bareMinerals BarePRO Foundation Review for Combo Skin

In the next month, I’m seriously putting my ear to the ground, trying to test out long-wear products that I may want to wear on my wedding day. When bareMinerals sent me their new BarePRO Liquid Foundation, I thought it might be the one. Lightweight, full coverage and 24 hour wear? Sign me up.

The bareMinerals BarePRO foundation comes in a whopping 30 shades, so you’re bound to find something that matches. The formula is oil free, noncomedogenic and blends mineral pigments with lipids naturally found in skin. I was hoping that this foundation would make my skin look smooth, even, and natural.

I picked Warm Natural and it was a very close match, blending into my skin tone pretty seamlessly. I first tested BarePRO using a silicone sponge, which has been my go-to tool for liquid foundation. However, I felt like this applied the foundation a little too heavily in this way. I tried again with a brush, and it still felt heavy. Since this was supposed to be lightweight, I thought perhaps I still had some learning curve to overcome to make this foundation as comfortable as it claimed to be.

In my first few trial runs with this foundation, I found it to feel tight and very… present on the face. Maybe not necessarily heavy, but I could feel it as my face moved with expressions and speaking. Even with a hydrating primer underneath, it felt a little restrictive. I decided then to try it out alone, without primer, using a damp beautyblender for application.

As soon as I started applying the foundation with the damp beautyblender, I knew this was the way to go. It helped apply it in a thinner, even and buildable layer so I could conceal my problem areas without drowning my entire face in product. At first it felt great, but as it set I did start to feel tightness around my nose and chin, where it started to look a little powdery while settling into fine lines.

Throughout the day, the tightness let up and the powdery look seemed to melt into my skin for a more natural look. Hours in, my problem areas stayed really well covered without a hint of peeking through.

As I became super active toward the end of the day, I joined some friends in a game of ultimate frisbee that lasted a couple hours. We were running, jumping, and literally diving into the grass. At the end of the day, after 10 hours of wear without primer, I still had pretty great coverage. However, I did see some breaking up around the areas I felt tight before— my nose and chin area— and it was pretty visible up close. However, it had only faded slightly over my most prominent blemishes. Other dark spots and uneven skin tone remained concealed and looking good.

My final impressions of the bareMinerals BarePRO foundation are generally okay, though I’m not sure it’s made for combo skin. It generally made my skin feel dry and while I got great coverage, it broke up in my t-zone and looked very unblended. As I said, I’ve tried this with a hydrating primer underneath which didn’t seem to alleviate that tight feeling and made it feel too heavy. I almost prefer how it wears without primer at all, and will most likely continue to wear it that way.

Does it make the cut for my big day? No, purely for the discomfort and the way it breaks up unevenly. However, it does look really great on camera and still has a pretty great wear time… so if I have a special event that I don’t have to get ready for hours and hours prior, I’d consider this a good option.

Have you tried the new bareMinerals BarePRO foundation? What are your thoughts?