New! BareSkin Liquid Foundation by bareMinerals

As I may have mentioned, I am a diehard bareMinerals Original Foundation fan. I have used it for over two years, and am constantly recommending it to anyone who will listen! The Original Foundation is a loose mineral powder that comes in a wide range of shades. A longtime drugstore liquid foundation user, I was at first hesitant to try a prestige brand (aka pricey) foundation, let alone the jumping into the foreign concept of loose powder. But I needed something that would effectively cover up my acne without making it worse, and a close friend recommended bareMinerals.

I was not disappointed. After watching a few YouTube videos on how to apply (Swirl, Tap, Buff!), I quickly got the hang of managing loose powder without making a mess of my face (or the bathroom counter). The Original Foundation looks more like my own skin than any foundation I've ever had before; my own skin but way better. It covers my blemishes, isn't drying or cakey, matches my skin perfectly, and blends flawlessly. I couldn't be any happier.

But then bareMinerals tempted me something even better, a new revolution in makeup. I was chosen to be one of the first to try their newest creation for free before it was sold in stores, bareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation. This promised to be the innovation to convince any liquid holdouts to convert to the bareMinerals way. Finally a liquid foundation that acted like a serum to actually help your skin. Could this be better than my beloved Original?

I received this awesome tube of wonder containing my new foundation and brush in my mailbox at the beginning of April. Sleek packaging, I must admit.

Included with my foundation was the new innovative brush created for the proper application of their new formula. The new Perfecting Face Brush is designed with a little reservoir to hold the drops of foundation, and to help apply it perfectly to your face.

The little indent in the center of the brush is the reservoir. Truly a great idea, and the brush is incredibly soft.

As I am the shade Fairly Light in the Original Foundation, I was sent the new shade of Bare Linen to test out. Not the lightest of the light, but pretty close.

The application motto created is "Shake, Drop, Buff," where the user shakes the bottle (remixing the formula since the lack of harsh chemicals may cause ingredients to settle), then puts 1-2 drops into the brush reservoir, and then buffs it onto the skin (much like the Original Foundation).

Ladies let me tell you, less is more! Start out with one droplet, not two. When I first started trying this foundation, I mistakenly put two drops and my face looked like it was streaked with makeup. One drop will provide enough coverage and blend much better than two drops. One drop for the right side of the face, buff and blend, then one drop for the left side, buff and blend. I guarantee that if you are unsatisfied with the way this foundation is turning out, using too much may be a contributing factor. It is a buildable formula, so start off light and go from there.

As a loose powder gal, I had previously been unable to use cool products like liquid or cream blushes and highlighters, because liquid over powder is a no-no (can you say pasty mess). I'm thrilled to have a liquid foundation option by bareMinerals so I can experiment with items such as Benefit's posietint (stay tuned for my review in the near future!).

Since my use of Original Foundation had a lot to do with covering my acne and subsequent scarring, a main concern with bareSkin was whether it would cover adequately or not. With one drop for each side of my face, I found that the latest bumps and redness were easily covered at the time of application, and some days I didn't even need concealer. I did notice that there was noticeable wear-and-tear as the day went on, however, where the foundation started to cake and flake a bit around the worst parts of my face.

I was hoping that the liquid foundation would be a better option for the occasional dry patches on my face (Retin-A Micro causes my skin to freak out in spots sometimes). The Original Foundation is no match for flakiness, so I had high hopes for a liquid formula. Alas, however, I didn't notice much of a difference. As the day wore on, the dry patches appeared as they always do and flaked my makeup.

All in all, I was very satisfied with bareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation. I cannot stress enough though that you should have a light finger when dropping the foundation into the brush. When I was first trying it out and using too much, I was told that I looked like I was wearing heavy makeup (something I have never been told with my powder). I will be staying with my Original Foundation for day-to-day makeup, and saving the liquid for when something more heavy duty is necessary (special occasions, extreme acne, etc). I highly recommend you give it a try, especially if you've been hesitant to jump on the bareMinerals bandwagon due to the lack of a liquid option before this. 

And thank you to bareMinerals for letting me try this product out for free before it hit stores!!