I LOVED bareMinerals Original Foundation. For years. And then, it started really bothering my face. I mean really bothering, as in itchy, burning, red, irritated, and uncomfortable. I have known other people to say the same thing. They loved bareMinerals for years, wore it regularly, loved the formula, and then boom, it started irritating their face. If you experienced a similar phenomenon, I have found the answer...REPLACE YOUR BRUSH!!! It's not the makeup, it's the brush you are applying it with. The makeup formula didn't change, your skin didn't transform overnight (but it does change and I'll discuss that in a minute), the brush simply got worn out. All of that swirl, tap, buff action, especially over a few years of use, wore the end of those bristles right out. They are now damaged and frayed. Just think of your bristles having split ends, and then imagine buffing that all over your face. No wonder your skin is irritated! I was determined to figure out why it was suddenly bothering me, and when I replaced my brush, it stopped. Honestly, I felt kind of dumb for how long it took me to figure out something so simple and now so seemingly obvious. When replacing your brush, there are a handful to choose from. Here are my faves:
Full Flawless Face Brush
This brush has longer, less dense, fluffy bristles. This means it will give you light coverage on the first application and will allow you to continue building coverage until you reach the level you desire. This brush is very versatile because it enables you to apply one very sheer application, or build up to medium or even very full coverage if you keep applying. If you don't like full coverage, if you like to be able to have full control over your level of coverage, or if your preference for level of coverage varies, you will like this brush the best.
Handy Buki Brush
This brush has shorter, more densely packed bristles. This means that it will provide more coverage. You can still build the coverage up, but each application will provide a higher level of coverage than with the brush above. If you like medium to full coverage, you'll like this brush better because you will achieve the same level of coverage with fewer applications. It has a little less versatility than the brush above, but if you are a person who rarely, if ever, wants light coverage, that lesser versatility is not only okay, it is more convenient.
Soft Focus Brush
This brush has the most loosely packed, fluffiest bristles of the three, which means it will provide the lightest coverage of all. Unlike the other two, I would say this brush should not be used by anyone who wants and likes full coverage because it is so fine that it can be difficult to build up to that level. However, if you like very sheer coverage, or you find that the first brush is still too much coverage, this is your brush. You can also build up to medium coverage with this brush, and the fact that each application with this brush is very sheer, makes this the ideal brush for touch ups. This provides the ideal sheer touch up throughout the day, providing a nice retouch without looking like you have too many layers on.
Now, to get back to how your skin changes, and how that changes the foundations you like...
Like I said, I LOVED bareMinerals. I loved bareMinerals for the smooth, airbrushed finish, for the never cakey, but full coverage, for the ability to reapply it later in the day over what you already have on and still not have cake face, for it being gentle on my sensitive skin, for it never leaving me looking too dry or too shiny. But my skin changed over the amount of time it took me to replace my brush, and it got much drier. I still like bareMinerals, sometimes. I like it on days I don't want to wear much makeup, or in very humid weather, but I do have to say that it worked much better when I was greasier. I use it infrequently now (I'm back to my first love, liquid) because I find that it accentuates my dry patches, looking cakey or flaky. It just doesn't seem to provide that flawlessly smooth finish it used to when my skin had more oil. My preference for finish has changed too, which might be part of why my love affair ended. I used to love the mostly matte finish, especially to keep oil at bay, but as I got drier my preference for finishes got dewier and dewier, leaving bareMineras, shall we say, "in the dust"?
And on that bad pun, I hope this was helpful to anyone who's experience or opinion of bareMinerals has changed. I will be discussing my new favorite foundations in a post soon.
What do you think? Did you experience this? Do you still like it? Did you ever? Let me know!
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