I was a big fan of the BareMinerals Original Foundation SPF 15 all throughout college years mainly due to the easiness of it and the color 'Golden Medium' was a great match for my skin. However, I started to notice my skin change from oily/combo to normal/combo and the foundation was not blending in as well as it use to. With a sunscreen on, it started to look a bit flakey, but not necessarily dry. I stopped using mineral foundation and moved on to tinted moisturizers for awhile, then I heard about Tarte's Amazonian Clay Airbrush Foundation. It could have been overhyped, as many products are when it just comes out, but I was intrigued by the color range. It seemed like they paid close attention to the different skin undertones, which is far better than having multiple shades with the same undertone. I picked up light-medium neutral which reminds me of the softer version of BareMinerals' 'Golden Meidum'. I previously had Laura Mercier's Mineral Powder in color 'Rich Vanilla', but I was waiting for the summer to come around because the color was a bit too dark for my winter skin. These two foundations are both very nice, but there are pros and cons to each and I think one is better than the other.
First of all, the color range. As previously mentioned, the Tarte's Airbrush foundation definitely fits my skintone better due to the neutral-yellow undertones. The problem I had with the Laura Mercier's powder foundation was mainly due to the color selection. It has more of a reddish, beige tone in general and the 'Classic Beige' was too gray and 'Rich Vanilla' was slightly too tanned on my skin. So in terms of colors, I definitely prefer Tarte's.
In terms of coverage, it probably depends on how much you want to layer and how the mineral foundation blends in with your natural skin. I found Tarte's to be a bit sensitive to my skin condition on day to day basis, because if it was slightly too dry, it would show up on my pores. Also, when I put certain sunscreens underneath, it would create a bit of a problem for some reason. It's a very light coverage foundation, which can be buildable, but it's a bit tricky to work with in my opinion. Laura Mercier, on the other hand, has the perfect coverage I need which is light-medium. I want to even out my skintone, cover some light spots, but are okay letting my darker scars show. So in terms of coverage and texture, Laura Mercier is a win for me.
They both seem to last a decent amount, but my liquid foundations and tinted moisturizers tend to last longer in general. I would definitely keep a touch up powder pact or a concealer in my bag throughout the day. Laura Mercier has a more dewey-look, but I wouldn't say Tarte's finish is matte either. They're both in between, very natural and skin-like.
Another thing to mention is the brush. For Tarte's airbrush foundation, the Airbuki Bomboo Powder Foundation Brush that's sold separately, is almost a must. I personally don't like that fact that I would have to buy another brush along with this already pricey foundation, but the brush itself was extremely dense and worked very well with the foundation. I also like the fact that it's fairly small which is perfect for travels. I used the Real Techniques Buffing brush with it before and it didn't blend into my skin very well. On the other hand, Laura Mercier works wonderfully with this brush. This foundation is more flexible in the tools you use which is a plus.
Overall, I think I would re-purchase Laura Mercier over Tarte's even though they're both very good quality mineral foundations. The easier use of the mineral foundation and the fact that it contains SPF is a better option for me, but it really depends on the individual. I would definitely test it out in Sephora before purchasing. I'm looking forward to more mineral foundation releases in the future!
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