Tuesday, June 2, 2009

My Bare Minerals makeover!

UPS rang our doorbell this morning and lo and behold, my Bare Minerals makeup had arrived! I had a busy morning planned (grocery shopping and then a meeting at the church) so I didn't get to open the package until late this afternoon. Once I opened it, I immediately watched the tutorial DVD. It outlined the steps to take to apply the perfect foundation and then went over eye shadow application. It was a bit complicated for makeup (you have the foundation, the "warmth all over color," and the mineral veil; plus their "swirl, tap, buff" procedure) but if it seemed simple I suppose it wouldn't be worth the extra money. :)

Before I started, I washed my face and applied moisterizer, so as to have a clean pallet to work with:

I don't have really bad skin, so I've never really needed heavy foundation. That's my biggest concern with most foundations...they're all too thick and make me look like I'm over doing it. Bare Minerals is a loose, powder-like makeup that goes on with brushes. It turns more cream-like once it's on your skin, but it's very light and makes you feel like you're not wearing makeup at all.

It took me a total of thirty minutes to apply a complete look (foundation, blush, eyes, and lips). I'm sure I'll get faster with more practice, but half an hour isn't too bad in the whole scheme of things (as long as I don't have little munchkins running around!).

Pros:
  • It's vitually an error-proof makeup. I love this! Basically because it's a loose powder, you can't goof and everything blends so nicely. (I especially love this when doing my eyes because I'm impatient and I always goof when I'm doing my eye makeup.)
  • It's very natural looking. It evens out blemishes in your face without looking like you have foundation on at all.
  • It's incredibly light. I don't feel like I have anything on my face other than mascara.
  • Part of the eye routine is a powder eyeliner. This creates a softer line than a pencil, which is perfect for me. If you want something a bit darker or more dramatic, they suggest wetting the brush first.
  • Because you only use a tiny bit at a time ("less is more" seems to be their motto) the cost is a good investment.
  • Other than learning how to apply everything, it's relatively simple. You use brushes for all the makeup and since it's error-proof you can get pretty fast and efficient at applying it.
  • Despite being powder-like, it doesn't rub off easily.
  • It makes your face feel divinely smooth!

Cons:

  • If you need heavy coverage or like dramatic-looking makeup, it would take forever to apply this. Basically you have to work in layers and every layer makes your look more obvious.
  • The powder can be very messy if you're not careful. I specifically bought a makeup case that stays upright at all times, but if you're one of those people who takes their makeup with them everywhere, it will be messy.
  • It's expensive. Probably a little bit more than Mary Kay (the only other expensive makeup I've bought). I spent $200 for the face primer, a foundation starter kit, an eyes starter kit, a blush trio, and a set of lip gloss.

And here is my after picture (all of the makeup is Bare Escentuals except the mascara which is Great Lash):

So to compare, here are the two pictures side-by-side:

3 comments:

  1. I love bare minerals =) I hated the feeling of wearing makeup, but you don't have that same feeling with this because it's so light!

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  2. Your Makeover looks really great!

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  3. I love your pros and cons. I've given more thought to makeup these last few weeks than I have in years before.

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