Inika is an Australian make up company – they came about when the founders couldn’t find a “natural” cosmetic line that performed well and didn’t use talc, or parabens or bismuth oxychloride.
I got this Inika mineral foundation in Nurture quite a few weeks ago but I was put off using it because looking at the case, it was filled with little shimmer multi particles. I am learning to like, not love mineral make up. It’s been a tentative journey where I have tried some excellent brands but I still have to be convinced that a mineral foundation can truly substitute for the flawless finish of a liquid foundation and powder.
But I digress!
They say:
Inika Mineral Foundations are a concealer, foundation and a powder in one. You can achieve an absolutely flawless finish without clogging pores or irritating skin.
Due to Inika’s dense pigments you can completely hide skin conditions such as acne, rosacea, redness or scarring whilst allowing your skin to breathe! With Inika Foundations you look fabulous and you don’t even feel like you are wearing make up.
Ingredients: Mica (CI 77019) May contain (+/-) Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891); Zinc Oxide (CI 77947); Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499); Ultramarines (CI 77007).
A big USP of Inika is that it is an “all natural” brand:
No harsh chemicals: Inika cosmetics probably have the strictest ingredients criteria of any cosmetic company in the world. We produce natural cosmetics that are safe and ethical. We guarantee never to use harsh chemicals, talc, bismuth oxychloride, parabens, fragrance or genetically modified ingredients.
They also like to state the obvious:
I got Nurture which is the shade they sell for most white skin types (although I’m not white!). It is actually quite beige toned – it settled in ok into my yellow based skin but I can’t imagine it being brilliant for very pink skin tones. It’s also quite dark – I am a NC35 and my darling cousin, aged 14 did say to me “Are you wearing fake tan?”.
So at first I had to get the hang of this baby. Less is more of course, as always with mineral foundations. The shimmer in the powder bothered me a lot but once its on, it actually isn’t obvious or horrible. The ingredients are pretty pure which is good news for those of us with sensitive skin.
Verdict: I didn’t warm to this immediately – the colour I thought was a little off as was the sparkle. However I stuck with it and I have decided this is one of the best mineral foundations I have ever tried.
It took only a few minutes to apply this morning (I was in a rush!) and it pretty much stayed all day. Liquid foundation and powder will, after an 8 hour day, be a little bit crumbly (if that is the right word) on me – my skin can’t decide if its dry or oily. I did look in the mirror when I got home and thought – my skin is fine. No redness had burst through, no oily patches. On my forehead it was a bit patchy, but still, this foundation lasted beautifully.
The fact that it doesn’t have any fillers or nasty preservatives in it is a huge bonus. I am sensitive and get itchies in the day and my skin was fine with this.
I do recommend very much, especially if you have sensitive skin and if you want something super long lasting.
This cost £23 and you can buy it from various places online like here.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Inika is the best, best, best make-up I have ever used ! A friend put me onto it after my constant complaining that I seemed to have lost that youthful glow and now needed to resign myself to the fact that I was indeed getting older and the glow was gone for ever
So I tried Inika because my friends skin always looked flawless and glowing and KAPOW .. the mineral foundation instantly turned that clock back 10 years and gave me this magical luminosity (not sparkle !!) that looks so natural and more like glowing from the inside out. I have never had so many compliments about how great my skin looks, what have you done?, you look so well. I will never, ever use anything else and the fact that there are no horrible chemicals is a big bonus for me.
Cheers,
EM
Reply
We are all so different because I was excited about trying Inika but bitterly disappointed !! This was the most drying mineral foundation I have ever used and as I have sensitive skin, suspect that their grade of mica is really inferior as it caused me to itch all day. Their eye liner and mascara were both horrible with NIL staying power and their lip whip was unusable as you couldn’t even get the product out of the tube !! All in all I would not recommend Inika and think it is overpriced, poorly presented in cheap containers and does not live up to their own hype.
Reply
Inika is by far the best mineral make-up I have ever tried and I have tried most. Looks and feels great and I actually feel better – maybe because it uses less toxins
Reply