A Makeup Revolution!

As a liquid foundation lovin' gal, I was dubious when asked to head into Kit Cosmetics for a makeover with BareMinerals by Bare Escentuals. My skin is quite dehydrated and can suffer from the dreaded flakies, and I had always feared powder foundation with a passion. My friend Candice was the polar opposite, and once I led her over to the liquid-foundy-dark-side, I decided to be fair and try this mineral foundation out.

I mosied on down to the Kit counter in Myer Melbourne with my mother and neice in tow, and was greeted by the stunning Leah Capponi, who is the National Makeup Artist for Kit Cosmetics. My Mum promptly fell in love with her, and wouldn't stop commenting on how passionate and attractive Leah was. Leah also made my neice swoon by complimenting her freckles and baby blue eyes, which was really cute, but I put on my blogger hat and got down to learning about BareMinerals.

A makeup revolution? Intriguing! Leah shared the BareMinerals story with me from it's inception, and I was fascinated to learn that if you had to sleep in any makeup, this would be the safest option. As a lazy lady, I appreciate knowing that it I slip up my skin won't hate me as much as it otherwise would. I haven't slept in this (yet?) but it's nice to feel reassured anyway.

Leah went over the two options for the range, which was a matte foundation option or one that creates a more luminous canvas. I went for luminosity, of course, and before that was applied Leah applied the BareMinerals primer on me. I was colour matched to the lighest shade within the range ('Fairly Light') and she mentioned that my Mum would be matched to the darker shade within the light family, simply named 'Light'. As I sipped my Pelegrino, Leah buzzed around me, constantly dropping pearls of wisdom as she buffed me to perfection.

Whilst you have the option to purchase items from the BareMinerals line separately, they have created a starter pack which I think is great value and the easier option (IMO).

The pack contains two versions of a shade, for example my LIGHT kit contains a 'Fairly Light' as well as a 'Light' so it is perfect for those who swing between shades in summer and winter. A sample of the primer helps make sure your application at home goes smoothly (ha!), and a pot of concealer is supplied to let you cover up anything the foundation didn't manage to. I would say this is medium to full coverage foundation, at least it is on my face. The pot of 'Warmth' within the starter pack acts as a bronzer substitute. You use it in the same spots you would a bronzer, but it creates a much more natural and wearable healthy glow to your look (despite it looking scarily dark in pot, it isn't dark at all) A mineral veil adds some highlight and luminous to your face, and voila! You're lookin' good!

With the amazing Leah- stunning, right? And nice. And intelligent. The lady has it all!

Brushes and an instructional DVD are also supplied with the BareMinerals Get Started kit, which enforces the importance of the method with which you are to apply these products. Say it with me now:

SWIRL > TAP > BUFF

Shake a little bit of product into it's lid and swirl your brush all up in it. Tap the brush on the edge to get rid of any unneeded excess, and buff it into your face. When you think you're done buffing? Buff some more. The more you buff, the better it looks, in my experience. I tend to think of it as a free arm workout with my makeup ritual, but it does take a bit longer than my usual slapping on of liquid foundation, so I tend to use this on weekends or days off when I have time to play with makeup looks and take more time with ita all. This is what was in the pack that Kit Cosmetics and BareMinerals kindly gifted me after my makeunder(which was to celebrate the launch of BareMinerals within Kit stores)

The sexy box that it all comes in, information booklets, instructional DVD and 'Prime Time' primer sample.

A face brush, a smaller face brush and concealer brush. Two pots of SPF15 foundation, one pot of 'Warmth', one pot of 'Mineral Veil' and a pot of concealer. See what I meant about value? This is the perfect kit for someone just starting out in makeup as you can get a sheer coverage with it or build it right up, and you get all the tools you need to nail application. For $84.95, I think this would make a really nice Christmas gift, too. I've used these products on my face as well as on my best friend Candice's, and they're lovely. For someone who had a fear of powder, that says a lot.

The BareMinerals range of products is now available at Kit stores Australia wide, click here to find stores near you. The Get Started kit is valued at $144.95 and retails for $84.95

If you are interested in experiencing a 'makeunder' of your very own there are some available in the coming days- click here for more information and to book in with Kit.

( visited Kit Cosmetics as a guest of EGPR and would like to thank them for the invitation. The Starter Kit was provided as a gift but does not affect my opinion or review of the products within.)

Viva La Colour with Kit Cosmetics!

I was lucky enough to be invited along to Kit Cosmetics to get my face made over, to celebrate the Mexican-inspired Viva La Colour collection they have instore. I went along with the beautiful Melissa , who has also blogged about the experience here. Kit is always one of my first stops when I visit the city, the staff are super helpful without being pushy and the range is kept fresh. The store stocks the Kit brand as well as other winners such as Mario Badescu, Smashbox and Too Faced. If you have never been into a Kit before, try and swing by- it's amazing in there!

Products in the Viva La Colour collection

My gorgeous MUA Caitlin was rocking a seriously bright face, including a fuschia lip using a lippy from the collection. I chose to incorporate bright eyes as well, but with a tangerine lip to mix it up a bit.


The empty Kit stand, as we were using most of the goodies!



My skin was cleansed-toned-moisturised before the fun began!



The base being applied.

I have the biggest lemming for the new foundation Caitlin chose for me, the new Mineral Liquid Powder Foundation ($44.95) I was matched to the shade Light, and I found that my flakies weren't accentuated and my skin looked great well into the night. Very impressed with the kabuki that was used, it was so soft I sighed when my foundation was being applied!

Colour was introduced

I was fascinated with the yellow that Caitlin had used on Melissa before me, and so we used that paired with the pink above, and lined the lower lashline with the purple from the top of the image. I don't usually choose purple for my eyes, so was happy that Caitlin had made me branch out.

'Wow Factor' eyeshadow



The completed look!



Caitlin, Melissa and Moi



A dopey face, but how bright is that shadow! Squee!



Flash made me super-shiny, looked much better in person. Was at home at this point, hence the change in lighting.

 

Caitlin and myself, in front of the gorgeous Viva La Colour stand

At the end of my makeover Caitlin asked what my two favourite products were, and wrapped them up for me! I chose the cheek and lip duo I'd been lemming for ages, and the Fire Lighter lipstick.


My beautiful gifts!



Fire Lighter and 'Pretty Cheeky' duo

Overall the whole experience was wonderful, and reminded me that bright makeup doesn't have to be scary and intimidating. With the right technique you can pull off looks you have always dreamed of, but you never know if you don't try! A big thank you to the EGPR beauties, Caitlin and the Kit team for having me.
emmabovary xx

*All images were taken with my camera and belong to me. I was a guest of EGPR and Kit Cosmetics for this event, and though I was kindly gifted two products it in no way affects my review of the experience.