Had a lovely surprise a few weeks back with a
beautyheaven comp win - an ASAP Pure Mineral Make-up set, and here's what arrived shortly after :-) An even bigger treat was that I was able to choose the colours of the products.
Although I've heard numerous ravings about their skincare, especially the serums (next on my list), I'm new to the ASAP brand, and after trying all of these makeup products, I'm pretty darn impressed. I've used all of the items several times this week (except the concealer brush) so here's a rundown of my experiences so far...
Packaging:
The whole range is beautifully presented in white boxes with silver trim, all stating "Not tested on animals" and "Australian made and owned". The cardboard foundation and base sleeves also say "Does not contain talc, mineral oil, artificial colour or fragrance". Inside the packs, all containers are super shiny silver, very elegant and have an exceptionally high end look and feel.
The system consists of a translucent powder
base (one shade fits all) and a tinted foundation powder, both of which are buffed into the skin using a kabuki brush. The foundation contains SPF15, anti-inflammatory ingredients, chromabright, & hyaluronic acid microspheres - all designed to protect, soothe, brighten & plump the skin.
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| ASAP Pure Base |
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| ASAP Pure Base - RRP $35 |
The super soft
kabuki brush is made from natural hair, and only shed a couple of strands the first time I used it, none since. As I've never used this brush type before, I can make no comparisons with other brands, but it sure strikes me as a quality product - the bristles are densely packed, perfectly domed, and the feel of it against my face is like a soft caress.
Inside both the base and makeup containers is a plastic sifter insert for dispensing the powder - one of those thingies you twist until all the holes are lined up. I tapped a small amount of the pale pinky base powder into the lid, and used the brush to buff it into my skin. There was an immediate mattifying and colour-balancing effect on my complexion, and almost enough coverage for me to consider leaving it at that! I'm joking of course - it actually has very little tint, but that's my way of saying I was very pleased with how my skin looked after step one:-)
I had no idea what makeup shade to choose from the website pics - with medium yellowy undertoned skin, #one looked to be the best match, but I was concerned it would be too pale. However the lovely Adrienne from ASAP came to my rescue - after emailing her with some examples of the foundation shades I'm currently wearing, she provided the perfect match for me, one.five. This was effortless to apply - so far I've only tried a light coverage as it hid all my nasties with a minimal layer, and I didn't want to look overly made-up. The results were excellent (see pic below) - I was so surprised that a powder could give me such a smooth and even finish, and not collect in my creases.
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| ASAP Pure Mineral Make-up one.five RRP $45 |
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| ASAP Pure Base + Pure Mineral Make-up shade one.five |
In the past, I've had no success with any brand of mineral make-up - every single one of them just didn't sit right, emphasised my enlarged pores, and accentuated my wrinkles, so I was delighted to find this make-up gave me the best finish I've experienced so far from a mineral foundation, streets ahead of others on the market. However the reflective properties are a tad more than I'm comfortable with for my ageing skin issues - kind of a pearlised look which makes my not so perfect skin texture a little more obvious, but on younger skin, I believe this soft sheen would be stunning. The coverage is amazingly good though - it blended in my freckles, and even disguised the spider veins around my nose without any additional application (which is why I haven't used the concealer brush). One other thing, if you're a blush-loving gal, stick to powder formulas - my first try-out using a cream blush was messy as it shifted the base and looked uneven, although that may well be an application technique issue that I'm not yet experienced enough to master.
My kit contains so many black liners and I almost never wear brown, so I chose the charcoal shade - it's actually more of a medium grey than a traditional just-this-side-of-black charcoal, but very delicate and pretty. Swatched on the back of my hand, the colour is deep and dense, but on my oily eyelids, it turned out quite pale, even after going over it numerous times. The texture is smooth, creamy and quite firm, but didn't tug my skin at all, and I experienced no irritation whatsoever. If you like more subtle liners, then you'll love this - nowhere near bold enough for this particular "out there" chicky, but I love the fact that it contains Vitamin E. Although I believe it's safe to use on the waterline, I found it clumped and became uneven in less than a minute. There's an EOTD pic using it further down the page...
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| ASAP Mineral Eye Pencil - charcoal RRP $20 |
Once again, exquisite packaging - the silver container is sleek and sassy, and the lid closes firmly. Inside, the base that holds the pan is clear acrylic for an ultra-modern look, and there's a mirror under the hood. You probably know by now that I am a colour freak, and as there are only what I call "neutrals" in the range, I chose # eight, a soft slightly sparkly dove grey.
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| ASAP Mineral Eye Colour - # eight RRP $30 |
This pretty powder shadow has a silk-like finish - it's creamy and blendable, and another very pleasant surprise, not one speck of fallout! It is however incredibly sheer - applied to bare skin, it takes quite a bit of building to make it visible, and without a primer, doesn't last more than a few hours. Over the top of a base though, I adore it for it's soft feminine shimmery qualities, and love how it gives my eyes a kind of dreamy misty look. In the coming weeks I'll be having a play to see how it performs when applied with a moist brush - the shade is quite unique in my collection, and I'm determined to find the best way to show it off :-)
Although I believe this is to be an excellent mascara, it was probably my least favourite of all the products, no doubt due to my particular lash circumstances. I love the packaging, and the brush is unusually clever - the end of it has a bulge and is really "bendy" and flexible, which made it far easier to apply the product to my lower lashes without it smearing onto my skin, and the wand loaded up with just the right amount of product. It kept the lashes well separated, and the formula held the curl exceptionally well, but my lashes are so sparse, I really need a mascara with fibres to get any semblance of fullness. The other problem is it's not waterproof - I'm a mega-blinker, and my eyes water at the drop of a hat. While this mascara didn't smear or run (it is water resistant), disappointingly it had flaked a fair bit under my eyes by the end of the day :-(
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| ASAP Mineral Mascara - black RRP $35 |
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| Charcoal Mineral Eye Pencil, # eight Mineral Eye Colour & Black Mineral Mascara |
Love this lip liner :-) Shade one is a gorgeous natural pink that camouflages all of my freckly spots, and creates a perfect base for any lipstick. This is the only lip pencil I have ever owned that I don't have to sharpen after every use - it's quite firm but not the least bit drying, creating the perfect lip outline is a snap, plus I find it also prevents any lip colour from bleeding into the fine lines around my mouth. It's no wonder it won a beautyheaven Glosscars earlier this year. There are four colours in the range, and I will definitely be buying the other three :-)
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| Mineral Lip Pencil - shade one RRP $20 |
What a gorgeous gorgeous lipstick! In my opinion, this is the jewel in the crown of the ASAP mineral range. Shade four is a delicious soft nudey pink with luscious moisturising power, and one of the most flattering colours I have ever worn. Even after a meal, the pigmentation is still strong, and it has enough built in gloss to not need anything over the top, and that's coming from a gloss addict. It's pricey at $30, but containing Vitamin E, Avocado & Jojoba Oil and those groovy little microspheres, I won't hesitate to invest in shades one and two as well.
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| ASAP Mineral Lipcolour - shade four RRP $30 |
Summary:
Overall I think this is an excellent range, and I'm so thrilled to have had the opportunity to try out all but one of the products - the bronzer (shade two) is definitely top of my wishlist for this Christmas (hint hint Santa). Thankyou again beautyheaven and ASAP for this delightful and luxuriously indulgent prize :-)
Take care of you,
kats xxx
