Proto-col Mineral Eyeshadow in Heather

I'd actually stumbled upon this brand when we had a little Christmas Market in work. Someone organised for a couple of local businesses etc to come and show off and possibly sell some of their products.

One of the businesses to come was,

Basically they're consultants and distributors for Proto-col Products.

Now like I said I hadn't heard of Proto-col before, but I love mineral makeup so I went to have a look.

Proto-col not only does makeup but also skin and body care. On the day Purple Secret had a range of all their products along with the makeup for everyone to look at.

In the end I went with one of the eye shadows as I was trying to be good ;)

I picked it up in Heather, which is a gorgeous grey/lilac - a really good dirty shade which is exactly what I like!

As you can see in the picture it comes in a little tub and you just shake a bit of it into the lid, swirl your brush around, tap and apply. Its goes on really well and its easy to blend in.

They have a great range on their site and do starter kits for the mineral foundation which include a foundation, finishing powder, blusher and a kabuki brush. They also do eyeshadow sets as well.

Overall I was really impressed with the whole range and after speaking with a number of girls who purchased stuff at work, everyone was more than happy with what they got.

You can check out their website here:

http://www.purplesecret.co.uk

They're also on Twitter as @purple_secret and Facebook

Lily Lolo Mineral Makeup

So I'm completely in love with mineral makeup at the moment. Love the finish on my skin and I've discovered that its easy to match my skin tone as there is so much colour choice in most brands. One of my favourites is Lily Lolo, not only a great choice of products but also very reasonable.

What I also love about Lily Lolo, is that you can purchase samples of the foundations, blushers, concealers etc for 75p to £1.25. This is definitely the option I took - I'm always a bit unsure about new products, like most people, and it's very hard to judge colours etc without testing them first. The samples come in little plastic sachets, which are great but I did decide to empty them into little pots I already had as I found it easier to use.

Ok so firstly I picked up the following blushers:

• Clementine
• Ooh La La
• Candy Girl - actually loved this one so much I purchased a full size tub along with some other items.
  

I also purchased a full size version of the Blush Away - it helps to hide redness, blemishes and dark circles. I can not even begin to start to describe how much I love this! Its AMAZING. It hides all my redness and even works a treat under my eyes. I don't just use this with mineral makeup - I use it with everything.


I actually love all the blushers, which really surprises me as Clementine is quite peachy, but looks gorgeous on. They blend in really well and I NEED full size version of all of them ha ha. I have to admit my favourite is definitely Ooh La La - very wearable colour and looks very natural, very much the pinkest out of the bunch. Oh and really want to try Rosebud and Rose Apple next - both look gorgeous.

The foundation and concealer are great. I get a very natural, flawless look which is perfect. I also find that mineral makeup gives a full coverage finish but so doesn't give the appearance that it does. The Flawless Silk Finishing powder just sets it all off perfectly. I never look or feel cakey.

Finally the Waikiki Bronzer, once again I have nothing negative to say. I love it! The website has a great selection of bronzers for all skins tones.

I've also got the Large Super Buffer Brush which is lovely and soft (sorry no picture, I left in work over the weekend so didn't have it to photograph). Now I also have a Bare Mineral Kabuki brush, which sheds like anything - really fed up of it, but this is so much better, just couldn't recommend it more. I've had no shedding since I got it.


Overall - this is a fantastic brand. Its great quality, very reasonable and has wide choice of products and colours.

You so need to check it out especially if you're looking for a lightweight natural look, which doesn't lack coverage.

FirstLight Cosmetics

A couple of weeks ago I won £20 worth of free makeup when FirstLight reached a 1000 followers on twitter. Obviously awesome - I'm loving mineral makeup at the moment.

So all I had to do was pick £20 pounds worth of their website.

Here's what I ended up choosing,



Firstly how cute is the bag - gorgeous!

I picked their Mineral Perfect Finish in Air Kiss, which is translucent. I love mineral finishing powders and as my Bare Minerals Mineral Veil was running out I thought it sounded great. This is want is promised,

"Made of the finest, lightest minerals, our “Perfect Finish” powder gives the airbrushed effect you've been waiting for! Dust over your make up to perfect your look & keep in your handbag to keep the shine off all day long. Perfect Finish works by absorbing excess oil and reducing the appearances of pores, imperfections and fine lines. It can also work as a foundation if you want a more translucent look"

Here's a swatch,

I swatched it a bit heavy to show the reflective qualities, its a lot lighter on. I LOVE this, it sits very well on top of mineral and liquid foundation. It just leaves you with a lovely glow effect to your makeup. I've decided that mineral makeup is my favourite. I really feel that I get the 'air brushed' look I want, but without the heavy 'cakey' look.


Secondly, I decided to pick one of their eye shadows. Even though I love mineral makeup, I haven't yet tried any mineral eye shadows. I played it a bit safe and went for Japanese blossom which is described as a peachy/pink.


Really like the shimmer in this, although its not very pigmented but its fine over my UDPP. Been wearing this loads for work over the past couple of weeks. Love it.


Overall I'm made up with my little win, I'm on a bit of a roll recently and this is definitely the best.



Highly recommend checking out their site.

Collection 2000 - Perfecting Minerals Foundation

Hello there my foundation hunting sisters!!

So, like most of you, I am constantly on the look-out for a truly fabulous foundation that will take away all my skin worries. Over the years I have tried sooooooo many. Most of which I have been unhappy with.

***

Brief History:-

For a couple of years I used L'Oreal Cashmere Touch (I think it was called) it made my skin look smooth, but always went patchy as it slid off my face.

I moved on to Estee Lauder Double Wear. I love how this foundation actually stays put. And no patchyness!!! But my pores started to look more obvious. (Review coming up soon)

Therefore, around March I began using the Bare Minerals foundation after purchasing the get started 6 piece collection. (Again review coming soon)

However, the Bare Minerals is around £17 for 2g worth of foundation, which lasted me around 2 months. I had to find a cheaper alternative.

***

There are LOADS of mineral products out there, but I stumbled across the Perfecting Minerals and it was £5 for 15g! For that price I will try anything!

I LOVE this foundation. For the price it is amazing. I pop on my moisturiser and primer and smooth it on and my skin looks lovely. It just evens out my complexion beautifully whilst remaining natural, which I like for the day.

It's a bit thicker than other mineral products I have tried so it doesn't need building up, it just goes on like foundation, with the benefit of not having to blend the jaw line!! Oh, and it has a brush included - but it shreds loads so you probably won't use it.

Here's what it looks like on my skin (phone pics so not too clear)...

Please excuse my sleepy eyes, I have not slept more than 6 hours max a night in 2 weeks and it was first thing in the morning!

Advantages:-

1. It is super cheap and there is loads!!
2. Very smooth on skin
3. My skin looks bright and it smooths out my pores.
   

Disadvantages:-

1. When my skin gets hot it can itch a little (but I mean when I get really hot)
2. It probably needs touching up to look perfect all day - although I don't because my skin looks even all day.
3. There aren't enough shades (only 4). I use the darkest shade in Biscuit and it's too light so I always have to put Bare Minerals warmth on too.

I would definately recommend trying this, I was very pleasantly surprised!

Giddy Princess xxx