What we found

Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Mineral Powder Foundation

Two products topped the test:

• Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Mineral Powder Foundation ($59 + brush) 
• MAC Mineralise Foundation Loose ($70 + brush)

These two products were among the most expensive products in the trial - and their brushes had to be bought separately, which made them even more expensive.

Max Factor Natural Minerals Foundation was the lowest-scoring product overall. It was rated “only OK” for ease of application, concealing blemishes, and appearance on the skin.

Coverage

All products provided adequate coverage. The Elizabeth Arden foundation rated “very good” for coverage. All other products were rated “good”.

Concealing blemishes

No product stood out at concealing blemishes. But as they’re all reasonably lightweight, they can’t be expected to work as both concealer and foundation. As one user commented: “You could still see blemishes through the foundation; it was not as good coverage as a liquid foundation.”

Appearance

Elizabeth Arden was rated highest for appearance on the skin, followed by MAC. Most of the other products were rated “good” except for Max Factor and Maybelline New York Mineral Power Powder Foundation. They were “only OK” for how they looked on the skin.

Ease of application

Mineral foundation is applied by brushing on in a circular motion with a soft fluffy brush. It sounds simple enough, but products varied in how easy they were to apply. The Elizabeth Arden foundation was rated the easiest to apply. It came in a “grinder” compact that you twist to shave off the amount needed – so you can’t accidentally spill it. It was closely followed by the MAC foundation which was rated “very good”.

All other products apart from Max Factor rated “good” for ease of application. One comment about the Max Factor foundation was: “It's very messy and leaves powder on your clothes and sink.”

All the products were easy to remove.

Ease of using brush

Manufacturers claim their products perform best when applied with the recommended brush. Some products come with a brush while others require you to buy it separately.

Brushes sold separately were rated as easier to use: the separately purchased Elizabeth Arden mineral foundation brush and MAC buffer brush were rated the easiest.

Brushes can be pricey. Some cost as much as – or more than – the foundation. If you already have a suitable brush at home, try that first and see if you’re happy with the results. Only buy the "recommended" brush if you have to.

Natural vs synthetic brushes

Film and television make-up artist Debra Ashton uses i.d. bareMinerals Foundation and has tried both its recommended brush and a cheaper synthetic one to apply the product:

"The original horse hair kabuki brush was good for application – it picked up the powder well and the condensed bristles enabled quick and heavier coverage. But I found the bristles quite scratchy on the skin – not good!

"I now use a cheaper, synthetic brush that is similar but a lot softer. Coverage isn’t as quick and heavy the first time round, so I have to swirl the brush in the powder a second time. This is probably because many synthetic bristles are softer and don’t have cuticles to carry powder like horse hair does. Synthetic brushes that replicate natural hair are becoming more widely available, so if you’re after the perfect brush that would be the best combination."