Travel Life Saver: Laura Mercier Mineral Powder SPF 15

Although I often claim Eminence Organics' Sun Defense SPF 30 is the be all and end all of mineral products, it does in fact have one flaw: the packaging. Do you have any idea what it's like to have found the perfect product (organic, SPF 30, absolutely invisible to the naked eye) and not be able to use it every day because the packaging is so effing impossible? Yes, you're women, of course you do. The Eminence Organics' Sun Defense brush through which the minerals are dispensed is a finicky miserly hag. Most days I fight the good fight or break the brush and MacGyver my way into the mineral treasure chest. On travel days, I don't have the time to mess.

Fortunately for you, my dispiriting conundrum has transformed me into a seeker of suitable minerals and/or SPF combinations. My last attempt, while a good piece of the SPF/tint/moisturizer puzzle, left me with uneven coverage and enough oil to solve our current energy crisis. Horror on Connecticut vaccay. Ran back to the city to hunt for minerals.


At long last, the Sephora in Union Square provided my sanctuary. After seeking aesthetic solace and testing every available powder with minimal ingredients I discovered, not surprisingly, that the much-hyped Laura Mercier Mineral Powder SPF 15 won the top prize. The coverage is complete and the final finish is practically perfect. It's not organic but Zinc Oxide and Pearl Powder are the only ingredients. The SPF 15 doesn't measure up to Eminence's SPF 30 but I don't have to break the effing container to apply it either. My skin drinks it in with a calming satisfied ease that assures me it is relatively earth and body friendly. I tried it with a number of different brushes and found the Sephora Brand Platinum Bronzer Brush was the Kelly Clarkson of the this impromptu contest.

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