Alima Pure Satin Matte Mineral Foundation is hypoallergenic -- it goes on easy and feels like nothing at all, naturally. It evens out your skin tone, enhances your complexion and reduces the appearance of fine lines and pores. And, with 61 shades, there's a match for just about everyone.
You have the option of purchasing a sample jar of their mineral products for only $1.50. So, I figured its not a huge loss if it doesn't work out. A full size of their mineral foundation is $20 for .24 oz or 7.5 grams. They have an excellent color section. I believe there is a color that should suit about anyone. They make it easy for you by breaking up the colors in different skin tones. There is Cool, Neutral, Beige, Warm, Golden & Olive. And if you aren't one specific shade, you can have a custom blend of up to 3 shades.
Picking my color-I researched what several MAC NC40 skin tone wearers wore. The majority wore W-4. (Warm 4). I read that a few wore one shade up W-5, but I believe W-5 is better suited for those who are a darker NC40.. that can get away with wearing NC42. A true NC42 can wear W-5 and W-6. If you're more of a neutral NC40, B-4 or even B-5 (Beige-4,5) may work for you. I think its very well work getting a few samples before you purchase the full size. Having your exact color match can make or break your decision of loving or hating a foundation.
I ordered Warm 4, Warm 3 and Golden 3 and Golden 4. From the website swatches, I was unsure if the warm shades were going to be golden enough. I really liked the yellow tones in the golden shades, so I got both.
I also ordered a couple blushes and shadows.
My order arrived very quickly with a few extra samples. Nice!
Testing the shades:
Right away, I tested all four shades on my face side by side above my jawline. I had no makeup on my face. Just a little moisturizer. I let it sit on my face for a few minutes and looked at my face in a few different lighting conditions. The best lighting to view if your foundation is the right shade is in natural sunlight on an overcast day. When its sunny out, you can make the mistake of thinking your foundation is lighter than it really is. I've made the mistake of doing my makeup in front of a sunny window and applying way too much blush because in the light, it didn't look so heavy. If its not cloudy out, wait till later in day when the sun is starting to go down.. or shut your window shades and still standing by the window, look at your face in the mirror. You can also look at your face in your visor mirror in the car in the middle of the day. When I'm shopping for a foundation at the store, I ALWAYS leave the store before I pick a shade. If the store has fluorescent lighting, it will alter the way your skin really looks, and give your skin a bluish green tint.
Furthermore, When looking at my face in the mirror, the shade that seemed to disappear into my skin was Warm 4. The 2nd runners up was Golden 4. The golden shade was almost identical except for a slight hint of yellow. I can wear either one. W-4 matches my face better and G-4 matches my neck better because of the strong yellow tone that comes from my self tanner. Golden 3 and Golden 4 were almost exactly the same as well. Warm 3 was too light, perfect to add dimension to areas of my face or to put under my eyes to brighten. A good match for NC30. I put a swipe of MAC Select Sheer Powder in NC40 on my hand next to all of the shades and it was almost identical to W-4. The Golden shades were far more yellow.
Review: I've only used this twice (alone) on my face. I applied it over moisturized skin with a goat hair kabuki and did lots of buffing. It did a pretty good job at covering blemishes. For extra coverage on blemishes, I used dampened a small brush and dipped the brush in the powder and applied it to the blemish. It provided full coverage to those small spots.. and dried to a powder that blended in with the rest of my face. Lastly, I spritzed my face with MAC Fix+ to set everything in place. It didn't irritate my face and it lasted through the day.
Will I be tossing my current foundations and use this? No. Only because in the end, I still prefer liquid over powder. BUT, I am confident in saying I can toss my other powders and use this as a setting powder (Okay, so I won't be tossing anything.. but you get what I mean). I've been using W-3 every day to set my concealer and apply above my cheekbones to highlight the area. It provides amazing coverage and adds extra coverage to my under eyes. It never cakes.. never budges.. never have to reapply. This product definitely screams HG (Holy Grail). I've also used it to set some of my lighter coverage foundations to provide extra coverage and it works wonderfully!! I'll be ordering a full size powder this week of W-3. My sample is running low and I'm getting nervous! haha!
Update: I did purchase the full size of W-3 and I use if often to set my under eye makeup or brush over my foundation for added coverage.
