(Ferro Ultimate Foundation)
Ferro Cosmetics is one of the many mineral makeup lines in the market today. I have been particularly interested to see if their Ultimate Foundation does create a matte finish and a medium-to-full coverage, which I personally look for in a foundation.
— Ultimate Foundation (pictured above)
“Full coverage with matte finish” is what is stated on the packaging, so the stakes are high. Upon application, this foundation, out of all the mineral makeup foundations I have tried so far, is the only one that gives a truly matte finish. It is also the one that has the best coverage and the most convincing pore-diffusing property. (The medium-to-full coverage is more easily achieved with a dense flat-top brush, which, compared with a kabuki brush, also gets to the awkward areas around the nose and the eyes more thoroughly.)
However, while the matte finish does maintain for a couple of hours, one drawback is the finish later in the day. As my face gets oily, an unnatural metallic sheen starts to appear and it is hard to blot it completely off with my usual blotting paper.
This seems to be a general problem with mineral foundations. My observation is that the powder itself doesn’t really absorb facial sebum and that the sebum tends to float on top of the foundation. (But if you don’t have oily skin, then this might not be a concern.)
— Blushers
(Blusher in Bashful (left) and Pinkie Swear (right))
Bashful looks like a dusty pink in the container and it goes on as a nice cool pink. Pinkie Swear looks like a soft warm pink and it goes on with an orange undertone. While Bashful would be a good shade for me all-year-round, Pinkie Swear would probably be a wearable summer shade.
The powder is well-pigmented, so a tiny bit goes a long way. The finish is nicely luminous. The staying power is fair but I do wish it could be slightly better.
— Eyeshaodws
and Eye Candy Shimmer in February (right))
Eye Candy Shimmer in February is a very pretty lilac shade with noticeable shimmer and fine sparkles. A very trendy shade for spring 2008.
Eye Candy Pearl in Secret has a champaign hue with a pale skin-beige undertone. I think it is a good multi-purpose item. It is a great shade to be worn alone to brighten up the eyes. It can also be used sparingly in the immediate under-eye area for the same purpose. I also think this is a nice and subtle highlighting shade for the brow bone and the T-zone.
Both shades are quite well-pigmented and long-lasting. (As with other loose powder eyeshadows (mineral or non-mineral), the eye areas should be properly primed with enough moisture so the color shows up better and stays on longer.
— Bronzer
(Glow Bronzer in Glow Baby)
Glow Baby is a natural bronzing shade with a luminous finish for people with light and light-to-medium skin-tones. It can also be worn as a blusher for people who like beige-tone blushers. (A couple of other shades, like Spring Kiss and Autumn Kiss, are perhaps too orange for most skin-tones.)
Compared with the other mineral makeup lines that I have tried, I think the quality of Ferro is fairly good. I particularly like the two eyeshadows and the blusher in Bashful that I mentioned above. But, at the moment, I still can’t see myself switching to mineral foundations. They seem to share many traits that don’t go along with my oily skin. As a whole, they pale in comparison with many other non-mineral foundations that I have used. Only time will tell if there will be improvements in this particular aspect…
Other mineral makeup reviews:
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve tested out some mineral makeup line as well and eventhough i have a dark skintone, it was still a hassle blending because all the ones i tried (except from Jane Iredale) were in powder form and because they tend to be highly pigmented with shimmers, its really difficult to blend. I tried Lily Lolo and L’Oreal. The Jane Iredale foundation was actually matte and pressed but i have a thing for product packaging and that was the only let down for me. Apparently, MAC also does mineral makeup and i’ve heard good things about it. They’ve got a pressed and liquid mineral foundation, an all-purpose powder which everyone says is the best and loose mineral eyeshadows.
Hi Allysia-May,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the mineral makeup lines that you have tried!
Out of the brands you mentioned, I have only tested the L’Oreal one in Boots. I might be wrong, but I seem to remember it was a little bit shimmery.
Maybe I should give MAC’s mineral makeup items a bit of testing next time…
I do hope more and more mineral makeup lines will try to do pressed foundations. I am not really a fan of all the blending either…(although it does take much less time with a large and fluffy flat-top brush).
Thank you for posting your comment again!
hey PJ!
im also testing out mineral makeup! ive already tried a british mineral makeup brand called lilylolo.co.uk, u can buys samples and of course full size there and there’s a huge variety. I also bought a few good samples and the postage was pretty cheap! u might want to check it out ^^ ive just purchased from everydayminerals.com recently. I bought a custom kit, it hasnt arrived yet – i got to choose one shade of each makeup, its a 6piece, for $18usd! i think thats pretty cheap, and paid $12usd for p&p, i didnt think it was that expensive considering ive seen p&p costing hell lot more! anyway ive heard raving reviews about this brand, it’ll be interesting how it will turn out =)
Yea.. mineral make up looks good on my oily skin for about 10 minutes.. and then my face looks weird and cakey.. YUCK!
My sister with normal-dry skin also experiences that unflattering shiny look with mineral make up (we both tried Bare Escentuals)..
There’s a GREAT report on mineral make up from Paula Begoun.. she explains what’s in these mineral foundations, and why it makes our face look, shiny!
I have been visiting your blog for quite a while, and I’m absolutely in love with it!!!
Thank you for sharing it with us.
Only through your blog I get to see those beautiful products, and I’m particularly interested in the Japanese cosmetics ^^
What’s so unique about your blog is that you take nice pictures of the inside of the products and sharing details about your experiences. This way, I can make a better decision whether to purchase it or not. You’re such an expert!!
I’m very curious, with all the cosmetics you bought…were you able to finish some of them?
I used to collect eyeshadows and lipsticks/glosses…and I ended up with too many of them LOL.
And some of them went out of date before I can finish them =p
Anyways…Fantastic job with the blog!!
Hi Nicola,
Thank you for telling me about Lily Lolo and Everyday Minerals. I am aware that Lily Lolo is a UK-based mineral makeup line. Quite a lot of people know about it here in the UK.
Do keep me posted on your thoughts about your mineral makeup trials. I would be interested in knowing what you think.
But, at the moment, I am still not a convert…
Thank you for posting your comment! :)
Hi Gloria,
It is interesting to know that you and your sister are experiencing similar things with mineral makeup. I used to think it is just me…
As I mentioned, according to my own experience (I have oily skin), I don’t think mineral foundations particularly suit people with oily skin…
I think I know which Paula Begoun article you are referring to, and I have read it. It is indeed very useful and illuminating.
There are mineral foundations that are less shimmery in themselves. (Ferro’s Ultimate Foundation’s particles are very very matte.) I suppose it is the way the mineral particles bond with sebum that makes everything appear very shiny…
Thank you for your comment again! :)
Hi Misaki,
Thank you very much for your kind words about my blog! I am very flattered.
I do love many Japanese cosmetics brands very much, so it is only natural that I constantly talk about Japanese cosmetics on my blog. :)
I try to have at least one post on Japanese cosmetics every week, so do please check back every now and then!
Thank you as well for your nice comments on my photos and my reviews. I try to point out as many details about the products as possible, so you can find out what I really think.
As for your question…now I do finish up skincare products that I buy. Also, I use up my powder foundations. But with color cosmetics like lip glosses and eyeshadow palettes, I don’t really use them up. I do enjoy collecting makeup items and comparing them, so I don’t particularly want to use them up. For things like lipsticks, which shouldn’t be used after a certain amount of time, I keep the older ones as part of my little “makeup museum” (my makeup drawers).
So, with color makeup, I am a collector as well as a user…:)
Thank you very much for visiting my blog and posting your comment. Hope to hear from you again soon! :)
I had to comment as I’ve previously worked in a cosmetic manufacturing plant. The lines that offer the “pressed” mineral makeup do so by using chemicals. It is no longer all-natural, so true mineral lines remain in the loose form. If you look at the L’Oreal and Mac labels, note that they are not all-natural and all-mineral like they want you to believe. From the ingredient lists provided by both Lily Lolo and Ferro Cosmetics on their websites, they are ideal eco-friendly options. Also they are both Bismuth oxychloride-free, which causes that chalky look that other mineral lines like Bare Escentuals and Sheer Cover creates. If you have oily skin, I highly recommend the Oil-Free Face Gel Shine-Control Formula by C.O. Bigelow. I use it sparingly on problems spots (my T-zone). I let it settle and then apply makeup. This will solve all your makeup application problems and make mineral makeup a possibility! I promise.
Hi DivaM,
Thank you very much for posting your comment and for sharing your thoughts and experiences.
I am indeed aware that it requires additional ingredients to produce pressed-powder foundations and that some of these ingredients are not necessarily natural. Also, it is indeed true that not all the ingredients of some of the mineral makeup items are all-natural. So, if customers want their foundations to be all-mineral, they will probably have to look past the pressed-powder form.
But it is worth pointing out that not all chemical and synthetic ingredients are harmful to the environment. Also, in terms of skincare and makeup products, natural ingredients are not necessarily always more beneficial than chemical and synthetic ones.
There are pros and cons with both mineral and non-mineral makeup items (even though the dividing line is blurred, as many self-proclaimed mineral makeup items contain non-mineral ingredients, as you mentioned). Currently, from what I want from a foundation, I would still go for non-mineral ones. (Perhaps it is also worth pointing out that most foundations are made of mineral ingredients. So I tend to have a slight issue with categorizing foundations into “mineral” and “non-mineral” ones.)
Thank you very much again for your comment! (Thank you as well for your C. O. Bigelow recommendation!)