First Look| BareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream

When the BareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream ($29) was first released, I poopoo'ed at the thought of it. What's another tinted moisturizer gonna do for me? I didn't see too many first impressions of the products, but I heard that it pilled and balled up on the face. Yuck...

Not to mention the marketing scheme was absolutely ridiculous. "It's a BB, CC, TM, magic elixir, apothecary brew, healing chakra crystal...all in one!!!" Erm, I'll pass.

But after trying it out for just a few days, I can already tell that I'll be making a dent in this 1.18 oz bottle. For some reason, I was imagining the packaging to be much bigger since it's shaped like a tube of body lotion, lulz.

Look at this deceptive ass packaging. 

Here are the claims. 

And ingredients....

I use Buttercream 03. It seems to match NC20-25. Ginger is my next step up at NC25-30 and I may purchase it for the summer since I've already fallen in love with the formula! The color match isn't "sheer", so you'll want to pick something with the correct undertone and close to your depth. 

Here's a shot in direct sunlight for comparison. It's very similar in tone and depth to the other foundations in my rotation at the moment. From left to right: MAC F&B in C2, Buxom Show Some Skin Foundation in Dim the Light, Smashbox CC Cream in Light, BM Gel Cream in Buttercream, ByTerry Cover Expert in 7, Bourjois HM Serum in 53.

The coverage is sheer to light. It does a great job of covering up my minor redness and faint broken capillaries, but dark red and angry zits need concealer. It also kindly covers some of the darkness underneath my eyes. I've never needed more than one pea sized glop for the entire face...half of a pinky nail is actually more than enough. I don't like layering it (there's foundation for coverage!) but it doesn't ball up.

It's *very* moisturizing. I don't have to use a moisturizer underneath, but I like using it on top of my Biore sunscreen for added sun protection. I think if I tried to layer this over a thick cream it would have the tendency to slip and break up on my face. However, used on its own or over a light moisturizer it holds on very well and lasts through an entire work day, with minimal fading by 6 hours and mostly gone by 10. It doesn't accentuate dry spots or flakes too badly, and it seems to glide over my laugh lines and fine lines. However, I don't see it hiding my pores (they're not accentuated, just still slightly obvious.)

Here is the exact same face in two slightly different lighting conditions: warm indoor lighting and indirect sunlight. 

Blurred pores and no visible redness, nice. 

In the direct sunlight shot, you can see that my skin  has a great luminescence that can't be recreated with powder products, no matter how hard I try. It helps that I've set this down with MAC MSFN in Light and used Maybelline Master Concealer in Light right under the eyes and on top of my bug bite. 

Overall, what makes me prize it above other base products is how kind it is to very dry skin. It's obviously not made for combo to oily skin, but normal skinned gals can set it with a powder and expect good wear time out of it. It's also very natural looking and hard to detect as makeup on the skin. It's a one step wonder (as advertised, waddayaknow) that evens out minor redness and slight spottiness: perfect for the beach, saving time in the morning, and very good skin days.

If you have doubts about the product's "worth" compared to its price, I think you should really question your existence as a dry skinned person, ask yourself if you need coverage, and then shell out the moolah! (P.S., $29 per 1.18 fl oz works out to be $24.60 per standard 1 fl oz.)

xo Be