makeup Archives - My Life: A Work in Progress

Review: Advanced Mineral Perfecting Concealer

26 September, 2013 8 Comments

As a member of the Tomoson blogging community, I received a free stick of Advanced Mineral’s Perfecting Concealer in beige cream.

Advanced Mineral Perfecting Concealer

About:

Created by television and film makeup artist Annie Mayo, Advanced Mineral Makeup is anti-inflammatory and allows skin to breathe. The vegan and paraben-free products contain no perfume, dyes, talc, or preservatives. Providing camera-ready coverage, these products are even used on the sets of Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS!

Visit the Advanced Mineral Makeup website to see the product list, including liquid mineral foundation, loose powder foundation, mascara, brushes, and more.

My Experiences:

I have problematic skin. I suffer from adult acne and hyperpigmentation. I have no problem paying more for skin care products and makeup, if they work. At the moment, I’m using a BB cream (mineral-based) on my skin instead of foundation, but I do like mineral powder foundation and have used it often in the past. This was the first time I’ve used a mineral concealer, and I don’t know why I’ve never tried before! I’ve had such good results with other mineral products; it makes sense a mineral concealer would work well for me too.

Now, when I say a product doesn’t break me out, I still break out. I will end up with acne, whether I’m wearing makeup or not. So what I look for are products that don’t make me break out more than usual. That was this concealer for me. I’m very happy with it. It gives me great coverage, blends in well, and I don’t break out any more than what’s normal for me. It’s also long-lasting. I can go all day, and it even survives toddler hugs and kisses. 🙂

Here are some before and after photos of me in outside light. It was sunny, but I was standing under a porch overhang. In the before photos, I’m wearing BB cream but no concealer. The photos are untouched.

I’m thrilled with this concealer! I will buy it when I’m out of this tube. The Advanced Mineral Makeup Perfecting Concealer retails for $24. You can find it on their website or on (affiliate link>) Amazon. If you purchase it on Amazon, you can receive free shipping with the super saver shipping deal or with an Amazon Prime membership.

I do want to note that I showed this concealer to a friend (yes, I’ve been raving about it to people), and she liked how the concealer blended but felt it was heavier than she prefers. Now, she does have MUCH better skin than I do. Personally, I think that someone with terrible skin like mine needs something a little thicker to cover the problem areas, and it doesn’t FEEL heavy to me. My friend also found the beige cream to be a little dark for her pale skin. Advanced Mineral only makes the two colors: beige cream and golden cream, but they’re meant to blend into different skin shades.

What do you think? Do you have a concealer you absolutely love? Would you give Advanced Mineral Makeup Perfecting Concealer a try?

Note: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. Affiliate links present and labeled as such.

Review: BA Star mineral eye shadow and glue base

19 September, 2013 6 Comments

*I received a complimentary container of BA Star mineral eyeshadow and a tube of their glue to review.*

About:

BA Star is a makeup brand for cheerleaders, dancers, competitors, and trend setters. They sell everything from glitter body/face stickers to cosmetic bags and mineral eye shadows. With prices already affordable, BA Star offers quantity discounts. They’ll even work with you on fundraising projects!

Visit the BA Star site to build a custom kit, watch makeup videos, or request a custom face chart.

My Experiences:

I received BA Star’s Deep Plum Star Dust mineral eyeshadow to review, as well as a tube of their Glue Shadow Base. The glue is meant to be applied underneath eye shadow as a base. It’s sweat-resistant and helps eye shadow stay put longer.

The mineral eyeshadow blends easily and has a lovely shimmer to it. In the photo below, I have it blended with a darker brown shadow in the crease, but I think it’d probably look better with a dark gray in the crease:

Here’s my full face with the shadow and glue:

To give you an idea of how well the glue works, I used the glue last Sunday when I had an Army Reserve event to attend. The ceremony was a three hour drive away, so I wanted my makeup to last six hours of driving plus the two or three hours of the event. I applied the glue (it comes in a tube and applicator stick like concealer) to my eyelids before applying eyeshadow. Please note that in the below photo, I am not wearing the BA Star eyeshadow. I decided the plum shadow was too “glittery” to wear while in uniform. Female Soldiers are allowed to wear makeup, but it must be conservative and natural. I decided better to play it safe, in this case, and chose a matte cream-colored shadow by another brand.

11 hours after applying eyeshadow (NOT BA Star shadow) and BA Star Glue Base — 11 hours after applying eyeshadow and BA Star Glue Base

I’m very pleased with both the shadow and the glue. I’ve found the glue typically lets me go an entire day -morning to evening- without reapplying shadow, and that’s with several different brands of eyeshadow, including BA Star. I still do get a little bit of shadow clumping in my eyelid crease after about six or seven hours, but there’s still plenty of shadow on my lids, as you can see above.

The BA Star mineral eyeshadows retail for $8.75, and they have over 15 colors plus matte options and palettes. The glitter glue is also $8.75; in fact, most of their products are, unless you take advantage of the quantity discounts…then they’re even cheaper! Overall, I think they’re good-quality products for an inexpensive price.

Visit BA Star at www.bastar.com to see what they have to offer.

Note: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.