Most new beauty launches leave me a bit “meh”, because I tend to stick pretty carefully to my tried and true favourites, or my skin has a major freakout. This time around though, it’s one of my all-time-faves that’s launching in Hong Kong – bareMinerals, and I’m so happy I’m finally able to use my adored foundation with gay abandon instead of eeking out every last piece of dust until it’s all gone and I can persuade some US-bound person to bring me some back. Bare Minerals used to be available in the short-lived Sephora in Mong Kok of course (why Mong Kok, Sephora? Why?), but that required forward-planning too, and supplies were often extremely limited in each shade, so you could trek all the way over there and then only be able to bring one pot home with you.
So in short, I’m super-happy that bareMinerals is back in HK, and they launched last week with a big flash event in Repulse Bay with tons of celebs!
If you haven’t tried out bareMinerals, here’s why I love it…
If you have dry, sensitive, or breakout-prone skin, you’ll find that it doesn’t clog your pores as much as regular foundation, doesn’t settle into creases, and instead sits on top of your skin like a veil.
Secondly, it takes about 5 seconds to apply, as you just sweep it on with a brush (using their swirl, tap, buff method), and you don’t need to worry about blending it, checking your jaw and hairline for telltale orangey streaks, or having too heavy a hand. If you find you’ve accidentally put too much on and are looking a bit powdery, it’s a super-easy fix. Just rub your face with your hands! Note, that’s probably not the professional makeup artist solution, but ho hum.
Thirdly, it stands up to Hong Kong humidity. As it’s a powder not a liquid, you won’t get that oily sheen which is hard to avoid in summer months. That’s not to say you won’t need to reapply, but you can use in combination with blotting papers to keep a matte look.
Lastly, I think it actually looks pretty good. It is certainly not a full-coverage-type foundation, but personally I prefer this as I like to see, you know, actual skin through makeup. I use bareMinerals foundation after applying YSL Touche Eclat for under-eye circles (sometimes a LOT), and a bit of Bobbi Brown concealer dabbed on blemishes and feel like no one would think I’m caked in makeup.
So that’s enough raving – where can you try out bareMinerals in Hong Kong?
bareMinerals Counter, Harvey Nichols, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty
Faces, Ocean Terminal, 3 – 27 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
bareMinerals Original SPF15 Foundation is HK250. We recommend also picking up the bareMinerals Face Brushes at HK120-215.