The second Makeup One- Highlighters.

 In my last Blog post I mentioned that fact that I have 10 million (OK a slight exaggeration) highlighters so it only seems fitting to write about them. I love the whole concept of a highlighter and even more I love when the light hits your highlighter and gives off the most amazing shine. When I see people moaning about how people wear too much highlighter, I actually get the fear for them. How can one wear too much highlighter? I would bathe in highlighter if it made me look as good as my cheekbones and brow bones. I am obsessed. I have so many I don't even know where to begin...

 Obviously Benefits Watts Up featured in my March favourites so I don't want to go into loads of detail about that one again, so head over to my last blog post to read more about it. But yes this is one of my favourite highlighters. It's a liquid to powder finish, it has a sponge on the other end of it so it's easy to blend, it leaves a matte finish in my opinion, I use it everyday and it lasts so long. The price and where to find it is on my last blog post.

Watts Up! 

Witth Flash on.

 Keeping with Benefit I have two more highlighters from there. There is Girl Meets Pearl and the first thing I will say about this is I love the packaging it comes in, I know we get told not to judge things by appearance but as soon as I saw the purple box with the little drawing on I was enticed and so out came the purse and away went the pennies. The highlighter itself is a golden/pink colour and comes out as a liquid. you twist the bottom of the tube and the product comes out of the top and you literally need the smallest amount, I apply it straight to my face and then blend it in with either my Real Techniques foundation brush (and yes I am aware this isn't it's primary use.) Or my Real Techniques beauty blender (one of lifes greatest inventions.)  And I apply this one only to my cheekbones as that's where it's easiest to blend in my opinion.

Girl Meets Pearl.

The product comes out in small dots.

 Another bonus to this is it has lots of ingredients that are good for your skin. It has raspberry and chamomile to calm your skin, sweet almond oil to smooth your skin and sesame seed oil to hydrate the skin. If you are one of those people who likes it to be really obvious you're wearing highlighter (like me) this might not be for you because it quite a subtle highlight once it's all blended in so I tend to pair it with one other of my highlights (any of them, not a particular one.) But if you're into the minimilist makeup look then this will be perfect for you as it leaves a very subtle, dewy glow. Another annoying thing is that if you twist it literally a second too long loads of product will come out and you're left with excess which is a waste and at the price that is not what you want. I do like this highlighter but it is a very subtle shade and I probably won't re purchase this once it's run out but I haven't had it very long so I will give it a chance. If you want to give this one a try it's priced at £24.50 and you can get it here.

It's quite hard to see the product here, hence the red circle.

 I will go into Benefit and every time I will know what I want to buy and I tell myself I will only get what I need and as soon as I get in there I'm like a child in a toy shop, I just want everything. So when I last went into my local Benefit it was only to get my eyebrows done but I ended up leaving with almost £100 worth of new products to try. And the next one is a new product and is named Dandelion Shy Beam Liquid Highlighter and it's another matte highlight in a nude/pink shade. When I was buying this I was told it was really good if you're into strobing. I personally don't strobe but I do contour so pop this on under my eyes in an upside down triangle when I contour and it instantly makes my eyes look brighter. If you're after a shimmer finish then obviously this one won't be for you either. But it comes in a little bottle with a brush that's almost like a nail varnish. This makes it so easy to highlight your eyebrow bone but I find it annoying when applying to my cheek bones because I'm constantly dipping it back in the bottle. (That is just me being fussy though.) Once applied I again blend with my Real Techniques beauty blender. This is definitely great if you don't want a shimmer finish or if you're looking to strobe/contour and it blends out so well. It's priced at £19.50 and can be found here.

Product. (With flash.)

Applicator.

Dandelion Shy Beam.

 Moving away from Benefit and onto Revolution. I have a highlight palette of theirs which I absolutely love. It doesn't have a name on the packaging but on the website it says it's called "Take The Light With You."

Revolution Highlight Palette.

 It comes with three different highlights (their three best selling ones) in the shades Peach Lights, Pink Lights and Golden Lights. I am literally obsessed with this palette. The colours are so pigmented so show up so well when applied. I apply them just to my cheek bones with my Real Techniques Contour Brush and they show up so well and leave the most amazing shimmer finish when blended. When I use any of the highlighters above I normally pair this one on top to add a shimmer. My favourite shade is definitely Pink Lights followed by Peach lights as you can probably tell from my palette though they've all been well used. I use these pretty much everyday and can't express enough how amazing they are aswell, they last all day/night and at £8.00 are so affordable and you're getting three different highlights so it's definitely worth the money. Head here to pick up your own palette, the only downside is they sell out alot but at the price and how good they are that isn't that surprising.

Peach Lights, Pink Lights, Golden Lights.
With flash.

Peach Lights, Pink Lights, Golden Lights.
With flash.

Peach Lights, Pink Lights, Golden Lights.
Without flash.

Peach Lights, Pink Lights, Golden Lights.
Without flash.

   The final one is one that I'm recommending you avoid and I questioned whether or not to include it at all because it's so awful but I don't want people wasting their money like I did. Albeit it was very cheap so I'm not that upset. The highlighter in question is the Technic Get Gorgeous Highlighting Powder.

Technic Get Gorgeous Highlighting
Powder.

I got this off the Boohoo website for £3 so is obviously very affordable but in my eyes that is where the pros begin and end. I bought this because the photo on the website makes it look so beautiful with a lovely shimmering effect. Again this is why we shouldn't judge things based on looks alone. When I got it I was immediately disappointed because the shimmering like shown on the website didn't come across at all but I didn't want to dismiss it straight off the bat. I tried it out and it comes out as a matte white powder and once blended makes next to no difference. So this was put in my makeup basket and doubt it will be brought back out. But if unlike me this sounds like something you'd want to try out head here.

Without flash.

With flash.

Product with flash.
(Again quite hard to see, but this is
due to the product.)

So maybe 10 million highlighters was an exaggeration but I definitely have more than one girl needs. Like I said I pair most of the matte highlights with my Revolution Palette just because I personally like a shimmer finish but if you don't use any of the matte ones alone and they will give you the finish you want. I like all of these highlights (except the Boohoo one) so would definitely recommend them all depending on what you're after, they all do what they say on the product, it's just all about the finish you're after. I hope this has been helpful for you all.

 Now I've got into the flow of things I'm hoping to up the Blog posts but this could just jinx it all as it's about finding free time, something I struggle to do. But I'm enjoying this so much that I will find the time. If there's anything you want a blog post on please let me know, I'm open to anything. As always thank you for taking the time to read, I really do appreciate it. Feel free to comment and follow. I shall be back with my next post soon. Until then see you.
Xx

The First Favourites One- March Favourites.

 Hello there, I hope you all had an amazing Easter and have maxed out on chocolate and eggs like me over here- the diet was definitely on hold for the weekend. Now I had planned to do hauls from MAC and Charlotte Tilbury buuuuut, in typical me style I forgot this weekend was Easter weekend so there's no post/deliveries so that'll be on hold until things are back to normal on that front. Instead we shall do a March favourites. So there's a range of things on here so let's crack on.

Fashion:

 Everything from my fashion favourites this month are from Boohoo, and there's only a few but I am oh so in love with them. First up we have two pairs of sunglasses I've purchased. I don't know where this began or why but I have a serious addiction to sunglasses. I have a trusty pair of Raybans that I stick on if I'm in a rush but this year I have really tried to branch out and go for something different. Enter the mirrored aviators. Now it seems everyone and anyone has a pair of these or a different pair but in the mirrored style, but I am totally bought by them, I love the mirrored tint and the aviator style, the only thing is they sometimes slip down or don't sit right (I have a small head so getting sunglasses to fit is a bitch.) However, I give them a little squeeze and it does the trick (don't squeeze too hard, they'll break.) They're also really cheap at £5.00 so head here to grab them. But everywhere sells them because they're so popular so pretty much any high street store will sell them.

Modelled on my pea head.

Mirrored aviators

 The second pair I got were a black cat eye pair. I love these but have to be wary when I buy cat eyes because I have a small head they can takeover my face and make me look ridiculous. I did have a trusty tortoise shade pair but long story short I had a battle with the sea and the sea won, RIP beloved cat eye sunglasses. But I digress, I have finally found a pair that make up for that loss and they're beautiful, they have a black outer rim with gold at the sides. They are still quite big, but if I pull them a bit further down my nose I can get away with them. These are also cheap and affordable at £8.00 and you can get them here.

 Next up we have shoes, and this month is a pair of heels in a nude colour. Now I love heels but normally stick to a black colour because when I go out I have been known to fall down and totally wreck my shoes, I have a pair of suede nude heels that I wore out once and didn't survive. These however are leather so I'm hoping that they'll be easier to clean if I do get them dirty. These are platforms so are easier to walk in than stilettos in my opinion and they have a strap that goes just above the ankle so helps to elongate the leg rather than cut them off and make you look stumpy which I find sometimes happens when you get straps on shoes. Another thing I absolutely love about these is that at the bit where the ball of your foots goes there's a cushioned bit for comfort, I'm sure we've all felt that pain when you've been walking/dancing/stumbling around in heels all night and your poor feet suffer in the process so I'm hoping these will do the trick, I've only worn them for a short time but haven't had any pain in that time so fingers crosses. Again they're relatively cheap as far as prices for heels go at £25.00 and you can find them here.

I've only just noticed this has cut off half a shoe,
I will go back and take another photo.

 My final and favourite fashion bit is this khaki waterfall belted coat which you can find here for £20.00. I am literally in love with this coat. I love the fact you can dress it up with a dress and heels for a meal or for drinks at a bar, or you can dress it down with jeans and boots/trainers. It's so versatile. You can tie it up which I sometimes do as it emphasises my waist which is my favourite part of my body, but most of the time I keep it undone and casual. It does come down quite long so if you're on the shorter side like me then you might not like it but if I'm going casual I team it with my black skinnies and boots that have a slight heel and make me look taller and then it doesn't totally drown me out. But there isn't one thing I don't love about this coat and I can already tell I'm going to wear it to death.

Shit lighting (I'm having a nightmare.) Better photo on the website.

Makeup:

 Ahh, where to begin with makeup? Buckle in we could be here a while, I have so many favourites when it comes to makeup.

 When it comes to mascara I have had the same two for donkeys years it seems but I love them so much I always stock up on them every payday. The two in question are Benefits Roller Lash and They're Real, and I wear them together. I start with benefits Roller Lash to curl them and I put two coats of that on then leave them for a minute. After that I go over them with They're Real which adds length and I'm not just saying this, it really works. Since I've started wearing these together I get so many compliments on how long my lashes are looking. They're Real is normally £19.50 but right now I have the limited edition swarovski one which is priced at £21.50, there is no difference between the products only the packaging, and although it may seem a bit steep paying more simply for packaging, once your swarovski one has run out they'll swap over the wand into your new one. But it's up to you, the limited edition one is here and the normal one is here. Roller Lash is priced at £19.50 and you can get that here. It may seem steep paying £39.00 or if you get the limited edition £41.00 but it genuinely is worth it, there definitely is a difference in the way my eyelashes look when I wear these two together. However I do have two mascaras that are just as good but cheaper so may do another blog post on that.

They're Real & Roller Lash.

 I always team those with another one of my favourites which is also from Benefit. This is the Brow Zings eyebrow palette. This is priced £24.50 and can get here. Again it seems a bit steep and I also thought this when I first bought it but I have definitely been converted as it's so simple to use, there's no faffing about. It comes with instructions so if you're not sure how to use it that's there to help you but it's relatively simple. It includes a wax and a powder, you use the wax to outline your brows with the angled brush that's included which makes it easier and it follows the shape of your eyebrow completely. Then with the blending brush you fill in the rest of your eyebrow and that's it, simple. It also comes with tweezers to pluck any stray hairs, I tend to stay away from this as I get my eyebrows waxed and the woman that does it says it's harder to get an even brow when your eyebrow hairs are all growing at different rates, so bare that in mind. It also has a mirror included so you can really see what you're doing. It comes in different shades, I use the dark one as I have brunette hair at the moment. If you're blonde go for the light but it all depends on what shade you like your eyebrows.

Angled Brush, Blending Brush &
Tweezers Included.

Brow Zings- Dark.

  The next item is also from Benefit, and although it does seem this is turning into a bit of a Benefit haul I will move on to other brands don't worry. We are however moving away from eyes onto highlighters. I literally have so many highlighters it's ridiculous, I will do a Blog post on this aswell. The one that's earned a spot in my favourites is the Watts Up highlighter. This is a cream highlighter stick that turns to powder once applied and blended. I apply it on my cheekbones and my brow bones to accentuate them. I also apply it around my lips as it give the appearance of fuller lips. It has a sponge blender on the other end of it to blend it so then I go over it with that just to make sure it's all rubbed in. It's in a champagne shade and is a shimmer finish. I apply it after my foundation and before my blusher and bronzer. It is again on the higher price range at £24.50 but if you're looking to treat yourself or you want to splash out you can find it here. The last thing I will say about this is it lasts for ages, the last time I bought this was before Christmas, I use it pretty much every day and it hasn't run out yet which is always a bonus, but when you're applying it don't press down to hard or it will snap (which I found out the hard way.)

The actual highlighter stick.

Watts Up! Highlighter.

Highlighter with flash.

Blending sponge included. 

 We will FINALLY move away from Benefit so you can all breathe a sigh of relief. Plus my next item is cheap and I am totally in love with it from the way it looks to the way it applies. This would be Max Factors Creme Puff Blush in the shade Seductive Pink. I have to admit, I bought this for the way it looks, it literally looks gorgeous, it's a light pink and dark pink marbled powder and as soon as I saw it I was hooked. It applies so well aswell. I hate blushers that are overly pink,and I would say I am definitely more of a bronzer person rather than a blusher person but now I use this every day. It leaves a subtle hint of pink and I think you could almost class it as a highlighter, as I find it really highlights my cheek bones. There are a range of shades so if you aren't like me and do like your bronzer to be obvious check them out but this one is my absolute favourite and has definitely converted me from a "sometimes uses a bit of blusher" to an "everyday blusher" person. Like I said it's cheap which is always a bonus. It's £8.99 and if you get it here at Boots then there's 3 for 2 on selected Max Factor products, so if you use that range often take full advantage of this offer and give this a try. Alternatively get it here at Superdrug where they have the same offer on as Boots but they're also giving away a free tote bag if you spend £15 on cosmetics, so in my eyes it's a win win situation either way.

With flash on.

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush-
Seductive Pink.

 As I said I am more of a bronzer person and I was using Benefits Hoola bronzer (which I absolutely adore.) But then I bought this and made the switch to Nars Bronzer in the shade Laguna. Which you can find here for the price of £27.50. Now if you aren't into bronzer this probably seems a ridiculous price for a product. But if you're like me and love nothing more than looking tanned and bronzed this is totally worth the price. I bought this just before Christmas and as you can see I still have product (albeit it not alot now) left, so it does last considering I use it everyday, sometimes applying it more than once. It leaves a lovely shimmer so unlike my Hoola bronzer it isn't matte. But you get used to it quickly and it leaves such a smooth finish it's easy to get over. I apply it to my cheekbones and then get a little bit more product and apply it along my nose and forehead in a T shape before finishing with my jawline and blending it down my neck for that all over sun kissed look.

Nars Bronzer- Laguna

I have literally saved the last of
this product for this post.

 My final two makeup favourites are both MAC lipsticks, in two different shades, one is a nude and one is a dark shade. The first one is Velvet Teddy and as you can see it's been worn alot. I love this natural shade so I wear this if I'm travelling somewhere or just hanging at someones house. Basically if I'm wearing a minimalist makeup look I team it with this. Also if I'm at work and hungover so therefore I'm looking rough I wear this lipstick because it's subtle enough to wear even if you don't want to wear makeup in my opinion. The next shade is MACs Whirl and I team it with the lip liner again in the shade Whirl to make my lips look fuller. Although this looks barely used it's because I had to buy a new one after losing my last one of a night out (I am aware I need to take better care of my things.) I tend to wear this when I'm doing a dramatic look like on a night out or if I'm doing a look with dark eyes. But you can also keep it casual as I'll also wear it if I'm wearing dark jeans and I find dark shades bring out the best in this colour. Both these shades are matte which are my favourite type of lipsticks, they're also really pigmented so have a really good colour and are long lasting and can last all day/night without reapplying. However I do like to reapply both once in the middle of the day/night to make them really bright. As with all MAC lipsticks they're £15.50 and you can get Velvet Teddy here and you can get Whirl here. You can get the Whirl lip liner for £12.50 here if you want to create the illusion of fuller lips or make it easier to apply.

Left- Whirl. Right- Velvet Teddy.

Left- Whirl. Right- Velvet Teddy.

 And just like that March is over and April will soon be upon us. Where has this year got to? It was only Christmas like 10 days ago. I'm definitely thinking of doing a highlighter post next as like I said I have so many, probably an unhealthy (especially for my bank balance) amount. I hope you enjoyed this and definitely recommend trying ALL these products (but that might be pushing it.) As always feel free to comment and follow. You can also follow me on Twitter here and Instagram here. Thankyou.
Xx