bareMinerals bareSkin Foundation

I'm a big fan of bareMinerals products, so when I heard they had released their first liquid, I was curious to see how it would measure up to the rest of their line. The bareSkin foundation is marketed as being 'an ultra thin, skin perfecting fluid that provides seamless coverage, a natural finish and the look and feel of beautiful skin.' They also released the Perfecting Face brush, which was specifically designed to be used with the foundation to allow the most control during application.



The foundation comes in a sturdy bottle containing 30ml of product. The cap is pretty hefty, and will click when it's closed correctly to prevent leakage. Product is delivered through a top that resembles a dropper, which allows you to precisely measure how much you want to use at a time. Sometimes it requires a little pressure to squeeze the product out, but I've found it does prevent product wastage and keeps things hygienic.

As a serum foundation, the texture is quite thin and runny. I've found the easiest way to apply it is to use the specially designed brush, because you can very easily drop product into the well in the bristles and buff it in without creating a mess. They recommend 1 drop for light coverage, but I find I need around 2 to do my entire face properly. It's very easy to blend and build, so all you need to achieve fuller coverage is to use more drops- I believe the makeup artist I spoke to recommended about 3 to 4 drops for a fuller coverage. I'd say the coverage as a whole is light to medium, so if you're a full coverage kinda girl, I'd probably skip this one.

It gives a natural, satin finish and I tend to be able to get away without powdering unless I'm planning on wearing it for more than about 6 hours. Without powder, I begin to get shiny around the 5 hour mark, but the foundation doesn't start to break down on my face until it's been about 8 hours. If you're a bit on the dry side, I would recommend moisturising well to prevent this formula from clinging to any particularly dry patches.

Of all the application methods I've tried, I do think the perfecting face brush works best. When I used my favourite Real Techniques buffing brush, I found that the foundation tended to apply patchier than usual. It was also a bit too thin to easily apply with a sponge. I don't actually have another flat top kabuki style brush to test this theory, but I'd imagine anything with a similar shape to the bareMinerals brush would work in much the same way.

I believe the foundation is available in 20 shades. I will say the colour of the packaging can be quite misleading as it is appears to be quite a bit lighter than the shade of the actual foundation. For reference, I'm around an NC30 in MAC and I have the shade 03 Beige Linen.

Overall I think bareMinerals has done a phenomenal job with this foundation. It's lived up to my expectations, and I'd say their marketing claims are pretty accurate. If you're in the market for a new foundation, then this is definitely one I'd recommend giving a shot!

bareSkin foundation retails for $38 and is now available from Kit Cosmetics. The 'Perfecting Face' brush is $36 and is also available at Kit.