We love mineral makeup for its many benefits: built-in sunscreen, natural ingredients and all-day wearability with little to no reapplication, among them. With the fast-approaching holiday season and all the must-look-good outings that come with it, we decided to check in with four mineral makeup experts in hopes of discovering simple tricks to try specifically with mineral makeup, as well as help avoiding common mineral mishaps such as the obviously over-powdered face. 

Our experts: Alphonse Wiebelt of BeingTRUE, international Bare Escentuals makeup artist Bravon Pascua, makeup artist Marisa Perel of Spa Radiance and Jeannie Wong of Juv Essentials and The Mission Statement, one of only a handful Bay Area retail locations currently carrying Youngblood Minerals.

The Tips

Shady behavior: Every expert we consulted said finding the right shade was one of the most important things a person can do to make mineral makeup look natural.

“Mineral foundation sits directly on the surface, so if it’s not the right shade, it really shows. Always match a shade along the jaw line,” recommends Wiebelt.

Proceed with caution: Use mineral makeup sparingly at first and build up to the color you want to achieve.

“We say that less is always more on the skin,” says Pascua, who suggests choosing a denser, more compact brush when heavier coverage is needed.

Don’t hesitate, hydrate: Properly moisturized skin is key to achieving flawless coverage from mineral makeup, the experts told us again and again.

“It’s very important to have moisture in your skin so the makeup has something to stick to. That’s going to give you a really good foundation to begin with, and makeup is going to go on more evenly,” Perel tells us.

Spray away: More than one makeup artist let us in on the secret of spritzing a hydrating mist (opt for one that contains sodium hyaluronate) after buffing on foundation for coverage that doesn’t look powdery, but becomes one with the skin.

“After mineral foundation is applied, the next most important piece would be to use a hydrating mist and to generously spray the face from 5 to 6 times to really make the skin moist. Then press and roll a sponge all around the face,” recommends Wiebelt, who developed the misting technique for use with BeingTRUE’s mineral-based foundation.

Be creative: Mineral makeup that comes in powder form is versatile and can often be used in multiple ways.

“Make it into a tinted moisturizer or sunscreen,” recommends Wong, who suggests mixing a small amount of powder foundation into cream moisturizers and sunscreens for a subtle hue, as well as experimenting with neutral blush hues on the eyelids.

Take a test shot: Before posing for those holiday pics, try snapping a sample photo or two to make sure your makeup looks as good under a flash as it will in person. 

“A lot of mineral makeup will look different in flash photography. If I’m somewhere where I know they’ll be taking a ton of pictures, I might go a shade darker than I would normally,” says Perel.

Save face: Mineral makeup’s long life means you can keep powder-based products for much longer other kinds of non-mineral makeup.

“Mineral makeup lasts a very, very long time. With most mineral cosmetic products, usually the shelf life is about a year or two,” Wong says.

Wash cycle: Keep brushes in good shape with regular cleaning, but don’t overdue it.

Pascua recommends using baby wipes to clean brushes after regular use, then washing brushes using a gentle shampoo and laying them flat to dry at least once a month.