Benefit and Bare Minerals Miniatures

A few months ago, my friend and fellow blogger Coco Mykel, gave me three miniature samples that she did not want herself. These were Bare Minerals 'Stroke Of Light,' as well as Benefit's 'Posie Tint' and 'Stay Don't Stray.' Now I must admit, for a long while I forgot I even had these samples as they stayed pretty hidden within my enormous make-up bag due to their tiny size. However, over the past month or so, I have been using these products on quite a regular basis. Being that I am currently unemployed and therefore short of money, I do not have the spare cash to splurge on higher end products, so I have really enjoyed the luxury of using these samples instead of purchasing the full-size versions (I'm sure I will be very sad when they eventually run out.) So, without further ado, let's get to it!

Bare Minerals 'Stroke Of Light' Eye Brightener
This product is my new favourite under-eye brightening concealer. For years, I have been a sufferer of discolouration and dark circles under my eyes which I cannot not seem to shift or completely cover up. Up until now, I have been using Rimmel's Wake Me Up Concealer which is still a great product, but this one tops it by a mile. The main difference between these two concealers is their consistencies. Stroke Of Light is a lot thinner than Wake Me Up, which means that it's coverage is a lot more buildable and never runs the risk of looking too cakey or thick on the skin. Although it does not say on the packaging, by looking online I have come to the conclusion that I have the shade 'Luminous 2,' which matches my complexion perfectly. The full size version of this product is £22.00 but I think it is definitely worth the investment as it is such an amazing illuminating concealer.

Benefit's 'Posie Tint' Lip & Cheek Stain
Out of the three products in this review, this one is probably my least favourite and the one that I do not use that often. That being said, the great thing about this stain is the fact that it is multi-purpose, as it can be applied to either your cheeks or your lips. I have tried and tested both of these methods and I much prefer using the Posie Tint on my lips as opposed to my cheeks, where I like to use powder blushers instead. The pretty rose-colour leaves a nice and natural tint to my lips. This is great for days where I wear quite natural make-up but still want a subtle hint of colour to make my look more complete. For what it is, I really do not think this product deserves its £24.50 price tag for the full version but it is still nice nonetheless.

Benefit's 'Stay Don't Stray' Eyeshadow Primer
Last but certainly not least, I am not one to wear eyeshadow that often (I prefer a simple cat-flick using eyeliner myself) but this primer is great for days where I do like experiment with my eye make-up. To accompany my combination skin, I also have oily eyelids with is extremely annoying. I hate the way that my eyeshadow creases throughout the day and it never ends up looking as good as it did when I first applied it. Although this primer is not 100% effective in my opinion, it did stop the majority of the creasing and any oiliness from surfacing. 'Stay Don't Stray' is the same colour as what a foundation or concealer would be, which is also makes this product a good base to even out any uneven colouring on your lids. The full size version of this product is £20.50 which could seem pricey to some but a little goes a long way, so this product would last for ages and so it is a good investment.

I hope that this review has helped to give you all a good insight into the effectiveness of the products above. If you have used any of them before, I would love to know your opinions of them via a comment below. I would also like to thank Chloe (Coco Mykel) for giving me the samples of products that I would not have been able to get my hands on otherwise!