Bare Minerals · Be Beautiful Ready Face and Eye Palette

I’ve only recently begun exploring the Bare Minerals range, and if the skincare products I’ve tried to date have impressed me (more on that coming in future posts), this palette was an unexpected — and totally pleasant — surprise. The Be Beautiful Ready™ Face and Eye Palette holds pretty much everything you’ll need for a completed look (barring foundation & mascara) and what makes it even more unique? Everything has a matte texture, but not the flat light-absorbing kind; think more radiant-matte and you’ll get a better idea.

Be Beautiful Ready™ face and Eye Palette (CAN $58.00/value of $162.00) | This all-matte limited edition palette features products for both face and eyes in a travel friendly compact. The case is made of a rigid plastic that closely mimics metal and has an oversized mirror on the inner lid, along with a secure snap closure.

The shades for the face are all well sized and spaced apart enough that they’re easy to get to with a variety of brushes. The blushes all boast an 8-hour buildable colour along with skin-nourishing properties, and while the Finishing Powder appears somewhat yellow leaning in the pan, it applies fairly sheerly — just don’t be thrown by its chalky texture, since it can still be easily buffed into the skin for an nice setting touch.

The four neutral-leaning eyeshadows all have intense saturation and an almost creamy texture, with pigment-packed colour that’s stated to last up to 12 hours; that said, I still recommend applying primer first for the best wear (especially if you have oily lids like I do).

Presence – parchment (actually this is an eyeshadow shade, but can double as a matte highlighter as well)
Promise – palest mauve/white
Finishing Powder – neutral flesh tone
Golden Gate Matte – dusky rose
Inner Beauty – ballerina pink
Faux Tan Matte – soft mid-sheer tan

Graceful – dirty lavender
Exhale – taupe
Beautiful – dusty rose
Confident – deepest aubergine

I love shimmer, I really do … but matte shades are my sweet spot. For starters, I find that as I’ve gotten older, matte is much more flattering for me to wear, although I won’t say no to a little pop of shine here and there. The blushes in this palette apply sheerer than what’s seen in the pan — not an issue since the colour can easily be deepened. The pigmentation and effortless blendability of the eyeshadows makes them all winners, not to mention how flattering they’ll be on a wide range of skin tones. Final verdict? An excellent value palette and definitely worth looking into (or picking up as a Christmas gift, perhaps?)

Available at Sephora