by Carla Louise | Nov 4, 2012 | carlalouise |
A week or so before I left my last job, one of the lovely ladies I worked with organised a beauty and pamper evening for us, which was run by make up artists from bareMinerals.
I have always been fairly dubious about the coverage of mineral foundations, and so was excited to have a chance to try it. The format of the evening was drinks and nibbles, followed by a demonstration we would follow along with, learning to use the products on ourselves. The artists who looked after us were from the Covent Garden branch of bareMinerals – Alex, Natalie, Maridelle and Lauren. They were all lovely, really helpful and generally fab to have around.
Set up and ready to go:
Being a brush addict, this was an exciting place setting… 
The skincare range was also provided for us to use, test and try out.
For each step of the make-under (cleansing, moisturising, priming, foundation and then eyes, cheeks, contouring, lips), Alex demonstrated on Kim at the head of the table and we all followed suit, assisted by the bareMinerals girls.
Here’s me all smiley after having been colour matched for foundation –
Natalie and Charlotte applying eyeliner…]
Decision time for Mandy and Tracey, and some expert assistance for Yemisi…
A happy Becky and me, showing off our entertainingly different skintones… 
And the finished products! Me in my original liquid lipstick, and when I discovered the red one – which I have since bought, I LOVE it!
And with Kim who organised it (blonde) Tracey (short dark hair) and Alex our make up artist on far right:
It was a great night, the products were fantastic (and I will try to do a separate post on the glorious eyeliner and liquid lipstick I bought and have worn every day since), the girls were knowledgeable and helpful but not in any way pushy, and it’s all very reasonably priced. And all-natural, which is always good.
Coverage-wise, I was pleasantly surprised by the foundation – it felt light on my skin, but was easily buildable to cover problem areas. I’m not sure I’m a total convert as I do love my liquid, but would definitely consider buying one to try out on an everyday basis when my current stash runs out.
by Carla Louise | Sep 30, 2012 | Uncategorized |
I know I haven’t posted a beauty review for absolutely ages, partly down to my 100 days of non spending challenge. Which is now over – woo hoo!
Mimi at Little Sips of Tea mentioned coconut oil and its wondrous properties a while go over on our other blog, and as I had half an hour to kill at Liverpool Street waiting for a train, I decided to buy a pot.
Boots’ version comes in a pretty glass pot, and is a bargainous £2.54 (or 254 points) for 100ml.
Coconut oil is solid above 23 degrees or so, and melts on contact with the skin. Mine has been in a continuous liquid state for the past week and a half, because it lives in my bathroom and my bathroom resembles a sauna. Or perhaps a steam room. Perhaps now winter is setting in, it will be more solid, more of the time?!
I wasn’t initially sure what to do with it first – it can be used as a body moisturiser, facial moisturiser, hair conditioner… so I tried all three.
As a body moisturiser, I am in love. It glides on, it doesn’t irritate my exceedingly sensitive skin even straight after shaving, it makes my legs glossy and lovely and it feels and smells amazing. General wisdom is that you should apply to damp skin to lock in the moisture, but I find just as effective to rehydrate parched skin.
I then tried slathering it on my feet (my feet are a disaster zone) and putting cotton socks on overnight. Although not quite a miracle worker, it was certainly as effective as my Body Shop hemp ointment.
*You’re not getting a photo of my feet, sorry*
As a facial moisturiser I sadly wasn’t as struck. I have naturally very oily skin, and though I think it probably needs more hydration than I give it (not to mention my Pepsi Max habit, which probably isn’t helping), putting oil on it instead of moisturiser wasn’t the most successful of experiments… it just slid and felt oily.
However, I know that Mimi finds it very effective as a facial moisturiser and says her makeup sits better when she uses it, so horses for courses (or skin types) – I’d certainly say give it a try.
As a conditioner I also liked it very much – I used it more like I would a hair mask, by washing and conditioning my hair as usual and then slathering it on the (very dry) ends and going to sleep. Washing it out in the morning it felt noticeably softer, and was swishier although still tangly all the next day. My hair is always tangly so I don’t think that’s a negative point, I’d be interested to know what other people have experienced using it this way).
I have been using it regularly as body oil and a hair mask and I am still less than a third of the way through the jar. All in all, a very well spent £2.54, my new favourite go-to product, and I have plans to try it during a manicure and on my elbows…
Essential statistics:
Full product name and brand: Boots Ingredients Coconut Body Oil
Buy from: Boots
Size: 100ml
Packaging: glass jar, paper label. Fully recyclable (or reusable as a candle holder) – ten out of ten!
Price: £2.54 or 254 Boots Advantage Card points
Alternatives: Superdrug (£2.29 for 125ml), Holland and Barrett (50% off sale on a huge jar, now £7.50 for 453ml, and claims it can also be used for cooking. Do not use the Boots or Superdrug versions for cooking!)
A happy Becky and me, showing off our entertainingly different skintones… 
