Bare Minerals Foundation, Brush and Primer

I have always suffered with oily, spot-prone skin on my face. My skin tone is also quite uneven and I have massive pores. Because of this I like to have quite a full coverage foundation with staying power. I usually use liquid foundation, such as Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation, but I find this really hard to remove and it clogs up my skin if I use it every day. 

So I thought I'd try the Bare Minerals range. I've used mineral powder foundations before and generally liked them, but stopped using them because they were expensive/went through my Estee Lauder liquid stage. But because Bare Minerals is meant to be so much better for your skin, and the shopping channel made it look amazing, I splashed out and bought three products:

Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Fairly Light

A Kabuki Brush

And a Prime Time Oil Control Primer

Now to start with the Primer, they say that 'less is more' with the application, but either way I was not impressed. It did not stop the shine at all! I'm still not convinced as to whether any primer actually does anything at all.

For the foundation: I had to apply quite a lot to get enough coverage and there was a lot of buffing involved. I have to say, that it is worth spending a bit of extra time over as this foundation makes my skin look FLAWLESS. I can't deny it gives it a super smooth, glowing and even tone. (As you can see from the photos below - sorry for the stupid face!)

HOWEVER...this foundation comes off very easily! As soon as I touch my face I get covered in foundation! Also it does not control shine well at all - even though the woman at the counter told me I wouldn't need to reapply it - you definitely do. There is also danger of the foundation sinking into your pores throughout the day instead of hiding them, which happened to me sometimes.

Also the woman told me that this foundation would last 6 months (I thought this was hard to believe), and it in fact only lasted 2 months.

I'd say that the kabuki brush is a good investment buy - it is soft and you can use it for powder and bronzer/blusher too. I think it will last a long time.

Overall this foundation has left me confused...it is better for your skin than others and it did seem like my complexion was improving after using it regularly. And it made my skin look so radiant and smooth. Yet the lack of oil control and amount that comes off so easily is a pain. I've since moved back to a liquid foundation but can't help feeling like I miss bare minerals and want the perfect powder finish back!

Have you used this foundation and are there any other mineral powder foundations you can recommend for me that have more staying power?

Ingrid x