Monave Mineral Cosmetics is my first "Featured Brand of the Week!" I am starting this new feature, wherein I will select a brand and, every day of that week, review a different product from the line. I am pleased to make Monave my first featured brand, as it is a Baltimore-based, woman of color-owned business and is devoted to creating cosmetics suitable for women of all colors.
Monave is owned by Deborah Bilezikian, a woman of Armenian and Caucasian parentage. Her clientele is about 50% African American, as Baltimore is a majority Black city. As Deborah grew up being unable to find products suited for her olive skin, she has made a conscious effort to address the needs of African American, Middle Eastern, Latino, and Asian women, as well as Caucasian. She has created a brand that truly suits our needs, and manages to do so at a price that is affordable for most, if not all. For those of you who are environmentally-minded and health conscious, Monave products are absolutely not tested on animals and 95% of the products are vegan. All packaging materials and paper are recycled.
I have tried a few different colors in the Monave foundation line and finally found my perfect match, Beverly. I love this foundation! Like all loose mineral foundations, it can be messy to apply, however, it comes nicely packaged and I have not found it to spill out in my make-up bag during the day. The powder buffs on smoothly and silkily and stays put during the day - I have not found that I need to add a finishing powder to keep it in place, nor does it add any oiliness to my already oily skin. However, for those of you with extremely oily skin, Monave does offer setting powders that will give a matte finish. Keep in mind that each Monave foundation does have a slight glow, so if you're one who truly wants a matte look, a setting powder would be in order.
Also, for all you dry-skinned gals who shy away from mineral cosmetics because you're worried that you'll wind up looking flaky, Monave offers cream and mousse formulations of the foundation, as well.
I purchased a full-size Beverly foundation from the website, but, for those of you who aren't certain about your shade match, you can order samples from the site - they come in sets of four and each jar holds enough product to last you a while as you make up your mind. I have called into the office and have found the customer service to be friendly, efficient and knowledgable. For all you Maryland ladies, you can walk into the Fells Point location and have a consultation right then and there.
Monave Foundation can be purchased for $25 for a full-size or $35 for a full-size and refill on www.monave.com. If you want to try the sample sets, they retail for $10.
Jane Iredale's In Touch Cream Blush is a great product. It's quite similar to NARS' Multiples or any other creamy stick product. It is meant to be used as a cream blush - you can either dot it on your cheeks and rub it in with brush or fingers or apply it by swiping a sponge or brush over the stick and then putting the color onto your face. I like the method of dotting it on the apples of my cheeks and blending upward and outward with my fingers. My favorite shade is Charisma, which is shown in the picture to the left - it is a wonderful wine color. I also dab a bit of it onto my lips and then apply a gloss on top, for lovely matching lips and cheeks. You can apply the color under your foundation powder for a muted shade or on top of your powder for a brighter look.
