One of my favourite types of make-up products to use is highlighter - and I especially like to use it during the winter when my skin can look a bit dull and dehydrated. I really like how it adds glow and warmth to the face - it can completely change your make-up look when used correctly! Today I wanted to share with you my favourite highlighter picks, with each one being a slightly different formula.
Loose powder - Bourjois Java Rice Powder
I'm a huge fan of Bourjois, especially their face products, and this one is no exception. I love the old-fashioned packaging, and the highlighter itself is stunning too. It's slightly pink toned and very shimmery, so a little goes a long way, and it just adds a gorgeous sheen to the skin without being too in-your-face. It has a perfumed scent which might not be to everyone's taste, but personally I like it!
Powder - MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle
I've had this product for years now but I refuse to part with it - it's lasted me ages and I'm determined to eventually hit pan on it! It's still a powder formula but in a pressed form, which makes life a little bit easier if you can't be bothered to put in too much effort in the morning. It's somewhere in between a highlighter and bronzer, giving a warm champagne glow to the skin. I love it so much that I use it pretty much every day now, and I'd definitely recommend giving it a go if you haven't already!
Cream - No 7 Instant Radiance
This is probably my favourite highlighter out of the bunch, and the only reason I don't use it as often as my MAC one is sheer laziness - cream formulas take a bit more effort to work into the skin, however the effect it gives is definitely worth the time. I find the best way to apply this is with my fingers, as using it straight from the bullet can sometimes rub away my foundation. Being a cream formula, it has great pigmentation and gives a shimmery gold highlight to the face.
Have you tried any of these products? If not, what highlighter would you recommend?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
(Disclaimer - None of the above pictures belong to me.)
It's wishlist time again! This wishlist has a bit of a blue theme - blue is my favourite colour and I also think it looks really nice at this time of year.
The first three things are all from Topshop (what can I say, I love their clothes!) - firstly, I absolutely adore this navy striped jumper and I think stripes are an essential for any wardrobe. Next is one of their cute scallop frill tops which I've been eyeing up for quite a while now - they're simple, easy to wear and would go with lots of different things too. The last Topshop item is a pair of blue and green tartan leggings. I love tartan prints, and I also really like Topshop leggings in general as they're super comfortable.
Next are a few make-up items. I included a couple of nail polishes - Rimmel's Pillow Talk and Essie's Chinchilly. Pastels and nudes are great for the winter and so these two would be perfect choices. I've also had MAC's Plumful lipstick on my wishlist for months now but every time I pop into one of their shops, they're always sold out - maybe this month I'll finally end up purchasing it! And lastly is a pair of suede boots from River Island. They're so simple and pretty, and I also love the zip down the side.
What's on your current wishlist?
Seeing as you all responded so well to my last two brand of the moment posts, I decided it was time to do another one - this time focusing on the brand, MAC. For me, MAC sits somewhere in between drugstore and high end - it's not ridiculously overpriced, but it's not cheap either. However, it's not something I usually buy on a regular basis because there aren't many MAC stores near me at all, so most of these things I have either gotten as a present for Christmas/birthday or I bought at duty free.
I'm not going to go into a huge amount of detail on each of the products, as I have done reviews on most of them before, all of which will be linked below.
Quad Palette - This is the most recent addition to my collection and is already one of my favourites. For some reason, a quad palette is much more appealing to me than a big 15 one, so if I purchase any more eye shadows, I'll probably be putting them in more quads! My favourite and most used colours from my current palette are definitely All That Glitters and Sumptuous Olive - they go perfectly together.
Lipsticks in Creme Cup and Hue - Ahh, MAC lipsticks. For me, these are slightly overpriced, and I swear the price just keeps going up? But despite this, I still love them! The range of colours and finishes seems to go on forever - there's just so many to pick from. My favourite would be Creme Cup, a really pretty and natural pink shade that is perfect for everyday.
Paint Pot in Bare Study - This was my first ever cream eye shadow and I still love it. Bare Study doesn't give a huge amount of colour, but it does make my shadow stay on all day and also adds a bit of sparkle to the look as well. In the future, I'd really like to try out some more of these, especially the one in Painterly.
Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle - This is my oldest MAC product out of everything, and it's definitely the most well loved. I use it every single day in a backwards 3 motion on the side of my face and it adds a lovely, natural glow to the skin. I've had this for probably a couple of years now and there's still so much product left, so it's definitely good value for money.
What is your favourite MAC product?
January has sped past so quickly, and so of course it's time to share with you the products I've been loving this month, along with a couple of non-beauty related things.
Soap & Glory Hand Food - I've had this product many times before, but never in this type of container. It was something I received for Christmas, and I've definitely been using it a lot! I put it next to my hand wash in my bathroom and so after I wash my hands I can pop a bit of this on for some extra moisture. The smell is the typical Soap & Glory one - which is amazing - and I'd definitely recommend trying it if you haven't already.
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat - Again this is something I received for Christmas (sensing a theme?). Before getting this I was never one to use top coats, and yet now I don't paint my nails without it! It smooths down any bumps and dries super fast, so it's perfect if you're in a rush.
Rimmel Scandal Eyes Micro Eyeliner - If you know me, then you'll know I'm not a huge eyeliner wearer at all. However, I've always wanted to master felt tip liner and so I spontaneously picked this up in Boots a few weeks ago. Since then, I've been slowly incorporating it into my routine and have even attempted some cat flicks (without much success), and overall I've been loving it!
Diesel Loverdose Perfume - I'm a huge fan of sweet scents, and so when I received this for Christmas I was so excited to give it a try! Since getting it, I've used it pretty much every day and I absolutely love the scent. I've even had to stop myself from using it sometimes as I don't want it to run out too quickly.
Imperial Leather Foamburst Shower Gel - This is a bit of a random addition, but one I just had to include! This is my second bottle of this shower gel now, and I swear I'm never going back to the regular formula. Instead of the usual gel type consistency, this comes out as a white mixture, which when mixed with water turns into a foam! It's so much easier to use, and there are tons of scents to choose from (I recommend the lime or honey one).
MAC Quad Palette - I've already done a post on this so I won't say too much, but my MAC Quad has definitely been my go to palette this month, especially All That Glitters and Sumptuous Olive, as they go great together.
That's all of my beauty favourites for the month, but I also wanted to include a couple of lifestyle bits as well. I've really been getting into Tom Odell - especially his song I Know - I love his style of music and his songs are just amazing. I've also been reading a lot of books this month, my favorites so far being the Mortal Instruments series. I'm currently on the fourth one (so no spoilers please), and I'm in love!
What have you been loving this month?
L-R - All That Glitters, Brulé, Sumptuous Olive, Cranberry
You probably saw in my Christmas haul that one of my main presents this year was a MAC quad palette with 4 eye shadows. I was so excited to receive this and couldn't wait to try them out! 3 of the colours were on my Christmas list, but they as they didn't have any of the others I put, they chose Brulé - which I actually really like! I think it will make a really good base to layer over. My favourite shade is probably All That Glitters, a gorgeous champagne colour that will be great for everyday use. I also adore the two brighter colours in the palette, Sumptuous Olive and Cranberry - they will be perfect when I want to create more dramatic looks. I particularly like Sumptuous Olive, I've been using it quite a bit recently and love the effect it gives.
Overall, I think MAC eye shadows have great pigmentation and are definitely worth the hype they get.
What are your favourite MAC eye shadows?
New Look earrings / Loverdose perfume / Guerlain perfume set / Rimmel Space Dust nail polishes / MAC quad palette and eye shadows / Nail styling kit / No 7 Highlighting Stick / Dixi jewellery / Paddle brush / No 7 light up compact mirror / Lush Luxury Lush Pud, Phoenix Rising and Fun / Soap & Glory Hand Food / Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat.
H&M grey jumper / Emporium necklace / New Look jumper / WH Smith notebook / Allegiant by Veronica Roth.
Mahalo ukulele and level 1 book.
I hope you all had an amazing Christmas yesterday! I spent the day at home as I usually do, spending time with my family, opening presents and watching lots of Christmas specials on TV! As you all loved seeing what presents I received last year, I thought I'd show you again this year too! I'm in now way bragging or showing off, I just find it really fun to see what other people get so hopefully you do too. The presents shown above are all from my family, but I also got some great gifts from friends as well which I'd opened before Christmas.
I received some really amazing presents, including a MAC quad palette with 4 eyeshadows from my parents, which I can't wait to use (and blog about). Some of my other favourites were the perfumes, jewellery and the bath bits from Lush. I also can't wait to read Allegiant, as I love the Divergent series! One present I wasn't expecting was the ukulele I received from my godmother - it's such a quirky and cute gift and one I can't wait to use!
On the whole, I had a great Christmas, and thank you to everyone who bought me any gifts - I loved everything.
What did you get for Christmas?
