BareMinerals Mineral Foundation Original Vs Bare Pro Performance Wear Foundation

Contains affiliate links. All opinions are honest, as always.

Do you like BareMinerals Mineral Foundation? Their Original Mineral Foundation was the first ‘green’ foundation I found that I really liked. I’ve also tried the Matte version (too chalky for me) and their now-discontinued Ready Foundation (which I didn’t like at all). When I heard about their latest launch: Bare Pro Performance Wear Powder Foundation, I really wanted to love it. Read on to see how they compare.

Described as giving a “full coverage” “flawless matte finish”, Bare Pro Performance Wear Powder Foundation has “12 hour wear”. It’s “formulated with 90% vitamins and minerals.” It claims to be cake-free, and that it won’t clog pores or cause breakouts.

BareMinerals Original SPF15 Foundation Form

In case you aren’t familiar with the legendary BareMinerals Original SPF15 Foundation, it’s a powder that magically buffs into your skin with a kabuki brush. It gives the coverage of a liquid foundation but looks so much more natural. The powder itself is natural too, made up of mineral pigments. It is a little messy to apply, so I was hoping the Bare Pro Foundation would be the solution.

BareMinerals Bare Pro Foundation Form

BareMinerals Bare Pro Mineral Foundation

The new kid on the block is a replacement for the Ready compact foundation, which I found really heavy, and cloggy. You are supposed to apply it with a special brush, but I had already forked out for the one for the Ready foundation so I just used that. This foundation comes in a better range of shades than Ready, and is much lighter in texture. I found it to be more like a normal pressed powder in consistency, and is certainly less messy than the loose foundation.

BareMinerals Original SPF15 Foundation Coverage

I have put on one layer of BareMinerals Original Foundation here (I wear the shade ‘Fairly Light’). Hopefully you can see that it covers fairly well, with a slightly radiant finish.

BareMinerals Original Mineral Foundation with one layer

Here I am wearing two laters and you can see that it covers better. The the pesky blue vein under my eye is still obvious, unfortunately.

BareMinerals Original Mineral Foundation with two layers

BareMinerals Bare Pro Foundation Coverage

In these photos I’m wearing one layer of BareMinerals Bare Pro Foundation, and it doesn’t cover as well. It has more of a matte finish, but on the whole I prefer the more radiant finish of the original. (I wear the shade ‘Dawn 02’)

A second layer gives better coverage, but honestly I don’t think it covers enough, particularly as it claims to give full coverage.

Comparing BareMinerals Mineral Foundation and Bare Pro Performance Wear Coverage

So just to make it clearer, here are the two layer pictures next to each other. I realise the lighting is better on the left, but the coverage is definitely better, and more flattering.

My spots and scars are still visible, as is that blue vein. I also find the Pro gets a bit cloggy when you add an extra layer, which isn’t ideal. It is better at covering enlarged pores, gives a nice smooth finish, and it lasts well too.

Normally, I wear a BareMinerals BB Primer before I add foundation, and I would really recommend this step. The primer makes both types of foundation last longer, and stops skin getting too shiny as well as giving light coverage. I’m not wearing that in the photos above though, so you can see the effect of the foundations on their own. Now I much prefer Madara CC Cream as a primer and to give a light coverage.