The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals

The Body Shop will be launching its new Extra Virgin Minerals range of mineral foundations in three formulas on 29 August in Singapore. Designed to be suitable for all skin types, including sensitive and acne-prone skin, the foundations contain finely milled minerals and are free of fragrance and parabens. They also contain Community Fair Trade extra virgin oil, cultivated using traditional organic methods by the Nuovo Cilento Co-operative in southern Italy.

The Liquid Foundation SPF 30 (S$36.90, 30ml) provides a slightly dewy finish and contains mineral pigments, extra virgin olive oil and marula oil. This will be available in 6 shades in Singapore. Below is the ingredients list.

The Loose Powder Foundation SPF25 (S$36.90 for 5g) will be available in only four shades in Singapore, suiting light to medium skin tones. This comes in the usual plastic tub with a sifter in the inner lid. This is applied by dipping a short kabuki brush into the powder, tapping off the excess and then buffing it into the skin. I received this in shade 102 Natural Ivory, which is a neutral fair shade.

The Loose Powder Foundation Brush, which is made of 100% synthetic bristles, is sold separately at S$29.90.

Below is the ingredients list for the Loose Powder Foundation, which I find to be confusing as two lists are printed with the ingredients in different order. Nevertheless, it's good to see that the foundation does not contain bismuth oxychloride which has been known to cause skin irritation in some women.

In the pic below, I applied the Loose Powder Foundation after applying my sunblock. Although the Loose Powder Foundation has SPF25, I prefer to combine it with a sunblock lotion as it was an extremely sunny day in Singapore. The Loose Powder Foundation is very finely milled. It does tend to fly up as it is so light, so don't swirl your brush with too much force. It gives me light coverage and evens out my skintone but without completely concealing my blemishes.

The finish is quite natural without being overly powdery or dull. In terms of oil control, it was average with blotting required after every two hours. My skin gets extremely oily when I'm in Singapore, especially if I'm outdoors. Even after a couple rounds of blotting and more than 6 hours of wear in humid weather (with no air-conditioning), the foundation still looks pretty good without any streaks, oxidisation or smudges. For this look, I'm also wearing the Shimmer Cubes #23 Bunch of Violets and Precious Pearlescents Blush Trio #1 Cool Dusk.

In the pic below, I'm wearing the Liquid Foundation #205 Rose Vanilla (which is a tad yellow for me) with the Loose Powder Foundation buffed on top. This provides more coverage of my skin redness and blemishes than using just the Loose Powder Foundation alone. On its own, the Liquid Foundation has a slightly dewy finish but with the Loose Powder Foundation on top, the finish becomes matte. In terms of oil control, I also needed to blot every couple of hours.

The Cream Compact Foundation (S$39.90 for 8.5g) is a cream-to-powder formula that blends like a cream and transforms into a lightweight matte finish on the skin while providing medium to high coverage. This will be available in 8 shades in Singapore.


In the bottom compartment, the brush sits nicely nestled within a foam collar of sorts, which keeps it from rattling around the case.

The synthetic bristles feel much silkier against the skin than the brush from Urban Decay's Surreal Skin Cream to Powder Foundation, which has a similar shape. At the same time, the bristles have a nice firmness and aren't too floppy. I haven't tried this yet so I can't comment on how it performs. But do check out Diana's (Adore Beauty) video of Larry Yeo showing how to apply the Cream Compact Foundation at the press event.

Ingredients list.