Skin Care Gifted by bare Minerals
I am WAY overdue on writing this post! bareMinerals kindly sent me my first-ever PR gift late last year (THANK YOU, bareMinerals!!) while John and I were in the middle of doing work on our new home prior to moving in. I started incorporating the products into my skin care routine but with all the house work, then moving and settling in (plus I’m having trouble using the computer much due to ulnar nerve issues in my right arm), it’s taken me forever to sit down and actually review these products. But here we are, finally!
What bareMinerals Sent
Prior to receiving this package I hadn’t used many bareMinerals products, and frankly wasn’t even aware that they had skin care in addition to makeup. I do absolutely love their Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 30. I get compliments on my skin when I wear it—that’s when you know it’s good!
Here’s a quick refresher on what bareMinerals gifted me.
- Skinlongevity Vital Power Eye Gel Cream
- Skinlongevity Vital Power Sleeping Gel Cream
- Skinlongevity Vital Power Infusion Serum
- Skinlongevity Vital Power Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30
The collection is gorgeously packaged in glass with dark rose gold lids. The packaging feels quite luxurious, especially for the mid-range price point (the products range from $32 to $58). I always appreciate glass packaging because it’s recyclable; with my butterfingers I just have to be extra careful about not dropping the products. 😛
The skin care line is cruelty-free, paraben-free, and phthalate-free, and sulfate-free. All things I’m trying to get better about looking for in my beauty products! The products all contain mineral-rich Long Life Herb Extract, which is said to help reduce visible signs of aging and damage, improve skin suppleness and resiliency, and aid with stress recovery.
The Eye Gel Cream
Let’s start with the Skinlongevity Vital Power Eye Gel Cream ($32 retail). The cream comes in a generous 0.5 oz jar, which will last me forever. This product has a gel cream texture exactly as advertised; scroll down to see a texture shot. It feels light, which is great because the last thing I want is a heavy eye cream that will give me milia (it’s happened with past products). I appreciate that there’s no discernible scent in this product because I don’t want stinky stuff around my sensitive eye area.
Key ingredient benefits, from bareMinerals’ website:
- Long Life herb helps to improve skin’s resiliency and suppleness.
- California poppy’s antioxidants help defend against environmental stressors.
- Lempuyang ginger extract helps brighten the appearance of skin.
I started out using this eye gel cream in the morning and at night, but I found that it doesn’t mix well with concealer. At least, it doesn’t mix well with Glossier Stretch Concealer or the Tatcha Pearl eye treatment—the two undereye makeup products I use most often. So I switched back to using Farmacy Dew It All eye cream in the morning and now I only use the bareMinerals eye cream at night.
I don’t have particularly problematic undereyes so I haven’t seen any visible changes in that area after using this eye cream for a few months, but it feels nice going on and absorbs fairly quickly so I’ll continue to use it. I’m not super wowed by the eye cream, but it certainly isn’t hurting. The only down side I’ve seen is it not mixing well with concealer. Would I buy this product on my own? Probably not, but I’m very glad I had the chance to try it.
The Sleeping Gel Cream
Next is the bareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Sleeping Gel Cream ($38 retail). This is another generous jar containing 1.7 oz of product. The texture of the sleeping gel cream is thicker than the eye gel cream—you can see a comparison texture shot down below. This product does contain fragrance and I actually really like the scent; to me it smells herbal and citrusy. Fragrance in skin care can be aggravating to the senses (or the skin), but I find this one very pleasant and rather soothing.
Key ingredient benefits, per bareMinerals:
- Hyaluronic acid for hydration
- Long Life herb, a unique, mineral-rich superfood from Okinawa, Japan, one of the world’s Blue Zones
- California poppy with antioxidants to help defend against environmental stressors
- Lempuyang ginger extract, which helps brighten the appearance of skin
I’ve only used this product at night because, duh, it’s a sleeping gel cream. It feels very soothing going on and sinks into the skin fairly well. Because of the thick gel cream texture I sometimes feel like it doesn’t absorb quite as well as other products, but I may just be using too much of it. Over the winter when my skin was extra dry, this product wasn’t hydrating enough for me; I would wake up with my cheeks feeling tight and dry. So I didn’t use this a whole lot in the winter (I used Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream instead). Now that the weather is warming up I’m back to using this gel cream at night and it’s pretty sufficient in terms of hydration. I can’t say that I’ve seen much brightening from using this product, but I’ve only recently begun using it regularly at night.
Overall I enjoy using this sleeping gel cream but can really only use it during the warmer months. I’d consider buying it as a summertime night moisturizer, but not for the winter. Oily-skinned folks might find it sufficient during those cold winter months.
The Serum
The product I was most excited to try was the bareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Infusion Serum (retail $58 for 1.7 oz // $38 for 1 oz). This serum comes in a pump container and has a milky texture. The fragrance is the same as the sleeping gel cream, which, as I mentioned, I rather like.
Key ingredient benefits, per bareMinerals:
- Skinlongevity serum is designed to boost your skin and “jumpstart” its innate behavior in order to behave in a younger, healthier way
- Lempuyang ginger extract to brighten the skin and improves discoloration
- California poppy extract, which provides antioxidant defense against environmental stressors and makes your skin look younger, longer
I’ve been using two pumps of this serum twice daily pretty regularly since the beginning of this year and will run out of it soon. Which I’m sad about, because I really like it! The milky serum absorbs well and doesn’t leave a tacky finish. It also layers well with other skin care products. Score! I feel like my skin looks more radiant when I use this serum consistently as part of my AM and PM skin care routines. I haven’t seen any lightening of dark spots, but my skin tone overall has been looking really nice. I’m most likely going to buy this serum during the next Sephora VIB event!
The Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30
Last but not least is bareMinerals Vital Power Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 (retail $36). I’m always up for trying a mineral SPF! Mineral sunscreens are also referred to as physical sunscreens; they contain titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, which sit on top of the skin and deflect and scatter the sun’s rays. This particular SPF has the same fragrance as the sleeping gel cream and the serum, so it’s nice that the products don’t have competing scents.
Key ingredient benefits, per bareMinerals:
- Green Coffee Bean and Peony Extract help to awaken and visibly brighten tired or dull-looking skin
- Replenishes essential moisture and protects, to help skin look healthier and younger, longer
- Mineral-based broad spectrum SPF 30 protection from UVA and UVB rays
While billed as a moisturizer with SPF, I don’t find this product hydrating enough to use as a moisturizer in the morning because my skin is dry. The moisturizer might be enough hydration for those with oily skin. I do appreciate that this SPF layers well over the other skin care products I use in the AM. There’s nothing worse than pilling! The SPF is quite thick, though, and takes a bit of rubbing to ensure absorption. This SPF doesn’t leave much of a white cast on my fair skin, but I could see it leaving a white cast on darker skin tones. I can’t say for sure, though.
Overall, this SPF is okay, but I’d be more excited about it if it contained a higher SPF. I currently use SPF 40 daily, but SPF 50 would be ideal. I also prefer SPF with a thinner consistency. So I will use this product up once I finish my currently-open bottle of Elta MD SPF 40, but I wouldn’t buy it on my own. I’d consider it if they bumped the SPF to 50, though.
The Textures
I promised to show you the eye gel cream and sleeping gel cream textures…so here they are!
Final Thoughts
I was (and still am) incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to try this lovely bareMinerals Skinlongevity collection courtesy of the brand. The Vital Power Infusion Serum was a winner for me! And I certainly like the rest of the products enough to use them until the last drop.
Again, thank you so much to bareMinerals for sending me this lovely skin care package. As I’ve been browsing the brand’s website looking up info about these products, I’ve been seeing other items I’d like to try, such as their ClayMates mask duos, the new Complexion Rescue Hydrating Foundation Stick SPF 25, and the BarePro 16-Hour Full Coverage Concealer. I’m curious if one of the brand’s concealers would play better with the eye gel cream.
Have you tried anything from the bareMinerals Skinlongevity collection? Or any other bareMinerals skin care? Let me know in the comments!
**The brand gifted me the products in this post for consideration.**
