March 18, 2008

Bare Minerals bareDiamond Spring Color Collection Review and FOTD

A few months ago I had purchased the Bare Minerals bareGold Pure Luxury Gold Collection from QVC. The kit came with an Autoship option for those not in the know that simply meant that they’d send me a kit every few months that was similar in style to the bareGold Collection but with a different color selection. In total it’s four kits that I’ll be getting and so far I’ve gotten two which are the bareGold and now the bareDiamond.

bareDiamond for me is a total disappointment. There isn’t anything redeeming in the kit aside from maybe the blush and brushes?!

Where as bareGold had some very lovely golds and browns bareDiamond sports lighter shades for the Spring but the colors are completely off to me.

The kit included:

Diamond Gossamer Powder
Eyeshadow in Clarity
Glimmer in Marquise
Liner Shadow in Bronze Leaf
Blush in Hint
Mineral Veil
Lipstick in Gelato
Angled Face Brush
Soft Focus Eyeshadow Brush
Eyeliner Brush
Vanity Box

First off the Diamond Gossamer is an absolute disappointment as I already have it from the Bare Escentuals Classic Rock Collection. It’s a fantastic gossamer to have and I absolutely love it but I didn’t need a second pot of this. However, somewhere in the back of my head I knew that one of the kits included a gossamer I already had so no problems I can swap or sell it off!

The eyeshadow in Clarity is a nice enough color I guess but it’s a bit blah for someone that enjoys bold shades. It’s a pale blue, slightly iridescent shade that can be used as a base, highlighter, or all over wash of color. Formula is fantastic as always with Bare Minerals however for some odd reason I had a bit of a difficult time blending this well and the look I created with it today just came out rubbish!

Clarity Eyeshadow

The glimmer in Marquise is equally awful. The color is just blah, blah, blah. It’s a dirty chrome gray mix up that doesn’t do anything for me. Again I had a difficult time blending this for some reason hmmm…I see a pattern developing here!

Marquise Glimmer

The liner shadow in Gold Leaf has some redeeming qualities. It’s a brown bronze with little sparks of gold and purple that are quite lovely however it really left me feeling un-Spring like! Bronze now? It’s Spring!

Gold Leaf Liner

Now you’re supposed to take all three of these, combine them, and come up with some gorgeous Spring look. Um no. Don’t think so.

I created mud with a bit of light blue thrown in for good measure. Actually the effect came out somewhat like the Lavshuca FOTD I did using the Aqua Noble On Palette (Click to view the FOTD).

The general idea is you apply Clarity as a base all over your eye, follow up with Marquise on the lid, and line with Gold Leaf and your finished look equals mud more or less with a bit of blue thrown in! The above FOTD was created using everything in the kit aside from the lipstick. I threw some Jill Stuart gloss on instead of the lippie that was included with the kit if you were curious what was on my lips!

I don’t know who’s bright idea it was to match up browns and beiges with lighter blues but I’m here to tell you it doesn’t WORK! Bloody hell it looks awful! STOP doing palettes and kits with blue and brown it doesn’t work I SAY (at least for me it doesn’t!).

Moving on….

The blush is actually redeemable after all the drama with the shadows and liners in the kit. I sort of liked it. It’s a dusky rose color and although it’s very subdued for me it does create a very natural, elegant look. I actually do like this and it will work well in taming down my wilder looks! Yay! One product that I actually like!

Blush in Hint

The lipstick is another blah for me. The color is rose but it has some peach in it as well! I actually didn’t even bother swiping or using it since it was so unappealing. Another one for the swap/sale bin!

Finally the brushes were pretty good! The brushes are a bit different from the previous set aside from the large Soft Focus Brush. I already have this brush from the previous sets so that’s another for the swap bin! However, the Soft Focus Eyeshadow Brush is very nice. No shedding on this and it’s very soft and works well for washing color onto the entire lid. I tried blending with it but it doesn’t work at that for that task. Overall, a good brush for general color washing but not blending or packing color on. The other brush is a slim liner brush which is also very good. It’s a thin tip brush and it works well with the liner shadow the kit came with! The brushes are different from the bareGold aside from the Soft Focus Brush which is great as I don’t have dupes now.

Overall, the Collection is a bust for me. The colors are way too weird and mixed up to create a good look, many of the items are duplicates I already have, and I just found the shadows and glimmer difficult to blend for some reason or another.

If you’re still lemming this after my poor review you can call QVC direct (this isn’t available online for purchase) and use item number A77475 to order yourself one!

The Muse gives this a big thumbs down for purchase! Waste of money, don’t bother. The good news is if you’re really loving any of this I’ll be putting up a Spring Sale page very soon so most of this will be thrown on that page for sale! Yay!



Click here to read about my first impressions of the bareGold Collection I purchased!

Click here to read about the contents, price, and autoship feature on the bareGold Collection!

Click here
to read about the Bare Escentuals Classic Rock Collection!

Click here
to read the review for the Bare Escentuals Platinum Collection!

15 Comments

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Ping.

    hey babe! the blush colour look so nice! hahha what to do.. first thing i eyed is the blusher ahhaha..

  • Dalenna

    Hey Muse! are these matte? usually i see sparkles on you! you look lovely either way 😀

    *smooch*

  • Anonymous

    I was on AD for the BareGold/Bare Diamonds and I was supposed to get this one around Fafi time but I cancelled it because it sounded so boring and I already have Hint blush. Kelly

  • the Muse

    hey ping!

    Great minds think alike Ping! I kinda sorta like the color myself. It’s about the only item that was nice in the kit 😉

  • the Muse

    hey D!

    They aren’t. It’s actually shimmery and sparkley but they look rubbish on me yuk!

    But thanks for saying so 😉

    *hugs*

  • the Muse

    hiya kelly!

    Good thing you did hun because it stinks!

    I’m really not loving this one at all 😛

    thanks for the comment!

  • Bliss

    Great review, i thought this was good stuff, but was undecided whether to buy it, glad i did not buy it then . The lipcolour looks great on you though.

  • Anonymous

    Just as an FYI..the next kit you’re going to get is going to have the same ol mirror box, just like this one. But in a different color..I think purple maybe. Bare Escentuals has a nasty habit of repeating the same old things like brushes and colors in their “new” collections. You pretty much have to pay for the whole kit n kaboodle to get maybe 2 new items. Blasphemy. Anywho, just thought I’d let ya know if you didn’t already! 😀

  • Marty Pauline

    I agree about the Clarity eyeshadow, it’s really not that versatile on a lot of people. Unfortunately it made your eyes kinda ghoulish. The other Japanese highlighters and pale shadows you have are much better. Maybe you can mix clarity with another shadow, that’s what I end up doing to eyeshadows the are blah in order to save them.

  • the Muse

    hiya Anonymous!

    Thanks for the tip lovie. I may just end up canceling out! It seems a waste 😛

    BE does have a rather nasty habit of rerunning over and over again! Some of this kit was ok but most of it was absolutely garbage!

    Thanks for the tip off 🙂 and the comment!

    Cheers!

  • the Muse

    hiya marty!

    It does indeed do a bit of a ghoulish ghostly thing with my eyes. I think maybe it’s good for an older woman actually as it reflects off the undereye and makes the eye area look brighter!

    I was thinking of mixing it with something, good idea. But I have so many I think I’ll just swap/sell it off 😛

  • ilove

    Hey Muse!
    I have a question.
    You know the starter kit?
    I am thinking of getting it but I wonder, since normally you would apply the blush powder/cream/tint/stain before you put the loose powder as the finishing touch.
    But how would you go about this one?
    I don’t like to use blush powder. I like cheek stains. 😉

  • the Muse

    hiya ilove.

    I highly do not recommend bare minerals as a foundation love.

    However if you’re definately lemming it I guess the best way to do this would apply your stain first, then your mineral foundation.

    I normally apply stain first, then my cream foundation, and I touch up with a bit of blush!

    If I’m doing more of a less complicated look I always apply my stain prior to my foundation 🙂

    So stain first, mineral foundation second!

    Hope this helps!?

  • ilove

    Why not?
    I don’t know if you have done the starter kit review. But it seems pretty nice because if I apply loads of sunscreen on my face i would feel more sticky putting on foundation or cream foundation that would rub off the sunscreen 🙁

    maybe I can try? do they have a tester?
    i will go buy at the airport.

  • the Muse

    hi ilove

    sorry for the delayed reply. been busy trying to catch up on comments.

    Mineral foundations doesn’t work for me at all. You really have to have beautifully smooth skin to pull it off in my opinion. Some folk swear by it and then you have folk like me that hate it with a passion!

    I’ve tried the starter kit and promptly trashed it hehe 😉

    I guess it depends really. Maybe it’ll work for you! for me it was a no go!

    They only have the starter kit as far as sampling and testing goes but maybe try ebay as well as that might be cheaper. Some people really love mineral foundations I just don’t 🙁

    Read some reviews on MUA and QVC before buying and see whatcha think.

    I personally don’t like that much foundation on my face. they advertise it as a light but it feels like a mask to me 🙁

    It’s definately worth testing out though as it might very well work for you!

    good luck lovie!