February 2007
BEST
Sheer Cover Pressed Mineral Foundation ($30.00 for retail; $19.95 member price*) is a smoother, neater way to experiment with mineral makeup, though the composition of this mica-based, talc-free, pressed-powder foundation differs from traditional mineral makeup. This has a beautiful soft texture that blends well and leaves skin with a subtle glow. Coverage goes from sheer (if applied with a brush) to medium (if applied with a sponge), and it does not look too thick, powdery, or heavy on skin. All five shades are excellent, and include options for light to dark (but not very dark) skin tones. Unless you need significant camouflage, consider spending your Sheer Cover dollars on this pressed foundation instead of their loose-powder Mineral Foundation.

*Sheer Cover products have two prices: the first is the suggested retail price and the second (lower) price is the member price. Customers who order the whole Sheer Cover Introductory Kit pay the lower "member price," but be aware that in order to get this lower price, you're also signing up for automatic home delivery of the products in the kit every three months.

WORST
Bremenn Research Labs Lumedia Facial Brightener ($90.00 for 3 ounces) is from the same folks who blitzed fashion magazines with ads for their dark circle–erasing product Hylexin. Other companies under this corporate umbrella include Klein-Becker, makers of StriVectin-SD. I commented in a previous edition of this newsletter that I wouldn't be reviewing any more products from this company due to their unscrupulous business practices and legal troubles, but too many readers asked me about this to let it go. To sum it up, none of these products are worth it at any price.

Lumedia Facial Brightener claims to be a hydroquinone-free way to reduce hyperpigmentation and restore a healthy, pink glow to skin. Its “active” ingredient is listed as Lumenase-3HF Concentrate. However, designating an ingredient as an “active” ingredient is something controlled by the FDA for over-the-counter drugs, and Lumedia is absolutely not in that category. I'm curious as to how Bremenn slipped this bogus “active” ingredient past the FDA. Or perhaps the FDA hasn't gotten to it yet. It took three years for the FDA to get StriVectin-SD to change their grossly deceptive advertising practices (Source: www.fda.gov). So what is the Lumenase complex? I have no idea and nor does anyone else, except maybe Bremenn, and as you can well imagine, they didn't want to talk to me. There is not a shred of information about this “active” ingredient, which the company claims is actually a “proprietary blend composed of many ingredients.” As far as cosmetic ingredient lists, the FDA requires all ingredients, proprietary or otherwise, to be listed on the packaging, so the lack of that is just one more example of how unethical this company is. There are many reasons not to buy this product, but at the top of the list are lack of efficacy, unknown ingredients, absurd pricing, and over-the-top claims. In case you're curious, the base formula lists a drying, alcohol-based film-forming agent as its second ingredient, and one of the preservatives (methylisothiazolinone) is not meant for use in leave-on products due to its irritating properties.