What Is a Mineral/Finishing Veil?

It is one of the most useful items that you will have in your makeup bag and once you have possession of this, you will honestly wonder how you ever lived without it!!

It has many names - Mineral Veil, Finishing Powder, Setting Powder and Finishing Veil are but a few. It is a sheer powder that can be used on its own to give you a natural soft diffused look or it can be used as a primer to give extra adhesion to your foundation. If applied after your foundation and this is where it really comes into its own, it will set your makeup and give you that professionally finished look.

It is normally translucent and light reflecting and when used alone it will give your face a soft, naturally youthful appearance with very light coverage. It will not cover blemishes.
When used as a primer, if you choose the correct ingredients, it will help your foundation to adhere even more so than normal.
If used as a finishing powder it will give you that wonderfully soft airbrushed look, set your makeup and its translucency shouldn't change the colour of your foundation either.

A Mineral Veil is formulated from ingredients that should possess certain qualities, two in particular are light reflection and translucency. The ingredients that you will need are minimal, in fact a Mineral Veil can consist of just one powder. As an example, Silk Powder makes an incredible veil, it is not only light reflecting and translucent but it has many other qualities to boot. The same can be said for Rice NS and we haven't actually got round to putting the two together yet.

That said, veils can be formulated with various powders, it is really down to preference but the one thing that they will all have in common is translucency and light reflecting capabilities.

Tip: If you have already formulated a Loose Mineral Foundation and you want to add a little colour to your Mineral Veil, take a small amount of your foundation mix and add to your veil powder base, (not too much, you just want to tint it slightly) then grind the two together and voila!

How to apply a Mineral Veil:

On its own - just buff into your skin with a kabuki brush or a soft makeup sponge and and a touch of blusher for a more natural day look
As a primer - buff into the skin with a kabuki brush or a soft makeup sponge before you apply your foundation, then continue your normal makeup routine
As a finishing powder - after your normal makeup routine apply lightly with a kabuki brush or a soft makeup sponge all over your face for a professional finish

Note: We have found a soft makeup sponge to give a higher coverage when buffed into the skin and can be used with loose mineral face powders just as you would use a compact foundation.

So as you can see, this really is a must have in your mineral makeup armoury and what's more, this is undoubtedly the easiest product to formulate!