Pur Minerals - Mineral Glow Powder (Bronzer)

There are four steps in my quick, every day makeup routine. Bronzer is the final one. I never really appreciated how much difference a good bronzer can make, adding color and a little definition.

My bronzer of choice at the moment is the Mineral Glow Powder from Pur Minerals, which is a standard, silky, mica-based pressed powder.

The colour is on the light side for a bronzer, and would probably not work for darker skin tones, but it does a great job of adding a bit of warmth to the skin, and although you can see a bit of sparkle in the pan, it doesn't translate but rather just does what the name says and looks glowing. I would recommend a light hand though, as it is easy to go from bronzed and glowing to muddy. 

One of the things I like about this bronzer in particular is that it is so versatile, I use it not only like a bronzer and blusher, but also as an eyeshadow, to add definition to the crease (on a lazy makeup day) and the Pur Minerals website states it can even be used as a lip colour -- although I am not sure I would go that far.

Pur Minerals Mineral Glow Powder costs £19.50 for 12g and can be found in Marks & Spencer stores. If you are conscious of the ingredients that are in your makeup or just want a bronzer that gives you a natural glow, then this is for you.  

This product was given to me to review, however, all opinions stated are my own.

Quick review: Afterglow cosmetics

After my holiday I came back a shade too dark for my regular foundation and was reluctant to buy a foundation just for the short time I am tanned. I felt lucky when I came across an old foundation I had that just happens to be the perfect shade.

The foundation is by Afterglow cosmetics an American company I believe which has an online supplier in the UK. I received a starter/tester pack as a birthday present about 2 years ago. Unfortunately because you can only order online colour matching is difficult and they do not accept returns.

My tanned shade is caramel. It is a very fine powder and when buffed into the skin blend well and looks very natural. It gives a light to medium coverage but can be built up if needed. The kit came with a small kabuki brush which is the softest brush I own and such a pleasure to use.

As much as I like afterglow cosmetics I would not order them again in the UK since colour the problem of colour matching is such a problem and at £30 for the full foundation it is not something you can just afford the luxury of buying to test out. If you are in the US they are happy to take returns so worth looking into if you are after a mineral foundation.

Quick review: ELF mineral blemish kit

After using the Bare Minerals night treatment and finding it to be nothing more than a good spot treatment I wanted to try out the ELF mineral blemish kit and see if this could be my dupe. The blemish kit contains 30% sulphur as its active ingredient which is meant to kill the bacteria on the skin.

In short I found this product to work okay, I ‘luckily’ had a small breakout just below my lip which gave me the perfect opportunity to test this. On the first night I applied it overnight and the spot was reduced by the morning. As the day went on though it seemed to ‘grow again’ and took me a few days for it to clear even though I was applying it every night. The skin around the spot did become a little dry and flaky which is common with sulphur containing products.

Although the colour is meant to be sheer, it is very shimmery which in my opinion makes it no good for use in the day. The colour is very light and doesn’t blend in well to the skin.

Everything else about the product is great, the packaging is sleek, the concealer concealer brush supplied works well in picking up the minerals and you get a generous amount of product for your money. That being said, I managed to pick this up in the 50% off promotion and I think £3 is a much more reasonable price for it than the normal £6.

I will continue to use this, as it does help somewhat although there are better products out there for the occasional blemish. It is definitely something I would not recommend to anyone with more severe acne or breakouts.

Probably my only foundation review…….Bella Pierre

After the longest title ever, this post is a review of my favourite, and only foundation that I now use, Bella Pierre Mineral Foundation.

I first discovered Bella Pierre after being stopped at a shopping centre and asked if I wanted to try their foundation out, I agreed and sat down and was then colour matched and explained the benefits of minerals in general as well as their product. I had been aware of the idea of mineral foundations previously having used an L’Oreal version (which I know isn’t a true mineral foundation) and having seen other brands.

There are a few things that made me love Bella Pierre the most, compared to other brands. Firstly and most importantly, every time I have sat down to be colour matched, I have had the same shade selected. Every makeup artist/sales assistant has picked the same colour for me first time, I have no idea how they do this, but it gives me a huge amount of confidence that when I do hand over money I am walking away with the right product. I personally hate the process of shade matching and have ended up disappointed with other brands when I have come home and realised they are clearly not right.

Another plus of Bella Pierre for me, is that the foundation acts as an all in one under eye concealer, blemish concealer and setting powder. Other brands will try and sell you separate components to cover these areas and I have never seen the value in this. I like to know that for weekends away, holidays etc, I can use this one product.

The finish on it in my opinion is perfect, I don’t get any transfer, it covers marks and evens out my skin tone well with what I consider being a light application of product. It also lasts fairly well throughout the day without a primer. I believe you can layer it up to be full coverage, although in my opinion there is a fine line between it looking great and then looking overdone, as long as most marks are concealed I am happy. The key for application is to keep buffing the product in, occasionally I will also use a small, dense concealer brush to add extra foundation to any blemish on that one area rather than all over. There is a temptation for me to pick up the Vichy Dermablend just for times that I do want full, flawless coverage which is why I probably said this will be my only foundation review! However, I am aware that with that product it will have an expiry point and potentially be wasted on me since I am happy not having full coverage on a daily basis. The benefit with this mineral foundation is that there is no expiry.

Other points to mention, having dry skin I have not found the foundation took look cakey or to cling to dry patches, which I would expect since mineral foundations are meant to be suitable for all skin types. It also contains SPF which is great if you are not in the habit of applying sun protection daily.

The cost is probably the only negative, only because I have always been a drug store brands girl and never paid more than £12, so anything more than that seems very pricey. If you buy from House of Fraser, the loose mineral foundation is £34 for 9g of product. I was told that this should last you a year if used daily. I don’t actually remember when I started using it to judge if that would be true. I personally brought a starter kit which included 2 brushes and a blush suited to my skin tone (based on my foundation colour - cinnamon) which was better value for me since I did not have the suitable brushes. If you were interested in this foundation, I would recommend visiting House of Fraser for a colour match, then going home, seeing how you look and feel with it and then decide. The staff I haven’t found to be extremely pushy which is always a good thing (plus you can find the foundation cheaper with some sellers on eBay!)

Now, the moment I have been dreading, the scary bare faced photos. I really dislike my face without makeup, so it is scary for me to be so bare, and I am sure the camera makes my skin look worse than it is! Anyway, needs must, since you will only see what I am raving on about with this foundation with before and after photos.

Up close, my clean, bare skin, unevenness, blemishes, scarring, large blocked pores, the works, everything I am wishing I will solve with a good skin care routine (suggestions welcome!!)

Using just the Bella Pierre foundation as an under eye concealer, blemish concealer and all over cover. Before and after! 

My everyday face, adding a bit of blusher, contour and filling in my eyebrows to look a little more acceptable. Done.

I hope this review was helpful to someone! Let me know your experiences with Bella Pierre or any other mineral foundations if you have tried it.