Mineral cosmetics are all the rage. I made the switch from liquid foundation to mineral foundation a while ago and haven't looked back since. In the world of mineral makeup, we all know who is king (or would that be queen?): Bare Escentuals. But if you want to try mineral makeup and don't want to buy into the corporate machine that is Bare Escentuals, consider the Afterglow cosmetics family of products.Afterglow products are not tested on animals (as confirmed by PETA's Compassionate Consumer list), are made in the USA, do not contain nasty things like parabens, are made of organic ingredients, and is a cosmetics company for women, owned by women (love that!). Afterglow products are listed on the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database as being a low health hazard, meaning they don't contain harsh ingredients and that they're not full of chemicals. Afterglow is also a "compact signer" for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Plus they donate money from their sale of their bronzer to help breast cancer patients and survivors.
So...Afterglow cosmetics fall into the "compassionate consumer" category, but are they any good? Well, I've been trying out a few of their products (specifically their blush, lipstick, and eye shadow) and I am impressed. The minerals are easy to apply (oh! I forgot to mention they make the softest cosmetic brushes, very worthy of an investment!) and feel very light on my skin. When I wear their makeup, I don't feel like I'm suffocating under a mask of gunky cosmetics.
Just like other mineral makeup, a little goes a long way. The highly pigmented products make my skin "glow" just by using a small amount of product so this stuff will last quite awhile.
While I've been fairly faithful to Bare Escentuals, I really appreciate Afterglow's business philosophy and I could see myself switching over to their brand. To get familiar with their brand, I would whole-heartedly recommend Afterglow's Glow Kit for $59. It contains all sorts of travel-sized goodies that will give you an idea of the quality of Afterglow's product.
With Afterglow, you can look good and feel good about supporting a company that believe there is more to life than making money.
