Bare Minerals- My initial thoughts (Prepare for a long one!)

Hey everyone!
First off, I'm sorry this is so late.  I meant to have it up the day or two after Christmas, but a couple things ended up getting in the way: 1) I realized I wanted to do a little comparison between the Bare Minerals and my Maybelline Mineral Power powder foundation, and 2) we went out of town for a few days.  I'm home now, though, so I wanted to share this with you ASAP!

My sister got me the Bare Minerals 8-piece customizable starter kit for Christmas, which gives you:
-the choice of one full-sized foundation (0.28oz, either matte or original finish) in your shade
-a smaller sized Mineral Veil (0.07oz)
-Warmth all-over color (0.05oz)
-Full Flawless Face brush
-Flawless Application Face brush
-Maximum Coverage Concealer brush
-mini-sized Prime Time foundation primer (0.5oz),
It also comes with a DVD that explains everything about the makeup, which I haven't watched yet.

I suggested her just getting me the full-sized foundation and Mineral Veil, but she surprised me with this.  She really loves the concealer brush and wanted me to be able to try it, too.
For this review I'm just going to go over each individual product and tell you what I think about them so far.

The brushes:

Top to bottom: Full Flawless face brush (what you use to 'buff' in the foundation), Flawless Application face brush (for Mineral Veil/other powders), Maximum Coverage concealer brush

I'm not sure if when you buy the brushes individually the handles are longer, but these brushes are all travel-sized.  The Full Flawless face brush (I'll just call it the foundation brush) is about the length of my entire hand laid flat.  The powder brush is the smallest in length, with the concealer brush being skinnier and just a little longer.  

Now, I had heard these brushes were on the scratchier side from brush comparison posts I'd read.  For other powder foundation/powder product applications I use my EcoTools Bamboo Bronzer brush, which is one of the softest things I've ever felt.  Comparing the two brands, these are definitely scratchier, however they aren't overly so and I do like the way they work.  My EcoTools brush IS great for buffing in powder foundation, but it's a pain to travel with and for other powders, it buffs them in too much.  It's perfect for when I need  a light application of bronzer, but not when I want high pigmentation.  

I really like how the Bare Minerals powder brush applies things like highlighters.  I just got the MAC Too Chic beauty powder (post coming soon!), and it actually shows up well as compared to when I use my EcoTools Bamboo Bronzer brush, which buffs it in too much.

The concealer brush is a new favorite!  My sister was right.  Now, I've never really used a brush for concealer, but my sister told me she uses a lighter shade of Bare Minerals as a spot concealer and loves this brush for it.  I've been using mine in the same way and this brush works really well.  

The Products

Left: travel-sized Prime Time, Right: Fairly Medium foundation (Original SPF 15 finish)

Left: Original Mineral Veil (0.07oz), Right: Warmth all-over color (0.05oz)

The foundation: I tried the Fairly Medium shade along my jawline while at Sephora, and I thought it would be a perfect match.  However, I've used it a few times and I'm going to go back today and see if I can do a darker shade.  It's not terribly light, but I know as soon as spring comes I'll get darker and I'll need to rely on bronzer.  

As far as the formula goes, I love it.  Keep in mind my skin is normal-dry and sensitive, and for foundation I look for something light-medium coverage, mainly to cover up mild redness and acne spots.  This evens out my skin tone perfectly and gives my skin a nice "glow", especially after using the Mineral Veil.  It doesn't cover up my acne spots enough, which is why I use the concealer brush to dab it over them.  The one downside is that this doesn't last all day- you'd need a fuller coverage concealer if you care more about the staying power. 

Prime Time: The only primer-type of product I've tried is the Monistat Anti-Chafing gel.  I've never really felt the need for a primer, though, so I didn't use it very much.  I've been using Prime Time since I got this set, and so far I like it.  I'm kind of basing this off of what my sister has told me her problems are with Bare Minerals- that it doesn't last all day on her oilier skin.  I think using Prime Time would really benefit her over me.  I have no problems with the foundation wearing all day on me since I've been using this.  However, it doesn't make my skin feel oily/greasy which I like.

Original Mineral Veil: I've heard so many raves about this product, so I was so interested in trying this! It's translucent, but it does give your skin a little extra "something", and nicely finishes the foundation.  The only thing I worry about is it leaving the smallest white cast- I usually wear some kind of bronzer highlighter on top of it so I haven't noticed it yet, but I also haven't really taken pictures or anything since using it.

Warmth All-Over Face Color: Dislike.  It's definitely too dark for my skin tone (I'm sorry I forgot to swatch this, I can do that if anyone would like!).  It's hard to buff in and makes my cheeks look reddish, which is one of the primary reasons I wear face makeup at all.  This is probably because it's too dark for me, but anyway, it will probably go in the trash or to my friend who's darker.  

Overall: I really like Bare Minerals and I'm so happy my sister got it for me to try.  It's perfect for someone like me, who wants something lightweight and easy.  This set is really nice because it allows you to try out all their top-selling products- unfortunately for me, the Warmth color will go unused, but I think anyone darker will find it works better (I'm around a MAC NC25 for reference).  Otherwise, I love the foundation, Prime Time, and Mineral Veil, as well as the brushes (even though they aren't as soft as my EcoTools).  They work really well and are SO convenient to travel with!

Whew!  I was going to include a comparison to my Maybelline Mineral Power powder foundation too, but seeing how long this is I'll save it for another post.  

Hope this is helpful for any of you considering Bare Minerals!