BareMinerals Christmas calendar review

 

Today we are reviewing a full-face om makeup, and a bit of skincare from the BareMinerals Christmas Calendar I got last year.

If you are not interested in reading this full thing, you can watch the review on the makeup on my YouTube channel.

 

I bought this calendar because I have wanted to buy some stuff from BareMinerals before, but didn’t want to invest in full sizes.

I have heard good things about them, but the main reason I wanted to try them out was because they are 100%:

• Paraben-free (parabens can affect hormones)
• Phthalate-free (can also affect hormones, and interrupt their production)
• Formaldehyde-free (can cause irritation in eyes, nose and throat)
• Chemical sunscreen-free (can irritate eyes and cause rashes)
• Triclosan-free (can affect the environment and end up in the ocean)
• Triclocarban-free (can affect hormones)
• Propylene glycol-free (only found that in very high doses it can be toxic-uhh makes sense?)
• Mineral oil-free (can irritate the skin, causing rashes or burning feelings.
• Microbead-free (these are too hard to filter, and can therefore end up in the environment)
• Cruelty-free (they do not test on animals)

This is what I found online about these things, and I think it is a good thing both for us and the environment. (even though to be honest I have never heard of half of these things)

 

Usually I always have their words written with the review, but this time it is just a short (hopefully one sentence) telling of what the product should do, else this post is going to be one million years long.

 

Gold mask

Infused with natural gemstones, and helps hydrate with hyaluronic acid.

 

First off, this mask somehow smells kind of some sort of chocolate (you will see this thought later on too).

When the Colour first comes out, it looks very golden, but when it comes on the skin it kind of shifts. It goes from brownish to golden where the light hits.

It was fairly easy to apply but kept on smelling like some sort of weird chocolatey thing.

The mask felt pretty much like nothing when I had it on, it never tightened or anything, just stayed there. Therefore I also kind of forgot that I had it on, and only remembered because I looked myself in the mirror, luckily the mask had been there fore only 15 minutes, which is what it was supposed to.

I took it off, and noticed that my face did feel a bit hydrated (not much), but at least it didn’t feel tighter. The metallic gold in there was hard to get off, so even after washing my face, my face was glittering here and there.

Even though I didn’t feel a really hydrating effect, I would still like to try their little gems mask set, that is 4 different metallics, with different purposes. If not for the aftermath, then for their instragrammable design.

 

 

Skin longevity vital power infusion

Helps reduce visible signs of aging and damange, improves skin’s resiliency and suppleness, and protects the skin against age accelerating factors. An exquisitely nourishing formula replenishes your skin’s vitality and natural glow.

 

I was so intrigued about this thing when I saw it at first. On this small bottle, it only says it is a infusion, but when I looked into it, it is a serum.

This somehow has a faint citrusy scent.

I read that it showed effects after about 14 days, but I have been a slug about using it, (I have used it consistently for about 3 days, and of course haven’t seen the effect) I will use it up, and then tell you at that point, how well it did.

The serum is very liquid, almost watery, but therefore applies easily. It absorbs quickly without feeling sticky or uncomfortable afterwards.

 

 

Prime Time original foundation primer

Formulated without preservations, oil, fragrance or skin irritants, it glides on like silk with no stickiness and helps to smooth out your complexion instantly before you apply foundation.

 

First off, I used waaay too much of this primer at first.

The consistency is very gel like and wet, but nice and silky when you put it on.

Felt very nice (actually felt like the best primer I have ever applied),but I am not sure I felt like it really helped with anything (other than feeling good). Maybe the other products were just meh, but I don’t really know.

Afterthought: it looks like they don’t say anything about this primer making your face last longer, which I thought, but it is just supposed to make your face ready and beautiful for the next products. In that case, it might be pretty good.

 

 

Complexion Rescue Defence radiant tint protective moisturizer

A lightweight daily lotion formulated with sugar molecules to help block pollution particles, cacao extract to help protect against the damaging effects of blue light and mineral SPF 30 to protect against sun damage, for optimal indoor and outdoor protection.

 

This product got me very confused. It is a moisturizer, that is also a tint (I guess like a BB-cream or something), but you can use it under AND over makeup, which confuses me even more.

The tint is very light, and when blended looks exactly as my skin colour, so I don’t even know why they call it a tint. It does moisturize and feel nice and smooth, but I really think it is biting over more than it can chew.

I will still use this up to see if it can grow on me, because who doesn’t want to be protected all day long.

 

 

Original Mineral Veil

This ultra-fine mineral powder blurs the look of pores and fine lines to give you a soft-focus, instantly airbrushed finish. The weightless, never-cakey formula helps makeup wear longer, with no flashback in photos so your skin looks insta-perfect every single time!

 

This mineral veil is like a “topper” or powder for your face, sealing in the products and making it sit where it sits. It suited my face nicely colour wise, had no scent and did its job. Easy peasy.

It did not last long though, but that might just be because we went from a very sheer and natural look- and well, I did walk a lot out in the cold that day- and were even accompanied by some nose blowing.

 

All over Face Colour – Faux tan

I did not use this product, why would I? It was not my colour at all- way to dark, and me using it for my face would be the joke of the decade. I might use it as something else later on, like maybe a bronzer.

Somehow I cannot find this product anywhere, the only thing kind of alike I can find on their website is a bronzer that is an all over face colour- which is not what the one I got was named.

 

 

 

Blushes – Hint – Golden Gate – Pink me up

Pink me up: the good-for-skin, untra-creamy formula is long lasting, blendable and features our new Blurring Mineral Complex for a brightening, soft-focus effect.

Hint and Golden Gate: Our creamy, lightweight bareMinerals Powder Blush gives your skin a healthy, fresh vibrancy that looks fresh and natural- because it is natural.

 

I don’t get why these all had shimmer in it. To me, blushes should make you blush, meaning; you should look flushed, just like you came from a short walk or the cold fresh weather. The way they are going just makes me feel like they said: fuck it; put shimmer in it all!

They were all pretty colours even though I only used the Pink Me Up blush simply because that one looked a bit less shimmery. The blush somehow managed to kind of live through my long day in cold weather and long walks, even though most of my face didn’t, so I am impressed.

 

 

Highlighter – Free

This clean, mineral highlighting powder provides long-lasting, lit-from-within luminosity while blurring the appearance of pores and imperfection. The talc-free, glitter-formula gives you a smooth, photo-ready finish that won’t crease, cake or crack.

The highlighter was very pretty, golden but still subtle. Not the best I have ever tried, but still did its job well. It was very A-OK.

Afterthought: maybe I was just a bit harsh to my face that day, so I will definitely use it again. To be fair, it did hold up pretty well.

 

 

Bronzer – Warmth

It has Mineral Blurring Microspheres to instantly blur the appearance of pores and imperfections for a photo-ready finish.

I only used a bit of this bronzer, but it was so beautiful. The colour was perfect and gave just a bit of dept to my face. I will definitely use this one again.

But why is there also shimmer in this one??

 

 

Eyeshadows – Nude beach – Queen Tiffany – Heart

The rich, velvety shades are buildable and blendable for a dynamic variety of warm-hues eye looks with a weightless feel.

 

Can you guess the first thing I noticed?

Shimmer. Shimmer, shimmer, shimmer. Why does everything have shimmer.

The colours are pretty, brownish, reddish, nudeish. But the shimmer threw me off. I did a “one colour” eye look, which means I went back to basic and just used one colour all over the lid. Simply because I didn’t want to blend all these shimmery eyeshadows together.

The one I tried held up very well, were fairly pigmented, and stayed put all day, so I will be using this again with some mattes from my own collection.

 

 

Mascaras – Lashtopia – Lash Domination

Lashtopia – provides up to 10x the lash volume while lifting and separating for fanned out, fluttery eyelashes. The all-day formula is smudge-, clump- and flake-resistant, and is our blackest mascara yet.

 

I could not find the Lash Domination with the right wand.

I did a one eye thing, where I could actually use both of these.

The lash domination had a fun, swirling wand, and the mascara itself was good (I just don’t get how you are supposed to twirl and put mascara on at the same time. The mascara held up until I had to take it off, and gave good length, but not as much volume. It didn’t clump, but. But. But. When I took it off. And this might just be unlucky; but a few of my lashes just fell off when I took it off. The eye with the lashtopia didn’t. I know you lose eyelashes regularly, but 3 lashes at the same time? Maybe I am just dramatic, and it was a coincidence, but it kind of makes me want to not use it again.

The Lashtopia was a fibre mascara, and therefore looks more lifelike, but it also clumped more. It did give volume and length, but not as much as the other mascara at all. On the other hand, it was super easy to take off again.

I am not sure if I will use these again that much, because they just don’t live up to my favourite at all.

 

 

Lip products -2 mattes, 1buttercream, 1 patent lip lacquer, 2 glosses, 1 lipstick

 

Gen nude Matte liquid lipstick in BO$$ and SWANK: long-wearing, cream-to-matte colour with a lightweight, no tack texture. Formulated with moisturizing ingredients to counteract dryness, this matte liquid glides on silky smooth with a subtle vanilla scent.

Gen nude Buttercream lip gloss in Heartbreaker: delivers ultra-creamy moisturizing colour with sheer buildable coverage and balmy, non-sticky shine. Formulated with plumping ingredients for fullness without the tingle. Contains a subtle vanilla scent.

Gen nude Patent Lip Lacquer in Everything: the cushiony, hydrating formula features our moisturizing mineral complex to help keep lips soft, while a dual-sided applicator smooths on full coverage with one swipe.

Moxie plumping lip gloss in Rebel and 24Karot: our high gloss Moxie formula contains naturally derived peptides that make lips look fuller and more voluptuous. Helps to hydrate and smooth, while and infusion of minerals revitalizes lips for a healthy look. The subtle peppermint tingle feels refreshing with every application.

Barepro longwear lipstick in Petal: gives you lasting full-coverage matte colour with a comfortable, virtually weightless finish. The vegan formula is transfer-proof, waterproof, smudge-proof, budge-proof and kiss-proof, with naturally derived oils and waxes to help soften the lips.

 

There were a lot of lip products in this box, and that only makes me happy. I love lip products, and especially lipsticks.

I tried the 2 mattes first. They smelled soooo good. The colours were called BO$$ and SWANK, and that one name is just so unfortunate I feel. What in the world is swank? The colours were both browner that they looked in the bottle. Regarding the scent, I honestly felt like they were more chocolatey than vanilla scented.
I started with BO$$, and it did not look like I wanted it too. I instantly saw that the colour, just were not for me.
The colour SWANK I liked the more, but it was not the colour I was looking for. The name still makes me giggle though.

Buttercream – Heartbreaker. This one was very wet and sticky compared to the mattes, but instead I LOVED the colour. And oh- is that shimmer I see in there? Once again with this, it smelled more like chocolate than vanilla, I think. When I first heard the name buttercream, I thought it would be like some kind of lipstick but creamier, instead I got a lip gloss… A LIP GLOSS. I am so sorry, but if you have been here for long, you know: I DO NOT like sticky stuff ☹

Patent Lip Lacquer – Everything. This one looked like. NOTHING. Just like my lips but glossier. Again, it felt more like lip gloss, than like anything else. This one also had a weird chocolatey scent. My lips felt way too sticky after taking it off, so I don’t get the “keep lips soft” part.

Then I took the two lip glosses in Rebel and 24Karat.
Rebel smelled like heaven- really minty- the colour was very nice, even though it was not really a colour- I know, I know, it is a gloss. It sat in my cracks (in my lips of course), and I was not happy about that.
24 Karat, I actually accidentally called 24 Carrots in the video, so I at least got to laugh at myself. This one didn’t smell like mint, but still candy-like. It was very much like a topper, and only looked sparkly. It can be nice as a topper, but on its own I looked kind of sick. The glitter didn’t really want to go off after taking it off.
They both had a kind of fun doe foot applicator.

The last one was the make or break. The long wear lipstick in the colour petal. This one was soooo buttery putting on and it just felt great on the lips. The colour I really like, even though it comes off really sparse. It is buildable and very subtle, and therefore I ended up going for the lipstick, just like I always do.
I was very sad about how it held up though! As soon as I ate, the colour wore off. This just makes me super sad, since the name IS long wear. I know of course most lipsticks wear off when you eat, but if EVERYTHING just goes off as long as I touch food, how would it even hold up for anything else? That is not long wear enough for me. I still love the colour and feeling though.

They even said (as I wrote earlier, that is is: transfer-proof, waterproof, smudge-proof, budge-proof and kiss-proof) so let me show you!

 

 

 

Dew Mist Setting Spray

Use this makeup spray to set for extended wear and give your complexion a fresh, natural-looking glow.

 

I instantly failed actually hitting my face with this mist and I just laughed at myself when I missed. I am not so much of a setting spray/mist person, because I don’t feel like it helps that much. At the end of the day, all of my face was gone, so I really don’t know what this one helped with.

 

 

 

 

Note: everything on my face went on smoothly and were easy to blend. Mineral veil, blush, bronzer, highlighter and eyeshadows.

 

 

So, after trying and swatching all this, I just feel very disappointed. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of certificates, if the products you put out are all meh.

And why all the shimmer????? Was it just a Christmas, shimmery box, or does all their products look like this? It doesn’t make sense to me.

Another thing that I thought was fun. With all the labels they got; all the stuff they are free off, how in the world do their products end up smelling so fun? Like candy, chocolate and food overall? I kind of thought they would all smell like nothing.

 

I still want to try some of their other stuff, and this box definitely sparked my interest about their brand- even though I am not so happy with some the products in here.

 

 

Have you tried any of these, and what do you think?

Was it just an unlucky batch or do you agree?

 

 

I hope you all have a happy life, one day at a time!