There are a few indications that the ‘Insta make up’ look is on the wane. Firstly, an upsurge in interest in natural make up, forumulation wise, which rules out a lot of the chemical laden, shimmer shot, ultra pigment palettes which rely heavily on mineral oils. Secondly, make up sales across the board are down (remember what happened to nail polish) and thirdly, services to ‘undo’ micro-bladed, tattooed brows are up. We are heading for simpler times. I felt positively gleeful when these eyeshadow sticks arrived from bareMinerals for their sheer ease of use and undemanding nature. They don’t require blending, buffing or cut-creasing – you just glide them across your lid and that.is.it.
There have been various iterations of these before – Marks & Spencer for a start and does anyone remember Bobbi Brown Sparkle Sticks (HERE)? For 2019, the formula seems more refined than past products … it is literally one silky swipe over the lid and you have a low-key, lightly metallic glint. When you add some black liner at the lash line and a bit of mascara, your eyes look mesmerising – properly made up with almost no effort. I
I test ran Brilliant Bronze when I was out for drinks with friends last night. The key things that shadow sticks are culprits for are fading and drying the lids, leaving them looking creased and tight. Lids, as you know, can have a lot of natural oil which does lead to shadow fading or disappearing, particularly if they’re a creme formula like these. I had some cremes earlier in the year that literally only lasted 20 minutes. So, yes, after about 4 hours there was some minor (and I stress that) fade over the middle part of my lids while the corners – in and out – stayed perfect. But these are as simple a lip gloss so a top up is as easy as that. In terms of creasing my lids? Not at all. I’m so happy.
Shades from bottom to top are: Brilliant Bronze, Iced Champagne, Sunset Rose, Midnight Violet, Glistening Graphite and Rose Quartz. I can add that they are vegan friendly, contain naturally derived botanicals and have a 40% water content so feel cooling on the lids. This is £19 exceptionally well spent if you’re looking at your pile of palettes and feeling like you really can’t be bothered. If you spend more than £40 (easily done) you get a bareMinerals sample kit worth £27. You can find them HERE – my favourite shades are Glistening Graphite and Brilliant Bronze (especially if you have blue eyes).
Leave a Reply