Bare Escentuals

I imagine I was among the first people to try the Bare Escentuals makeup six years ago when I heard the infomercial on TV and later saw it featured in Sephora. Today, Bare Escentuals/Bare Minerals is the premier mineral powder make-up company - among first to go mainstream. The theory behind mineral make-up is that it is an all-natural alternative to the usual chemical-heavy cosmetics. The products are made of all natural, finely ground minerals from the earth, without any of the chemicals, dyes, and preservatives.

I tried their starter kit, so that is what I can base my reviews on. First the foundation - the color didn't match my skin. This seems to be an issue with a lot of people, and the starter kit came with two foundations. It was a nice marketing gimmick that made me think: "Overkill anyone?"  I don't think most people have time to apply two different foundations most mornings. Additionally, it made my skin feel very ashy and dry. The coverage was very thin as well, it didn't really cover blemishes well. They even recommend adding the "veil" (a white translucent powder) as a third coating on top. Way too much work for an everyday look! Also, the makeup was very hard to come out of the tins. They put little holes in the container top so you can shake the powder out. What ended up happening, however, was that halfway through the jar, the powder would get stuck and it became a ten minute work-out just to get the powder out.

The one thing I did love that came in the kit was the bronzer. It was a nice russet, gold color that was perfect as a blush along the cheekbones.  ---->

In sum, I don't think the kit as whole did anything radical for my skin, although I will admit that it was a clear improvement on the usual pore-clogging liquid foundations. I loved it for a while.... until I found a better mineral powder (review coming soon!)


OVERALL RATING: