bare minerals

I haven't forgotten about the Bare Minerals product review I promised, I just never had time over the past weekend to take pictures while I was doing my makeup! I was bored last night so I decided I would do it, but it was dark outside and I was taking them in the mirror so couldn't use flash and they came out horrible thanks to the lighting! So I will have to add some before and after pictures later, but I will go ahead and tell you what I think of it!

When Kelly at Kelly's Korner did beauty secrets for her Show Us Your Life Friday, I browsed through a lot of the linked posts to get some ideas. So many people mentioned that they used Bare Minerals (which is by Bare Escentuals, they aren't two different things, confusing), so I figured it was probably worth trying. I didn't realize until later that it is actually the make from infomercials/HSN that they show working miracles on TV! I usually don't wear much make up at all, just eyeliner and mascara and chapstick, and occasionally some pressed powder. Although I have some rosacea-like red splotches on my cheeks, I hate liquid foundation and my complexion doesn't bother me too much so I've never tried to really cover it up. After all the good things I heard about this makeup, I figured I would give it a try anyways.

Old picture from my 21st bday, but evidence of my red cheeks (This is my BFF's boyfriend, not M. We were the only ones of legal age :) )

Bare Minerals is an all natural loose powder that you buff into you skin and it claims to cover as well as a liquid foundation while feeling like you have nothing on. When the lady at Sephora did a demo on half of my face, it definitely did cover very, very well. I had no redness AT ALL, which was crazy, and I kind of hated it. It just didn't look like me anymore and she was using a color paler than my skin so I looked like a ghost/vampire with no color to my face at all. It was doing an excellent job at coverage though, I'll give it that. So I asked for a darker color because I figured I would get darker since it's summer/this color was already too light for me. The darker color she chose I liked a little better, and she put some blush on me as well so my face wasn't all one color and it looked pretty good. I felt pretty silly though that I had covered up my natural face so that I could just put more blush on, and I was back to thinking I like myself better with no makeup.

Still considering it, I went to Ulta the next day where the lady used an even darker tan color and not near as much, and also used the powder named Warmth that comes in the starter kit. I like this SO much better because I wasn't washed out and Warmth is like a bronzer/blush so I actually had color, plus with much less makeup I wasn't completely covering all the color I naturally have in my cheeks.

I went ahead and purchased it that day, and after using it about four times now, here's is my opinion.

First, if you want it to cover like a liquid foundation (like when the lady at Sephora applied it), you need A LOT. Out of the four times I've used it, it has never covered as well as that first demo at Sephora, so I'm thinking it is because I'm not using near as much. Of course, this is fine with me because that's what I didn't like about it, but for those coming from a liquid foundation, you should keep that in mind. At Sephora they also use a kabuki brush to apply it, which is much denser than the brush that comes in the starter kit, so this might have something to do with the amount of coverage you get. Also, she applied the Prime Time primer before applying the foundation. My kit didn't come with the primer, it came with Skin Rev-er Upper instead (which I hate, it's like greasy lotion), and I think the primer might help to achieve that "flawless" look that Bare Minerals is famous for.
Also, after never wearing makeup, it definitely does not feel like you have nothing on. It feels like you have powder on of course, quite a bit of it. It will come off on clothes or napkins and your face feels very dry and powdery. I supposed I'll get used to this eventually, but for now it bothers me quite a bit, especially when they claim it feels like having nothing on your face.
The color I ended up with is also too tan for my skin tone. Probably I am going to get tanner since it is summer, but afterwards I'll have buy a lighter color and mix the two, which seems like what a lot of people end up doing.
Overall though, I really do like it. It's 1000x better than wearing liquid foundation for sure. It is quite pricey, but since I basically only wear it on weekends or weeknights when we are going out somewhere (C doesn't care if I wear makeup when I come to work, so I hardly ever do!), I think it will last me quite a while. I would like to invest in their under eye concealer, called Well Rested, because I feel like my eyes look pretty dark underneath and that was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to wear foundation so I could fix that problem.

I got the customizable Get Started Kit, which you get to choose which color foundation you want. The regular Get Started Kit comes with two smaller packages of two different colors of foundation and you pick based on your skin tone. Looking back, I probably would choose this one so I could mix and find the right color, though I don't think they have a combination of the two that I need so that wouldn't have helped much anyways. Since they are the same price though, the customizable one ensures you're getting the most foundation for your money if you don't end up needing to mix them, so both kind of have a good and bad side to them.

Bottom line, it does work very well, it is 100% natural so it's good for those with sensitive or acne-prone skin, and it's an easy to use system that can give you a flawless look with a small amount of practice. I would definitely recommend it and I understand now why so many ladies do!