I know I blab on and on about bargain shopping, and getting things on the cheap — but there are certain instances, like with bareMinerals, where I firmly believe you pay for what you get — and that by paying a little more, you might get a lot higher quality.
Once area I find this to be true is in the makeup department — now, I know some of the basic drugstore mascaras (think Maybelline Great Lash in the classic green and pink tube) are classics that certainly do the job, but I have found that when it comes to items like foundation, eyeshadows, etc. — the drugstore stuff doesn’t always cut it.
For the last three years now, I have been using bareMinerals. I have honestly found it to be the best makeup I have ever used. And believe me — I have used, and subsequently thrown out — many an item that just didn’t live up to the hype when I took it home to test it out.
Here are some of my favorite items, in the order of how they are applied —
The Bare Minerals SPF 15 Foundation — I have to get mine in Fair, since I am so pale, and it’s the only shade of foundation I’ve tried that didn’t leave that line of demarkation on my incredibly light skin.
The Rose Radiance — it’s hard to tell from the photo, but this stuff is AMAZING. You just sweep it on wherever the sun hits you — cheeks, forehead, nose, and chin — and it gives you this amazing, dewey, shimmery glow without seeming like you put glitter on your face.
You can apply both the Foundation and the Radiance with the Flawless Application Face Brush — works wonders.
The Blush in ‘Lovely‘ — The perfect pinky / peachy shade. Apply a tiny, tiny amount on the apples of your cheeks with the Tapered Blush Brush, and it gives you that just-stepped-in-from-the-cold flush.
Then the fun part comes — where you get to play with their many, many eyeshadow shades. Don’t be fooled by the 9 shadows on that page — that’s simply the families of colors. In each of those families are even more fun colors to check out.
Some of my all-time favorite eyeshadows?
Purrfect, a wonderful cat-eye green;
Intuition and Soul Sister, two perfect plums;
Lust, a perfect shimmery silver;
Hottie, a champagne gold;
The last, and best part, is the Feather Light Mineral Veil — it seals the makeup and gives you this final, dewey looking finishing glow. This can also be applied with the Face Brush.
The best thing about the makeup? A little goes a long way — so the product lasts SO much longer. And when it lasts longer, you know you’re getting your money’s worth.
Now, I must be honest — I have tried the bareMinerals mascaras, and I did not like them. I have tried many, many mascaras … and my absolute favorite has to be Stila MAJOR Major Lash Mascara which is exclusively from Sephora. This mascara gives you huge, Texas, flipped out, high wattage lashes, yet they’re not crunchy. Stuff’s amazing.
And as for eyeliner, I have come to love the simplicity of their cream Eyeliners — it has a little smudging sponge on one end, and you just twist the stick to expose the liner — no messing with sharpeners or shavings.
Anyway, I am sure many of you may have already tried bareMinerals, but if you haven’t, I highly recommend it.
Love that you listed them in order of application. I am a big fan as well. I have never used their eye shadows though, was afraid i am too much of spaz to handle them. I always envisioned me, those eyeshadows and a mess!
Yeah the eyeshadow pots are slightly nerve-wracking when you first open them — I remember thinking, shit, I am going to spill this EVERYWHERE … but once you get the hang of them, they cover great. The eyeshadow brushes they have are great, too.
i agree with you drugstore makeups, especially foundations and eyeshadows, can’t really do work. does the Mabelin eyeliner get smudged in the end of day?
Actually, I have found that the Maybelline eyeliner lasts throughout the day until I take off my makeup at night … it doesn’t wander, or fade, or move around too much. Works pretty well!
I discovered Bare Escentuals years ago for the foundation and concealer and have never turned back. I have acne-prone, sensitive, fair skin, so finding something to deal with all that was tricky. I haven’t used any of their other products though. I fell in love with Stila eyeshadows years ago, and have recently become a slave to Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners. I do stick with drugstore mascaras, Maybelline’s Full n’Soft being an all-time favorite; but the Stila one I have tried and it is great. Dior’s eye concealer is good, too (the one in the blue tube). Also, I religiously use Origins Pinch My Cheeks cheek stain in Coralberry along with Revlon’s Skinlights highlighting lotion (discontinued, I think).
I am using the medium beige foundation as concealer. It stays in place for up to 6-7 hours if I do not sweat. And if I do, it still does not fade or run out as easily or badly as traditional cream based concealers 🙂
My face somehow looks “deadly” and sans the natural glow when I use the powder as foundation. So I use just Tarte Smooth Operator (tinted moisturizer) to bring out the glow and then apply the powder as concealer to hide spots that better remain unseen.
Maybeline eyeliners did not work for me 🙁 I was recommended smashbox cream eyeliner. Try it out if Maybeline does not work.
For eyeshadows, I would like to recommend Neutrogena Mineral Sheers. It gives just about enough shine and stays on well. All colors are very wearable too. I use the “pebble” color.