Bare Minerals Liquid Foundation

There’s something electric about an ad for a product that promises to meet your every need.

My day job is in marketing, so I’m all too familiar with the strategy of using certain words to pull you in. Yet somehow when I see an ad like this, I’m mesmerized by all that it promises to do.

bare minerals

I have been reading about this foundation for months, and most of what I’ve read was a glowing review of how wonderful it looked and felt. So needless to say, I ran out and bought the whole sha-bang.

The brush looks exactly how they have it pictured with that little dimple in the middle. It does help to hold the foundation in while you apply it to your face. I liked the fact that I didn’t have to use my fingers (or so I thought). The foundation went on well. They say one to two drops, but to me that wasn’t enough coverage (and I don’t typically go for heavy coverage, but it was still not enough).

I ended up filling the entire hole with foundation every time.

They’re not lying when they say “bare skin,” it does really look like your regular skin with a slight enhancement. I found that it melted in better if I used my fingers to rub it in more, instead of relying on the brush for the whole application. The problem with the brush is that it really digs the foundation into your pores, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

After only using it a day or so, I noticed after I washed my face one night that there was build up on the side of my nose and on my chin. I went over those areas with some toner and when I pulled the cotton ball away, it was as if I had not washed my face at all! That and the three zits that popped up on my face after I began using this stuff is really what turned me off to it.

I truly think the foundation would be ok if it wasn’t for the brush. It seems that the brush puts it too far into your skin, and that’s not what I’m looking for. So if you still want to try it, maybe skip the brush and apply the foundation with your hands.

I returned the whole sha-bang because washing my face once at night is enough hassle for me. I certainly wouldn’t want to have to do it twice!

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The Best Beauty Products for Spring

I'm buying all of these this spring!
Now that winter is passed, I like to get pumped about showing more skin by looking at what products are going to help me look and feel my best.

Here are the top five I plan to buy this season (translation: be looking for their reviews in future blog posts)…

Lips:

Revlon’s Colorburst Stain Balm promises to take the best of the stain and balm worlds and fuse them together to make one long lasting yet moisturizing burst of color. I can’t wait to try it!

Legs:

Jergens BB Cream for your body with it’s skin brightening/correcting/evening capabilities sounds like just the thing I need for legs that have been in hibernation. (I first alerted you to it here)

Face:

Sephora has an airbrush foundation out that has gotten rave reviews. Apparently all you have to do is spray it on. Sounds like those days I don’t feel like putting any makeup on just got a little more glamorous.
Aveeno’s daily moisturizer is probably going to get the first draft pick over my Oil of Olay lotion. I keep reading how amazing this product is at brightening your skin so alright already! I’ll try it!

Nails:

Just when you thought they couldn’t get any more creative with nail polish, OPI has done it again! Seriously HOW do they think of these things?! I can’t wait to try their new “Sheer Tints” collection. They are super light top coats that layer on the color. Use them alone, or over your favorite polish for a whole new look! How FUN!!

Keep it fresh with these products and a daily dose of Spiff this spring and this will be your best season yet!
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Product Review: Bare Minerals

Like a 15 year-old Chilton snob, I completely mistreated Bare Minerals.

Our relationship was one of the best I’ve ever had with a foundation. We took a break over the summer, I decided to see other people (aka: Clinique’s BB Cream) while I sported a tan.

Then once my summer love had worn off, I returned to Bare Minerals only to find that it wasn’t sitting on my skin the same way. It looked chalky and even rubbed off at the slightest provocation.



I assumed this meant our time together had come to an end, so I returned to Clinique and tried to fall in love with their Even Better Foundation. It’s a great way to go, especially if you like liquid foundation. I, unfortunately, do not like the application process one bit.

So I gave it the whole, “it’s not you it’s me” speech, and when on the hunt once again for a great foundation.

In my tireless searching, I kept seeing one name pop up. It’s rated as one of the best and most beloved foundations. It was as if fate had spoken, Bare Minerals and I were truly meant to be.

But what about the time it hurt me by giving my skin a terrible look and feel? Oh that.

The reason for it (like the miscommunication you see coming in the middle of a Hallmark love story) Bare Minerals is so natural it can actually go bad. And because I hadn’t used it for 3 months, the foundation itself was getting old. It had expired.

Which is something that actually makes me love it even more. Knowing that I’m putting such natural ingredients on my face makes me one happy girl. The fact that it has SPF and an illuminizer that gives my skin a glow are two more things that I just love about the product.

Needless to say, we’re in love again. I wake up every morning perfectly happy to dust it’s fine, illuminating powder all over my face (that’s my favorite kind of application), and it’s perfectly happy…being dusted (I guess the metaphor ran out there).

The lesson in all of this? Sometimes you have to date other products to know what you’re looking for. True in life, true in the beauty world. Try it out if you’re looking for a great foundation. They have a formula for really oily skin too!

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Your Skin, Even Better

When I was a teenager, the very first foundation I ever used was Clinique’s. Unfortunately, the lady at the counter didn’t match my skin correctly and I ended up with an orange face…for quite some time (then there was that time I over plucked my eyebrows on top of it all…Oh Lord).

Thankfully, the brand (and myself) have come a long way since then.

Last week I wrote this blog about my experience with Sephora’s new foundation matching system. It’s great, but for me it was about a week late. A week earlier I had gone back to my makeup roots and switched back to Clinique.

Here’s why…

All summer while bronzing, I stopped using my Bare Minerals foundation because it was too white. But when that blessed day came when I didn’t have to think about tanning any more and I went back to my BM foundation, it wasn’t the same.

I think maybe the foundation sat untouched for too long, or something. When I used it again it was ghostly white and wiped off very easily.  Which put me in a state of mind that’s more fearsome than a bad hair day.

It’s hard when you’re not happy with how your makeup looks. All summer I had been using Clinique’s CC Cream (which I also wrote about here), and I had read plenty of good things about their “Even Better” foundation. I took a sample and gave it a try.

And it turns out I really like it. I was hesitant to go to a liquid because I’m not a fan of applying with my fingers, but it really truly goes on smoothly.

It’s long lasting and stays in place (even after a messy Publix sub!…er, I’ve heard).

Honestly, I was examining my skin in the mirror the other day and thought, this foundation is like your skin…but even better.  It’s no wonder where they got the name, and it’s a big Praise God it doesn’t look like it did when I was 13 ;)

Ps: It also has SPF, yay! And the ladies at the Clinique counter in Dillards are SUPER nice and will let you try a sample before you buy.
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