Guest Review – bareMinerals SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen

Posted by Lipglossiping On April - 26 - 2010

I received this at a press day in the Medium shade which was too dark for me, but a willing guest reviewer came to my rescue!  She’s tried it… and here’s what she has to say about it!

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I’d like to thank Charlotte for allowing me to be her first guest reviewer!  I hope the experience doesn’t scar her for life, and I hope some of you will find this review helpful.

This is my first experience with the Bare Escentuals bareMinerals range.  They have an excellent track record judging by other reviews, so I was excited to get my hands on this product and try it for myself.

What it claims

The literature that accompanies the product states that the natural mineral sunscreen provides the ultimate sun protection without the heavy, greasy finish.  The micronised Titanium Dioxide mineral instantly shields against UVA/AVB rays to help prevent premature skin ageing and sun damage, is weightless, breathable, non-greasy and won’t clog pores.  It contains vitamins, Aloe Vera extract and antioxidants to promote healthier-looking skin.  It increases sun protection when used under or over your bareMinerals SPF15 foundation.


Presentation

The bottom of the bottle is clear to indicate the colour of the product, and in this case I am using the medium skin tones.  There is 4g/0.14 oz of product.

The ingredients list (for those who can make sense of it!): Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Aloe Barbedensis Leaf Extract, Lycium Chinensis (Lycii Berry) Extract, Ranunculus Ficaria Root Extract, Silica.  Iron oxides, Ultramarines, Bismuth Oxychloride.

The orange and white bottle has a pop-off lid which exposes the brush in the top of the bottle.  The bottom of the bottle is turned to extend the brush, and clicks locked ready for use.  To start the flow of the product, invert the bottle and tap downwards onto your skin until the powder appears.  Then, in a circular motion, you buff the product lightly into your skin.  To close, you turn the bottom of the bottle, the brush retreats back into the bottle and it clicks locked.

So what do I think of it?

I must point out at this stage that my skin is in no flush of early youth.  I will be hitting the big four-oh this year and I am dreading it.  My skin has been well used and has what I like to describe as having all the signs of enjoying a full and happy life.  Having lived in South Africa for 20 years and perhaps not being as religious as I should have been with sunscreen in my teens, I have pigmentation marks that I now regret not preventing and am now kicking myself about. My skin tone is an NC25/30 depending on how much sun exposure I’ve had.

I have a combination skin type, very oily T zone and parchment dry cheek areas.  I’ve had various expeditions into the mineral foundation world, some a lot more successful than others.  My main complaint is that some mineral foundations oxidise on my T zone, leaving an appealing orangey caked effect, whilst my poor cheeks are left looking like powdered parchment, regardless of how much moisturiser I applied beforehand.

The brush extending and retracting back into the bottle is a good idea as the bristles are kept neat and are less likely to splay.  The brush is very soft and kind on the skin, not scratchy at all which is a definite requirement if it’s going anywhere near the sensitive eye area.  It’s a good size too, I thought it would be a lot smaller.  The product didn’t need a lot of encouragement to start the flow, but certainly didn’t flood all over the place either.

The powder itself is pleasantly soft and silky, very finely milled and not at all chalky.  I applied it to my cleansed, toned and moisturised face (after allowing enough time for the moisturiser to soak in completely), using a circular buffing motion.

I felt that my pigmentation marks were a lot less noticeable, and that my skin tone was evened out and looked smoother without being chalky.  I asked Dear Husband what his thoughts were, and he said my skin certainly looked a lot softer and smoother compared to without any product.  The powder didn’t settle into the industrial strength concealer I need to cover my dark under eye circles, and my cheeks didn’t look powdery either.  A good result so far.

I applied my usual mineral foundation on top  to see how it would cope and whether I would look like an explosion in a powder factory, but I only needed to apply a light dusting as the bareMinerals had already done quite a good job by itself.  I would be quite happy to use it on its own to be honest.

As your neck and upper chest area has as much exposure to sun damage as your face, this product can be used all over these areas to offer the same level of protection.

During the day, my T zone had started reminding me that it was indeed my cross to bear in life, but I wasn’t left with any orangey slippage.  Touching up during the day was an easy process because the brush and product were all in one and didn’t take up too much space in my make-up bag.

I think this is an ideal holiday product as it is essentially a foundation and SPF30 all in one.  When I go on holiday, I don’t take a liquid foundation as I want something light which lets my skin breathe,  but I do worry that my mineral foundation might not be enough to protect my skin.  Many facial sunscreens are greasy and cause breakouts around my chin, but as this is a powder product I felt for me it was the ideal solution.

At the price (£25) it would be quite a layout for me and would be considerably more than I would usually pay, but is probably worthwhile as your skin has to last you a lifetime and is worth the expense.

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Thanks so much to Ali for guest reviewing for me!  I think she did a fab job (and I’m hugely jealous of her flippin’ perfect teeth and smile!) – More opportunities for guest reviews coming up soon.


Sugarpill Cosmetics Starling Swatch & Review

Posted by Lipglossiping On March - 13 - 2010

Sugarpill’s Starling is a vibrant blue.  A slightly darker than turquoise base with matching sparkle.

It’s surprisingly wearable for me in small doses! Kudos if you’re brave enough to rock a full look with this, it’s too bright for me to wear most days, but I wear a lot of golds and bronze shades and I’m already loving using this foiled as a liner to create a striking balance.  It’s an awesome spring/summer combination.

For comparison purposes, here’s a swatch of Starling and Alice from the Urban Decay AiW Palette.

Again, applying these Sugarpill Chroma Lusts WET is when it really starts making sense.  Vivid doesn’t even really begin to describe it.  I think you can also appreciate what a beautiful shade Starling is, it’s got a beautiful Mediterranean hue to it that somehow (in my opinion) manages to retain a touch of ‘grown-upness’ about it that Alice/Painkiller doesn’t have.

I’m very pleased with my Sugarpill Cosmetics purchases (see review of Goldilux here) and I’m already eyeing up Hysteric and Magpie as my next acquisitions!

So come on, let me know… have you bought any Sugarpill products yett? If so which ones? And if not, what’s holding you back?

Sugarpill Cosmetics Goldilux Swatch & Review

Posted by Lipglossiping On March - 12 - 2010

Sugarpill Chroma Lust in Goldilux ($12.00, 5g net weight).

When I first unscrewed the lid, my reaction wasn’t wholly positive.

There’s no sifter, no lttle plastic inner lid… you’re straight into the shadow, which makes for a slightly messier experience than my MAC pigments.

Goldilux is also incredibly sparkly, very glittery.  I was immediately concerned that I was about to be treated to an “all glitter, no pigment” fest…

Goldilux is a true yellow-gold with no visible hints of copper or bronze.  The sparkle is uniformly coloured to match the overall pigment.  Measured in weight, this pot was a little less filled than Starling, but it’s still gonna take me forever-and-a-day to even make a dent.

A couple of comparison swatches:

I chose to compare my Sugarpill Chroma Lusts to a ‘simillar’ shade from the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette simply because it’s a current cosmetic item that I know many of you will now own.  I’m not dupe-hunting, I just thought it would be a good choice for comparison to get an idea of pigmentation.

Honestly?  I’m a touch underwhelmed by how Goldilux looks applied dry.

Before the swatch test, I was totally happy with the pigmentation but compared here to UD Oraculum/Baked, I think I was expecting a little more oomph from the Sugarpill Chroma Lust.  In all fairness though, I also wasn’t expecting just how completely amazing it would look foiled (applied wet).  I think it’s safe to say that in the case of Goldilux, the shadow’s real strength is in it’s foiling.

I’m not going to go into detail on the other aspects of review for an eyeshadow, everything is fine… blendability, longevity over UDPP great (average otherwise).  I will say that I still found it quite easy to blend after foiling which is a plus point, it doesn’ t dry with unblendable harsh edges, a positive point to note.

Very happy with my Sugarpill Goldilux, and I’m blown away by how it looks applied wet.  A liquid metal masterpiece.

Tomorrow… Starling

Lipglossiping.com’s first ever guest reviewer…

Posted by Lipglossiping On March - 11 - 2010

is…

AlicatAHL

Thanks for offering your self up in the name of beauty!

Please email me your address details and I’ll pop the sample in the post.  Can’t wait to hear your experiences with it!

Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Bronzing Powder #03

Posted by Lipglossiping On March - 9 - 2010

I picked this up on a recent expedition to one of my local Boots stores.

Prestige are originally a US brand, now sold in over 45 countries globally.  Over here, they’re available in larger Boots stores.

When I saw the Skin Loving Minerals Brozing Powders, I was surprised to see one of them so pale in tone… infact, sad old git that I am… I got quite excited and practically skipped to the checkouts.  Although, not before adding half the Bourjois stand to my basket.

Anyway, shopaholic tendencies aside, how does this stack up?

It’s a baked, marbelized pressed powder with a lot of shimmer, but no glitter.  Texture is smooth enough, but not as smooth as some…. I’m thinking of the LE No7 Highlighting Powder which glides like velvet onto the skin (I don’t own it – I think 4 pale gold powder highlighters are quite enough for one makeup addict’s collection – at least that’s the mantra).

I really like the packaging, it’s not fancy… it’s not even particularly pretty, but it feels quite modern and I can’t think of too many producs that are housed in little clear perspex-esque boxes like this.  It’s functional and clean. Thumbs up.

You can see how shimmery it is (maybe the shade name “Pure Shimmer” should have given me… yano… a freaking clue!).  You need a  fairly light touch and I use it as a highlighter not a bronzer… I’m not a discoball.  I think it’s even too shimmery to use on the crests of your facial contours… I wouldn’t want a strip of this running down the bridge of my nose for example…

But, as a highlighter, I really like it.  It imparts a healthy glow and does all that lovely shimmery stuff when you turn your head slightly.  Compared to NARS Albatross, it’s not a bad dupe at all really colour/shimmer-wise.  Mr. L couldn’t tell the difference.  But before I start shouting DUPE Alert left, right and centre… I’ll have a proper look at both under some natural light, I think the Prestige may be a touch more golden…

Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Bronzers are available in 3 shades and are currently on offer in Boots stores nationwide, priced at £6.99 each (a saving of £2 on the RRP)

Guest Reviewer Please!

Posted by Lipglossiping On March - 7 - 2010

Anyone up for doing a guest review for me?

I have been given a sample for review consideration but it’s too dark for me.

This is the bareMinerals SPF30 Natural Sunscreen.

They say:

Our breakthrough head-to-toe sun protection will change the way you feel about sunscreen forever.  This 100% natural, micronized Titanium Dioxide mineral creates a physical barrier on your skin, providing UVA/UVB protection and defending against premature skin ageing and sun damage.  It’s weightless, breathable, non-greasy and won’t clog pores or cause breakouts.  Available in Light, Medium and Tan.

Available from April 2010. RRP £25.00

I’m looking for someone with a medium skintone (NC/NW 25 – 35) please. UK only.  Oh, and it lists Bismuth Oxychloride in the ingredients, so don’t apply if you’re sensitive to that ingredient – don’t wanna be responsible for scabby, itchy faces now do I?

If you’re interested in being my guest reviewer, leave me a comment below and I’ll choose someone on Wednesday.

Thank You!

Elemental Beauty Mineral Makeup – Review

Posted by Lipglossiping On October - 22 - 2009

This is gonna be a long one, lots to review and talk about… so grab a cup of tea and come straight back (milk and 2 sweeteners for me please).

Elemental Beauty are a British brand of mineral makeup.  I’m already a big fan of their mineral foundation.  I generally struggle to find shades that are pale and cool toned enough to be a match for me, but I get great results using their shade “English Rose”.

I had been wanting to feature a British mineral makeup brand on Lipglossiping for a little while.  I do love US Brands for their teeny baggies of eyeshadows and blushes that they’re willing to send all over the world for not much more than the price of the stamp… butwhen I want something a little more subdued, a little more suitable for everyday wear… then I tend to look a little closer to home.

I was pleased to receive some samples from Elemental Beauty and wanted to share my thoughts… Nicola at EB had been pre-warned that if I didn’t like something… I was gonna tell it like I saw it and to her credit – she was still completely game.  Confidence in your own products is something that told me I probably wouldn’t be too disappointed – and I was right!

I was sent: 3 Mineral Eyeshadows, a Mineral Illuminator & a Mineral Healing Concealer

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How pretty is the packaging?

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Very shabby chic, but um without the shabby.

I’d first heard of Elemental Beauty on the forums of MoneySavingExpert, where many forum-ites hold the soft-focus and healing foundations in extremely high regard.

The packaging twists open to reveal a sifter.  I’m in two minds about this sifter…

elementalbeautysifter

The holes are quite large, so I have to be careful when opening the jar as a lot of product is usually sitting ontop of the sifter and if I travel, I’d definitely have to sellotape over the holes.  But… I also hate sifters where the holes are so small it takes half an hour to tap out any product (The She Space sifters drive me to extreme frustrations).  I think I do prefer the bigger holes but they don’t come without that caveat.

Anyway, onto the products…

Lasting Mineral Eyeshadows:

I received three of these eyeshadows in shades: Sunbeam, Taupe and Vamp.  Here’s a swatch of how they looked foiled (applied with a wet brush) on my skin.

elementalbeautyswatches

Beautifuly pigmented no?

Taupe for me, is the problem child.  It’s described as “softly sparkling” which I’d agree with although compared to the other two it looks positively matte!

What I’m not keen on is the name.  If I ever created my own line of cosmetics I would completely eschew the word taupe from my colour descriptions!  It’s overused… and doesn’t have any set definition or benchmark.

Taupe is a vague, unscientific color term which may be used to refer to almost any grayish-brown, brownish-gray, or warm gray color. It often overlaps with tan and even people who use color professionally (such as designers and artists) frequently disagree as to what “taupe” means. There is no single, generally recognized authority for such terms.

Taken from Wikipedia

Now when taupe is done (in my subjective opinion) right… I adore it.  for me, taupe should be a mid-toned mix of grey and brown and if it has a little shimmer or metallic edge to lift it from drabness, then even better!

Elemental Beauty’s version of taupe to me is ‘orrible.  It’s too warm and orange.  It’s a decent colour in it’s own right, but it’s not the taupe I want! *and breathe*

I freakin’ love Sunbeam.  A perfect pale gold with a spectacular amount of micro sparkle which somehow manages to stop short of looking like a glitter bomb has exploded in my face.  So far, I’ve used this with great success as an all-over lid colour (foiled), a highlight  under the brow (dry) and a highlight near the tear ducts (foiled).  It’s beautiful and really lifts my complexion.

Vamp is a tricky one… it looks like an out and out purple from my swatch no?

But let me show you something….

elementalbeauty3web

This is Vamp foiled on the lid… the red-undertones in the shadow are far more apparent here than the metallic purple shown in the swatch.  It’s a colour shifting-shadow!  Great!  But I fell in love with the metallic purple in the swatch!  Gimme back that vibrant purple!

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The above 2 images show Sunbeam on the lid with Vamp in the crease.  See how lovely Sunbeam is?  Again, Vamp looks more red-brown than purple.

I have no issues with pigmentation and the product is nicely milled which ensures a smooth, even application.

Mineral Illuminator:

elementalbeautyrosyapple

This is the Illuminator in Rosy Apple.  I wanted to capture the micro-sparkles, so although the above photo isn’t the best.  I think it demonstrates them clearly!  They’re fine and not at all chunky.

A little goes a long way!  I apply this to my cheekbones (avoiding the apple of the cheek) and I have found that using a loose bristled brush or fan brush is perfect for a rosy glow.

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Above: Illuminator in Rosy Apple, Vamp on lids, Taupe in crease.

Healing Mineral Concealer:

elementalbeautyconcealer

This is the Healing Mineral Concealer in shade “Bright Eyes”

They say:

A pale yellow concealer to conceal dark circles and give you a wide awake look! Bright eyes can also be used as a blemish concealer for very pale skin tones.

I’ve been mixing this with a tiny amount of my Body Shop Vitamin E Serum to create a fairly thick paste (you only need the tiniest amount of both products).  Then I’ve been patting it with my ring finger all over the eye area.  It really gives the whole area a lift and makes my eyes look brighter and fresher.  I also love the even base it creates on my eyelids for days when I just want to wear a slick of eyeliner and mascara.

I’ll be doing a further review with application pictures on this soon.

Are you still with me?

All EB products are Bismuth Free which is essential for me as Bismuth makes my face itch.

“Our healing foundation range – containing allantoin – has been very popular with people that have difficult or sensitive skin types and we have also created mica-free foundations for people that have found themselves to be allergic to mica.”

Nicola at EB has assured me that they create and custom blend all of their shades in-house.  I thought that was worth clarifying due to recent revelations of a certain mineral makeup company repackaging wholesale shades without declaring that they’re not custom blended.

Not only that, but check out what Nicola had to say when I asked her if people could email for shade advice:

“As we are a manufacturer, we are able to offer a bespoke service providing custom foundation shades for any of our customers that are struggling to find their perfect match in our standard shade range.

We can also make special eyeshadow and blusher shades for people who want something for a special occasion to match their outfit or lipstick etc so we can offer a very personal service.”

Shades to complement a special outfit? Awesome.

She also said…

“We often receive e-mails from customers that use specific shades of foundation in other non-mineral brands and are looking for us to make a mineral foundation equivalent for them so that they can switch to mineral makeup.”

Which I think is pretty decent service as shade selection from online mineral makeup selections often involves a leap of faith, I should know… I have binned many orange mineral foundations from bad choices!

Have you tried Elemental Beauty? What do you look for in a mineral makeup company? Like what you see here?  Need a lie down after that mammoth review? (I know I do!).

Pigment Storage Solutions

Posted by Lipglossiping On August - 7 - 2009

So, I’m a big fan of Mineral Makeup and nothing excites me more than getting a jiffy bag full of teeny baggies containing varying shades of sparkly gorgeousness (yes, I am still a sparkle whore).

I’m forever meaning to share these little hauls with you, as I know the swatches can be useful, but swatching is such a time consuming thing – and time is a commodity that has bottomed out since the birth of Leila.

The next best thing I can do at the moment is share my storage solution for my little piggies…

pigmentstorage2

These are great, I believe they’re meant for nail things – but this is how I use them.  I buy these from a seller on eBay who ships from Hong Kong and I pay £4.50 inc. shipping for 24 pots – not bad I reckon!

pigmentstorage

Any of you collect pigment samples?  How do you store them?

FOTD – Earthen Glow Minerals Blue

Posted by Lipglossiping On July - 16 - 2009

bluejulyfotd

Products Used:

Face:
EGM Foundation – Danielle
EGM Blush – Cool Pink

Eyes:
UDPP
EGM Eyeshadow – Bering Strait (foiled on lids)
EGM Eyeshadow – Finnish Waters (as a liner)
Avon Colour Trend Mascara (still using this up)

Lips:
ELF New Moisture Care Lip Color in Pink Lemonade

bluejulyeotd

As you can see, I’m still well into my mineral makeup and I have to say I flippin’ love Earthen Glow Minerals.  Aside from the quality of their products (which is fab) I’ve simply never received better or friendlier customer service with an e-tailer anywhere.

I’ll have to do a post dedicated to my fab experiences with them and swatch some of my lovely piggies, but in the meantime definitely try them out for some gorgeous shades.

Confession time… this is… hand on heart, the first time I’ve ever worn a blue eyeshadow.  I just don’t usually go this bright.  Even as a teen, the brightest my eyeshadow got was Lilac.

As a result, I spent the day feeling pretty self-conscious and wondering if it looked a little…

mimi

Ooh, I’m getting brave!  Go me! Who knows, I might even try green next *insert faux shock face here*

Much love, me xxx

FOTD – Bronzing for the ultra pale!

Posted by Lipglossiping On June - 21 - 2009

I shouldn’t even call this ‘bronzing’… it’s more about finding a summer look that works and toning down the blueness of my complexion and replacing it with a subtle wash of warmth.  I’m liking this simple and fast look for the summer.

fotd1606.

Products Used:

Face: Cory Cosmetics Mineral Foundation in Ivory Beige
Cory Cosmetics Mineral Blush in Whatever

Eyes: Sleek Ink Pot in Black
Avon Color Trend Mascara in Black (trying to use up this nice but dull mascara!)

Lips: NYX Round Lipstick in Darling

The Body Shop Nature’s Minerals Foundation Kabuki Brush Review

Posted by Lipglossiping On April - 29 - 2009

As far as high street brand cosmetic brushes go… I often fall back on my beloved Body Shop brushes so when I saw their foundation Kabuki brush in my local Body Shop, I knew I had to make it mine – especially after my recent positive experience with mineral makeup.  I’m not sure how long this brush has been available but I didn’t see it last time I was in store.

Firstly, I need a little rant to say that the case it comes with is utter crap… seriously, Body Shop – why even bother with a case at all if it’s as rubbish as this one?  You should be embarassed, I know I’m embarassed for you… It barely fits the brush and is like a slippery silicone-y rubbery type floppy thing that offers little to no protection at all in my makeup bag.

Look, I mean… what practical purpose is this supposed to serve in protecting your very beautiful Kabuki brush?

bodyshopkabukicase

Anyway, onto the brush itself before I give myself a thrombosis…

So soft… I mean so, So, SO soft.  The synthetic bristles are densely packed and allow for a generous collection of product with a single swirl.  The bristles are fairly long and this makes for really easy application in harder to reach areas like along the side of the nose.  Since it’s first use, it’s shed about 4 bristles and that’s it.  Even after a gentle wash, there was no additional shedding or bleeding.  I’m so impressed!

bodyshopkabuki

Hello lover!

Currently priced at £14.65 on The Body Shop’s website – I’m really pleased with it (as I’m sure you have established by now!) But I shall definitely be on the hunt for a kabuki sized case to protect it – if anyone has any recommendations, please send them my way!

Here’s another before/after (before on the left) – showing the same application as the other day of Elemental Beauty’s Mineral Foundation in English Rose, however this time, applied after watching a couple of youtube instruction vids and The Body Shop Kabuki!

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By George, I think she’s got it!  Although someone needs to pin that poor lass down and give those eyebrows some shape.  And who’s George anyway?

Oh, *psst* – by the way, that Baked Bronzer I got… the one by La Femme with all the pretty gold and white veining… load of pooh, really.  I can’t get the product to show up on me.  It doesn’t bronze, brighten or even highlight.  I was hoping for subtle, but existent would have been nice.  Perhaps a darker shade would be more evident, but my opinion of it is so… *meh*… that I can’t be arsed to order another.

Flitting back to The Body Shop Nature’s Minerals Foundation Brush… (what a mouthful)… I’m giving it a 4.5/5 – it would be higher but that case niggles.  So there.

‘Till next time…

[starreview]

Elemental Beauty Mineral Makeup Foundation Review

Posted by Lipglossiping On April - 28 - 2009

I’m really excited to be reviewing my first foundation today.  Unfortunately this means a before and after shot, so if you have just eaten you may want to come back to this review when your stomach is a little more settled – just a friendly warning!

Mineral makeup is unexplored territory for me.  I understand the principles behind it, but I have never been fully convinced by it as an everyday cosmetic.  Before even trying mineral foundation I will admit that I had a fairly set opinion of what it would do which was something along the lines of: ‘…it’s a powder – and powder makes me flakey and doesn’t even out my skin tone, just mattifies my nose and sits in my pores mocking me.’

In defence of my closed mindedness, I do own a jar of Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil and that’s pretty much what happens to my skin everytime I use it, so you can perhaps understand my unwillingness to venture further into the mineral makeup market when my experiences with one of the ‘Big Names’ of mineral makeup had so far been disappointing.

However, as the weather is turning warmer, my liquid foundations are leaving me too oily after a few hours wear and my oil-free liquid foundations are still giving me flakey dry patches of skin – so I needed to find a compromise and started googling for some Mineral makeup websites that would send me some samples to try without breaking the bank!

Enter Elemental Beauty, an unassuming little website offering mineral cosmetics.  I was excited by the fact that they are a homegrown UK company happy to accept Paypal (I had a little stash of funds from some recent eBay sales that was burning a hole in my Paypal account) and I’d read a couple of recommendations for their products, so put in an order for 2 samples:

Soft Focus Foundation in shade English Rose

Dewy Finishing Powder

I would have loved to sample a couple of blusher shades aswell as I am still searching for a soft shade that enhances a natural peachy flush (as opposed to something that makes me look like the concept behind the Anna Sui Dolly Girl bottle).  Anyway, I digress – Elemental Beauty unfortunately don’t offer blusher samples – although to be fair, they’re not exactly expensive at £3.99 each – but there’s too many shades to choose from dammit (I’m leaning towards Coral)

I paid my money (£3.20 for 2 samples inc. P&P) and paced the floor waiting for the postie to bring me my goodies.  Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long and within a few days look what turned up:

elementalbeautysamples

How cute is that?  I mean seriously… I was already impressed.  Judging by the images on their website – the full size jars are pretty darn gorgeous aswell!

On closer inspection…

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and…

elementalbeautyfinishingpowder

If you can’t read the ingredients, feel free to drop me a comment and I’ll happily type them up on here.

The samples are pretty generous too!  I’ll easily get a weeks worth of daily use out of them, which is fantastic and quite frankly, necessary for judging whether or not to invest in full size versions.  Is there anything worse than sampling a product once (perhaps at a counter), liking it – spending your hard-earned money on it and then never achieving the same look or finish again and having to put it down to a one-off fluke of the lighting.  (Benefit Dandelion, I’m talking to you!)

After letting my moisturiser sink in for a good 5 minutes, I tapped a little foundation out into a spare lid and grabbed my Kabuki brush, remembering the old ‘swirl, tap and buff’ method…

elementalbeautyfoundationcolour

Anyway, I won’t go into any application details – I’m a complete idiot when it comes to applying makeup and just bungle my way through it most mornings… you can judge the results for yourself with my hideous before and after shot.  Please excuse the constipated expressions.  I really don’t know what the puckered lips and the ‘are you looking for a fight?’ look is about in the 2nd photo… and the ears in the first, oh god… the ears…

elementalbeautybeforeafter

Anyway, what do you think?  I’m really impressed!  It’s light but really evens out my skintone.  I could possibly have benefited from applying some concealer beforehand, but look at that strawberry nose and the cheek blotches – MUCH better in the after shot!  I love this stuff.  Truly.

I’m not familliar enough with mineral makeup to know if I should have gone over the more blotchy areas more than once, so I didn’t… I literally took about 40 seconds to apply the foundation, probably paying far less attention than I should have done and I’m still delighted with the results.

I’m gonna become a Mummy in about a week’s time so I shall make sure to get my order in for the foundation as this is just too easy for a foolproof application over the summer months.  Still not convinced this won’t be too drying in the winter for my skin… although I shall approach with a more open mind this time and possibly armed with industrial strength moisturiser.

I haven’t tried the dewy finishing powder yet, not quite sure what to do with it yet.  I shall read up and be back with an opinion some time soon!

Elemental Beauty ship worldwide, so head on over to the website – oh, and check out those eyeshadows too!  I’m totally lemming some of those for eyeliners and smokey eyes…

[starreview]

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