Ulta haul

So, I went to Ulta today to see what I could find worthy of the 20% off coupon. I got this:


BareMinerals Ready Remix The Wild Thing, OPI liquid sand nail polish in Get Your Number, Physicians Formula Bronze Boost Goddess Glow shimmer powder, and some vanilla scented polish remover pads.

Shadow swatches. Top left: pale oyster with strong light green duochrome. Top right: satin chartreuse with some sparkle. Bottom left: greened gold brown. Bottom right: the ocean on a stormy day.

Shimmer swatch - it's a diffuse, coppery shimmer with medium small flecks

Finally gone!

All done with the Bare Minerals Matte sample - which took longer than expected because I ended up having to mix it with a highlighter from another brand in order to lighten it enough.

Oh, and also? The sample jar looks like a 10g jar on the outside, but because the sifter goes down deeper and it has a shallower compartment area, it really holds the amount as a 5g jar - and it was half full.

Used up more stuff!

1. Silk Naturals Cream Concealer - light peach creamy concealer sample. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has managed to cover up my dark circles. I don't know why I expected this would.

2. Garnier face wipes - 10 pack. Alright in a pinch, but no substitute for a real face wash.

3. Bare Minerals mineral veil sample. As said before, waste of time. Silica, silk powder, and rice powder all work better for me.

Review - Bare Minerals Matte foundation

A while back, Sephora was giving away free Bare Minerals minis (packaged with a mini Mineral Veil and an extremely tiny kabuki brush). The sales assistant picked out Light matte as my best match.

Recently, as part of Project Use It, I've opened and started using these samples. I figured it would be a great opportunity to test out the "original" mineral foundation and see how it held up against my indie favorites.

I would love to be able to review it with my standard rubric, but I just can't. First of all, Light is too dark for me. I have been trying to make it work, with limited success. I have mixed it with the Mineral Veil. I have mixed it with silica powder. I have mixed it with highlighters. I have applied it over a sunblock that turns me pasty white. No matter what I do, it's still too dark. Today, the only reason it looks ok from afar is that I put on a bunch of a powder highlighter on top. Close-up, the caked-on powder is pretty evident.

This means that I can't review it against the other foundations because I'd be reviewing my own formula instead of Bare Minerals'.

Texture-wise, it feels like any standard mineral powder. I have a harder time than usual applying this evenly, and I can't figure out why. My kabuki brush just isn't transporting the powder well. The color mismatch makes it even more obvious. Also, it seems to take an enormous amount of product to get proper coverage. Again, the product being too dark highlights just how hard it is to get it to cover my face.

I'm disappointed. If anyone wants to send me samples of either Fairly Light or Golden Fair, so I can better judge the product's performance, let me know. An eighth teaspoon would be enough.

As for the mineral veil - its primary ingredient is cornstarch. Do you know how cheap cornstarch is? You probably have some in your kitchen. Save yourself some money and tint a jarful with a bit of your foundation.