haha, jk. i don’t wake up in the morning all fresh and dewy with perfectly blemish-free skin. and i rarely leave the house makeup-free. like most people, my morning routine usually involves a bit of primping and preening before i show my face to the world. no, i don’t wear a whole lot of makeup on most days. a pop of bold lip color or a little flick of eyeliner are usually my weapon of choice, but i’m not impervious to pimples and other little speckles and spots and discolorations. if i’m not careful with what i use to even it out, then i’m almost certain to end up clogging my pores and repeating the cycle. for me, that elusive even skin tone with blemish-free skin requires a pretty delicate balance to achieve. so when bareMinerals asked me if i’d be interested in trying out their new bareSkin pure brightening serum foundation, i jumped at the chance.

a couple of weeks back, they sent me a few different shades to try (which i’ve been happily sporting in my past several outfit posts). the formula is definitely unique. it’s a mineral foundation, so it’s free of oils, silicones, parabens, and fragrance as you would expect with bareMinerals products, but it’s in a liquid formulation that goes on like a super lightweight, velvety serum. part of the secret to the application is to use the perfecting face brush. shake the bottle vigorously to make sure the pigment mixes evenly, then place two drops into the little reservoir for sheer coverage, four or more drops for something more substantial. when you first apply, you’ll be a little surprised because you can barely feel it on your skin, but if you layer it on, it can provide a completely full-coverage base. to give you an idea of the difference, i’m not wearing any foundation in the photo in front of the mirror below, but the image above is with six drops for complete coverage.

i know i don’t talk a whole lot about beauty on my blog, but i kinda consider myself to be a bit of a secret beauty junky. i am constantly on the hunt for the perfect [insert beauty product here] and can’t seem to pass by a sephora without stopping in to try a few new products. i read a lot about the ingredients and efficacy of said ingredients, and i try to take a scientific approach to what i’m putting on my skin. i avoid fragrance when i can, and i go for products that are practical and affordable. i may not be a pro, but the new bareSkin passed my test. i’ve been wearing it every day since i got it in the mail and have really enjoyed the weightless yet full coverage, and i appreciate that it’s hypoallergenic and made with the bare minimum of ingredients. it’s worked out well enough for my normal to combination skin that i can safely say that i’m a convert.