Finding the best makeup brand for you involves several factors. Let’s break them down here. First you need to decide what you’re looking for in your makeup and in the company that provides it. These factors include whether you prefer traditional makeup or mineral makeup, whether or not you’re looking for natural and organic makeup, whether you have dry or oily skin, if you have sensitive skin, acne, or other skin conditions such as rosacea. Other factors such as the source of the ingredients and the ethics of the company that produced the product may also be important to you.

Traditional makeup versus mineral make up

Traditional makeup can provide great coverage and a flawless and professional look. It tends to be best if you are looking for medium to full coverage. If you want a more natural, “no makeup” look, mineral makeup generally does a better job of providing sheer and light coverage.  You can still achieve medium or full coverage with mineral makeup by applying it in layers. People with sensitive skin usually find that mineral makeup irritates their skin less. It generally contains fewer fillers, preservatives and other skin-the irritating ingredients. It’s easy to find loose and pressed powder mineral makeups but liquid formulas are less common. Traditional makeup offers a lot more options for liquid foundation.

Skin type

If you have oily skin you may find that you do best with powder makeup that contains oil-absorbing ingredients such as kaolin clay, rice powder, and boron nitride. You may also want to look for matte makeups. A lot of foundations, blushes and bronzers contain ingredients that give them a shimmery look. This can accentuate the look of oily skin and make it look a little greasy. If you have dry skin, either apply a moisturizer and allow it to soak in before applying powder makeup or else look for a liquid foundation that contains moisturizing ingredients such as jojoba, glycerin and aloe. You’ll want to avoid products that contain drying and oil-absorbing ingredients. Many matte foundations are formulated especially for oily skin, so if you want a matte look shop around for a matte foundation that does not contain these ingredients.

If you have sensitive skin, acne or rosacea, you’ll want to be extra careful in choosing a product. A lot of common filler ingredients and preservatives in traditional makeup can clog pores and irritate the skin. Many mineral makeups are purer, but a lot of them still contain fillers and preservatives, so check the labels carefully. The common mineral makeup ingredients bismuth oxychloride is known to irritate some people’s skin. Although some people with sensitive skin and rosacea find their skin can tolerate it, be very careful if choosing products that contain it. It’s included primarily to provide a shimmery or dewy look. Matte makeups will not contain it. If you really want a dewy look, some brands achieve it without bismuth oxychloride.

Natural and organic makeup

We can’t really rely on the terms natural and organic as they are used by the cosmetics industry. They don’t always mean the same thing when used by cosmetics company as their commonsense definitions. Because of the ingredients used and how they are processed, it’s hard to find truly natural cosmetic products. Even mineral makeup, which is often advertised as natural, does not contain pure minerals as they come from the ground. They are heavily processed at high temperatures. It still is generally a safer option and is less likely to irritate skin or be harmful to long-term health. But but very few makeup products are truly natural despite what their labels may claim. There are some brands that contain organic ingredients, and these will tend to be higher quality ingredients. The best way to find the most natural makeup with the highest quality ingredients is not to trust the labels but to look at the information provided on the website of the company.

Ethics

Another consideration when choosing the best makeup brand is the ethics of their practices and policies. Does the company conduct animal testing or buy ingredients which have been tested on animals? Do they include animal products in their makeup? Do they have fair labor practices? What is the environmental impact of producing their products? Does the company or parent company engage in any questionable practices, even if they are unrelated to producing the makeup products?