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Shout out to the SWIRL TAP BUFF crew circa early to mid 2000s! That’d be me. I’ll literally never forget getting my first bareMinerals starter kit box from some TV-infomercial my senior year of college. I got the medium set – included two shades of foundation, a bronzer, mineral veil and two brushes (a buffing brush for the foundation, and a fluffier brush for the bronzer and mineral veil). FFW about 11 years later and here we are, still obsessed with bareMinerals! They’re a bit more sophisticated now, with a ton more options – like this recently expanded bareMinerals Gen Nude line. The brand released four (skin tone complementing) eye palettes, six eyeliners, eight (skin tone complementing/antiaging) eye primers, two new mascaras and a few new eye brushes – WHEW! Ready to see what I think about this massive launch?
The Gen Nude line started with their blushes and lip lacquers… both in neutral/natural shades built to suit all different skin tones.
Since then, the Gen Nude line now carries all of these expanded products to basically complete your full face using your choice of a bareMinerals complexion product.
You can get a Gen Nude blush, lip color, eye primer, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara and use some new bareMinerals brushes to totally nail the mineral-makeup-amplified look!
If you’re more of a visual learner and want to just hear my full thoughts and see a live demo using all of the new products, you can find that on my YouTube channel here:
If you’re not into video (or reading this at work (haha) or while trying to put your kid to sleep), then let’s get into the traditional written review…
So I watched this introduction on QVC (HSN? I forget… one of those) and think the models did NOT do these incredible palettes justice.
…especially if you’re using these with the Gen Nude Primers (but more to come on those in a minute).
The palettes consist of six mixed-finish shades to take you from natural to dramatic and include a tutorial card with three looks for each.
They are infused with mineral ingredients and are easy to blend, and crease free.
bareMinerals recommends ROSE for the fairest skin, NEUTRAL for medium, COPPER for tan and LATTE for deep… however, you can totally use any of them!
My favorites are Neutral, Copper and Latte just because Rose is very cool-toned on me (of course).
These palettes are buttery and creamy but not so much so that your eye makeup looks muddy.
I think they’re a MUST BUY at $29/each and include everything the everyday woman needs – because we know she definitely doesn’t need a palette of 12 shades where only 3 colors get love.
Plus the packaging is gorgeous.
bareMinerals released two new mascaras to their collection – Love Every Lash (a micro defining formula) and Lashtopia (a mega volume formula).
Both of these retail for $19 and promise smudge/flake free results free of parabens, sulfates, talc, fragrance, etc and are safe for contact lens wearers.
Personally, I’m 99% of the time a drugstore mascara girl, so although my preference is Lashtopia out of these two, I’d rather save the cash and get a second (or third) palette 😉
These are the eyeliners for those who think eyeliner looks to obvious on them – they like a very subtle, super skinny line and/or they tight line regularly.
One Fine Line Micro Liners are as thin as your standard micro fine eyebrow pencils. VERY THIN! They’re long wearing and waterproof and come in a great variety of shades.
Since I’m not a fan of tightlining (I just can’t do it without thinking I’m blinding myself), I’m not a huge fan of these. Plus, the mechanics of the pencil annoy me. Once you turn up the product, you cannot turn it back down so turn carefully!
They retail for $18/each.
These whipped/mousse/cream primers deserve a moment of respect and silence.
They’re uh.mazing.
These primers are multi-tasking, matte shadow/primer hybrids that contain antioxidants and create the perfect just-tacky-enough texture for shadow to glide across without skipping.
I keep raving about these (and they’re going to be in my upcoming monthy favorites) for a reason.
They come in a wonderful variety of colors to suit a plethora of skin tones and have worked wonderfully on both the bareMinerals palettes and all of my other eyeshadows.
These – along with the palettes – are a must. try. now.
Retail for $20/each. Get them here.
Lastly, are three new eyebrushes.
I’m usually a bit hit/miss on bareMinerals brushes because of the natural (sometimes scratchy) hairs.
But these are notably different and improved and I used all three (and ONLY these three) to do my eye makeup in the video (above).
The shade and diffuse eye brush is perfect for those that just want a light wash of color all over their lids or to buff out overapplied shades.
The expert shadow and liner brush is a dual-sided brush that applies full color to the lid and lines the lash line. I also like using the flat side for concealer.
The blender brush is the perfect shape for semi-hooded/hooded creases or if you really want to concentrate color into the outer corner/crease. It’s so soft and has the perfect taper to the end.
Brushes are typically an investment since you can have them for years if you take good care of them (wash them weekly), so these range from $18-28/each. Go feel them in stores… they’re awesome. Or just trust me and get yourself a couple!
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That wraps up this review. I need to graciously thank the PR team for bareMinerals for being so kind and sending me all of this collection complimentary for testing purposes.
Overall, this collection is a huge hit and I hope next time you’re in Sephora or Ulta (I would shop Ulta for bareMinerals… they tend to have more options), go check out these new products. You won’t be disappointed – you have my word!
-Steffanie
