Carley’s Clear and Smooth Mineral Foundation

It’s so hard to find good cruelty-free make-up! This is the first review of make-up on my blog because natural/cruelty-free make-up is (1) so hard to find, (2) so hit or miss, and (3) SO expensive. I have a hard time forking over the money to test products that may not be very good and that I may not be able to find again.

But trying this mineral foundation from Carley’s Clear and Smooth was a happy no-brainer. Everything I’ve tried from Carley’s Clear and Smooth has been perfection, so I was happy to try it. But most importantly, the company sent me a free sample of the foundation with my last order. 🙂 (You should know that the fact that it was free has not influenced my review of the product! It really is just great mineral foundation.)

I had been using Bare Minerals foundation for several years, and, as a result, I’m addicted to mineral make-up. I won’t go near that liquid stuff anymore. The natural mineral powder is so great for my sensitive, acne-prone skin because it doesn’t clog pores and absorbs oil really well. But Bare Minerals goes for over $25 per compact (8 grams of powder)! Carley’s Clear and Smooth mineral foundation is $19 per compact (10 grams of powder). And it works just as well: good, even coverage; good oil absorption; nice selection of shades. On top that, it’s the only mineral foundation I could find that’s cruelty free. Which, really, is worth almost any amount of money.

Best of all, you can buy $3 sample sizes to give it a try and to find the best color match. (And you could probably return the product if you chose the wrong shade–Carley’s is good about returns). When I run out of my other products, I plan to buy its blush and bronzer to round out my cruelty-free make-up collection.