Bare Escentuals ~ bareMinerals

This starter Kit includes: 2x Mineral Powder Foundation (the 2 diff colours from the shade category you choose), 1x Primer, 1x Warmth, 1x Mineral Veil, and 3x Brushes. I also bought as an extra the Joyous Jennifer Blush (the pink powder pot, see below) 

My fave Blush in Joyous Jennifer

Starter Kit also includes 1x Get Started DVD and 1x Get Started Booklet

A few weeks ago I went to a beauty and makeup session at a local salon. The focus of the makeup was on bareMinerals. I have always hovered over buying BM whenever I took a interwebz trip to feelunique.com or gorgeous.com but never built up the courage to splash out that much money on a product I wasn't sure would be right for me. Well, that all changed after about 2 seconds of getting my beady eyes and twitching fingers on the amazingly massive range on display in the salon. I was colour matched and skin typed perfectly (my ma's opening words after seeing me all made up, were: 'ooh you don't look half as orange and fake as you usually do anymore!'...charming.) I came out super duper impressed and with a much lighter purse.

bareMinerals really is amazing, what draws me to it most is that it is all natural, the foundations are made out of minerals and natural ingredients, avoiding harsh chemicals that will damage and clog up your skin and its proven to improve your skin after continued use. Wonderful. Normally I'm a liquid/mouse foundation girl and avoided powder because I'm not overly keen on the matt look, but the bM foundations are perfect. Using the powder in a circular buffing technique creates an amazingly even, full but natural coverage. It controls my oily patches, especially using the oil control primer which is superb! But the best thing is that I have a lovely dewy glowing look overall, no powdery matt dryness at all! The Mineral Veil keeps everything in place and the range of colours for the foundation, warmth, blush and shadows is brilliantly boggling. Excellent pigmentation in the colours as well and they are super long lasting. I love Joyous Jennifer as a blush shade, it's so warm and soft. The Foundation comes in different categories of Shades: Light, Medium, Tan and Dark and each shade has two colours to choose from. (The starter kit provides both colours within the category you choose.) So colour matching is pretty easy and risk free.

bM is so easy to use and you can get starter kits with DVDs that show you exactly what to do, but you pick up the technique in no time. The brushes are brilliant as well though I do advise giving them a gentle wash before use as the buffing action tends to loosen out the smaller bristles when they are newly used. As the makeup is mineral powder the brushes stay a lot less clogged and dirty than with liquid foundation use and so don't need as frequent washing and also don't spread dirty old makeup across your face after a few uses. The Full Flawless Face brush is quite stiff which is good for buffing and the small Flawless Face brush is beautifully soft. My fave is deffs the Max Coverage Concealer brush and it just applies the powder perfectly into every spot you need it. Win.

Really in love with my bM kit! After using it now for a few weeks I honestly can say my skin genuinely has improved in texture, oiliness and I'm having far fewer break outs than I ever have had before. My skin feels softer and smoother. Now I have the routine and technique down perfectly I can even apply it quickly on the bus if I don't have time in the morns like I had to today. I had an absolutely mental driver and have a bruise on my knee from hitting the seat in front due to his ridic braking skillz, buuuutt still successfully managed to do my whole face without any spillage thanks to the excellent 'twist and lock' mechanisms the pots have.

The only problem I have is that it is still quite expensive (prices vary depending of source of purchase but this set is usually around the £49 mark, you can get another version without the primer that is a bit cheaper) but I reckon worth it for  the results and the products last along time as you use so little even for full coverage. Also even after a few gentle washes my full cover face brush is still shedding a bit, but not so bad that its patchy so it may just be my rough technique that I have with my eagerness to get it on my face! Who knows. All I can say is that I love love love it and it has lit a very strong Mineral Makeup fire within me and I have already hunted down a whole bunch of other products to try!!

Fantastic! This is a must try!