I had been curious about bareMinerals for some time, but had been debating for awhile on whether to believe the infomercials on how great it works. I have pretty sensitive skin and break out with most foundations, so I have been looking for a formula specifically for 
sensitive skin that would also provide good coverage. After asking around, several of my friends use bareMinerals and recommended it to me, so I decided to give it a try. Last weekend, I went to a local Bare Escentuals shop and a helpful sales clerk assisted me in finding the right shade, and then applied it to half my face after spraying on primer, showing me the along the way the difference it made in my skin tone. After only the foundation application, I have to admit that I didn’t see much difference in what I had previously been using. However, after applying the mineral veil and warmth powders, my skin really did look better and healthier. I was really pleased with the results, so she finished my whole face and I ended up purchasing the starter kit, which is $60 and includes two shades of foundation, mineral veil and warmth and all the brushes you need. I also received a full sized lip gloss as a gift with purchase!
Upon returning home, about an hour or so after having had the makeup applied, my facial skin started to tingle, and then burn and turn red. I hurriedly washed off the makeup, but attributed the stinging sensation to the primer that was applied before the mineral foundation. My skin continued to tingle all night, but felt a bit better the next day, so I decided to try the foundation again, without any primer. Again, with home application, I found that the foundation itself provided about the same amount of coverage as other mineral foundations, but after applying the mineral veil, my skin looked healthy and even. Unfortunately, again within the hour, my skin started to tingle and sting and I had to wash off the makeup. At this point, I had determined that it was the makeup and not the primer.
How could something “so pure, you can sleep in it” cause such a bad reaction? After doing some research, I learned that bareMinerals is made of only five ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, mica, iron oxide and bismuth oxychloride. Bismuth oxychloride is a known skin irritant, but in small amounts, generally doesn’t affect most people. In fact, the makeup I had been previously using included bismuth oxychloride in its ingredients, but at the end of the ingredients list. With only five ingredients, a much higher percentage of bismuth oxychloride is used. Bismuth oxychloride is used to give a shimmery, silky effect, and to help the powder adhere to the skin. Most people don’t have any reaction to bismuth oxychloride, but for the few who do, it can be quite painful. It has been a week since I used bareMinerals and even though I only had it on my face for about an hour, my face is still a bit sensitive, although it is finally lessening.
Luckily, Bare Escentuals has a 30 day return policy, so I took the starter kit back to the store and explained what happened. The clerk was very apologetic and told me about their brand new product, Matte, which just debuted last week. She assured me that there was no bismuth oxychloride in Matte and gave me a sizable sample to take home to try. I tried the Matte and wore it an entire day with no side effects, but I think I will try it out a bit longer before deciding whether to purchase a full-sized foundation or not.
Despite my unfortunate experience with bareMinerals, I am still a big proponent of mineral makeup. If you are interested in trying bareMinerals in the original or matte formulas, I would recommend visiting a local store and asking for a sample to try first, whether you have sensitive skin or not. It is not only people who have sensitive skin that can have allergic reactions to bismuth oxychloride.
Alternatively, there are also a number of bismuth-free mineral makeup products available on the market. Here’s just a few:
Jane Iredale
Glominerals
Aromaleigh
Afterglow Cosmetics
Mineral Silk
Avon