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?

SLEEK BLUSH BY 3: LACE

Sleek blushes aren't stocked near me, but they are definitely some of my favourite blushes out there (my Face Form has huge circles gleaming silver in where I have hit pan for the reference), so when I saw the Blush By 3 in Lace for £5 in my local Tesco I nearly wept (with joy).

There are two matte shades, a bright vibrant orange called Chantilly, and a hot red-pink dubbed as Crochet. The formula of these two are nice, not too buttery nor too chalky but the right balance that allows them to really stain the cheeks and create a long lasting colour. The shimmer is called GUiPure or something(?!), but is a stunning colour. Think Sleek Rose Gold but lighter, and I really love the look of it swatched and kind of packed on - it reminds me of a sunset, what more could you want?

These could possibly be some of the brightest powder blushes I now own and I am really inspired to try more from the Sleek blush range now, let's hope Tesco get some more trios into the clearance so I can get a collection going! But, saying that I would definitely pay full price for these, as three blushes in one place for £9.99 is a brilliant deal, and what sounds like a travelling essential...

A SUMMER FAUX GLOW

As much as I would love naturally radiant skin, it is often pretty dull and the only sheen I get is when I haven't powdered my face for hours and things are getting a little oily. That's why I seek the companionship of many products in order to amp up the glow in the summer.

Upon purchase, I was never really a fan of the Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Shimmer Touches, but occasionally I like Radiant Rose on the cheeks as a pink hint of shimmery tint, or Shimmering Sand mixed in with foundation for some serious glow. These don't get used often, but they definitely don't go unnoticed.

A luminous primer was lacking in my makeup collection until I got the Bourjois Luminous Serum Primer a while back. There is no shimmer in this, but it just seems to add a glow without it, and I had a patch of forgetting about this guy but every time I reach for it again I start to use it again and realise why I loved it to begin with.

It's not just makeup that can help your glow out, it all starts with the skincare you use. I have managed to find a duo that gives me the glow without endless steps and more of an overnight glow-giver. The Balance Me Radiance Face Oil* is one I like to slap on in the evening, leave to soak in and  wake up in the morning with a complexion that looks radiant and blurred in tow and literally took me a minute to achieve.
In the same way the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask is another one step overnight fix that leaves you with plumped, glowing skin and the peach/apricot scent makes me literally want to eat it (Don't worry, I won't).

I look forward to finding more radiance enhancing gems in the drugstore in the upcoming months, and leave you recommendations in the comments too...

GETTING INTO GLOSSES

I have never been a gloss kind of girl, I prefer lipsticks all the way. But, recently layering a gloss on top of a matte lipstick, or even alone is becoming my new thing and I am loving it, and apparently the ones I have been liking come in pairs in my collection.

The first duo are from the Tanya Burr Lips and Nails collection which is really exciting. I have Afternoon Tea* and Champagne Toast*, a bubblegum pink and an orange-y shimmery nude. For me, none of these two colours suit me alone, but I have realised that putting them both on makes for the perfect shade.

I also have been really enjoying the Revlon ColourBurst Lip Glosses, in Crystal Water and Bellini. Crystal Water is a clear gloss with almost duo-chome shimmer particles that sometimes look blue, other times purple. Over a fuchsia pink lipstick this looks awesome. Bellini is a milky peach gloss, which over my MAC Faux Lipstick looks lush.

I also have been enjoying the GOSH Volume Shine offerings, in 04 and 07. 04 is the red, which I like to wear alone on the lips as a muted red with a slight orange tint to it in some lights. 07 is a brownish plum, which when in the tube I didn't think I would like, but on the lips (especially over nudes) it is a really nice colour.

What are your current gloss favourites?

A WEARABLE SMOKEY

The whole smokey eye look is something I tend to avoid, especially when it comes to the grey, silver and black looks because they basically make me look like a panda. But, I have recently been experimenting with browns and found a few shades which still give you the sultry effect but a little more neutral.

This MUA Pearl Shadow in Shade 11 gives an amazing sheen to the lids, making them almost look wet in some lights. But, I would say to watch out for quite a bit of fall down and do the eyes first with this one, but for £1 it's hardly going to be MAC quality.

Another shadow I really like to warm things up a little more is the Kiko Eye Shadow in 133 because it has that red/burgundy tint to it which looks amazing in the outer area of the eye when you have used some cooler toned shadows.

For a matte offering, the Maybelline Eye Studio Mono in Chocolate Chic is slowly becoming a favourite of mine for crease work. It blends well, defines the eye, and doesn't really crease either. It's a winner for this one.

To get some of that brown smokey-ness on the lower lashline, or even smudged along the top lashes, the Stila Smude Stick in Oscar Fish is incredible. Its creamy, but once set stays put on the eye all day, and the coppery shimmer in it makes it a perfect partner for the warmer Kiko Shadow.

Do you have any smokey-eye hacks?

STILA SMUDGESTICKS REVISITED

It's been a while since I have done a full review of a product, and even longer since I have revisited a product and done another review. I forgot about the Stila Smudgestick Liners for a while, and after having a route around in my eye drawer a few weeks ago I rediscovered them and thought they deserved a feature.

The one I rekindled my love for first was the one you see on the far end of the swatches - Angelfish. Its a champagne, slightly lilac-grey toned colour and I love this all over the lid and sheered out along with a slick of liner and lashings of mascara.

Another one which I have been loving smudged along the upper and lower lashline is Oscar Fish, a warm deep brown with coppery shimmer through it which just seems to glow. I seriously love this one.

The final one that I have been enjoying is Moray, a golden olive colour. I actually went a little cray and did a large winged liner look with this one, and it was so easy and quick because this is so creamy, and it didn't budge once set. I had never, ever done coloured liner before this and it's definitely something I want to continue in the future.

I can tell that I will be getting a lot more use out of these in the upcoming weeks, and hopefully for the other two colours aswell (Tetra and Stargazer).

Have you rediscovered an old love recently?

RIMMEL WAKE ME UP INSTANT RADIANCE SHIMMER TOUCHES

Since the whole 'radiant glow' thing has become really popular this past year or two, I have been subtly been jumping on the bandwagon, what with my combination skin in tow. 

I have been seeing these Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Radiance Shimmer Touch products for a while, and after the rest of the Wake Me Up range has been getting some serious hype, I thought it would be a good idea to give these a go. I wasn't too sure about getting these, so when I spotted them each in a Poundland, it is the perfect time to trial them. 

The 2 shades available are Shimmering Sand and Radiant Rose, none of which I use as a highlight, as they are just far too dark. I use Radiant Rose as a glowy, pale blush colour when I am feeling adventurous, and some people think it's crazy, but I love the way it looks on my skin tone. 

Shimmering Sand is the anomaly of them, as I don't really know what to do with it. If you have darker skin, this would look stunning on the cheekbones as a highlight, but unfortunately for me it's just too dark. The main way I get use out of this is to either blend it in with some foundation, to create a really glowy base, or sometimes I apply it very, very lightly over the whole area of my cheeks and blend it well with a brush I used for foundation (the Real Techniques Buffing Brush that would be), and it adds a pretty subtle golden glow. 

A nice way of adding glow, without the disco-ball aftermath. If you see these in a Pound Store, throw them onto the till and give them a go yourself...

 

 

SheerCover Lip Trio

Hi guys!

So, I don't know about you, but I am not a lipgloss person. I find that they gloss up my lips for about 20 minutes and then the magic is gone, and they don't exactly add much colour either. But this lip trio from SheerCover is great, and the glosses have incredible pigmentation too!

Sheercover is a brand that isn't really known to be high end, but is kind of pricey, and is apparently used by the makeup artists for either Britains Got Talent or the X Factor, I can't remember what I said on the leaflet.

L-R: Rich Berry, Sweet Peach, Rose

The lip glosses are sticky, but nothing unbearable on the lips. The pigmentation is incredible, and I like the shimmery deep bluey-red the best. I will probably never wear the Sweet Peach one, although I am definitely keeping it for it one day I want to do some sort of specific look with a random gold lip?! Aha! I like the one in Rose as well, as it isn't shimmery, and is a very muted nude-orange. Not very rose, but I like it a lot.

I love the packaging of these, as it is very simple and they are very thin tubes, and so they don't take up a lot of room at all! These are nice for handbag size, but if you wanted to apply these again throughout the day, make sure that you have a mirror, because something this pigmented needs to be applied accurately!

As you can see, the pigmentation is incredible. I feel like like Rich Berry could be a great Christmas or New Years, and I know that is very far ahead, but oh well!  (It is a little darker)
One final thing I just discovered about these glosses is that...They contain Mineral Oil. I'm not sure how I feel about this, as I have heard that it can cause an addiction to the product, but I think that might be for balms, and to be honest I don't wear these too much anyway. 

So, that is all for todays post, I hope you enjoyed reading, and I will see you next time!

Lauren x

ELF Studio Shimmer Palette Swatch + Review

GUESS WHO FINALLY HAS INTERNET!

Hi everyone! Another ELF Review for you today! I love ELF makeup, some don’t but I think the studio range is great. This little thing caught my eye whilst I was having a little splurge during the BOGOF offer. It is such a versatile product; it can be used on the face for a stunning dewy glow, on the eyes as a base or wash of colour, and on the lips to define and give more shape. It’s great! The creams are super pigmented and have a very smooth and lightweight touch.

Product Shot.

Swatches.

 For £3.75 to get 4 stunning creams (white, champagne, peach and pink) and a cute little brush to apply them, you can’t really go wrong! It is something really fun to experiment with and a good item to carry around with you, to save space of lots of individual powder products.

In summer, I love to wear cream products rather than caking on the powders. Do you? What is your favourite cream blush? I love the Topshop ones and would love to try some more!

Once again, thanks for reading, and don’t forget to follow me on GFC and Bloglovin’ (buttons to the right) and also on twitter – www.twitter.com/thebeaubow Tweet me anything you like!

Bye! Lauren x