Jane Iredale was born in England, moved to the United States, and spent about twenty five years in film, television and theater before she turned to makeup. In 1994 she incorporated a company and started with five shades of a loose mineral powder. In an interview she said those shades were mixed at her kitchen table, and that she began with mineral makeup because she wanted a line that was good for skin. That first product was Amazing Base, named, she says, because people kept saying amazing when she put it on them. Later the brand worked out pressed minerals, and it says PurePressed Base has been its bestseller ever since. The company is still run from Great Barrington, Massachusetts. I like a brand with a founder who started from an honest complaint, and this one has a point of view that shows in how simple the formulas read. Here is the complexion grid, where four base products sit side by side.

Grid two is cheeks. The Glow Time sticks are cream formulas meant for face and body, one in a pearly highlighter shade called Cosmos and one a bronzer called Sizzle. The brand says both blend and build, and the creamy format makes them quick to use on the go. PureBronze in Light is the powder option, described as a matte bronzer that goes on the forehead, temples, cheeks and jawline. Just Kissed is different: it starts clear and develops into a soft pink on the lips or cheeks, and I like it for days when I want color but no visible product. My tip is to go cream before powder. Dab the stick on the high points, blend with fingertips, then dust the bronzer only where you want warmth. A sheer stain, tapped onto the apples, pulls the whole face together.

Grid three finishes the face. CircleDelete is a creamy under eye concealer, and Lash Fixation is a tubing mascara, which wraps each lash in a thin tube that the brand says comes off with warm water. Beyond Matte Lip Fixation in Fascination is a liquid lipstick with a matte finish and a Tahitian vanilla flavor, and LipDrink in Crush is a tinted balm with SPF 15 in its name. The Skin Cancer Foundation has listed several of the brand's base products, including Amazing Base, PurePressed Base, Skintuition and LipDrink, on its recommended products page, though it says the seal goes to individual products, not to brands. What I would skip is treating a tinted lip balm as your only sun protection on a long day outdoors. Reapply it, and cover the rest of the face too. Tubing mascara rewards patience as well, so wiggle the wand at the base of the lashes and do not pump it.

What I take from this brand is how calm it feels. There is no trick, only a founder who wanted makeup that behaved kindly and then spent thirty years refining it. I would start with one base, one cheek product and one lip, and see how they sit together. The rest can be added slowly. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together A Nurse, a Kitchen Table and Mielle Shampoo and Olive and June Press On Nails, From a Beverly Hills Salon to Your Kitchen Table.