Guest Author - Justine Crane

The story of Monave is as much about living one’s dharma as it is about exceptional and truly natural cosmetics.

I’m not usually a make-up wearer. I used to wear it when I was younger, in fact, I was in love with make-up. But as my skin aged I realized make-up made me look older than I really was. So I minimized and used only the essentials -- a little bit of powder foundation, eyeliner and a hint of lip color. Soon even that ended. Since I wear contacts, it seemed that everything, even the hypoallergenic stuff, made my eyes puffy and weepy when worn more than say, five minutes. So I’ve been au naturale for some time, except on special occasions when I’ll whip out the natty old cosmetics’ bag and dig around for something to use.

Then my business partner and I took a trip to San Francisco and discovered a store selling mineral cosmetics, and I was once again in love with make-up.

Enter MONAVE -- MOdern, NAtural and VErsatile, pure, mineral make up, made without the use of talc, dyes and carmine -- not exactly the kinds of products you want sprinkled over your face -- and its wonderful representative, Deb. I have to say I haven’t had as much fun screwing up an interview as I’ve had with Deb‘s. Amongst the crossed messages, undelivered messages and accidentally trashed e-mails, I discovered an incredible woman with tons of integrity and ingenuity, and a grand sense of humor liberally doused with patience.


Loose Mineral Foundation

Ashley - made for those with the lightest of skin, it has a light pink undertone.

Kerrie - sports a yellow undertone for those with a peaches and cream complexion.

Martella and Beverly - the darkest shades available, they have blue and red undertones which compliment those with the darkest skin colors.

Yolanda - for African-American, Indian, Malaysian, Latina and Thai women with caramel colored complexions.

These are only a handful of the loose mineral cosmetics offered by Monave, and as you can see, they provide cosmetics for every skin tone. The samples I tried ranged in the lighter tones, from Ashley to Cecilia -- eight shades in all. The best thing about these loose cosmetics is their versatility. If you’re unable to find a tone which perfectly matches your skin color, you can blend two or three colors which most closely resemble your skin to make a custom color. The loose minerals flow onto the skin like magic. Using a fat little Kabuki brush and following the instructions included with the products, even the most cosmetically challenged can achieve a flawless look in about three minutes. And it feels as if you’re wearing nothing. There isn’t any of that dry, crackly feeling you sometimes get with loose powder, and there’s definitely none of that mask-like feeling from wearing a heavy foundation. This stuff is light as air and soft as silk.


Blush

The blushes offered by Monave are as wide ranging as the foundations and come in shades of peach (Buff Apricot) for lighter skin tones, to reddish-brown (Elderberry) for the darkest skin. And just like the foundation, these blushes glide on beautifully and leave your skin with a translucent, natural glow.


Lipstick

Monave’s lipstick is by far and away the very best lipstick I’ve ever used. Made with a base of shea butter and cocoa butter, these lip colors are as moisturizing and conditioning as they are beautifying. The color I received, #151, or Velvet Crush, was a perfect match for my skin tone. The color is a cross between rich, dark berries and amber honey. I have the most amazing feeling of satisfaction wearing this lipstick knowing that it is made with all natural ingredients and doesn’t contain any synthetics, dyes or animal products. Sometimes it’s all I wear and and when I do, the reaction is priceless: "What are you all dolled up for?" That from a tube of lipstick ~ divine!

Multi-Purpose Mineral Powder

These mineral powders can be used as eye color, lip color and as additions to blushes -- more versatility. The colors are absolutely fantastic. Bright, luscious and deep, ranging in shades of Champagne and Sand Beige to Sky Blue, Lime, Lavender and Moondance -- blues, greens, grays, sables, browns, ambers, pinks and autumnals -- every shade for every taste. Blending these colors is a cinch. I experimented with shea butter, dumping a pinch of Café Latte (#51) and Cocoa (#53) into light colored shea with a bit of jojoba oil to make my own body shimmer. It was glorious -- sparkly and iridescent and a heck of a lot of fun.


Monave offers so many different natural cosmetics you’ll spend hours perusing their web site, and I recommend that you do. If you’re one of those people like me who’ve just about given up on make-up ever ‘doing’ what you want it to do, definitely give Monave a shot.

Be Beautiful!