Afterglow Light Glow Kit

I just love sampler kits of any kind. A great eye shadow palette, a gift with purchase, a starter kit--these are what cosmetics dreams are made of. Am I right??? What a great way to try new products and get a great value at the same time. Enter the Afterglow Light Glow Kit.

Let's start with what you get: a stacked sampler set including 2 foundations (both light...Ivory for warm undertones, Bisque for cool undertones), bronzer (in medium), blush (in First Blush--a mauve color), translucent setting powder, and eye shadow (in Cashmere--a light gold color). Also included are a mini kabuki brush, a little petri dish for tapping out your minerals, and a shiny silver cosmetics bag to hold it all. Oh, and instructions.

I never jumped on the Bare Escentuals bandwagon. I think I am the only one. :-) So I may be the last girl on earth to try powdered mineral foundation, but apparently it was for good reason. After trying this kit, I am convinced I am just not a powdered foundation kind of girl.

A little about me so you understand where I'm coming from and what I expect from foundation. I have fair skin with cool undertones, but constantly wear sunless tanner, so I usually use the 2nd to the lightest foundation available in a line. I prefer to buy my makeup (especially foundation) in person at a department store so a professional can match me to my perfect shade and I can check out coverage, texture, etc. before I buy it. However, Afterglow is a relatively small operation and the closest store that carries it is 300 miles away, so the Light Glow Kit was the best I could do. I look for light, sweatproof coverage with SPF, similar to a tinted moisturizer that evens out skin tone but doesn't shine. I'm not into heavy, cakey makeup, and I don't usually break out so don't need too much coverage. Not too much to ask, right?

Bisque is probably the right foundation color for me. It provides medium coverage (a little more than I'm used to) and SPF, but I don't like the texture of the powdered foundation. Also, when applied near my eyes it accentuated my very first fine lines (which I actually hadn't noticed until this powder had settled into the cracks--OH SNAP). Perhaps a liquid concealer around the eyes would be best when using powdered foundation. It takes longer to apply (probably just because I'm not used to it) and I'm all about speeding things up in my beauty routine. However, to my friends who are into powdered foundation, I'd definitely recommend because it seems like good quality stuff. Oh, and the kabuki brush is sooooo soft!

Next in the little sampler tower comes the bronzer. Since I have fair skin, most bronzers are too dark for me, but I feel the need to complain that Afterglow included their medium bronzer in the Light Glow Kit. WHAT??? Why didn't they include their light bronzer?! Suffice it to say the medium was WAY too much for me. Moving on.

Blush! First Blush is a very pigmented mauve color, which is too dark for my fair skin. Note to Afterglow: in the Light Glow Kit, include a lighter bronzer and blush! That said, it is a BEAUTIFUL color, so for those of you with medium or darker skin tones, snatch this one up. It is shimmery, but not glittery, so it doubles as a highlighter. I will probably use this blush but re-purchase a slightly lighter color.

Next in the tower of fun is translucent setting powder. I don't really have too much to say about this one--it's just translucent setting powder. It does the job with no talc or toxic chemicals, so thumbs up.

The Cashmere eye shadow is good quality pure mineral eye shadow in a gold/bronze color. It has a slight shimmer to it. I have blue-grey eyes and am always on the lookout for eye shadow colors that really bring out the blue...this does not. So, it's a good color, but just doesn't do much for me.

So overall, my first experience with mineral cosmetics was a good one. Afterglow definitely makes good quality stuff, it's just that some of the shades in this kit weren't for me. Can I also just comment on the TIME it takes to apply mineral makeup? You have to shake out the perfect amount in the little petri dish and if you dump too much it's really hard to get it back in the pot. I prefer pressed powder eye shadow and blush for ease of application. But, if you're a loose minerals kind of girl, here's where you can buy it.