Ok, so even though I’m pretty much hooked on Bare Minerals makeup, I figured I would give Sheer Cover a try and see how it compared.
So instead of ordering online or over the phone I decided to get the starter kit from my local Bed Bath and Beyond. Lucky for me I was mailed a special discount price from Guthy Renker for being a ProActiv customer, which Bed Bath and Beyond price matched for me at $9.95.
I figured the best way for me to try it was buying the kit from the store so I didn’t end up getting automatic shipments, which as my husband can attest, I am horrible about remembering to cancel those types of things.
What came in the box:
Three .05oz Mineral foundation jars of three different shades for skin tones light to medium
One .03 oz container of Bronzing Tan Minerals
One .05 oz container Duo Concealer with colors Light and Medium
One Mineral Makeup application brush
One triangular makeup application sponge
Ok, so the first thing I want to talk about is the application brush. I am slightly disappointed that it isn’t exactly a soft as I had hoped. Not to mention its kind of small compared to some of my other makeup brushes. It seems like it provides less coverage since it is so small, so it takes a little more time to apply the foundation. I also feel like it doesn’t provide as even of coverage as I had hoped.
So before I decided to dive in head first I needed to figure out which shade was best for my skin tone.
Buff- when tested on my wrist and also my first use on my face it looked very yellow. It looked like the foundation powder definitely “stuck” more to where I applied the concealer. It looked patchy and I could clearly see uneven coverage. I had this problem when testing out all the shades
Bisque- this was even more so yellow and didn’t match my skin tone very well, so I did not use this after testing it on my wrist.
Latte- this shade was a slightly more orange shade of yellow. The first time I had tried the Buff, and for the sake of testing results, even though I thought this shade was too dark or orange for me, I tried it anyways. I applied the concealer first, used my triangular application sponge to even it out, and then applied the foundation. Even though I used the application sponge, I still saw the same issue I had with the Buff. Because the concealer is a cream, the powder seemed to apply stronger where I had applied it( the concealer), so again, it looked like I had spots of patchy uneven coverage. So even after applying the foundation, once more I needed to use the triangular sponge to even it out. I was slightly surprised that the Latte foundation shade wasn’t nearly as orange as it appeared on my wrist. I kind of expected to look like an Oompa Loompa, but that wasn’t the case. It did not exactly match my skin tone since I’m so pale, but it didn’t look too terrible, it actually made me look tanner. So I guess my second use of this product turned out better than my first.
The first time I used this product, I had more blemishes than I did today, and as far as the concealer goes, I didn’t really feel like it concealed a whole lot.
Overall, I think I am still going to continue to use my Bare Minerals. I feel like they have a wider range of shades meant for any skin tone. I feel like it gives better coverage, their brushes are softer and apply the foundation more evenly, I feel like my skin is softer after applying. That’s another thing I noticed, because the concealer is a cream, it didn’t feel like I had that natural, soft, clean feeling like I usually get after applying my bare minerals. My face feels more oily and makeup caked.
I should probably also note that since I switched from liquid foundation to my bare minerals several years ago my skin is much clearer and much more healthy. So I was pretty hesitant to even try to use the concealer for fear that it might react poorly with my skin. I did not have any break outs, in case you were wondering.
Another thing I just now noticed is that just upon touching my face, my fingertips are covered with makeup. So if it’s going to come off that easily, I can definitely say I will not continue using it.
Overall I think it’s an ok product, but it’s not for me. I don’t feel like any of their shades truly match my skin tone so it is not something I will buy again. And although I did not take advantage of their online starter kit, which I’m sure comes with more brushes and better brushes, I was not impressed with the brush I got therefore I don’t have high hopes for their others. Also, another dislike I had was how much I truly hate those icky makeup application sponges. They get beyond disgusting and dirty, covered in makeup, they get all brown looking, oily, and they fall apart.
Ohh, and the biggest dislike I had, was that in buying this starter kit, I paid for three different shades of foundation, none of which really worked for me, but even still, if one of them had worked, it kind of feels like a waste since I couldn’t even use the other two foundations. I mean, really?! I paid for three foundations, and I can only use one of them?