth Mineral Makeup and suddenly, I LOVE IT. Today, I tried Nude on by itself, which didn't previously exist, and it went on so smoothly and easily. Awesome, awesome coverage, and the finish, OMG! Not too shiny, not too matte, a perfect median. Makes my skin look radiant and flawless. It also amazingly lasted all day without turning weird (didn't change color, specifically orange or pink, didn't turn shiny, didn't dry my skin out, didn't come off) and I rode horses for 6 hours! Will definately repurchase, and this is exactly what I am looking for at such an amazing price. Could use some SPF, but I will not complain since they've already improved the formula so drastically. Love!

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bluegreeneyes2001 on 3/6/2008 12:24:00 PM more reviews by bluegreeneyes2001

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

okay i just got this mineral makeup and so my first reaction to it was....AMAZING!!! i absolutely LOVE this mineral makeup. it feels and looks smooth, soft, radiant. makes your skin seemingly glow. i always HATE how with liquid foundations can transfer easily. if u lay on anything, wat u lay on would have the foundation on it also. bt this does NOT transfer and lasted 4 hours still looking GREAT. AND it actually look natural. with all powder foundations i worry bout it looking cakey or fuzzy, heavy or dry bt this looks smooth and flawless and feels amazingly light. i really did forget i was wearing it. you may have heard this claim with other makeups bt for this one its true: it looks like your skin BUT FLAWLESS! absolutely perfect. will update if that changes bt so far 5 STARS or lipsticks in this case.
UPDATE: this stuff will work best for people with dry to normal skin type. if u have oily or combo skin OR use a moisturizer (even wen properly dried) it will cling to the moisture and/or oil and clump and look terribly uneven. all in all a big thumbs down for an oily skinned gal.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* jln7124 on 2/27/2008 2:32:00 PM more reviews by jln7124

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Brown    

In general I hate mineral make up (with the exception of Urban Decay's surreal skin-which I highly recommend if you like mineral powders). Because my skin tone is fair with pink undertones, I can never get the right coverage and even tone I'm looking for with powders, but I will say Avon's is light and great to use to set your make up. If you apply only a light layer, and don't cake it on this stuff works great to give a natural, smooth look over foundation. Plus, you can't beat the price!

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NinjaKiwi on 2/13/2008 1:27:00 AM more reviews by NinjaKiwi

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

Well, At the beginning it was really smooth, nice, creamy and blended in like a dream, I have the usual teenage acne and it SEEMED to hide my redness, but as I walked across campus to my college courses it started to bead up a little bit and the makeup actually rolled off my face. It was gross. I'm a little older since that incident and will definately give it another shot, during the winter when I'm not going to sweat :)

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Cammyb on 2/10/2008 7:39:00 PM more reviews by Cammyb

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I am an Avon Rep and Mineral Makeup doesn't work for everybody. In addition people apply it to heavily and don't understand how to use the brush, shake of the excess and apply it in a circular motion . It's only for light-medium coverage. But I personally like Avon's it nice, light and blends well.

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searching4thebest on 1/30/2008 9:26:00 PM more reviews by searching4thebest

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

This is a great mineral foundation for the price. I found it to be smoother than Physician's Formula or Jane or Aromaleigh. It does not come close to Jane Iredale.

I use a flat makeup brush, and the Avon goes on smoothly. The two colors I got were darker than I need, however, I went to the carribean right after and got a little sun, so it's fine. I think I will order a lighter shade to blend them together.

All in all, a great product for the money! Avon has sooo improved over the years, hasn't it?

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

tooltimegirl on 12/22/2007 6:10:00 PM more reviews by tooltimegirl

Age: 36-43   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

Let me start by saying that I'm an Avon rep. I have horrendously oily and acneprone skin at 36 so I don't use any of Avon's foundations normally. (The Mark powder buff foundation is a better alternative for me) I was really excited when they came out with the mineral makeup.

Until I tried it. What a joke.

First off, I am pretty pale, so I went for the ivory shade. I would officially like this shade renamed to "death" because it transformed me from pale skin to goth in a heartbeat. I also bought the bisque shade. I prefer to call this tone "fake bake" because it's the color of my step-daughter's skin after chronic tanningbeditis. Some of the more "helpful" Avon reps on the Avon site message boards RAVE about this stuff and just poo poo those of us who abhor the color selection. (I think it's horrible.....almond is too yellow, everything is too dark except ivory...etc)

The makeup brush that Avon supplies to go with this isn't nearly good enough. I recommend a better quality kabuki brush. You won't get good coverage with a soft/floppy brush. Swirl, tap, buff. Easy to do. But with the Avon mineral foundation I find that it goes on cakey looking no matter how lightly you apply it. You have to buff, buff, buff to get this stuff to look natural. After a few hours of wear on my oily skin, it started getting cakey and was no better than a liquid foundation for staying power.

Honestly, I am truly disappointed. I don't recommend it to my customers because I don't think you should have to buy 2-3 shades to mix to get your perfect color. I INSTEAD recommend the L'Oreal mineral makeup. Now THAT line is awesome. The brush is great, it goes on seamlessly, lasts a long time and has a wide range of NORMAL skin tone shades. Avoid the Avon stuff and spend a couple bucks more to try the L'Oreal stuff. (I can hear the Avon police coming to bust me for saying derogatory comments about their products already.....)

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

trotro on 11/14/2007 3:34:00 AM more reviews by trotro

Age: 44-55   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

This goes on beautifully with the correct brush. The one you get with the foundation is useless. You need a large kabuki brush. You have to blend the powder in the lid of the container with the brush and shake off any excess before applying. I agree you need to use two shades to get the correct colour. I used bisque with a small amount of ivory and it looks really good. I will be purchasing again.

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isabel_m on 11/12/2007 4:42:00 AM more reviews by isabel_m

Age: 19-24   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

To be honest, I'm disappointed. I'm usually quite satisified with Avon and use their Soft Matte Mouse in Cream. However, I decided I didn't need all that coverage and tried to switch to Smooth Mineral, thinking it was a cheap way to find out whether mineral make up was for me or not. What a mistake.
First of all, the shade selection is awful. After reading the reviews here I mixed Ivory and Almond and got a more or less good shade for my fair/medium skin - but now I'm stuck with two products I can't use. The powder is way to clumpy and application is difficult. It settles into my rather fine pores and makes them look huge, which is a problem I never had with ANY other powder make up. I have no wrinkles at all, but this powder makes my combination skin look dry and wrinkly. It's no good for touch ups either, coz it looks cakey if used with any other type of foundation. The brush is OK, but it could be a little softer. Overall, a great disappointment that just might put me off of mineral make up altogether. I give it two lippies only because it has decent staying power.

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*TOP REVIEWER* tinkerrbelle on 11/10/2007 7:56:00 AM more reviews by tinkerrbelle

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

This powder looks horribly streaky and patchy on my oily skin, won't blend, goes into the lines, and itches my skin. A matt ashen finish and a very clumpy coarse-milled powder compared to other brands. Bisque is very orange and dark.


Its really hard to take off and stains many fabrics too. I have to use two facial cleansing wipes with this, and even then my white towel gets covered in brown smears. I've never had that in a makeup before.


Its not a pure mineral powder I've discovered too. I'm very annoyed at Avon for putting in a large amount of bismuth oxychloride, a Cheap filler and known skin irritant (see warnings about this ingredient on internet searches) instead of bringing us the better quality pure minerals (titanium dioxide ect). The Bismuth Oxychloride is probably what is itching my skin when I use this product. Its not truly a mineral powder really, just a cheap knock-off.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

cris_me on 11/3/2007 12:45:00 PM more reviews by cris_me

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Hazel    

I don't get it. Why do they call this make-up? This is just a powder with a colour that looks artificial, it doesn't blend, it doesn't set in, it doesn't do anything. Yes, sure, if I pick it up with my finger and put a bunch of it on a spot, it does cover - but you can also see the powder. that's all it does - it looks like powder put on my face. The things I could've done with that 10$!

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neener563 on 8/27/2007 9:19:00 PM more reviews by neener563

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Red   Eyes: Hazel    

Sorry Avon but if ya wanna compete in the Mineral Makeup Wars ya gotta come up with a better product. I had such hopes that you could make a cheaper product than BE and I tried your almond foundation and was sadly disappointed. I had to mix some of my BE products with you just to try to get the color almost right and its still not right.. You layed so flat on my skin without any luminous quality at all just flat powder and with an ugly ashy brownish under tone that looked dead on my pinkish cool medium skin. Im currently waiting to try the Everyday minerals who seem to have some colors up on you with a selection of finishes ya better get with the program on colors if ya wanna sell minerals.

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Fire on 7/2/2007 3:33:00 PM more reviews by Fire

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

I purchased this in the color Warmth to use as a blusher, bronzer, eye shadow, etc.[not as a foundation]. It was very cheap [for the quality]--I got it on sale for under 10 dollars. I was shocked how natural it looked when applied. BE's Warmth was always too dark on me [NC20-25] to use on my cheeks. Avon's Warmth looks like I was touched by the sun in the most flattering way possible--it has no shimmer and goes on very smoothly. Used like a multiple--it gives a wonderful summery polished look. Used more specifically I think it would be appropriate for any season. It really is a steal!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

queenofthesalsa on 6/22/2007 7:30:00 PM more reviews by queenofthesalsa

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

I have the almond shade, which I would describe as a tan colour. This scared me at first because my liquid foundation from avon is almond and it's a little lighter. However, it blended well into my skin and did not look unnatural. Coverage is decent. The jar is rather small. I think I will stick to my liquid foundation for most occassions, but for a day outdoors in summer, I'll reach for the mineral foundation. I love that it's not heavy or pore-clogging.

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dacostas4 on 6/11/2007 1:04:00 PM more reviews by dacostas4

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I am Puertorican/Latina & a shade like Jlo when she is tanned. I have a very hard time trying to find something in my shade that matches without making me look orange. I am sure many latinas can relate to me when I say we have trouble trying to find a good match for our skin :-)

I was using Everyday Minerals wich I truly loved but the Mediam-tan had an orangish cast to it :-(

Until I found AVON! I found a perfect a perfect match and my color is in buff! Jar could be a litter bigger for swirling thoughI hope they keep this line as I would not know what to do if they did! LOL! I highly recommend this mineral make-up!

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malikaclayton on 5/30/2007 11:42:00 AM more reviews by malikaclayton

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

We all agree that shade selection is terrible. But for the price, this product is comparable to pricier brands. Avon's minerals are a little "clumpier?" than BE, but if you breakup the clumps, it goes on pretty smooth. I did still have some shine and had to use BE mineral veil. But for 7.99, heck that's less than I normally pay for sunscreen.

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Sonya_X on 5/7/2007 9:34:00 AM more reviews by Sonya_X

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

First off I want to thank MUAers for their suggestion of mixing colors. I'm a pale person but the Ivory is way too pale. I mixed it with almond to create a nice warm shade that looks perfect on me. There just aren't enough shades in this makeup! Beprepared to mix, it's not as intimidating as it sounds, but I recommend putting in small portions of the darker shade into the lighter shade, so you can try several shades in your range and make sure you get it right. It bites if you have to buy yet one more container to mix into it because the blend wasn't right this time. All of that aside I love this stuff. It looks so natural and feels so light. It doesn't make me break out and it has an excellent sunscreen. Application can be tricky but I think this can be said for all mineral makeup. I think it would be a little too dry for me in the winter, but it's excellent for the warmer months. As to the price, if it's not on sale at avon, check out e-bay, you can always get good avon sale prices there :).
Follow up edit: Just went to go check on buying some more of this stuff and they seem to have taken away the spf. What the heck are they thinking?? FIrst they stop the warm/cool descriptors, now they take the spf out of a foundation!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No