BareMinerals was the first brand of cosmetics that I began using when I was a senior in High School.  I got my Mom to order me a kit on QVC, and from that day, I have always been a true lover of bareMinerals.  They may not be the most sought after brand, or the most hyped on Youtube, but they really have some great products!  

This month, BareMinerals launched the MADE-2-FIT iPhone App where you can get a custom-blended, skin loving foundation made specifically for you!  In order to use the App at home you need to have an iPhone 5s (or greater) without the case or alternatively you could go to any bareminerals boutique and get scanned by a representative.

Since I love their foundations and never have any problems with breakouts or sensitivity issues, I wanted to try this out,  even though the launch e-mail I received didn't give too much information about the finish or coverage.  Who wouldn't want to find the perfect color match in a foundation?    That is why I just went for it.

I will take you through my experience of the App RIGHT HERE.

I washed my face and didn't apply anything to it.  I opened the App, created an account, and watched the mini tutorial on how to scan.  After that, I hit "start a new scan" where I was instructed to have 5 pieces of white stacked paper which I would "tap" with my back camera in order to calibrate the system.  The instructions says to use indoor lighting and not direct sunlight.  I chose a room in my home where I had the most natural looking light and  I didn't turn on any artificial lights.  

Once calibrated, I was instructed to "tap" gently on my inner wrist, the middle of my forehead, both cheeks and both sides of my jawline. I made sure that the camera was making full contact with my skin and I tried to keep the same distance and pace.  The automated voice was pleasant and gave great directions.  Since I didn't know what I was really doing, the voice gave me positive feedback and told me when to move on to the next area of my face.  Once all the areas were scanned, an image of the bottle appeared on the screen with my name on it.  

How cute and personal is that?!

The overall experience was quick and easy, but I felt very nervous when I was only shown a picture of the bottle.  I didn't feel certain that I was color matched perfectly.  So I did what every sane person would do-I did about 15 new scans and in different areas of my home.  Each time the scan was completed, the foundation bottle appeared to be very close to the first scan that I had done.  I did one final scan in the original area of my home and then decided it seemed good enough.

I purchased the foundation at the steep price of $49 US dollars for 1 fl oz.  I just hope they have a good return policy, if it doesn't match me perfectly.  I am having some doubts about it being my match because I have a lot of freckles on my face.  What if it scans and matches my color to those freckles and not my actual skin tone?  I am not having the highest of hopes, but I will be writing a follow up post after I receive my foundation and test it out.

If I could offer a few ideas on how to improve the system, these are the things I wish the App did for me and their potential buyers:

1) Scan my neck

2) Give me an idea of a color range i.e.: Very Fair, Fair, Light, Medium, Medium-Deep, Deep.

3) Tell me my undertone.

4) Offer a color ID number like Sephora's color matching system does.

5) Provide foundation matches to other bare minerals foundations.  For example, I know I am fairly light in the Original Foundation so if my scan came out as "You might want to try Medium Beige in our Original Foundation" I would surely want to scan again.

If you are a bareMinerals fan like myself, let me know if you tried this App and if you have any tips to share on the experience.

You should subscribe to my blog or social media so you will get notified on upcoming posts and for the review of the bareMinerals "Made-2-Fit" Fresh Faced Liquid Foundation!

-Kate

*This post is not sponsored. My opinions expressed are my own.  I like to help out other MUA by giving them an honest opinion and to share my personal experiences with products. Thank you.
*Photo credit goes to bareMinerals "M2F App.