bareminerals

Bareminerals Complexion Kit With House Of Fraser (Plus offer!)

Bareminerals are one of my favourite brands, ever since I first tried one of their face powders a few years ago and fell in love. So when House of Fraser got in touch with me offering me the chance to review the Bareminerals Complexion Kit*, I jumped at the opportunity.
This kit is priced at £39 and consists of 'Prime Time' Primer, Original Foundation Powder, Matte Foundation Powder, Warming face powder, Mineral Veil Illuminating Finishing Powder, Flawless Application Brush and keepsake Makeup Bag. So for £39, I already thought it was quite impressive. But do the products match up?

Starting with the primer, I immediately loved how smooth and silky it left my skin feeling upon applying. It made my usual foundation an absolute dream to apply and help minimise my pores, especially on my nose which I find is my most problematic area. But would I buy this primer again? This retails at £22 for 30ml usually (which just shows how amazing this complexion kit is at only £39 for the lot!) and while it is absolutely perfect for me, I don't think I'd buy it on it's own. I have alternative primers I've found in the past that are just as good, but half the price. This is a shame as I genuinely can't fault this product at all, but I just couldn't justify paying that much when I don't need to. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone wondering if it's any good though!

bareminerals complexion kit foundation powder primer

Next up, the foundation powders, in original and matte. To be honest, I was cynical about these to start with. I'm a girl who loves a high coverage foundation, that'll cover and mask every imperfection and stay on for hours on end (my fave is Double Wear!). So will a powder foundation be able to match up for me? In short, no. But don't let that immediately put you off these beauties. While these foundations in powder form just don't offer the coverage I'm after; they do have the most beautiful formula, meaning they apply a light and even coverage. This means they are perfect for anyone who doesn't like the feel of liquid foundation, or doesn't need much coverage. To be honest, they'd be perfect for me when I'm away on a summer holiday. I can't do a full face of makeup when I'm away sunning myself, but I could certainly wear these powders and feel instantly prettier.
I then tried the all over face warming powder and found this was a little too bronzed for me. You can choose to use just a tiny amount, and it gives a beautiful all over glow. However for someone as pale as me, it didn't look quite right. I did try this on a friend who is a little darker than me (aka someone who isn't transparent!) and it sat glowing on her skin for that perfect sun kissed look.
Finally, one of my favourite products of the bunch; the illuminating mineral veil finishing powder. Oh my god it's gorgeous. Sorry for lack of a better explanation there. This subtle pot of beauty gives an amazing highlighted glow, with just a small amount swept across the cheekbones. I felt like an angel. The powder is so super soft, you can't even feel it and yet you come away with the perfect finish on top of your foundation. This retails at £21 at House of Fraser, and I can honestly say I already know I'll be replacing this baby in a heartbeat! Also, I found that the face brush provided in this kit was perfect for use with this mineral veil powder.

So overall; the bargain of this kit is amazing. Not every product in there was for me; the bronzer was just not good for my skin tone. However, I would use the foundation powders again; although I would use them over the top of my usual liquid foundation, rather than my base. Then there's the primer and mineral veil powder, which both really impressed me and I'd happily recommend to others.
Now the good bit! House of Fraser have an amazing offer on RIGHT NOW until the 22nd September, which means you can get £10 off one of your favourite products when you buy one of theirs; pretty awesome right?

There are loads of fab products included in this offer too! Think certain Naked palettes...
What are you waiting for? Let me know if you take advantage of this amazing offer!

*Items provided for review, all views are my own.

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Light Me Up

A lot of people associate Monday mornings with moans, plenty of coffee or absolute dread. Now while I can relate to this a little sometimes, I mostly associate Monday's with really tackling dull, tired skin/eyes. I call it my 'double highlighter' day. Basically over the weekend I like to make the most of every single free hour I have, and this means a lot less sleep for me. I do it every time, and I can't say I even regret it much. I'm getting shit done, and it feels better than having an extra few hours sleep (just about..!). But come Monday morning 5:45am, the dull skin and tired eyes are really on a roll. That's where the light in my life comes in. After trying many products over time, I've come to love the following three more than any other for banishing the Monday blues.

We have Benefit High Beam, MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skin Finish, and BareMinerals Stroke of Light Eye Brightener. My trio of light!
I use a little of the BareMinerals Eye Brightener before and after my foundation, to really tackle my dark circles. I then apply small dots of High Beam on my cheek bones, blend it in with gentle circular motions, and finally sweep over with the MAC powder. The finished result is always one to be proud of. A beautiful, bright glow hiding any traces of the weekend behind me.
You'd never even know.
Do you have any holy grail products to get you through the week? Particularly Mondays?

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BareMinerals Bareskin Foundation

BareMinerals are a brand I personally love, and their products almost always leave me super happy :)

So knowing this, I was thrilled last week when I seen on their Facebook they were giving away free samples of their new Brightening Serum Foundation 'Bareskin'. I jumped at the chance, and gave in my details to receive a sample. I also made my boyfriend do this, so that I could try two different shades, cheeky I know!

I opted for a light, porcelain and a slightly warmer natural shade. The only frustrating thing is that these samples do not have the individual names on them, so to purchase one of these specific ones I'll have to visit one of their counters with the sample bottle and ask. But that's not the end of the world really is it?

Each little sample contains 3ml, and while this doesn't seem much I must say it goes a long way. I this photograph below, you can see I only have a very small amount on my brush. This did my whole face, and neck too!

I can't believe how buildable this foundation is. A little really does go a long way. It felt so soft and silky on my skin, and I can really see a great improvement under my eyes where I suffer from dark circles. The fluid and sleek application helped this product apply evenly over my skin, and I felt I got a really good coverage from this, without it seeming 'cakey'.

I'm really glad I got to try the two samples, because I was able to see which shade suited my skin better. I decided that the slightly darker one was too much for my pale skin (see above), and decided to go with the more porcelain tone. I was so impressed by this foundation, it's definitely going on my list of products to buy in the next few weeks. I was going to make Estee Lauder Double Wear my next foundation to buy, but I'll probably get this first! Wonderful stuff.

Its SPF 20 (brilliant) and retails for £26 on their website. I'm so skint at the moment, but this definitely seems worth it, even to me! That's must tell you how much it's impressed me.

I felt beautiful with this on my skin.

Have you guys given this a try/will you?