bareMinerals BareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation SPF 20 Versus The Ordinary Serum Foundation

bareMinerals BareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation SPF 20 Versus The Ordinary Serum Foundation

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Titanium Dioxide 11%

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Coconut Alkanes

Silica

Stearalkonium Hectorite

Lecithin

Glycerin

Maltodextrin

Coco-Caprylate/Caprate

Jojoba Esters

Propylene Carbonate

Tocopheryl Acetate

Soil Minerals/Syringa Vulgaris Leaf Cell Culture Extract

Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate

Sodium Hyaluronate

Phenoxyethanol

Mica

Iron Oxides

Titanium Dioxide 11%, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Coconut Alkanes, Silica, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Lecithin, Glycerin, Maltodextrin, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Jojoba Esters, Propylene Carbonate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Soil Minerals/Syringa Vulgaris Leaf Cell Culture Extract, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, Mica, Iron Oxides

Cyclopentasiloxane

Water

Caprylyl Methicone

Trimethylsiloxysilicate

PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone

Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer

Cetyl Diglyceryl Tris(Trimethylsiloxy)Silylethyl Dimethicone

Dipropylene Glycol

Tocopherol

Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate

Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate

Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate

Disteardimonium Hectorite

Hectorite

Sodium Chloride

Hexyl Laurate

Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer

PEG-10 Dimethicone

Stearic Acid

Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer

Alumina

Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate

Chlorphenesin

CI 77891

Tin Oxide

Aluminum Hydroxide

CI 77163

Magnesium Stearate

Triethoxycaprylylsilane

Cyclopentasiloxane, Water, Caprylyl Methicone, Coconut Alkanes, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Cetyl Diglyceryl Tris(Trimethylsiloxy)Silylethyl Dimethicone, Dipropylene Glycol, Tocopherol, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Hectorite, Sodium Chloride, Hexyl Laurate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Alumina, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, CI 77891, Iron Oxides, Tin Oxide, Aluminum Hydroxide, CI 77163, Mica, Magnesium Stearate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Coco-Caprylate/Caprate is a lightweight ester created from coconut oil fatty acids, caprylic acid, and capric acid.

It is an emollient that helps soften skin and reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL). What sets it apart from heavier emollients is its ultralight, non-greasy feel.

Once applied, this ingredient dries down quickly and leaves a dry, silky finish behind. This also helps improve spreadability and texture.

This ingredient has an excellent safety-record and is non-irritating.

Typical concentrations for cosmetics range from 0.5-62%.

Research on Malassezia growth found no growth on fatty acid esters with chain lengths shorter than 12 carbons (it prefers C11-24).

Since Coco-Caprylate/Caprate is built on C8 and C10 fatty acids, it is out of the range that Malassezia metabolizes, and therefore safe for fungal acne.

Coconut Alkanes is a lightweight, plant-derived emollient and solvent made from the fatty acids of coconut oil.

It spreads easily and adds a soft, silky, non-greasy slip, then evaporates rather than sinking into skin. Due to this behavior, it's prized as a natural and renewable replacement for silicones.

Typical use concentrations can go anywhere up to 20%.

The CIR Expert Panel has reviewed coconut oil and its hydrogenated derivatives and found them to be safe as used in cosmetics. It's a low-irritating and well-tolerated ingredient with no notable sensitization concerns.

Because it's a pure saturated hydrocarbon and not a free fatty acid or ester in the C11-24 range that Malassezia can feed on, it doesn't provide the lipids for Malassezia to feed on. This ingredient is generally regarded as safe for fungal acne.

Mica is a naturally occurring mineral used to add shimmer and color in cosmetics. It can also help improve the texture of a product or give it an opaque, white/silver color.

Serecite is the name for very fine but ragged grains of mica.

This ingredient is often coated with metal oxides like titanium dioxide. Trace amounts of heavy metals may be found in mica, but these metals are not harmful in our personal products.

Mica has been used since prehistoric times throughout the world. Ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, Roman, Aztec, and Chinese civilizations have used mica.

Phenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).

It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.

On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.

Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).

You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.

Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.

Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.

Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.

This ingredient is a combination of red, black, and yellow iron oxide pigments. This combination of colors is usually found in foundation, because it results in a "skin" color.

The EU typically uses CI numbers for colorants when applicable, such as CI 77489. In the US, iron oxides are regulated as color additives and "iron oxides" is the most commonly used name in US cosmetic practice.

A 2021 paper looked at skincare formulations containing iron oxides and found that they reduced transmission of blue light when measured optically. In simple terms, the pigment particles helped block or scatter part of the visible light spectrum in lab testing and the authors suggest this could translate into better protection against blue-light-related skin effects.

There is also clinical and experimental research showing that tinted products containing iron oxides can reduce visible light-induced pigmentation:

Please note, whether a product reduces visible or blue light depends on things like:

In the EU's CosIng database, iron oxides are only listed as a colorant. CosIng groups ingredients by their main cosmetic role, such as colorant, preservative, or UV filter.

Though studies say iron oxides can "attenuate blue light", they're describing an optical property and not an officially recognized cosmetic function.

So CosIng isn’t contradicting the research. It’s just classifying iron oxides by what they officially are: pigments that add color.

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