Free Bare Minerals make-under at BT2: you, only better

Scooping up my little Cosmo Cat I told him "Oh Cosmo, never drink".

With an indignant squawk he squirmed down and clattered out of the cat door, showing me exactly what he thought of me.

It was true, I looked like hell. I made my way into BT2 to get a BareMinerals makeunder, thinking - there's no way they're gonna be able to make me look any better. My skin was red and blotchy, my eyes had dark circles... you get the picture. So to say I wasn't convinced this would work was an understatement.

Picking the shade that matched my skin tone best, Dani swirled, tapped and buffed mineral foundation onto my face. "More?" she asked handing me a mirror. "Oh definitely more" I agreed. In fact I wanted more of everything. I wanted more concealer, more bronzer and definitely more eyeshadow. I was very taken with the eyeshadows in fact. Ranging in shade from the ultra subtle to the sparkly and glittery they were gorgeous.

Half of my face was made up so I could compare. The difference was striking and although I honestly couldn't see any lines or in fact any trace of the makeup on my face it was undoubtedly even-ing out my skintone, adding colour in all the right places and brightening. Suddenly the left side of my face didn't look hungover at all. And when the right side was made up to match I started to look forward to life again.

I would say Bare Minerals are ideal for those of you who like a natural, pure look during the day. If you don't like heavy liquid foundations clogging your pores you're sure to like this - you can't even feel it. Unlike cheaper alternatives on the market no talc or bulking agents are used - meaning the product doesn't settle into lines or cake. And if you've got oily skin this might be just the solution to stop your foundation sliding off your face by lunchtime.

If you call into BT2s Dani or one of her colleagues will give you a complimentary lesson, help you to choose the shades that are right for you and make you up so you can see the results for yourself.

If you'd like to try this out for yourself with no obligation to buy (and you should, you've absolutely nothing to lose) phone 01 6056747 and make an appointment . If you do decide to purchase my pick is the bargaintastic Starter Kit (at €67.50 it contains all the products plus brushes you'll need to kick you off and its worth over twice the kit price).

Upon my return home Cosmo met me at the door and ran busily towards his bowls to get fed. All was right with the world again.

BT2, Grafton St, Dublin tel. 01 6056747