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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Not Another Naked?! bareMinerals 7 Ways To Bare Eyecolor Set

I like neutral eyeshadows. Beiges, browns and taupes are what I wear 90% of the time. But even I started growing tired of the ubiqitous 'Naked' bandwagon; I'm aware it makes sense in the marketing way of things, however I'd much rather cosmetic companies came up with something new instead of regurgitating spin-offs for what - 3 years now? Come on, we need some excitement here!
So as much I wasn't impressed with the theme of this mineral eyeshadow set, I was grateful to receive it as a birthday gift from a very thoughtful friend who knew my taste in eyeshadow shades. The bareMinerals 7 Ways To Bare Eyecolor Set ($38 for 7 x 0.28 g / 0.01 Oz. ea) is a seven piece loose mineral shadow set in a variety of universal neutral shades for a complete eye look.
The set comes in a sturdy pearly yellow box with a pull-out drawer housing seven little pots of eyeshadow wedged in a plastic insert; I'm not sure what I'm going to reuse the box for quite yet, but it's too pretty to toss! The drawback of this beautiful packaging is that it's definitely too bulky to actually store my eyeshadows in; well, let's face it, mineral eyeshadows are certainly not the easiest to store conveniently anyway...
7 Ways To Bare comes with the following mini Eyecolor shades (these are smaller than full size):

  • Pearl Sateen Eyecolor (described as vanilla cream), a warm off-white with a satin finish
  • Nude Beach Matte Eyecolor (described as matte warm sand), a matte light pink beige with grey undertones
  • Chic Nude Eyecolor (described as veiled nude), a light peach with a satin finish
  • Silk Stockings Eyecolor (described as peachy nude), a light tan with soft gold shimmer, reads as satin
  • Pamper Eyecolor (described as copper canyon), a metallic copper with gold shimmer
  • In the Nude Eyecolor (described as subtle bronze smolder), a slightly warm dark matte brown
  • Spiced Fig Liner Shadow (described as rich fig brown), a matte black brown with bronze shimmer


  • Close-ups left to right in the same order as listed above
    The eyeshadows have a smooth, creamy feel in the pot and swatch well on bare (unprimed) skin. I would say most of the eyeshadows included in the set are not the most pigmented shadows I've ever worked with, with the exception of the metallic copper Pamper shade; my guess based on this one and another bareMinerals eyecolor I've tried, a light shimmery taupe Nude Beach (reviewed and swatched here), is that the intensely shimmery/metallic shades from bareMinerals are probably the most pigmented, as is the case with many brands as well. Don't get me wrong though - these are definitely pigmented enough to show up on the eye without difficulty, and they blend without a fault.
    L-R: Pearl Sateen, Nude Beach Matte, Chic Nude, Silk Stockings
    L-R: Pamper, In The Nude, Spiced Fig
    I think the shade selection should suit both warm and cool skintones in the light to medium end of spectrum; I feel that the lightest 4 shades of the set may not work well as all over lid shades on deeper skintones, and there's probably little use in having a set with four highlighting eyeshadows. The set pulls slightly warm with the inclusion of shades like Silk Stockings and Pamper, but it also works on my cool skintone. In the look below, I used Silk Stockings all over the lid, Pearl Sateen in the inner corner to highlight, In The Nude lightly in the crease and Spiced Fig over a brown pencil eyeliner. The end result is a very subtle daytime definition but with a flattering sheen on the lid, and the added interest of some sparse sparkle in the brown eyeliner. I've used Bourjois Healthy Mix as my foundation, NYC Blushable Creme Stick in Plaza Pink on my cheeks, and Revlon Superlustrous lipgloss in Coral Reef on the lips.
    Overall, I quite like this bareMinerals 7 Ways to Bare set; I'm especially glad to see three lighter lid shades (Nude Beach Matte, Chic Nude, Silk Stockings) that seem a bit more interesting than my standard shimmery beige, taupe or champagne. I'm not too keen on the hassle of applying loose mineral eyeshadows on an everyday basis, but they're fun to play with; I'll probably incorporate one or two shades from the set into my regular pressed eyeshadow arsenal and swap them out from time to time.

    Are you still looking for your perfect neutral eyeshadow palette or are you over the Naked trend? Do you use loose eyeshadows in your everyday routine?

    25 comments:

    1. They're very pretty! I actually quite like the shadows I have from BM, but I don't pull out the loose stuff that often. I think I am very much over the "Naked" trend, though.

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      1. Same here - loose make-up doesn't get much love day to day. I swear Urban Decay should just change their brand's name to Naked, since it's on almost all of their products now!

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    2. I would definitely be more interested in this set than in NAKEDs.
      I didn't appreciate loose eyeshadows because of the rather inconvenience application, but lately I've found these are very useful to work with creme eyeshadow base colors.
      And they are handy blending the harsh edges. I use a lighter shimmery shade many times a week.
      Love the soft coral peachy look you created! :D

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      1. Thanks for the tip Lena, I need to try these over a cream base! I'm glad you like the look :)

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    3. The shades look lovely and you look gorgeous in them!

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    4. Oh, I'm a neutral girl all the way! I love how this set looks... if only they were pressed. I'm terribly messy so I avoid loose powders in general - other than those face powders which allow me to be careless when I apply them. LOL!

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      1. Hahah, I would like to see you Lily being careless with your face powder ;D Man, I don't know how some people can deal with loose eyeshadows for everyday!

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    5. This is beautiful! What a cool idea to bring out all naked pigments! You look great with them aswell :)
      xx Anine

      redlipsandbeautybits.blogspot.com

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    6. LOL I don't own any of the Naked Palettes! I have two neutral palettes now that complement each other and think I'll stop there. These look gorgeous in the their little respective pots and the pictures, along witht the look you've created are gorgeous but I don't think I'd use them much to justify getting even one. Loose kinda scare me! :)

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      1. Wow, I admire your restraint in the face of ever present hype... and also, just two neutral palettes?! Hmmm, maybe bareMinerals should listen and come out with these shades in their pressed READY eyeshadow formula :)

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    7. What I now need after seeing your lovely FOTD is Revlon Coral Reef! Did you layer something under it or is it that pigmented on your lips? I always thought it was much paler. :)

      As for the naked thing, I suppose bareMinerals used the "bare" concept first. But overall as a marketing trend, yes, even I'm bored and I love nakeds and neutrals. Time to move on!

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      1. It's a lovely gloss, evens out perfectly and doesn't sink into lip lines! I might have had some Rimmel Soft Coral underneath (which I don't recommend due to the glitter factor) but Coral Reef is pigmented enough for me to wear it on its own and it pretty much looks the same as in these photos :)

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    8. these looks like good soft neutrals. esp pamper. im a bit scared of loose powder anything and wouldn't trust that these would stay on my lids (though i know they would).
      i guess you just dip your brush in and be done with it just like anything else but i dont like the idea of the potential mess.

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      1. I didn't specify in the post but these come with little sifters (I just popped them out for photos) so they're not terribly messy - as in powder flying everywhere. Well, unless you get too much out of the sifter by storing the pot upside down or something! I get no fallout on the eyes with these though.

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    9. Which one do you think is the best shade?
      xo,
      ~Pauline @Kallony

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      1. In terms of quality, I'd say Pamper swatches the best, but Im not crazy about copper tones on my skin... so maybe Silk Stockings? Hope that helps!

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    10. Hi,
      Do you think these colors will show up on or match my yellow undertones, I am warm but not super warm in terms of skin tone. I love the natural neutral colors!

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      1. Hi Diana,
        I think these should work on a complexion with yellow undertones too. The lightest shades are not crazy pigmented, but you could make them pop more by using a base, or foiling.

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      2. Hi monika,
        I'm curious about what you mean by foiling, is that a specific application technique? I've been reading from various places and I'd like your opinion. Do you think the urban decay naked palette 3 would look okay with my skin tone color or would it clash? I also heard that the lorac unzipped palette might be okay for my yellow undertones but I'm not sure(I'm new to makeup). What do you think would work for me ?
        Thank you

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      3. Hi Diana - foiling is basically applying a dry shadow with a dampened brush; you could use just water or something like MAC Fix Plus. I haven't tried the UD Naked 3 personally but it's very rosey - so if pinks and mauves look good on you, then go for it. I don't have Lorac Unzipped either, but from what I've seen, it's very warm with golds and coppers, so this one would probably work great with your skintone - or you could also go for the Lorac Pro (the first one). If you're just starting out with make-up, I would probably recommend these last two, because pressed eye shadows are easier to use then loose, like the bareMinerals ones. Hope that helps and let me know if you have any more questions!

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    11. Monika,
      I have olive skin tone (I'm Asian). Will the lorac unzipped colors look fine or will it clash against my skin tone? I'm into the girly pretty yet natural eye looks. Is there some fallout with more expensive brands like lorac? I have oily eyelids, will this be problematic even with the use of eye-shadow primer being on?
      Thank you,
      Diana

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      1. Hi Diana,
        I think Lorac Unzipped shades should work nicely on your skintone. As for fallout, I don't personally own that palette but from rave reviews online it seems that these shadows have a really nice formula, and if you use a good eye primer, they should last on your oily lids. My favorite primer for oily eyelids is NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base :)

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    12. Hi Monika,
      How long would a good quality eye-shadow palette last if they aren't used daily? I'm a newbie to makeup and I'm not so sure if I want to splurge so much on a palette. I won't be wearing it on a daily basis more like once in a while and on occasions. Have you tried cheaper eyeshadows like milani and do you like it? What brands do you recommend that are easy to use and have little fall out?
      Thanks,
      Diana

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      1. Hi Diana,
        I'd say an eyeshadow palette should last you a good couple years, probably longer if not used daily. I haven't tried the Milani shadows, but for cheaper/drugstore option, I really like Sleek i-Divine eyeshadow palettes, or the Wet n'Wild trios - they're pretty awesome, creamy, smooth and pigmented, and they don't have a lot of fall out in my experience.

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    13. Hello Monika,
      I have seen the wet n wild color icon palettes with the three eye-shadow colors in store. Have you tried them wet and dry? Did having them wet have more color payoff compared to dry ?
      Thank you ,
      Diana

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