Highlighter Rundown

Good Sunday folks! I was rummaging through my stash the other day in an attempt to re-organize and I realized that I have managed to accumulate quite a few highlighters... and I just recently bought a set of 4. Shhhh. I'm still resisting opening that set. Anyway, I've really been about the subtle highlights for quite a while so I thought I'd break down the deets on what I have. Sharing is caring, yeah?

L-R: MeMeMe Beat the Blues in Sunbeam, Innisfree Rose Marbling Blusher and Brightener, Sleek Face Form in Light, NYX Mosaic Powder in Highlighter, Collection2000 Shimmershades in Blushalicious, ELF All Over Color Stick in Glow  

 As you can see, my highlighters can all be considered drugstore, I'm a budget kinda gal. All the highlighters with the exception of MeMeMe Sunbeam and Elf Glow are powders, which is my favoured type of highlighter to work with due to ease of application. I do however feel like liquid highlighters work the best as the glitter stays put. For my NC30 colouring, the highlighter shades don't seem to have much of a colour difference but if you're fairer they might matter more.

L-R: MeMeMe Beat the Blues in Sunbeam, Innisfree Rose Marbling Blusher and Brightener, Sleek Face Form in Light, NYX Mosaic Powder in Highlighter, Collection2000 Shimmershades in Blushalicious, ELF All Over Color Stick in Glow

MeMeMe Sunbeam is obviously a golden highlighter, use for darker skin tones or if you want a more bronzey look. 

Innisfree Marbling Blusher and Brightener is almost a pure white but goes on the skin translucent. 

Sleek Face Form in Light's highlighter shade is a champagne colour which would work beautifully on all skin tones. 

NYX Mosaic Highlighter is a strange one depending on how you mix the colour. On paper it comes out almost a grey-beige, but it appears mostly pearl white on the skin. 

Collection2000 Shimmershades lightest pink is not very pigmented - took me about 5 swatches to get the colour to show so even though the base colour is pink, it goes on the skin pretty much translucent. 

The ELF Color Stick in Glow also comes out rather dirty looking on paper, but I assure you it's more white-beige than dirty on the skin. 

MeMeMe Beat the Blues in Sunbeam is my favourite highlighter at the moment especially when mixed in with a tinted moisturizer/foundation/BB cream for a very subtle look. It's pearly golden formula also means that there's no obvious glitters on the face. It also works well on top of liquid/cream foundations for an even more glowy finish. Works best blended in with fingers and on slightly tanned complexions. 

Innisfree Rose Marbling Blusher and Brightener has the most obvious glitters out of my collection. This reminds me of the MAC MSF's from my limited knowledge of them but with less obvious glitter. When brushed on the cheeks, this leaves a brightening effect and it is extremely glowy. The powder goes on pretty much translucent and I've had comments of having super glowy skin when I've had this on. Win!

Sleek's Face Form in Light's highlighter has a champagne tinge to it and extremely tiny glitters that catch the light. This would be the most versatile highlighter for all skin tones as well as in terms of being able to use it on all parts of the face. I tend to double it up as an inner eye highlight and eyeshadow as well. Lovely pigmented, soft and buttery texture - best kit for travelling too! 

Pardon the used appearance of my NYX Mosaic Powder in Highlighter. I have after all, used this compact quite a bit. This was a favourite highlighter of mine for the longest time because it has no obvious glitter particles in it. It goes on the face more like a white powder and blends away perfectly for a barely there highlight. I also like that it has different coloured powders to counteract different imperfections (well not so much a targeted approach but more of a overall brightening). I like to use the purple or pink toned powder for inner eye highlight, yellow toned as an eyeshadow, and all brushed together to highlight my cheeks. This really is a beautiful compact for the most subtle highlights of all.

The Collection2000 Shimmershades should not need introducing. I have afterall, mentioned it quite a fair bit in my previous posts. The lightest shade in this compact is not in the least bit pigmented, at least it doesn't show up obviously on my NC30 skin tone. It does however impart the tiniest bit of glitter and glow when used. The pink tinge is barely there. My favourite way of using it is on the cheek area under the eyes to fake a healthy pink tinged complexion ala english rose types or the super fair asian skin tones. Grass is always greener (or in this case pinker) on the other side!

The last highlighter I own is a dud. The ELF All Over Color Stick in Glow is a cream type highlighter in a stick form for I guess ease of application. Do not ever stick this straight on your face, it will wipe off all your hard work to form that perfect base in an instant. This cream highlighter does actually go on quite nicely, but it doesn't ever fully set so if you're into that then you're in for a treat. I only ever use it on my nose because that's what it best accentuates, and even then it just fades into my oily nose a few hours later. It's probably best used under a powder highlighter, but in all honesty, who needs that much highlighter on the face on a normal basis?

To sum it all up, I think my perfect highlighter would be a mix between a cream and liquid type, maybe almost a thick mousse that has no glitters, just a balm type pearly glow. Do you know of any products like that? What are your favourite highlighters? I would love to know! Have a great glowing sunday ☼☼☼

Weekly Favourites #15

Hiya folks! How's the week been? TGIF eh? I actually woke up this morning thinking it was a thursday... and missed my classes because of that. Oops? On the bright side, it gave me time for this post. I haven't really been experimenting too much because my skin's been on the frizz. What I have found to be super duper useful is the Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule.

Yes, it sounds like terrible. I'm putting snail...bodily fluids on my face. Urks! But in all honesty, the Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule just feels like a normal serum despite being...80% snail secretion. That word really wants to make be gag. Anyway, I'm quite psyched about this new purchase because I've literally seen my scars really fade in the last 3 days of owning this product. I'm pretty sure this is physical improvement and not imagined because I've definitely been using less concealer. Also, my dehydrated forehead, something that nothing I used could alleviate, is showing signs of returning back to normal again. I cannot emphasize just how excited I am over the improvements in my skin! Thanks snails, I promise to try my best never to accidentally step on you again!

This week has been a pretty heavy week because of an important presentation I had on wedenesday. That means minimal sleep from last weekend till wednesday and my skin was showing signs of fatigue obviously. Not young anymore! Because of that I've been rather reliant on MeMeMe's Beat the Blues Highlighter in Sunbeam for a glowing complexion. The gold toned highlighter works wonders under foundation for the most subtle sheen on the skin. Fast and easy to use!

I also think I've finally hit the age where I appreciate my  mom's advice of not wearing eyeliner. Boy I am getting old... or maybe I've just hit the age where I feel that eyeliner just makes me look older. Whichever it is, This sample Clinique Eyeshadow Duo in Buttered Bronze has been getting quite some lovin' from me. I do rather like using the brown shade as a wash all over the lid and the white to highlight wherever. Or just the white as a wash to brighten my eyes. Versatile and simple, perfect for eyeshadow resisters like me.

Here are the eyeshadow and highlighter at work, what do you think? What are your favourites? I would love to know!