Bloom Review: Christopher Drummond Beauty Mineral Makeup

The next step on my at home spa day was to use one of the most exciting things included in my Bloom Ambassador box - The Christopher Drummond Beauty mineral makeup line! This line is new to Bloom and we were all really excited to give it a try.

I received a nice mini kit that included:

• SkinPrep Primer
• Duo-Phase Concealer in Light
• Veludo Velvet Foundation in Fair
• White Finishing Powder
• Saude Pelé Radiance Booster
• A Mini Brush

Personally, I was very excited to try out mineral makeup again. Until about 3 years ago, I was a tried and true Bare Minerals user and I used them for years. Sadly, I noticed that it suddenly wasn't giving me anywhere near the coverage I needed. Over the years my skin has become more and more reddish toned and it bugs the crap out of me. Once I finally realized that was when I stopped using mineral makeup since it wouldn't cover the red well enough. So, getting to try a different brand after so much time passing was exciting to me. Also, the Christopher Drummond line is green and non-toxic. It's even vegan approved, so it's nice to know you aren't putting any strange chemicals on your skin :)

So, first I used the primer all over. I actually really liked it - it's  been a long time since I used a skin primer and this one was very light and smooth. The next step is what kind of threw me - the concealer  Now, with Bare Minerals, you use a powder that's a little heavier for a concealer and then put your regular powder foundation over it. With this line, the concealer is an incredibly thick liquid. The info I received warned that a little goes a long way and man, they weren't kidding. The problem is because it's so thick, it didn't want to spread very far and it dried very quickly, so even though 'a little goes a long way' it didn't want to move that long way and I would just have to use more to cover all my spots. It did cover well though.

This was my whole face after just the concealer step. It covered ok, but it took forever to apply. I'm much more of a slap it on and run for the door kind of gal in the morning (hey, I've gotta get my beauty sleep) so this isn't exactly so practical.

This is my main 'redness' area - around the bottom of my nose. Also, since the concealer was so thick I didn't use it under my eyes. These pictures are with the Garnier Tinted Eye Roller. Anyway, the next step is to use the veludo velvet foundation all over. The instructions say that it works in layers and the more layers you do, the more coverage you will get. Well, layering with that teenie little brush was not exactly a pleasant experience, but I persevered.

This is just after putting on the foundation. The lighting in this picture actually hides the problems I had. The foundation didn't cover anything - it was more like a setting powder. Other than being powdery, my skin looked just the same as it did when I had just the concealer on. And I did several 'layers'. Also, the thick concealer combined with this powder really dried out my skin and of course the areas that needed the most concealer were the driest.

But, I persevered! The next step is the finishing powder - this is basically a white powder very similar looking to Mac Pre + Prime powder and it just went on translucent. Keep in mind, more powder = more drying...

But I persevered! lol How many times am I going to have to say that? The final step is to apply the radiance booster powder which is a very intimidating yellow color in the pot. It says to use sparingly, so I did, and I honestly couldn't tell any difference with it on. Maybe I'm already just too radiant? :)

This was my completed face. Even in this picture I can see some spots that are red and it bugs me. Also, I just look so ... powdery. I hate that look.

Sorry for the crappy picture quality here, but this was my biggest trouble area. See how dry and flaky my chin looks? And my spots still looked red. Now just red AND flaky. Not my favorite thing, seriously.

On a good note, there was something about this makeup that I loved.

The instructions said to use the concealer as an eye shadow primer and it worked fantastic for that! It not only primed my eye, but it covered all the annoying veins and things that I usually cover with a nude eye shadow before I add color. Unfortunately, this was really the only aspect of it that I liked.

This was my finished look with the Christopher Drummond makeup in actual daylight. See, while it looked ok in my bathroom lighting (which is awful as I'm sure you can tell), I look kind of splotchy in this photo. I see several spots just with the photo small that I don't care for and would have covered better with a different makeup. I wore the makeup out and about all day and by the time I came home a few hours later I looked shiny. AND I had zits where I had applied the concealer the heaviest. Yeah, that's great.

I give this product 2 out of 5 stars. I'm being nice and giving it the 2 stars because I did like the primer and the concealer was a great eye shadow primer. Other that that, I really did not like this line at all. It was difficult to use and didn't give me nearly enough coverage. When I take the time to use a foundation or any kind, I am doing it so it will even out my skin tone, which this did not. It took at least twice as long as any other makeup I've used and for very little pay out. I think it's great that the products are all natural, but the trade off is just not worth it to me if it means I have to look splotchy and zit covered - especially considering how much the kit costs. I had high hopes, but I'll be sticking with my usual liquid foundation for now.

Go here to learn more about this product line!

*I received the Christopher Drummond Discovery Kit for free to facilitate my review, but all opinions expressed are 100% my own.