I tried the bareMinerals Loose Powder again after 15 years
15 years ago, I delved into the world of foundations. “What, you were only 6 years old?” I hear you scream, no reader I was nearly 17 and trying to mattify the uncontrollable oiliness that came with raging teenage hormones. It started with Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse, and the less said about that, the better.
Then I saved up for my first big girl makeup purchase (and a foundation I still wear to this day) MAC Studio Fix Fluid, which was my special, ‘going out out’ foundation reserved only for nights at clubs named Friction and The Venue. But there was a gap in my product arsenal for something that I could wear every day. I needed something that would give me a bit of coverage and sop up all my shine like a piece of white bread in olive oil. That’s when I found Bareminerals Original Loose Powder. When I moved into the beauty-sphere in my 20s the divisive powder was soon replaced with every foundation drop that launched over the last ten years. And now, over 25 years since it first launched on QVC, the brand has relaunched its original bestseller so I wanted to put it to the test again to see if it earns a place in my bulging makeup bag now, 15 years on from my first foray with it.
Now my beauty acumen is so much more developed than my 17-year-old self I went into this test with the same trepidation I reserved for my German oral exam. I was nervös. I vowed to try it and wear it out. What if it was chalkier than I remembered?
To counteract how matte I knew it was, I primed with the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter. This gave me a lovely healthy base glow before swirling on the powder. I used a tapered powder brush to distribute the powder. Luckily, I use a loose powder every day as my setting weapon, but if you don’t, be careful to not get it everywhere when you open it.
I was shocked by how well the colour matched (I use shade warm 27) I don’t know why I had flashbacks of it leaving a chalkier finish back in the day. Whether that’s true or a blurred Facebook memory, now it blurred into my skin perfectly. I used a small eye blending brush to get into the crevices around my nose and my eyes which I don’t normally need to specifically do for my liquid foundations.
I was so impressed that I still looked my normal shade despite having a medium-coverage mineral powder foundation on. But I also immediately realised that my taste in everyday base makeup had changed in the past 15 years. I now prefer no foundation and just concealer or something super sheer and radiant, set with a touch of loose powder around my T-zone. I felt very ‘done’ for a day where the only people who were going to see me were my editor on Zoom and the lady who works in my local coffee shop but for an office day, it worked a treat.
One great thing was that I didn’t have to powder. At all. Perhaps yes if I was doing the assault course that is the central line in summer, I would need to powder but using this on a casual, breezy day, come evening I only had a slight gleam of oil peep through. Good job too because powdering on top of powder is a recipe for cake, and, um not the tasty kind. If shine elimination was needed it would have to be a job for blotting papers for sure.
Layering different textures on top of the powder was fine but I preferred topping it with other powder products as I felt like they sat better and lasted longer. Overall, I was genuinely so impressed harking back to one of my first-ever foundations and you can see why it’s still a bestselling for the brand over 25 years on. I do think there are other formulas I’m more likely to reach for nowadays (*cough* Chantecaille Future Skin Foundation for my sins *cough*) But I am not opposed to giving this a place in my makeup bag once again for matte coverage slay.
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