Makeup should be efficient and simple to use. We require makeup, not only to fight blackheads and other skin imperfections, but to highlight our own true beauty. In the cutthroat world of the beauty business, where image is everything, awareness is spreading about an additive in many mineral powder foundations that is clogging pores, infuriating skin and causing blemishes. Many companies are infatuated with bismuth oxychloride because it is simply accessible and an inexpensive filler. Its good binding qualities help it stick to the skin, a attractive attribute for foundations. Once applied, foundations with bismuth oxychloride often provide skin a pearlescent glow.

Women using products prepared with bismuth oxychloride complain of clogged pores and irritated skin. Estheticians inform tales of extreme blackhead problems and speculate on the role of foundations and cover-ups.