Is This Drugstore Foundation a Good Alternative to the Popular Bare Minerals?
I'd seen the commercials for Bare Minerals Foundation and the beautiful skin it supposedly produced so I decided to head to a Sephora Store to see if I would get the same results with it. Instead of just buying the foundation right off the bat, I decided to have one of the Sephora makeup artists apply the foundation to my face so that I could test it out for the day.
The friendly makeup artist told me that the foundation in the color tan was the perfect match for my skin, and she proceeded to swirl, tap, and then buff the minerals onto my skin. Even though the Bare Minerals Foundation is supposed to be perfect for sensitive skin, as the makeup artist buffed away, my skin (which isn't sensitive) began to feel dry, itchy and irritated. I think the minerals made my skin feel dry but the Bare Minerals foundation brush made it feel itchy.
After the makeup artist finished she held up a mirror and I thought my skin did look evened out, but it also looked a bit chalky and unnatural because the foundation wiped out the natural glow in my skin and didn't give it any illumination.
So I decided that Bare Minerals wasn't for me, because it made my brown skin look ashy, but I still wanted to try a mineral foundation so I decided to purchase one of the Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation from a drugstore. I thought it was cool that the foundation was contained in a small chamber that's topped off topped off with a foundation brush that can't be removed. In order to apply the foundation all I had to do was pull down the plastic case that surrounds the brush, flip over the tube and shake it. Since the foundation's contained it can be applied anywhere, unlike Bare Minerals which has to be poured into a cap(so it can spill out), then swirled, tapped, and buffed.
The only thing I was bummed about was the fact that Neutrogena had about five different shades of foundation for Caucasian women or women with lighter skin tones, but only one light brown shade as if skin tones stop at a tan color, or as if women of color don't need foundation.
I bought the sheer bronzer shade and I'm not sure if it is a bronzer or a foundation, but it was the darkest shade (a golden brown) that Neutrogena produced for their Mineral Sheer Foundation. When I got it home I opened the seal, shook the tube of foundation and applied it to my face. The brush wasn't irritating and the shade matched my skin tone so perfectly that I didn't even know that the foundation was being released, and for the first 3 times I used the Neutrogena Foundation I thought that something was wrong with my tube.
After applying it to my wrist one day and seeing it turn into a shimmery tan, I finally realized that the foundation had been applied to my face the whole time (duh!) and I just didn't know it. I figure that's a sign of a good foundation if it looks so natural that you can't even tell that it's on! After realizing that it was working I started to apply more than usual and noticed that the foundation really looked natural, evened out my skin, toned down my oily T-zone and gave my skin a golden glow, instead of taking it away like Bare Minerals.
I have no doubt that Bare Minerals has worked for a lot of women, but I think that in order to have the best results you need to buy plenty of their products (Mineral Veil, Warmth, Skin Reverer Upper, brushes, etc.) and have plenty of time and counter space to apply the products correctly. But if you're looking for a quality, inexpensive mineral foundation that will give your skin a glow, while being really quick and easy to apply then go with the Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Foundation (if they have it in your skin tone). It's really natural looking and will feel light on your skin.
