Oh, Jolie, another Bare Minerals rave??
Exciting news—I’ve finally had a chance to see an advanced copy of my Bare Minerals infomercial appearance, a half-hour segment completely devoted to the magic that is Bare Minerals foundation. I pop up about twelve minutes in, yammering on about how obsessed I am…how crap my skin is otherwise…how it’s my number one beauty product ever, blah, blah, blah. The thing is, it’s 100% true—I wasn’t paid for my appearance in the infomercial, and agreed to it because I was thrilled to be invited to participate. It’s damn near impossible to not become jaded by products; as a beauty writer, you test so many that they start to blend together. So when you find something that really stands out, it’s a lightening bolt moment, and that Oh-My-God-You-Have-To-Try-This! love is what Bare Minerals (and all the Bare Escentuals products) inspires in me.
Why do I love it? (Surely you’re sick of this by now!) Here’s the five-second version: It’s weightless, it covers all my redness, pigmentation, zits and acne scars, and it doesn’t make me feel like I have paint on my skin. Yeah, it has SPF, too, but even if it were SPF-free, I’d still want to make babies with it.
BTW, While most women who’ve tried agree wholeheartedly with Bare Minerals’ merits, occasionally I’ll get an email from somebody who questions my devotion. (They’re all, “Jolie are you on crack? I hate it–why are you so obsessed?”) The most common complaints I’ve heard regarding Bare Minerals come from those with extremely dry skin, usually older women. I always advise them to moisturize well before applying foundation, and also mention that the brush you use will determine the type of coverage you get. (My favorite is the Handy Buki, which gives medium-to-full airbrush-worthy coverage.) If you find that the foundation settles into pores, another complaint I’ve heard a few times, using a primer after moisturizing will help you look flawlessly smooth, dahlings. The simple truth is that not all beauty products will work for all women; my favorite could be your least, or vice versa. That being said, nearly every gal I’ve turned onto Bare Minerals has similarly fallen in love. Hand over heart, Jolie pledges to (at least attempt to) always steer you right!
May 10th, 2008 at 8:09 am
I completely agree with you about Bare Minerals. I was using a liquid foundation before I started with BE and decided to try it after reading your blog. A couple of years later, I’m still using, and LOVING, Bare Minerals. I’ll never use anything else!!
May 11th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
love love love love looooooove my bare minerals in medium beige, for every reason you listed. my derm put me on retin a and i went through the nasty phase (peeling, zits, and all kinds of crazy) and this was the only thing that worked to cover up my godzilla face. my only gripe is with the stupid brush i got because after a few gentle washings it is super scratchy and the bristles fall out everywhere, but the kabuki does work better.
i have heard philosophy’s airbrush brush is supposed to be great with bare minerals, but the head is so compact so i am a bit hesitant.
May 11th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Jolie I WOULD LOVE to hear what you think of Jenna Bush’s wedding photos–as close to Kate Middleton and a royal wedding as we’ll get here, do you think?!!!??
May 11th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I’m also COMPLETELY addicted to BareMinerals! I’ve tried other minerals & switch back & forth a few times - even back to liquids, and I always come back to BareMinerals. It’s truly the best.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:16 am
Bare Minerals turned my skin into a red, welt-covered mess. A little something called bismuth oxycloride, which triggers allergic reactions and cystic acne in quite a few women. It also contains titanium dioxide which tons of people are allergic to, causing serious hive breakout.
For the record, when I tried BM I was 25, with pretty sensitive and oily skin. BM = no me gusta!
May 14th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I am obsessed with Bare Minerals too! We did a review on LatestBeauty and ever since then I haven’t used anything else. It really makes my skin beautiful and flawless! I’m jealous of your infomercial chance - I feel like I’m a walking advertisement for them. Anytime someone compliments my skin, I’m like, Thanks, but it’s the Bare Minerals. I totally understand your need to keep extolling its virtues.
August 15th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I’m a mineral makeup junkie.
I don’t have sensitivity, issues, sun protection obsessions, deep fears of applying spackle (on the contrary I consider myself the face spackle queen) or rosacea/related conditions…just an endless parade of zits, sigh.
I love how mineral makeup makes me look glowy and natural as if that really is my skin. People are always suprised to see me without makeup cause they’re like holllyy, I thought your skin was naturally that darn amazing. To which I proudly reply “told you so”.
That being said I may be in the camp that isn’t in love with BE. No matter how much I layer on it just doesn’t give me the coverage I want and I find it clumps depending on which moisturizer I use underneath. Plus it runs out so darn quickly.
My personal favorite is the L’oreal knockoff. Certainly the best drugstore shade matches, hands down (Maybelline I’m glaring at you) I only need a quick buff in and my skin looks amazing. Another problem a lot of mineral foundations have is that they oxidize halfway through the day and start to orangize, or amplify the oilies. Bare naturale does none of these. So for the few like myself for whom Bare Escentuals isn’t a holy grail, hightail it over to the drugstore and give L’oreal a chance. One caveat, it’s not 100% natural (preservatives and fillers like everything else L’oreal) so if there are those who feel like being sticklers, then no.
Jolie, I fully love you. I recently read your book and because of it started reading your blog (I am not much of a blog commiter). It’s people like you that inspire me because I feel like I can relate (read: I am 20 years old, misguided, Sephora is my crack-den, I am on a perpetual search for my perfect stylist and I feel this constant need to tell people about my latest endeavours. It’s because of you that I recently started my own blog about my constant search for physical improvement.
September 10th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Correction… the complaints mainly come from women of any age that happen to actually sweat & find themselves wanting to claw their faces off because they itch & burn like mad from the bismuth oxychloride which if you look it up on a science website about geology will tell you is a type of arsenic & a known irritant to a great deal of human beings on the planet regardless of age. Wow, how terribly age-ist of you to stereotype “older women”. You’ll get there one day & see how that feels.
September 21st, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I also use the Bare Minerals foundation. I just can’t stand the brushes. I have been using the “Flawless Perfection” brush and it leaves hairs all over me, the sink, the counter…etc. Can you use another brush? The Kabuki maybe?