Bare minerals original foundation review

Hi everyone, I got some good feedback for my last foundation first impression/review, so I thought I'd do more. I'll alternate high end with high street brands, so today is bare minerals.
Let me start by saying I went to the counter in boots, edinburgh, told her I had combination skin with flaws and she recommended this foundation, I asked her if I should wear the matte and she said no... I'll go with the "pro". I don't have particularly large pores, not too oily skin and foundation generally stays quite well on my skin.
So what about bare minerals? Hmm, let's see!

No makeup. I'm pretty clear today but as usual, uneven tone and acne marks

This is the makeup freshly, applied. I love how it looks- it covers without masking, it looks like skin, it feels light and it's quick. I do have to do a few layers to get the coverage I like but that's no problem. No complaints here!

Two and a half hours later... OILY! If you zoom in, you will see a multitude of sins. It looks like a pound of makeup, it shows all my pores and it's wearing off my chin. This is how most foundations look on me after 8-10 hours. Not two and a half. I am certainly not impressed as this would need to be touched up every hour or two to keep on top of the fading and oiliness. I'm a mum, I don't have time for that. Maybe if you have drier skin this might still look good, but for me, it keeps getting worse.

Three hours later: It's separating, still Showing all my pores, marks where my glasses sit, still oily, my blush has faded, it's splotchy and it looks to be giving/highlighting spots on forehead. At this point I really wish I had something positive to say as I don't want to completely slate bars minerals as I love some other products. Just not this one! It doesn't feel heavy though.

 I won't repeat myself again, what I will say is that I am in my early twenties, and this foundation has settled in my lines, so if your over 25, I'd stay away. You can see it creasing under my eyes (I chose not to use concealer) and especially in my nasal/labial fold (lines from nose to mouth) WTF, really?

I could cope no longer and washed it off at 3pm after only putting it on at 9:30am.

Overall I am not happy with this foundation. I am not the type of person who liked to touch up her makeup. I want to put it on in the morning and trust that when I look in the mirror several hours later it will still be the same. I don't have time and quite frankly don't want to touch it up- it's something I've never done. 

I do love the finish of this foundation, so if you don't mind putting this in your handbag and touching up every few hours then this might work out for you. 

I would recommend if you do want to try this to go to the counter, have it applied and wear it all day. Don't do as I did- have it applied, looks great so buy straight away. 

This foundation is at a great price point at only £25. This is similar to mac or Clinique prices but cheaper than Estée Lauder, urban decay or Lancôme (who have better foundations!) 

Thanks for reading, kirsty xx

Morning skincare routine

Hi everyone! So I always harp on about how important a good skincare routine is to my clients but it's not as easy as buying a moisturiser and using it once a day. So I'm going to tell you what I use every morning and everynight. What I would like to remind you of is that your doesn't need to be as complicated as mine and I am constantly trying nee things so this changes a lot- for the everyday woman who doesn't work in beauty, find what you like and stick to it!  I'll tell you the products and brands I use and why. I'll also tell you my "lazy" skincare routine.

Typically there are three daily steps then weekly extras:
Cleanse
Tone
Moisturise

Extra:
Mask
Exfoliation

Let's start with my lazy morning skincare to easy you into it!

Cleanser: on a lazy morning I tend to cleanse my face with the garnier micellar water, or the Clarins one step facial cleanser. The Clarins one comes in different skin type formulas and since I have combination skin (oily forehead and norml cheeks) I use the combination to oily formula. The garnier only comes in one type. When I can't be bothered or I can't get to a sink to wash my face, I love these. If I have done a good cleanse the night before l am only getting off what has built up through the night and these do the job nicely.

Tone: if using the Clarins one it has a toner built in so no need, hooray!
If I use my garnier water then I follow with my garnier multi action toner I believe it's called. It clears spots, prevents any more coming through and fades acne marks. It's not too harsh or drying and I love it. I wouldn't recommend this for dry skin, but if anyone wants I can do another post with products for dry skin.

Moisturise: I really like the nivea moisturiser for normal to combination skin. It's in the white amd blue packaging and just does the job. It makes my skin very smooth and makeup goes on nicely on top.

Ok so now let's get onto what I usually do when I wear makeup or have some more time.

Cleanse: I use my philosophy 3 in 1 cleanser. This is really nice and gentle on the skin and doesnt irritate my sensitive skin at all. It doesn't claim to do a million and one things,  but it doesn't need to! It cleans my skin and keeps it breakout free without stripping my skin.
If I don't use that I use my Ren clay facial wash. I use this more when my skin is misbehaving as the clay draws out all impurities. Again not drying. With both I just apply on damp skin and remove with a really warm facecloth to open all my pores and get really clean.

Toner: stays the same

Moisturiser: I like my Clinique dramatically different moisturising lotion+ again doesn't claim to do a million things but I do like how smooth my skin feels! If not this its the nivea one.
When I have more time I also use my simple eyecream to keep away lines and hydrate my eyes. Makeup will apply smoother and my eyes are very dry due to hayfever! :(
At this time I also apply my bodysuit vitamin E chap stick.

Extras:
I don't exfoliate or use a mask in the mornings, I save these for evening to relax when the little one is in bed. I do use the facecloth to buff over my skin when removing my face wash and this is enough for me.

I hope I broke this down enough. Tried to keep it quite simple without using too much complicated terminology. Any questions, let me know!

Kirsty xxx