Bare Minerals Stroke of Light Eye Brightener Review
It Is a Tube of Goo
When you first open the package, Stroke of Light by Bare Minerals looks like an ordinary tube of concealer, or perhaps a flesh-tone lip gloss. It twists open to reveal a fleshy goo (that comes in four different shades, from peachy-fair to "deep") that is applied via a spongy tip.
According to the company, this product is mean to "diffuse shadows" and hide fine lines and wrinkles while providing light-to-moderate coverage for dark spots around the eye. I received a sample of this from Sephora.com and was so satisfied that I purchased the full size.
What It Is
Stroke of Light is a product intended to be worn under your foundation to correct mild-to-moderate imperfections in the eye area. As we age we experience more darkness, fine lines, and other imperfections around the delicate skin of the eye. This creamy concoction is said to not just correct these, but to also reduce those imperfections over time.
What It Isn't
This is not strictly speaking a concealer. It does conceal, but the coverage is fairly sheer. It helps to disguise dark spots, but you may have to apply the product more heavily over especially dark areas.
Why I Like It
I've had issues with concealers and eye brighteners in the past not providing decent coverage, providing too much coverage, and being a strange color. The slightly sheer coverage means that it blends well and you don't have to worry about weird discolored areas around your eyes. It also mixes will with the Bare Minerals foundation (a powder) so that you would barely know that you're wearing an under-eye product.
I've also used powder concealers, or caked on extra foundation to conceal those veins under my right eye or in the outer corners. While this works, the powder concealers do settle into lines and create an illusion of aging. Which is the exact opposite of what you want to happen.
If there is a down side to this product, it's the price (then again, all Bare Minerals products are a bit expensive) and the lack of staying power. I have dry eye and my right eye often tears up, which tends to wash away the Stroke of Light fairly easily, even with mineral veil applied on top.
If I had to make any other complaints, it would be the lack of color selection and the lack of a trial size or kit version that would allow someone to try the product easily without making that $22 commitment.
If you aren't sure about the coverage or the color, go to your nearest Bare Escentuals retailer or Sephora store and see if there is a trial version available.
How to Use, Where to Buy
The product is pretty simple to use if you've used any kind of concealer in the past.
1. Before or after applying your foundation (but after any kind of lotion or moisturizer), dab a little bit of product on problem spots with the wand.
Your problem areas may vary, but common spots are the inner corner of the eye, the outer corner of the eye, and the area underneath the eye.
2. Pat gently with your fingertip to blend, and apply a dot more if you still need a little more coverage.
3. Once it is more or less blended in, go ahead with or finish your normal makeup routine.
Hey! I even supplied un-retouched photos of an actual human face to help you!
The color used here is Luminous 2, because that's the one they sent me as a sample. Based on the foundation I use, they recommend using Luminous 1, but I find that this color works fine for me.
Stroke of Light by Bare Minerals is $22 and can be purchased at many beauty retailers that carry Bare Minerals products, including Sephora and Beauty.com.
More information can be found at http://www.bareescentuals.com/
