A long-time reader sent me an email asking if I could review the bareMinerals Beautiful Finish Foundation Brush for her because she wasn't sure if it was the right brush for her, and wanted my advice. She neither uses the bareMinerals Loose Powder Foundations, for which this brush was specifically made, nor does she use any other powder foundations. Instead, she uses a liquid foundation and then often uses a light dust of a setting powder afterward. Giuliana stated that while she certainly didn't need this brush, she was intrigued by, and attracted to, its unusual design.
Given that I have a rather fetishistic desire to collect unusual brushes, I was similarly intrigued by this brush. I should also preface this review by stating that I don't ever use powder foundations, of any sort, but instead prefer liquid and cream variants. I occasionally use a setting powder very sparingly, but more often than not I do not. That said, I really like this brush a lot, and do, in fact, use it.
bareMinerals Beautiful Finish Foundation Brush is a cruelty-free brush made from synthetic bristles, and it has an unusual convex domed well in the center that is designed to hold their loose mineral foundations. The bristles are very soft and comfortable against the skin, and they do an exemplary job in their ability to apply and blend powder formulas. I have found that it is excellent for applying and blending all powder formulas, and find great utility in using it to blend out blush, highlighters and any other powder products when I seek a seamless finish.
Most people who use the bareMinerals Loose Powder Foundations seem very happy with this brush, but I think that there are other people, like me, who don't use powder foundations who would still enjoy using this brush. Do you need it? Of course not, but that doesn't mean that you won't enjoy using it.
The brush measure 3 1/2" from base to tip, and the densely packs head of bristles measures a little over 1".
According to bareMinerals,
Specifically engineered to hold loose powder foundation like water in a sponge, the patent-pending Beautiful Finish Foundation Brush features a skirted silhouette with a rounded center that provides impeccable, even coverage. Designed to fit perfectly into the lids of our award-winning ORIGINAL and MATTE Foundation pots, and to be used with the Swirl, Tap, Buff application method, this makeup brush captures and contains more product with less effort, giving you a fast, flawless finish. Incredibly soft to the touch, this unique-looking makeup brush is made with luxurious synthetic fibers that stay intact with its included clear plastic sleeve. The elongated fibers on the outside and the convex dome center are designed to hold loose minerals to provide even, sheer-to-full coverage and reduce makeup application time.
Features:
- Distinctive makeup brush design is precisely sized to fit in the ORIGINAL and MATTE -Foundation pot lids
- Foundation brush provides buildable, sheer-to-full coverage
- Ultra-soft synthetic fibers and unique convex center hold loose powder like water to a sponge
- Delivers fast and even coverage, reducing application time
Overall Assessment: If you are intrigued by this brush, but are on-the-fence, it might be worth going and looking at it, in person, before taking the plunge. However, I will say that I am getting a lot of use out of mine.
There is absolutely no shortage of neutral eyeshadow palettes on the market, and they range from the most affordable drugstore versions to the most expensive luxury variants. I thought that I would feature one of my favorites that offers a mid-range price point with uncompromisingly high quality shadows. bareMinerals Gen Nude Neutral Eyeshadow Palette features a combination six ultra-finely milled powder shadows in matte, satin and metallic finishes, and each one of them is ultra-silky to the touch.
All six of the shades glide across the skin effortlessly, deposit color evenly and blend to perfection. I find that I get all day wear, without a primer, and these shadows do not crease or migrate, but I do not have oily eyelids, and therefore your wear may vary.
According to bareMinerals,
The GEN NUDE® collection is all about good-for-skin nudes made for every skin tone. With GEN NUDE® Eyeshadow Palettes, we're making it easy to create natural eye looks, glam smoky eye looks, and everything in between. Each palette features six neutral-toned matte, satin and metallic eyeshadows. The long lasting eyeshadow colors are highly pigmented, with mineral-rich ingredients, including cucumber extract that sooths and depuffs the eye area, moisturizing borage oil for softer skin, and antioxidant-rich algae that helps to protect skin. These eyeshadows are crease- and smudge-resistant to ensure your eyes look flawless all day long.
Features:
- Long lasting formula is crease-resistant and smudge-resistant.
- Four different palettes ensure there is a natural-looking eyeshadow assortment for every skin tone.
- Cucumber extract sooths and depuffs the eye area.
- Cold-pressed borage oil hydrates and softens the eye area.
- Antioxidant-rich algae helps to protect delicate skin around the eye area from environmental stressors.
Paraben-free, phthalate-free, talc-free, gluten-free and fragrance-free.
Each palette includes step-by-step guide for three looks.
Not tested on animals.
Overall Assessment: If you are seeking a beautiful neutral eyeshadow palette that is both affordable and high quality, the bareMinerals Gen Nude Neutral Eyeshadow Palette is definitely worthy of your consideration.
I prefer wearing more natural makeup, and for my lips and cheeks I tend to wear pinks, mauves and nudes, and therefore I have decided to feature a combination of such shades that I am really in love with lately!
BareMinerals Gen Nude Powder Blush ($24.00 for 0.21 oz. from BareMinerals, Nordstrom, Sephora, Ulta, Macy's and Look Fantastic): I am thrilled by the formula of these blushes because they feature an utterly sublime ultra-finely milled texture that is unbelievably creamy, soft and silky-smooth to the touch. These blushes blend to perfection, and can easily be mixed to create custom colors– which I have been doing with great success and results. Each of the three shades that I have glide across the skin effortlessly, deposit color evenly and give the skin a gorgeous subtle glow with an optical blurring effect.
According to BareMinerals,
Instant natural flush. Buildable color. Blurring effect. Mineral-rich formula. Meet Gen Nude® Powder Blush, the ultimate mineral makeup that defines your cheekbones and warms and brightens your complexion. This weightless blush comes in 12 amped up nude shades that mimic a natural flush. The good-for-skin, ultra-creamy formula is long lasting, blendable, and features our new Blurring Mineral Complex for a brightening, soft-focus effect. We used our complexion expertise to develop next generation nudes that compliment all skin tones-just blend and layer for a million ways to go nude.
"The collection features mauves, pinks, peaches and beiges. The three levels of intensity within each color family make it easy for people of all skin tones to find a variety of shades."
Available Colors Divided into 4 Shade Categories (Colors in bold are swatched below):
Mauves: Call My Blush, On the Mauve, You Had Me at Merlot
Pinks: Pretty in Pink, Pink Me Up, Strike a Rose
Peaches: That Peach Tho, Bellini Brunch, Peachy Keen
Beiges: Beige for Days, Let's Go Nude, But First Coffee
Ingredients: Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Diisostearyl Malate, Dipentaerythrityl Hexahydroxystearate, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Lauroyl Lysine, Triethylhexanoin, Sorbitan Sesquiisostearate, Hydrogen Dimethicone, Dimethicone, Tocopherol, Barium Sulfate, Silica, Alumina, Tin Oxide, Chlorphenesin. May Contain (+/-): Mica, Carmine (Ci 75470), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850). Made without: Parabens, Sulfates and Phthalates.
Left to Right: Pink Me Up, On the Mauve, You Had Me at Merlot and YBF Lipstick in Brilliant
YBF (Your Best Friend) Colour Intensity Lipstick in Brilliant ($13.00 for 0.12 oz. from HSN): Initially I was going to review and swatch this lipstick on its own, but the minute that I opened it up I thought that the color was perfect to wear with the BareMinerals Gen Nude Blushes that I have, and as you can see from the swatches, they work together perfectly for a tone-on-tone natural monochromatic look.
This lipstick formula is creamy and hydrating, as a result of the Vitamin E and Jojoba Seed Oil, and it glides across the lips effortlessly, deposits color evenly and it neither migrates and feathers, nor pools. It is ultra-pigmented, and offers full opaque coverage in a single pass. It is long-wearing, comfortable on the lips and boasts a beautiful light sheen. Brilliant, which is described as a nude brown, has a mauve undertone that makes it especially lovely.
According to YBF Beauty,
This new collection of lipsticks are ultra-intense, rich colours that leaves the lips moisturize and soft with a luminous finish!
The new formula wears evenly throughout the day and includes Vitamin E and Jojoba seed oil, leaving lips conditioned throughout the day. The collection includes four gorgeous colours that go from day to night in one swipe!
Directions: Apply lightly beginning at the center of your upper lip, blend out carefully toward the edge, and repeat for bottom lip.
Overall Assessment: I am so thrilled by these luxuriously textured blushes, and am so happy to have accidentally found a lipstick that works perfectly with them.
Press Sample. All views expressed are categorically my own (Affiliate Links).
The Makeup Wars team is currently featuring our favorite fall collections or products, and I am rather surprised by the relative pragmatism of my choice. I had been testing numerous products, but rather organically observed my particular affinity for three of the new for fall bareMinerals Gen Nude Patent Lip Lacquer High Shine Liquid Lipstick that I had been testing. Truth be told, it really didn't occur to me that these affordable beauties would sweep me off of my feet, but they did. I started testing them, then soon I was reaching for them all of the time, and then finally two of the shades, Major and Bae, ended up living in my purse. The colors are perfect for fall, they are easy to wear, and they are really gorgeous.
bareMinerals Gen Nude Patent Lip Lacquer High Shine Liquid Lipstick is a high gloss liquid lipstick in a gorgeous array of mauves, pinks, peaches and beiges. They offer opaque coverage, a high shine finish, and they feel more like full-coverage lip glosses than traditional lipsticks. They are a bit tacky, less so than MAC Lip Glasses, but not so much so as to be uncomfortable. I should also note that the tackiness only occurs when they are first applied, and after they have been on the lips for a few minutes the tackiness subsides altogether. They are long-wearing, they glide across the lips effortlessly, deposit color evenly and the three colors that I have neither pool, nor settle into lip lines. They have enough cushion for comfortable wear, and they are moisturizing. The doe-foot applicator has a nice user-friendly shape that coats the lips in a single pass. I like the formula and shine a lot, and the colors are really beautiful and perfect for daily wear. They have a warm and creamy vanilla scent, but it does fade soon upon application.
Benefits and Claims: • Next-level shine with a lacquer-like finish • 3-dimensional effect makes lips appear fuller • Full coverage • Moisturizing, non-drying formula • Ultra-comfortable, lightweight no-tack texture • Mineral rich formula is good for skin, and helps to make lips feel softer and appear fuller • 20 universally flattering shades • Subtle vanilla scent • Paraben-free, sulfate-free, talc-free and Vegan • None of their products are tested on animals
According to bareMinerals,
Go effortless with the full coverage of a lipstick and the shine of a lip gloss, all in one sweep. Next-level shine. Full coverage. Moisturizing. Mineral-rich formula. Meet Gen Nude® Patent Lip Lacquer. This high gloss liquid lipstick joins our collection of next generation, good-for-skin nudes made for every skin tone. The cushiony, hydrating formula features our Moisturizing Mineral Complex to help keep lips soft, while a dual-sided applicator smooths on full coverage with one swipe. The collection features mauves, pinks, peaches and beiges: The mauves: Beautiumus, Major (shown below), 2Legit, Everything, Pout, Werk (shown below) The pinks: Girl Boss, Can't Even, Bestie, Boy Toy, Dahling, Addicted The peaches: #LIFEGOALS, Squad, Hype The beiges: YAAAS, Bae (shown below), IRL, Perf, Savage
Left to Right:
Bae: Toasted mid-tone nude
Major: Light blushing mauve
Werk: Rich raisin
Ingredients: Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Octyldodecanol, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax (Cera Carnauba/Cire De Carnauba), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Alaria Esculenta Extract, Smithsonite Extract, Saccharomyces/Copper Ferment, Ethylhexylglycerin, Vanillin, Silica, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Polyethylene, Propylene Carbonate, Hydrogenated Polycyclopentadiene. May Contain (+/-): Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 30 Lake (Ci 73360), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140).
Overall Assessment: I really like these and am currently reaching for Major and Bae so much that they I may have to buy backups since I am using these on a daily basis. These are definitely worth checking out on your next trip to bareMinerals, Nordstrom, Ulta or Sephora.
Please click on the blogger badges below to see what the other Makeup Wars team members selected!
If you haven't yet checked out my mega-post outlining precisely what's available for the amazing Ulta 21 Days of Beauty, then check it out HERE. There are so many amazing deals to behold, and here is what is available today:
If you haven't yet checked out my mega-post outlining precisely what's available for the amazing Ulta 21 Days of Beauty, then check it out HERE. There are so many amazing deals to behold, and here is what is available today:
