Last Thursday, me and Bex attended a collaborative event between Stella & Dot and Bare Minerals at their boutique in St Albans. The event consisted of the ladies at Bare Minerals offering free makeunders, whilst Stella & Dot showcased some of their beautiful jewellery. Both businesses are quite similar in that they largely sell things online rather than in store.
I was really excited to attend as I'd already recently heard about Stella & Dot after spotting one of their stalls at the Soho Flea market in London last month. Stella & Dot are a company that are already heavily known in America and have recently expanded over to the UK, already becoming a fast success. I'd previously had a nice chat with some of the ladies at their stall at the Soho Flea market and fell in love with their jewellery immediately, instantly regretting not purchasing a bracelet I had my eye on that day.
I didn't know much about Bare Minerals as a brand previously, but on the day I soon learnt that they were a brand that used high quality products that not only work as make up should, but that also work to improve your skin when being used, rather than just covering up the problem.
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| Not the best quality, as this is a picture taken of a polaroid but still lovely! |
We were offered champagne or a soft drink upon arrival, and the girls soon began on our makeunders. I really, really loved mine - the girl doing mine was really nice and friendly, explaining what she was doing and what each product does. She also showed me how to recreate the look and as she was applying makeup, she gave me opportunities to do it myself as well to double check I was doing it right. I thought this was a lovely idea! She used only a few products but they made such a difference - not only did my skin feel much softer and smoother but overall I had a much more even skin coverage and many ladies in the store came up to compliment me!
I will say, it's often forgotten that there are two different ways of applying make up - there's putting make up on and there's applying makeup. I will admit, I'm guilty of just getting up and shoving my cover up on my face - I've never properly learnt how to contour and blend different shades properly because I always felt it took to long and that it wouldn't make much difference. However, the lady showed me that simply by using two different shades of cover up and applying them properly, it highlighted my face much differently and really made a difference.
I will admit I did look a tad too bronzed once I got outside but I usually find that to be a problem when you apply makeup under harsh lighting inside shops & such and as I'm so naturally pale anyway, it can be tough to not make me look too orange!
I found that the products she used were a little out of my price range but well worth it for the difference they made - I could also see that the products were long lasting too with you getting a lot for what you pay for. Had I not of purchased my bracelet, I most definitely would have purchased either the amazing cover up she used on me or the beautiful lipstick that earned me tons of compliments! She wrote down the products she used though so I will be going back to purchase them when I can afford it.
I also purchased my beautiful bracelet but as they were only showcasing their jewellery, I had to wait for it to be delivered and it arrived yesterday. It is pure perfection! Again, with Stella & Dot, I felt it was a little bit out of my price range personally, but I did feel the excellent quality reflected the price and the products are so beautiful. They are perfect for gifts.
Finally, I'd like to note that all the ladies I met at the event - from both Stella & Dot and Bare Minerals - were really, really friendly and chatty. It made such a difference and I even said that to them - to me, if you can speak to someone from a company like they are a friend and have a bit of a natter then that company becomes so much better in my eyes. Everyone loved hearing about my blog and my future plans for it and likewise they agreed that it makes all the difference being so friendly and easy to talk to as a business.
I really loved attending the event Thursday. It was lovely meeting new people and having a nice chat, I learnt quite a bit about how to 'properly' apply make up and as a bonus I finally got my bracelet!
