Getting to know: Bare Minerals

On Sunday I had the pleasure of sitting down with Paula from
the Glasgow boutique branch of Bare Minerals to get to know a little more about the brand and in particular their latest Ready Solid Foundation. Many a moon ago my first foray into the big bad world of foundation was with Bare Minerals, purchasing one of their  well known starter packs and getting familiar with their 'swirl, tap, buff' technique . I loved the effect it gave and found the starter pack really good value for money, however after a couple of years and a few repurchases ( a very long time for me to stay loyal to one product) I got lured into liquid and cream formulas and ended up on a bit of a mission to try ALL of the foundations and my BM got left by the way side.

Since then it seems the brand has gone from strength to strength and their product line up, including skin care is now huge! The Glasgow boutique is spacious, bright and laid out so enticingly that  you can't help but wander their stands and want to try out the products and all the colours they have to offer. Paula gave me a refresher on the brand and its history whilst she prepared my skin with the brand skincare, the purifying facial cleanser was incredibly light and refreshing whilst not feeling at all tight afterwards, and the moisturiser has SPF 20 in, which is always a huge plus for me. The Prime Time primer gave a beautiful finish that was not at all thick and siliconey, just smooth- fresh and pore free and you only needed a tiny amount to cover the face- definately one worth checking out.

The Ready foundation is a solid compact with SPF 20 that provides a little more coverage than their loose mineral formulation, and offers a very natural finish that lasts. I was really impressed with how build-able it was, with my hyper pigmentation it is often hard to cover but a couple of layers of this, using the precision face brush and my skin looked incredibly bright and even without looking at all cakey. Something that I always fear with a powder! Available in 20 shades from very pale to dark, there is something for everyone which is something that really impresses me.

Paula applied a light dusting of their warmth powder which is perfect for just adding a tiny hint of natural colour all over, a dusting of the beautiful blush in shade French Kiss and then a spot of eyeshadow in the duo Top Shelf. I loved the end result, it looked natural, bright and felt beautifully soft to touch. Application took no time at all, and I was really impressed with the range of eye colours and blush shades on offer. 

Chatting away to Paula I was really impressed with the dedication she and the other staff have to taking time with customers, there is no hard sell and the knowledge and passion they have for the products shine through. Their seems to be a real emotional attachment to the brand for a lot of people, many with acne or scarring or just no experience at all with make-up really appreciate the time spent with them to learn the best products for their skin. What I was really impressed with was Paula made over half of my face so I could see the difference and then she talked me through it again but this time with me holding the brushes. I thought this was a fab way to show someone how the results really are achievable at home and  great opportunity to see any parts you are doing wrong. The Boutique offers a fab menu of little sessions you can book in for ( free of charge) to help you find exactly what it is you are looking for. I took  a lot away for my time in the shop and picked up lots of great tips.

Right now BM are running a sample campaign with lots of magazines including Stylist and Look, so keep your eyes peeled for it. You can take in the page and receive a great sample size of their foundation to take home and try, and I totally recommend giving it a go.  If you haven't taken a look at what Bare Minerals offer I would absolutely head in to your local store or concession store to take a look, the staff are so lovely and have lots of fab advice to offer, it is well worth a visit. I was thrilled with how natural my skin looked when I was done!

me- 8 hours after my Bare Minerals Make Under!

Have a fab weekend everyone!