scent obssession part 1

It was only a few years ago that I discovered I was a bit of a nose. I should have known, really. My mother and grandmother had such a sense of smell that the house had to be spic and span and deodorized every single day to make it bearable for them to function normally.

If there was so much as a whiff of molding fixture or, god forbid, almost-stale food, they would hunt down the source of that smell and ruthlessly eradicate it and disinfect the area within a mile radius, if they could. They weren’t being hoity-toity or snobbish, they were just wired to react strongly to smells.

Loving That Mineral Feeling

One of the best examples of safe, effective products made of naturally-occurring, inorganic ingredients is mineral make-up (MMU).

The best layman’s definition of it that I found on-line is from Associated Content:

This is an instance where less really is more. All make up is made using the same basic minerals. Mica, iron oxides, and cosmetic clays were ingredients of make up centuries before beauty became industrialized. With industrialization came the addition of ingredients that stretched product to save money in mass production and created bigger profit margins for commerce, but led to less than ideal results for women at the cosmetics counter. Mineral make up uses just those minerals that actually make a difference to the user’s appearance.

I haven’t tried any regular make-up at any price that could stand up to skin’s changing standards as consistently as I would like. Surprisingly, and thankfully, mineral make-up could very well be the answer.

Make-up and breakouts

In my forays as a wannabe make-up artist, I had tried a whole range of make-up and skin care. And even the hypoallergenic brands such as Clinique and VMV Hypoallergenics tended to cause unwelcome breakouts or blemishes in spite of their claim to be non-comedogenic (doesn’t clog pores).