July Favourites

July was a wonderful month for rediscovering old beauty favourites! I've been doing a lot of digging around in my beauty collection lately and I've realised how many products have been sitting around in my draws, completely unloved. In an attempt to save money and use up some of my makeup I've decided to switch up my everyday makeup routine by adding a new product from my existing beauty stash every singly day and I have to admit it's almost as fun as shopping itself!

The Perfect Eye Brightener | bareMinerals Stroke of Light

bareMinerals - Stroke of Light £22.00*

If there's one part of my face I've always struggled to cover with makeup it has to be my under-eye circles. For most of my teenage life I suffered from insomnia and I've only recently managed to fall asleep within an hour of putting my head on a pillow. Years of sleeplessness, alongside being a complete and utter night owl (I'm most productive at night!), has left me with some rather shocking under-eye circles that are not just dark but are rather sunken in appearance too. After trying so many different kinds of concealers, and even the YSL Touche Eclat many years ago, I've never managed to find a product that achieved that fresh, I've had 8 hours of sleep last night look. So, when bareMinerals' Stroke of Light* appeared on my doorstep I didn't have any high expectations for it. It had one mighty task ahead of it and my under eye circles were ready - after a series of 3 a.m. bedtimes they were never in a better - or shall I say worse - condition to put Stroke of Light to the test. 

Personally, I've found Stroke of Light to work best over the top of my concealer as opposed to wearing it alone but ladies with lighter, less dramatic circles could easily use this alone to add a little bit of coverage and brightness! The Eye Brightener is available in four different shades - Luminous 1 to 4 - and I currently own the lightest shade. Luminous 1 is a very pink, creamy brightener and I find it tackles the purple/blue toned darkness of my under-eye circles amazingly. Just look at the photograph below, can you see how the almost bruised, sunkenness of the left eye has disappeared?

Left: Collecton 2000 concealer and Stroke of Light  //  Right: Collection 2000 concealer in Fair only.

(Sorry for the slightly blurry photograph - this was the best of a bad bunch. I need to work on photographing my own face, I tend to go cross-eyed when I put a camera right in front of my eyes! Not an attractive look! Haha!) 

Most of the initial redness has been hidden by my Collection 2000 concealer (and we all know how amazing that is!) but even after I've applied concealer I always find that I still look quite tired. However, once I've applied Stroke of Light under my eyes my entire face appears to light up and I feel as though I've just gained 5 hours of sleep just by applying a light layer! The only thing I didn't quite manage to capture completely in my photograph is the product's ability to reflect light. Stroke of Light really manages to diffuse darkness without adding any undesired sparkle and it honestly looks even more effective in person.

The effectiveness of the product couldn't be much better in my opinion, but what about the application/longevity of the product I hear you ask? I use the doe foot applicator and dab a small amount on the inner corners of my eyes and a stroke across my under eye area. The product glides onto the skin and I use my finger to lightly blend it in. It has a very creamy, but sheer, texture and it feels almost silky when blended. This sheerness is perfect when applying Stroke of Light on top of concealer as it provides a little more coverage and a brightening effect without making the under eye area cakey and feel heavy. One thing I'm always cautious of is adding even more product under the eyes but Stroke of Light is almost weightless and pretty much unidentifiable on the skin. It just sinks into the skin and brightens the areas my concealer hasn't covered. Almost like magic! I usually set this very lightly with powder and voila! I look wide awake all day (even when I'm craving caffeine and trying not to fall asleep in lectures!) and after setting it lightly with powder I find it lasts at least 8 hours without any signs of creasing.

Stroke of Light also claims to, over time, reduce the appearance of fine lines under the eyes and so far I have seen a slight improvement! Even though the pesky lines may still be visible they have reduced a little (I used to have two prominent lines underneath each eye) so I can't wait to see what happens after using this product for a few months! 

After speaking to one of the lovely make-up artists at bareMinerals I also discovered that you can use Stroke of Light as a highlighter - applying it across the cheeks, down the nose and above the cupids bow! It's such a handy product to have in your bag and it's something I don't think I'm going to be able to live without. I'll be running to the counter to repurchase this the second it runs out!

Have you tried Stroke of Light before? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

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Getting READY with bareMinerals! (Bronzer, Touch Up Veil & Luminizer Review)

(starting from bottom left) READY Luminizer Duo in The Love Affair and The Shining Moment*, READY Bronzer in The Deep End*, READY Touch Up Veil in Medium* c/o bareMinerals. 

If you know me in 'real' life then my love for bare Minerals won't come as a surprise to you. I've been wearing their Original SPF15 Foundation for over 5 years now and their foundation is probably my most repurchased make-up product of all time. Due the foundation's holy grail status, bareMinerals has become one of my favourite brands. I've tried out a lot of their loose powdered products, from eye shadows to blushes, and I've even picked up a few of their brushes along the way but I've never really explored their READY range. After declaring my love for the brand in a way that just sounded a lot like a teenage love letter, I suppose you can now imagine my sheer excitement when a lovely lady named Ally from bareMinerals contacted me and sent me the above products to review. As always, my honest and unbiased opinion is given but, after testing the products out for the past week, I have to say that my love for the brand is still unfaltering.

 I suppose you could say you had me at 'Hello' bareMinerals... (sorry - I had to!) 

bareMinerals READY Touch Up Veil - £22*

As a big fan of Mineral Veil, I was really excited to test out the READY Touch Up Veil. Like Mineral Veil, Touch Up Veil is a finishing powder that helps control shine and leave the face looking flawless by smoothing out lines and diffusing the look of imperfections. It almost has an airbrush effect and when you touch your skin after application it's left feeling soft and silky! I do, however, think there is a misconception with the product and the expectations about it simply being a compressed version of Mineral Veil. I can't speak for the Translucent shade but I think Touch Up Veil does more than Mineral Veil does - as well being a great finishing powder it also provides a little bit of coverage! I think Touch Up Veil would be beautiful to use alone in the summer for a hint of coverage and colour. (bonus - it contains SPF 15!) The formulation is probably one of my favourite things about the product, the powder is so fine it builds up upon the skin easily and never becomes cakey which is something I often find happening when I try to apply powders during the day. I also love the packaging, its sturdy as well as chic and I love the big mirror. I'm a big fan of this product and it's tempting me to test out the READY Foundation too!

The product is currently available in 4 shades - Translucent, Light, Medium and Tan. I wear Fairly Light in bareMinerals foundation so when I received the Medium shade I was slightly worried that it would be too dark for my skin. However, it's a perfect match as the product itself is quite sheer and I'd honestly say Medium would work for a large range of light to medium skin tones. The Light shade is only a tiny bit darker than Translucent so unless you're really fair I'd advise you to swatch them both in store (I may have spent a lot of time there this weekend!)

bareMinerals READY Bronzer - £24*

Quite accurately named The Deep End, this is the darkest shade of the bareMinerals READY bronzer collection and when I first looked at it in the compact myself and my pale skin quivered a little. As a long time wearer of Warmth (an amazing bareMinerals product everyone has to try!),I've learnt to use bronzer sparingly but The Deep End, as daunting as it may be in the compact, isn't as dramatic or pigmented as Warmth and it really compliments my skin tone. When applied with a light hand this bronzer leaves a gorgeous, golden bronzed glow without looking dull or orange and it lasts throughout the entire day! It may be the darkest bronzer in my collection but it's actually the most natural shade - The Deep End avoids the orange tinge and provides a sun kissed tint to the skin whilst adding definition to my face. 

The formulation feels very similar to the Touch Up Veil - smooth, silky and quite sheer in comparison to the colour in the compact (but it's not really light due to it being the darkest shade!). I think it's this sheerness that makes me adore The Deep End, I can use the tiniest amount to achieve a lightly bronzed look during the winter and the product will follow me into the summer months and still cater for my bronzing and contouring needs. If you're not feeling as brave, the READY Bronzer also comes in two lighter shades - The Skinny Dip and The High Dive (how adorable are the names?!)

bareMinerals READY Luminizer Duo - £24*

Right - The Love Affair | Left - The Shining Moment

It's okay to fall head over heels in love with a beauty product? Thanks to the Luminizer Duo my boyfriend now has serious competition over who, or what, owns my heart (I'm kidding Dan - I love you really!) 

The READY Luminizer Duo in The Love Affair and The Shining Moment is so silky it almost feels like a cream product and the soft, finely milled powder applies so beautifully it adds a healthy, glowing from within look to any complexon. I've always been a huge fan of anything that can provide my skin with a youthful, subtle glow and this product is everything I've been looking for. It's a pigmented product without being too overwhelming and it gives my everyday make-up that little something it has been missing. There's no glitter or shimmery chunks to be found here - just a gorgeous illuminating sheen.

The left side is 'The Love Affair', a dusty rose gold, which I sometimes use instead of wearing a blush on days when I'm seeking a tiny bit of colour. The right side is 'The Shining Moment', a warm golden shade that is a bit more dramatic and pigmented than The Love Affair. Each illuminating powder can be worn separately or you can blend them together (I sweep my brush across in an 'S' shape) which is my favourite way of wearing the product! The READY Luminizer Duo is such a pretty product to have in your make-up collection; it's candlelight in a compact!

Have you tried any of the READY collection by bareMinerals? Let me know in the comments below!

P.S - If you were wondering what I use to apply the Touch Up Veil on the go I use this cute retractable Precision Face brush* which fits in my travel make-up bag! (it's also reaaaally soft) For Bronzer and Luminizer I use a fan brush which allows me to apply a small amount of product onto my face and slowly build up colour! 

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Review | MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in 'Soft and Gentle', £23,  available from MAC and House of Fraser

This ever so famous highlighter has been on my make-up wishlist for (literally) years now. I remember lusting over it whilst watching endless amounts of YouTube videos in 2009 - back when Mac was the brand everyone was obsessed with - so I'm not exactly sure why it has taken me so long to get my hands on it. Thanks to my wonderful best friend, who kindly bought me this for Christmas, I now have it in my collection and, after reaching for it on a daily basis for the past couple of weeks, I think I might have to promote it above The Balm's Mary Lou-Manizer as my go-to highlighter! 

MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle is a beautiful frosty highlighting powder which adds a natural glow to the skin. At first glance I was a little bit worried about this product being too glittery for everyday use but after applying this to my cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose and even as an eye-shadow (which is one of my favourite uses for this - it's absolutely gorgeous as a inner corner highlight or lid colour) I have to say that the 'glitter' really isn't a problem. In fact, due to the finely milled texture of the powder, this highlighter has much more of a metallic, rather than a glittery, finish which is gorgeous and so luminous. To apply, I swirl a fan brush around the product and lightly tap off any excess. I use a light hand and sweep this across my cheeks and the fan brush helps me to control the amount of product I apply to my face by not depositing it all in one place! The highlighter glides on the skin easily without rubbing away foundation and can be built up to work for both day and night-time looks. There's honestly nothing about the formulation or texture of this product that I can complain about, it looks amazing and it's so easy to apply. 

Soft and Gentle is described by MAC as a 'gilded peach bronze' colour which I certainly agree with but I definitely see a tint of champagne in here as well! I think this colour would suit all skin tones really well, especially fair to medium shades. It's definitely the champagne, peachy element to Soft and Gentle that allows it to take the crown from my Mary Lou-Manizer which is a much lighter, more golden highlighter. I also love Soft and Gentle's multitasking qualities as I absolutely love to use it as an all over the lid eyeshadow colour on days where I'm in a rush and want to add a little bit of colour and light to my eyes. For £23 you get 10g of product, (Mary Lou-Manizer contains 8.5g and costs £16) so it is quite pricey but for the size of product you receive and the small amount that you need I think it's definitely worth it!

Have you tried Soft and Gentle? Let me know what your favourite highlighter is in the comments below!