Bare Escentuals BareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation Liquid & Perfecting Brush
New for Spring 2014
CRUELTY FREE!
Price $28.00 Price $28.00
I have to be honest; the only reason Bare Escentuals Bareskin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation caught my attention was because of the brush. The Brush the brush the brush. I couldn't walk two feet in a mall without seeing a poster of it and the fact that Bare Minerals is carried in every store under the sun didn't help either!
The concept of the brush is brilliant, absolutely brilliant! (Or at least that's how it seems...)
BareSkin Pure Brightening Perfecting Brush:
If any of you haven't seen a picture of the BareSkin Perfecting Brush, it is a standard stippling brush but in the center of the bristles it has a dime size depository where the bristles are receded about a 1/4 inch. the idea is that you put a few drops of the new Bareskin Pure Brightening Serum Liquid Foundation into the depository and buff all over your face.
Stippling brushes apply liquid foundations better then thicker foundations, however the problem with thinner formulas is that they drip down to the base of the brush and make cleaning difficult. when I first saw the pictures, I thought that the depository portion of the brush was made of plastic or some non absorbent material with traditional stippling bristles all around it.
That would have been better. instead the design of the brush forces you to place a very watery foundation 20% further into the bristles than you otherwise would, all while holding the brush upside down to ensure you drip even more product to the base of the bristles! Very awesome concept but the execution could handle some tweaking. The brush is sold separately from the foundation.
BareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation:
Overview:
The BareSkin Serum Foundation is easily one of the most publicized foundation releases of 2014. BareMinerals claims that BareSkin is essentially a high-performing serum that offers adjustable coverage and will provide natural looking, flawless results.
(They go on to make specific claims about the benefits of using BareSkin which are addressed below.)
Use & Application:
BareSkin Pure Brightening Serum is indeed a liquid...[foundation]. It's texture is incredibly thin and it does blend impeccibly well. BareMinerals followed the current "liquid to powder" foundation trend and housed BareSkin in a bottle with a needle nosed nozzle.
It is absolutely imperative that you thoroughly shade the bottle before each use. (This is inpart necessary because BareMinerals left out many standard foundation ingredients that act as "binders,")
On the plus side of the packaging, BareMinerals avoided the common pitfalls of air bubbles getting trapped in the nozzle & exploding after being shaken!
BareMinerals suggests using 2 drops of foundation for light coverage, 4 drops for medium and 6 drops for full coverage which is a pretty reasonable guideline but you may have to adjust based on the size of your face your definition of "full coverage", etc. They also suggest gradually building coverage which is a smart idea no matter what type of foundation formula you're using.
BareMinerals also recommends applying the BareSkin foundation directly onto the Perfecting Face Brush's depository. You may or may not want to do this depending on how clean you like your brushes. The other option would be to apply BareSkin to your face and buffing it out with the brush.
You can achieve relatively consistent results using almost any brush or your fingers. I would caution you from using a sponge because in addition to the fact that a sponge will soak up the liquidy texture, it may "hang on to" some of the ingredients and provide a less even application.
Finish & Ideal Skin Type:
BareSkin Pure Brightening is presented as a formula that's ideal for all skin types but again, that's a bit of an oxymoron. While you can have formulas that will work for all skin types you will generally have to make adjustments for those on the extreme end of the spectrum with very oily or very dry skin.
BareSkin is definitely a foundation which is best suited for normal to dry skin. Because the BareSkin formula has very few binding agents and has a tendency to separate in the bottle, those with oily skin may experience some separation as the day wears on.
You can avoid this by setting BareSkin with a setting powder (or a light dusting of any BareMinerals foundation) or by using a silicone primer to help absorb the excess oils and hold the foundation in place.
The finish of BareSkin is somewhat flexible and will depend on your skin type and how you set/prep but generally speaking the finish will be a dry satin finish. I chose the word "dry" because it's important to differentiate between a satin finish foundation and a dewy finish one. While a dewy finish is almost "wet" a satin finish is a foundation which is generally dry, smooth, and possible powdery to the touch but has a bit of shine to it- which is exactly what you'll get with BareSkin.
*Generally speaking, the lighter your coverage level the matter your finish will be and you will get a more dewy finish with fuller coverage.*
Formula & Ingredients:
While BareMinerals' claim that BareSkin is "oil-free" is technically correct, it may be a bit misleading to the average consumer who is unfamiliar with ingredients.
The base ingredient of BareSkin is caprylic/capric triglyceride. While this is an excellent ingredient present in numerous skincare & makeup products it is an emollient type of ingredient which feels like oil and is moisturizing. This is a common base ingredient in emollient formulas like Laura Geller's Real Deal Concealer & Laura Mercier's High Coverage Concealer.
BareSkin is also a rarity in today's foundation world because it's formulated without silicones. It's presented as a good thing. but Silicones have a totally unjustified bad reputation! They help hide fine lines & wrinkles, absorb oil, etc.
Silicones are also too large of a molecule to clog pores so it is unlikely that they are responsible for all of the breakouts the have allegedly caused & ironically, from a biological perspective, caprylic/capric triglyceride is far more likely to make oily skin worse and potentially lead to clogged pores than silicones would!
BareMinerals claims that BareSkin was formulated to be a "skin-loving formula" with the "bare-minimum" ingredients (pun intended?) They also claim that there are enough anti-aging ingredients present to use BareSkin in lieu of your typical anti-aging serum which there are not.
They also claim to have included "clinically proven tone correcting mineral pigments." That part's true because there are mineral pigments included and they have been proven to create the appearance of a corrected skin tone, BUT, they're the same "mineral pigments" that are in ALL cosmetics and are in no way exclusive to BareSkin nor will they produce any differences once you remove your makeup!
There is a small amount of Vitamin C present which will help brighten (not lighten) skin to some extent in large enough quantities but it just isn't there!
As for the Super-Charged Lilac Plant Stem Cells? They do have proven regenerative properties....in plants. There hasn't been significant research on whether or not they're beneficial to human skin but even if they are, you still need a serum with a plethora of anti-aging ingredients such as skin identical compounds, cell-communicating ingredients, and anti-oxidants to protect against free radical damage!
BareMinerals inclusion of 11% Titanium Dioxide is absolutely fantastic. Too many foundations don't have sufficient UVA/UVB protection when they claim to offer an SPF factor or when they do include broad spectrum ingredients they use chemical or synthetic sunscreens which can be irritating for sensitive skin so BareMinerals gets major Kudos for including one of the gentlest & effective forms of sunscreen available.
Luckily though, BareMinerals DID include the single most important anti-aging ingredient with their broad spectrum sunscreen and they left out anything that could potentially irritate or harm your skin which is great.
Conclusion:
BareMinerals venture into the world of liquid foundation/skincare hybrids isn't a bad foundation but in order to live up to the claims it would need to have a few things changed in the formula (and even then it wouldn't be able to suit ALL skin types!)
While BareMinerals kept the ingredients to a minimum, keep in mind that formulas which could really be considered skincare have ingredients a mile long and a list of proven cell communicating/regenerating ingredients & antioxidants.
That said, if you want to try it, there is nothing that is detrimental to your skin either.
I think BareMinerals tried to make a generalized "one step all in one serum & foundation that will make anyone happy..." but that's just not a reasonable concept!
If you really want to try Bare Escentuals Bareskin Pure Brightening Serum, by all means, go for it but do not under any circumstances discontinue use of your regular skincare products!
***For a cruelty free, lightweight foundation that would better suit oily skin try Urban Decay's Naked Weightless Ultra Definition Foundation which has also an excellent shade range and is beautifully formulated.***
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| Bare Escentuals Pure Brightening Serum Foundation Liquid Swatches of Shades Light Shades- 01 Bare Porcelain, 02 Bare Shell, 03 Bare Linen, 04 Bare Ivory, 05 Bare Cream, Medium Shades- 06 Bare Satin, 07 Bare Natural, 08 Bare Beige, 09 Bare Nude, 10 Bare Buff, Tan Shades- 11 Bare Latte, 12 Bare Sand, 13 Bare Tan, 14 Bare Caramel, 15 Bare Honey, Deep Shades- 16 Bare Almond, 17 Bare Maple, 18 Bare Walnut, 19 Bare Espresso, 20 Bare Mocha |
Thank you SO MUCH for the swatches!! This is going to help me ENORMOUSLY!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! =)
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