Application
Like most mineral powder foundations, it comes in a little pot, with a screw top lid, and a few holes in the plastic shield to shake the product out.
I have to admit I did find trying to shake some product out incredibly tiring and frustrating as only a tiny amount would ever come out each time (I imagine because the holes are too small), so you were continuously trying to shake more product out. I think the reason this happens is because Bloom suggests using a small amount of product first, and then building up. This is understandable, but still very annoying (especially if getting ready for work whilst short of time) and most will agree the amount that shakes out is ridiculously too low.
Once you’ve shaken out the product on to the lid, you then swirl into it with your mineral powder brush, tap off the excess, and then finally apply by buffing onto your skin.
Verdict
When I first applied this it was morning and I didn’t notice any difference on my skin – at the time I felt the shade was just a touch too dark and only noticed any effects of the foundation because my face appeared a little darker. I had applied several layers of the powder but felt I wasn’t gaining much coverage. I suppose I could see some evening out, but it certainly wasn’t by no standard to my normal foundations.
However, by evening I casually looked in the mirror and noticed my skin had a pretty illuminated glow to it, and actually looked like I had a (albeit slight) light base on. The colour match looked better (although still a tad too dark), and I was actually quite pleased with the result! This lead me to believe that this is actually a better night time foundation as the subtle illuminating shimmer in it that is usually washed out in daytime is brought out in evening light, and you can see how it softtly provides a delicate veil over your skin.
(you can see where I added a highlighter concealer pen under my lip! Oh dear..)
As I mentioned, having dry skin, a pure powder product is not normally what the doctor orders! But I have to say, my skin didn’t feel tight or uncomfortable the whole day/night I was wearing it. And it felt so soft and smooth; I do remember stroking my face and being alarmed by how great it still felt (considering I’m wearng a powder product only!). If you have very oily skin, this might not be mattifying enough, but I do believe that most skins will be fine with this, providing you don’t want a powdery matte finish (but also not dewy).
I’d say it lasted pretty long on, as I did apply it in the morning and then noticed it looking great in the evening, and that was without any touch ups. But I would suggest maybe concealing first before applying for day time – in order to get some coverage where you need it. All in all, I think my first experience of a mineral foundation has been positive – and I’m sure that’s largely due to this particular mineral foundation more than mineral foundations in general (you gotta remember, I’m a dry skinned gal!). But I will stress that it hasn’t left me a convert, I still prefer my liquid foundations by far. Great for if you have good skin already or don’t like wearing make-up, but really not enough for most of us!
