Sweet baby Jesus. Let me warn you now, in this review I'm going to do nothing but sing praises for bareMinerals Original loose foundation. I recently picked up my free sample from my local bareMinerals counter, using a voucher that I received by liking their Facebook page. If you're interested in getting your hands on one, click here and followed the instructions, offer ends 30th April!
I received my sample in the shade 'Fairly light', which I believe is their lightest neutral-to-yellow toned colour, and also the most adorable little kabuki brush in which to apply it. Having never used mineral makeup before I wasn't totally sure how to apply it, but the little booklet provided instructed me to swirl some of the product into the lid, tap away the excess then buff into the skin; easy stuff. Having moisturised my face, I proceeded to apply the foundation without a primer so that I was able to have an accurate feel of how it worked and looked as the day progressed. Even though the brush stand at around 2 inches tall, it did a great job of applying the foundation and found the application took much faster than I originally thought.
I usually wear liquid or cream foundations, my favourite of which is MAC Studio Sculpt foundation in NC15, then set with the Studio Fix powder. While this achieves a nice enough finish, I find that it just doesn't last that well throughout the day, even when used with a setting spray. Another thing that I find with all my foundations is that they settle into my pores, regardless of the primer I use, and seem to start breaking up on my skin in areas like my eyes, laugh lines and round my nose. The bareMinerals Original loose foundation did none of this. While my pores were still slightly visible (which is expected as they're about the size of pound coins) it did not accentuate them, and even after wearing for 12 hours the foundation did not settle into them. For me, the finish is phenomenal. No other word for it. The foundation claims to give a luminous finish, which it certainly does no doubt about it. However for me it is slightly too glowy, which is perhaps my only minor complaint, but this was easily fixed by dusting a very light of MAC Studio Fix powder over the top.
I have extremely dark freckles across my nose and cheeks, and while there are those who accept/love freckles, I hate mine with an absolute passion. Nothing I have ever used can cover them up unless I pile on about an inch of product, which lets face it isn't cool, but this mineral foundation not only lightened them considerably (see pictures below) but completely evened out my complexion and still managed to look like a second skin, even after a second layer being applied in my problem areas.
Twice now I have worn it for period of about 12 hours and it has lasted amazingly, especially as it claims to have an 8 hour staying ability. In fairness I did I have to make one or two touch ups throughout the day just to tone down the natural luminosity of the foundation, but that is down to personal preference rather than the performance of the product itself. I even wore it to the gym once (an accident rather than on purpose, I hate wearing make up to the gym and think its pointless) and it lasted perfectly throughout my long and dare I say sweaty workout.
This is how the foundation looks in natural light; I'm standing right in front of a large window here so that the lighting is nice and even. I decided to put these images in straight from the camera, so that no post production, even the slightest, would alter how this foundation photographs. It has come out slightly warmer than it looks in reality, I am a little bit more neutral than the colour you see here, but its the finish that really matters. In both images, I am wearing nothing but the foundation on my face, so that nothing distracts away from my skin.
Here I have used my camera's inbuilt flash, which has lead to a very colour accurate image. Even with the SPF of 15 and Titanium Dioxide present in the formulation, no flash back has occurred! This may vary slighting depending on the intensity of the flash e.g. from a flash gun or harsh studio lighting, but I think I am pretty confident in saying that even in these cases it would not be drastic.
I am so impressed with this foundation and how it has worked on my skin that I think a purchased of the full sized product is inevitable in the near future. I already have a vast foundation collection, which is what's holding me back, but have nothing similar to this as all the others are liquid or cream foundations. Also at a price point of £25 and being a poor student, it seems hardly justified, though just yesterday I was lucky enough to stumble across it on Feel Unique for £19.95! *link* Using that logic and from seeing the results I really can't deny myself such a wonderful product, now isn't that a shame!
This has turned out to be a rather long review! Sorry for rambling on, I just wanted to let everyone know how great this product is, specially if you're a freckled girl like me in desperate need of finding something that works.
Have any of you tried this foundation? What are your thoughts on it? Let me know!
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