The Beauty Aisle: Going Bare

Someone asked me about buying Bare Minerals for the first time.

I have used Bare Minerals it for a long time and love the foundation, mineral veil, blush, eye shadow, and brushes. The foundation is probably my favorite Bare Minerals product and I think that it's very fairly priced. $26 is not that much to pay for foundation that lasts 4-6 months.

There are several places to purchase Bare Minerals: Ulta, Sephora, Nordstrom, Bare Escentuals Boutique, etc. and the good thing about these stores is that they all come with helpful (and oftentimes annoying) sales associates who will show you what you need to know and make sure you find the proper shades/textures for you. Also, if you get home and don't like what you purchased, you won't need to worry because all of these stores have customer-friendly return/exchange policies (be sure to hold on to your receipt!).

I typically purchase my Bare Minerals products from Ulta or Nordstrom.

However, if I were buying Bare Minerals for the first time ever I'd start with a kit, mainly because it's a great deal.

This kit from Bare Escentuals is only $59.99, which is amazing because you seriously get over $200 in product and brushes. Bare Minerals brushes are my favorite but they can get expensive (the four brushes offered here would total $81 if you purchased them separately). 

The kit is offered in six different color options (I, of course, purchased fair) and you get two shades of foundation to try. I actually liked the two shades from my original kit and still use both them depending on how tan I am at different times of the year (in fall, winter, and spring I wear fair... and in summer I wear fairly light).

I think that a kit is also a good choice because it lets you try smaller (medium size) versions of the foundations and mineral veil. That way you can decide if you even like Bare Minerals. Once you've used your kit products and realized, like I did, that you can't even imagine life without mineral makeup, you can branch out and try different options, like Matte Foundation or Shimmering Mineral Veil. The kit is just a really good starting point.   

So, my suggestion for first time Bare Minerals users is: buy a kit, try it out, decide if you even like it, and then go to a store (Ulta is my preference) and let a sales associate show you what else Bare Minerals offers (especially in blushes, other foundation textures, and mineral veil options). Sound good?