My dear readers, you know I’m not strictly a beauty blogger. But when my lovely friend Mitra asked me to join her at the Bare Minerals party in Canary Wharf to celebrate their new store with some bubbly and a “make under”, I couldn’t well refuse!

Mitra checking out the blushers…what makes you blush?

And that’s how I found myself stepping off a Stratford-bound Jubilee line tube at 7pm tonight and asking for directions to Jubilee Place. (Turns out it was right in front of me. Top marks for me with directional skills!)

After promptly getting lost and realising that Bare Minerals was in fact behind me; getting un-lost and thoroughly confusing the woman with the guest list before noticing my name was on the list; and then thinking I had to pay for the bubbly before realising it was, actually, complimentary, I was finally getting a “make under”. (Thank goodness, because today clearly wasn’t my day!)

Makeup artist Francesca looked after me and did a great job matching my skin tone and picking products I’d feel comfortable wearing. She quickly blended in the concealer (correcting concealer in light 1, £21), brushed on the powder foundation (golden fair, £25), dusted on some blusher (giddy pink, £19), and finished the look with a highlighter (well-rested face & eye brightener, £22).

Before and after!

But she only did one side so I could practice the other, and I’d had a few drinks that went straight to my head. Oh dear.

Drinking and makeup makes me think of Jenna Marbles.

So of course the only thing I could think of was Jenna Marbles’ drunk makeup tutorial. I started quoting it, but no one else had seen it. To avoid further embarrassment (on my part!) please watch it now:

After our “make unders” Mitra and I were feeling pretty glam, so we organised ourselves a mini in-store photoshoot!

When we left we received some adorable goodie bags with two lippies each. (Thanks Bare Minerals!) We each had one of the new Moxie liglosses, and ended up swapping my Amped Pink Loud & Clear for her Berry Remix, because she prefers pink and I prefer berry. Everyone’s happy!

Thank you Bare Minerals!

I’m really pleased I got to try the products because it had been on my list of things to do (but hey, I’m broke, busy and have several makeup bags full of “perfectly good” product that I intend to use up before I buy anything new… yada yada).

So far I’ve been really pleased with the lippie (I tried strength in a gloss + lipstick combo) and it’s felt super hydrating, not at all clumpy, and still looks fresh after a few hours of wear. It’s on my birthday list. (Hint hint Jeff!)

Unfortunately, in the same amount of time I’ve had to “blend out” the powder that keeps settling in my laugh lines (which has never happened with the makeup I wear on the day-to-day) three times already. It’s a shame because the coverage is brilliant and my skin looks flawless otherwise. (Is this because I put too much powder on? That’s a real question posed to anyone who uses Bare Minerals on the regular!)

Still, many thanks to Mitra for inviting me and Bare Minerals for hosting. I highly recommend you check them out, especially their lippies!

Cheers!