GETTING THE GLOW

It's safe to the the glow, THE glow, is something of popular culture nowadays. It seems that throughout an Instagram feed there is always mention of highlight and the absolute beauty of it. I've tried my fair share of highlighters, and I've finally found the glow getters that work for me. 

I've realised, it starts from the base. I use the Collection Reviving and Anti-Fatigue Illuminating Primer; which cost me something short of a fiver. I wasn't expecting much, but this really brightens my complexion and creates the perfect base for my foundation and concealer. This surprised me, and I'll definitely be purchasing again. Another option is to mix an illuminating product into your base, which I find really effective if you want to look naturally glowy. The Rimmel Wake Me Up one in Shimmering Sands, or the Dr Lewinns Skin Perfect Illuminiser both work really well at this instead of pinpoint highlighting because I find them slightly too intense alone, but really nice mixed. 

Sometimes it isn't just the highlight that can be glowing. Although I prefer matte bronzer and of course contour, a sheen for blush is sometimes rather pretty. A cream blush can do this pretty well, or if you want extra glow the Rimmel Wake Me Up Illuminator in Radiant Rose is a good bet. Not too sparkly, but just the right level of glow to add something extra to the cheeks. 

In terms of actual highlighting, I do love the one in the Sleek Contour Kit (not pictured, because I have literally used every single bit of mine), but I've also recently discovered two other options. The Benefit High Beam is a cult classic - and I have definitely understood why this is the case. The other is another recent release from Collection - the Speedy Highlighter. This one requires a little more blending because it is a 'stick' form, but the champagne glow it gives after the effort is completely worth it.

Although it seems my collection is already extensive enough, I desperately want to add more pretty highlight shades to my collection. Any recommendations?

CONCEALING FAVOURITES

Concealers can work wonders for the face, and I tend to rely on them pretty much every day for ensuring a (near) flawless looking complexion. Concealers have the ability to hide the worst of blemishes; if you know how to apply them properly. So, in a collaboration with my friends at Into the Gloss and checking out their Best Concealers post, I am here to share my favourites, tips and tricks.

I know most people seem to prefer high end concealers, but in my opinion if you know where to look you can find some gems among the high street instead (particularly good if you are a student and have a part time wage which is the opposite of generous). Usually, I go for the Collection Lasting Perfection for the skin, and heavy duty concealing. Using your fingers is probably the best option because it can look a bit more caked on with a brush. For quick touching up in the day I wouldn't go for this, I would probably pick the Bourjois Healthy Mix because I don't feel the need to powder this when I reapply.

There's always the old trick of buying a shade lighter for under your eyes, but I don't tend to do this. For me it seems to look a bit odd, but I think nowadays there are far better brightening options. The Rimmel Wake Me Up and the L'Oreal Lumi Magique seem to be pretty luminous and do a better job of brightening than a lighter shade probably will. The best way for me to do this is to apply a triangle sort of shape and use something like the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion makes it smooth to apply and tends to work the product into the skin far better. The key for under the eyes is to set it (very lightly) to avoid creasing, as well as avoiding a whole lot of layers - a  h u g e  mistake I used to make with stick concealers in my early teens and ended up looking like I had reptilian skin under my eyes.

Once you know how to start with concealing, it's pretty self explanatory and you'll find a routine good for you. There's plenty of posts over at Into the Gloss about concealers if you want to broaden your knowledge even further.

BACK ON TRACK

It's safe to say, it has been a while. I've been meaning to do an update for quite some time and it was only when Megan updated her blog that I actually got a kick up the backside to do it myself.

Basically, I'm here to say that I haven't disappeared forever, and that I plan to be posting again ASAP, even within the next few days or weeks if time will allow it. I've got excuses all over the place but to be honest only two of them are actually decent enough to be mentioned in the post. I think that says something about my motivation over the past month or two - non existent.

Firstly, I think I underestimated the stress of A Levels, I'm days away from beginning my AS exams and so the pressure is mounting and unfortunately things like blogging have to take a back seat every now and then. At the same time though, I'm getting more interested in universities; I currently have the aim of doing a History degree because it's my favourite subject, but also a hard one to get onto in terms of entry requirements - even more reason to increase the revision big time. To be honest, it is pretty hard to maintain your education, part time job, driving lessons and something like a blog all at once at the age of 17.

Other than that, when my motivation came back, my health decided to somewhat bail on me and I got really poorly. Its not the most interesting of topics to be writing about, but its an excuse. I've almost entirely recovered from whatever mystery illness I had (it look its toll on me whatever it was), but because of not being able to go to school, do any revision or keep in touch with school work whatsoever whilst being poorly, yet again I had to sling the blogging to one side while I caught up with all that.

I don't really know what the purpose of this message is, but to be honest, it was mainly just a reminder that I'm still here, will be making a return, and that generally life is good for my part. Hopefully, I'll be doing much more of this soon.