Make Mine Minerals

Gold may be trading near an all-time high, but for the cosmetics industry, the real money is in mineral makeup. Mass market sales of the stuff more than doubled last year to $149 million, according to Information Resources, Inc. New products are helping to propel demand too. According to Datamonitor’s Productscan Online, there were 451 new mineral makeup launches in the U.S. last year, compared to 132 in 2005.

Leading the way, of course, is Bare Escentuals. Founded in 1976, it has recently expanded its mineral-based offerings to include blemish fighters and face cleansers. The company — which sells on its Web site, on home-shopping TV channel QVC, with infomercials and at retail stores — raked in $511 million in 2007 sales, up 30% from 2006.

Now multinationals have gotten in the on mineral rush as L’Oréal rolled out a new line called Bare Naturale and Revlon introduced ColorStay Mineral Collection.