Probably the best on the market (Bare Escentuals i.d. Bareminerals Foundation)

Member Name: BeautyGeek

Product:	Bare Escentuals i.d. Bareminerals Foundation
Date:	06/04/09 (286 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good coverage, apparently good for your skin

Disadvantages: A lot of work if you want a flawless finish

Over the past few years there's been a massive boom in popularity of mineral powder make up. You can get pretty much anything 'mineralised' now, including mineral blush, bronzer, eye shadow and even kohl in a mineral powder formula. You can also get solidified mineral products which follow the same theory, that being that minerals come from the earth and are therefore better for your skin than chemically enhanced and processed make up.

Mineral make up is a great idea and generally lives up to the hype. I don't know anyone who has anything negative to say about the standards of mineral make up and how it usually achieves exactly what it says it will. However, here's my review of the Bare Escentuals foundation powder......

Being a cosmetics obsessive, as soon as the hype took off surrounding mineral make up, I did my research, found out who did the best product and bought the foundation. I still agree that Bare Escentuals do the best mineral foundation, however I'm just not a fan of mineral make up in generally and probably never will be.

The Bare Escentuals powder comes in a plastic pot with a sieve type lid inside and a black lid on the outside. The sieve lid is so you can sprinkle out the powder into the black lid in preparation for application. You then take a firm powder brush (if you're considering purchasing this product then I'd suggest buying the brush too as you really do need a specific type of brush for it) and swirl it in the powder that you've tipped into the lid. You then take the brush against the lid to remove any residual powder, so that you're not putting too much product on your skin too quickly. Then you have to buff the powder into your skin. You do this using a firm circular motion all over your face. It's best to start off lightly and build up more for extra coverage.

The product is available in various shades and you can mix shades together to find your perfect match. Whilst this is a good idea, it will work out rather expensive. However, a regular pot of this make up will last you a very long time, so I suppose it balances out financially eventually.

It's widely available both online and offline and there are many retailers on eBay. There are also quite a few Bare Escentuals shops dotted around the UK, as well as their online shop. Price wise, regular pots start from about £17 upwards. You can also purchase starter kits from most shops that sell the brand.

Now to my review! I find using mineral products a pain. I am one of those unfortunate types who has an awkward skin tone, so I have to mix up the right shade whenever I want to use it. I am also a believer in quick fixes, especially as I'll always choose an extra ten minutes in bed over spending who knows how long prepping my make up for application. I like to apply it and go, so I resent all the fiddling that's involved in prepping my colour and that's before we start the whole swirling and buffing process of application. I find it all so tedious, but then if it was amazing stuff I would probably still force myself to put up with it. However, I do believe that there are far more effective types of foundation available on the market today (Mac's new one, for example, review to follow shortly).
In a sense, this foundation is quite impressive as it does give reasonable coverage and if you're lucky enough to have the skin colour of one of the ready made shades and the time to muck about with the application then this is a worthy purchase, but I'm writing this review from my perspective and I find that all the work that's involved isn't worth it. I don't feel that it makes a big difference to my skin and I do feel a little clogged up when I'm wearing it. By that I mean that I'm aware of it's presence on my face, which generally I don't enjoy in foundation. I also find that the powder sticks to my dry patches making them even more obvious which is not helpful, even if I've moisturised the areas well and primed them with a suitable primer. On the plus side, it does conceal my spots quite well and this saves having to use much concealer. But if you do want to use concealer then it is suggested that you use it under the powder foundation. This is another thing I don't like as you have to be firm with your application of the powder which I feel risks rubbing off the concealer.

So in conclusion, this is not a terrible product for me, but not a brilliant product either. Maybe I was expecting too much, but then again I was excited about my newest foundation and after several weeks of wearing it I still am, so I guess this means that I fall into the minority of those who just don't like mineral powder.

Summary: Everyone raves about it, but it's not for me