The first thing to know is that all mineral make-up is not the same. Most make-up contains some minerals but different minerals have different properties. Therefore, performance will vary with different products.

What is it that mineral make-up is supposed to do anyway? The most common claim is that it gives the face a youthful glow. When looking at someone face to face this is true. The reflective characteristics of some minerals creates a glow rather than a flat finish. This is particularly pleasing on the young and also on mature or elderly skin, where a flat finish can look dull. That is not to say that some types of mineral make-up can work well on skin of any age, in real life. But what looks good in real life does not necessarily translate the same way on camera.

Mineral make-up should not be in any professional media make-up artist's make-up kit. When photographed, the highly reflective qualities in many mineral make-up products give an erie glow, almost like a jack-o-lantern effect of being lit from within. At Award Studio we have done extensive trials using many different mineral make-up foundations. Then we photographed them using a variety of different types of film and lighting and the results were not good.

So, for someone who is not going to be photographed mineral make-up may be an excellent choice. But do not use it for camera work, as the reflective qualities that make it work in real life are the same qualities that work against it on film. This is just one of the many things that makes camera make-up different from street wear. Being able to do make-up that looks good in person is very different from knowing what works with different types of lighting and film.

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