BareMinerals VS. Sheer Cover Makeup

It seems like everyone had jumped on the mineral foundation bandwagon lately. Cover Girl has recently hitched a ride and introduced a line of mineral based products along with L'Oreal. For the woman who wants to avoid the drugstore wall of mass produced cosmestics, there are arguably the two largest mineral foundation brands - bareMinerals and Sheer Cover. These two brands are all over magazines, home shopping networks, and infomercials. One thing they definitely have in common is a fairly expensive price. I recently had the opportunity to try the 'starter kits' of both bareMinerals and Sheer Cover, and based on personal experience I have compared the two products using a number of criteria that I believe the average woman encounters regularly.

1. Coverage - I am very fair so the whole world can see every blemish and every blush. I look for a foundation that not only covers up my red tones and blemishes, but also doesn't make me look like I'm wearing a gallon of caked on foundation. One of the most beneficial part of mineral foundations in general is its ability to cover and feel light at the same time. Both kits include two shades of foundation so you can mix and experiment, which is very nice. Sheer Cover includes two shades of a cream concealer meant to be used before the foundation to cover up especially bad spots. The concealer is like many other conealers I've used, so it wasn't Earth-shattering. The concealer lays under the mineral foundation well, and it feels pretty light. bareMinerals does not include a separate concealer, and it doesn't need one. The included concealer brush is used in the foundation itself and covers red spots well. Then you use the foundation brush and sweep the foundation all over. The idea of sweeping the same product all over your face is comforting as there is no risk of blending a shade of concealer that does not mix with a different shade of foundation. Both products covered up the redness on my face, but the concealer included with Sheer Cover is too much like cheaper products and could possibly not blend. bareMinerals wins this round.