bareMinerals Ready Bronzer - review

My experience of bronzing powders involves sparkly nasty compacts.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  Who amongst you wants their face to look like an orange disco ball?  I have found that most bronzers I've tried appeared brash and cheap looking (making me appear brash and cheap looking, and sparkly, in the process).  I received a sample of the bareMinerals Ready Bronzer in the shade The Skinny Dip (the lightest of three shades available) and dubiously gave it a whirl. 

bareMinerals Ready Bronzer in The Skinny Dip is described as "light tan"

In both the compact and on your brush, you can clearly see that the particles are incredibly fine - bourne out by how easy this stuff is to either sheer-out, blend, or build-up.  The powder is beautifully pressed and appears impeccably smooth and flawless.  There is a very subtle sheen but (fortunately for me) this is a sheen and doesn't show up on the skin as something "disco ball sparkly". 

The Skinny Dip swatch; built-up colour, in natural light
(although I appreciate that it looks more like Chinese Burn in this photo)

If you have a darker complexion then either of the other shades, The High Dive, or the darkest shade The Deep End, might suit you better. 

Due to the fact that it is more or less a (mostly) matte finish on the skin, and as I'm not really and all-over-the-face-bronzed type of girl, and also because I didn't already have one, I used this as a contour powder.  After loading up my contouring brush with the bronzer I created divine depth under my cheekbones and added a quick swish around the other "usual" areas (the jawline, the hairline along the forehead, the temples, the sides of my nose and along my collar bones to really make my features pop - in a sculpted way, not an explosive way).  What I love about this is that it is sheer but blendable and buildable.  This is exactly what I want as I'm a freckly missus, I like my freckles and it's important to me that they're visible through my make-up. You won't find any freckle-hiding products in my stash!

Not only do I like the sheer-bronzer-for-non-tangoed-ladies/drag queens nature of this product but also that in true bareMinerals style it is also beneficial to wear it.  Here's what bareMinerals have to say about the perks:  "bareMinerals READY^TM Bronzer buffs on rich golden bronze color for a beautifully even, buildable glow.  Powered by our proprietary SeaNutritive Mineral^TM Complex with antioxidants and cold-pressed carrot oil, this silky long-wearing formula delivers incredible anti-aging benefits.  Solid mineral color lasts for up to 8 hours".  It has a bunch of great mineral (mica) and natural ingredients (grape seed oil, carrot root extract, rapeseed oil etc), it isn't packed with bulking agents (like talc).  However it does also contain iron and titanium dioxide and bismuth oxychloride, albeit in small quantities, so be aware of this as the latter, in particular, can cause sensitive skin to prickle like mad.

For me, personally, it doesn't bother my skin and it is definitely something that I would buy when my sample runs out because, simply put, it is streets ahead of any other bronzers I've tried before.  It feels beautifully light and silky on the skin, lasts all day and doesn't look overly matte and dry on areas with fine lines, as so many other pressed powders do.  It is gorgeously subtle.  The downside is that it costs €29 but now that I'm addicted to looking like Bernini himself has just chiseled me I will be forking out.  To check out tutorial videos and to get more information, look here.

Until next time, go for bronze!

Emer x