MY FAVOURITE HIGHLIGHTERS

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Highlighting is definitely a staple part of my make up routine, as I'm sure it is for most of us these days. It completes a look and just gives a gorgeous natural or over the top glow, depending on what type of gal you are. So here are a few of my personal favorites.

L-R Illamasqua 'Furore', Becca 'Champagne Pop', Becca 'Opal', Topshop 'Polished', Benefit 'Watts Up!'

Illamasqua Pure Pigment in 'Furore' - Heres a product I never hear anyone talking about and I don't know why as its so gorgeous! Its a loose pigment from Illamasqua and looks absolutely gorgeous applied to the inner corners of the eyes or on the high points of the face as a highlight. Its described on the Illamasqua website as a "champagne peach shimmer" which I totally agree with. Its super sparkly so makes for a great for a night out highlight.

Becca 'Opal' Shimmering Pressed Skin Perfector - Everyone loves the Becca highlighters and I am certainly no different. They are by far the best highlighters I've used, so pigmented and the consistency is literally like butter, so silky smooth and easy to apply. I remember when everyone first started talking about the Becca highlighters and I wanted to try them so bad, this was before I really used highlighters so the price tag of £32 really put me off for something I wasn't sure I'd even need in my makeup routine so I started off with a cheaper alternative, The Balm 'Mary-Lou Manizer' highlighter, and fell in love with the sparkly glowyness! I continued hearing so many good things about Opal and after falling in love with Becca's 'Champagne Pop' I eventually bit the bullet and I'm so glad I did as the £32 price tag is definitely worth it. I use this probably every day and haven't even hit pan yet so it will definitely last me ages.

Becca 'Champagne Pop' Shimmering Pressed Skin Perfector -Another Becca favorite that I'm sure everyone will be familiar with and Jaclyn Hill's little creation. Like I said above I bought this before I bought Opal as I watch Jaclyn Hills YT channel and obviously heard everyone rave about how much they loved it so I was instantly sold. Unfortunately at that time it wasn't available in the UK so when one of my friends was going over to New York I begged her to pick me one of these up however now its available in the UK which is music to my, and I'm sure most peoples ears as its definitely a gorgeous highlighter that if you don't already own I insist you purchase! Such a gorgeous champagney-gold color, easy to blend and the tiniest amount goes a long way so this will literally last AGES. Looks super gorgeous applied along the collar bone also!

The Balm 'Mary-Lou Manizer' - Like I mentioned above this was the first highlighter I ever purchased and literally loved it so much! Its so affordable at £17.50, really pigmented and as I was just starting to get into highlighters it was definitely a great beginners product to practice and play around with. The only downside to this highlighter is that I've purchased it twice and both times the product has crumbled and broke when its been in my makeup bag so unfortunately I don't actually have one I can photograph as I haven't got around to repurchasing it yet. Opal and Mary-Lou Manizer are really similar shades so if like me your just starting out with highlighters or simply can't justify spending £32 on a highlight then I highly recommend this one. Packaging is really cute also.

Topshop 'Polished' Glow Pot -I'm not a massive fan of cream highlighters or blush but I really like this one. I purchased this as I saw Sarah Ashcroft from That Pommie Girl use it on her YT channel, she used this as a base for Champagne Pop and it looked stunning, so naturally I purchased this to do the same. Such a gorgeous result! Its also super pretty used on its own, offers a subtle natural glow and so reasonable with its £9 price tag! Its consistency is mousse-like making it super easy to blend. A little goes a long way with this product so even though its a small pot it will definitely last ages!

Benefit 'Watts Up!' Cream Highlight - Another cream highlight which I actually really like as it blends so well and offers a really nice subtle natural glow to the cheeks, perfect for a nice day time look. Personally I don't wear this on its own as I like a full on highlighted look so I'll pop this on first as a base and then apply Opal or Mary-Lou Manizer on top and it just looks absolutely gorgeous and extra glowy, perfect for a night out or evening makeup.

What are you favorite highlighters? I'd love to know so I can add to my collection!

Lots of Love,

X o

MY EVERYDAY LIP COLLECTION

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So I've racked up a pretty extensive 'everyday nude' collection of lipsticks, glosses and liners that I could not live without! I keep all of them in a little Ted Baker makeup case in my bag at all times cause you just never know when you might want to change your lip colour throughout the day yeknow? I like to have a bit of variety and to mix it up so here's my everyday favorites. I've devised them into 4 categories, nude-nudes, brown nudes, pink nudes & glosses. Hope you enjoyyy!

NUDE NUDES
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L-R - MAC 'Velvet Teddy', 'Peach Stock', 'Honey Love' & 'Myth'

MAC 'Velvet Teddy' Lipstick - Obviously don't need to say much about this as who doesn't own Velvet Teddy after the whole Kylie saga? Gorgeous color, especially paired with Spice lip pencil. 

MAC 'Peach Stock' Lipstick - One of my absolute favorite shades! So so gorgeous and I always receive lots of compliments when I wear it! One of my friends even went out and bought it the first time she saw me wear it as she loved it so much! The Peach Stock above is a new purchase as I lost my other one haha hence why its not been used much yet!

MAC 'Honey Love' Lipstick - Such a gorgeous nude lipstick and definitely another one of my favorite nudes! MAC describe it as a "light beige toned with rose" which I totally agree with, Its not too nude but not too dark either and does have slight pink undertones. Its just such a perfect nude shade. When I first bought this I literally wore it all the time - hence how tiny it is now! I usually team this with MAC Spice lip pencil.

MAC 'Myth' Lipstick - This is definitely not a color for everyone as its so so pale but it does look absolutely gorgeous on some people. Great color to lighten a lipstick that's too dark or even to do an ombre lip with.

BROWN NUDES
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L-R - MAC 'Whirl', 'Twig' & Gerard Cosmetics '1995'

MAC 'Whirl' Lipstick - I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Whirl, sometimes I love it and other times I'm just not so sure. Currently I love it and have enjoyed wearing it a lot recently but other times I'm like 'mehh' it looks absolutely gorgeous on other people though, especially darker skin tones.

MAC 'Twig' Lipstick - Twig is pretty similar to Brave and Creme In Your Coffee, Brave is probably about 2 shades of a lighter pink and CIYC is more brown whereas Twig is more brown-pink. Again if you own one of these 3 shades you probably don't need the other 2. I loved Twig when I first bought it but it has been neglected of late as I've found new favorites since purchasing it. Still a gorgeous shade though.

Gerard Cosmetics '1995' Lipstick - Again this color is really similar to Twig and CIYC but I feel like I like this a lot more than both of them. Maybe because its a matte whereas Twig is a Satin and CIYC is a cremesheen.

PINK NUDES
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L-R - Rimmel Kate Moss '08', MAC 'Creme In Your Coffee', 'Faux', 'Brave' & 'Viva Glam II'

Rimmel Kate Moss '08' - Gorgeous color and looks great paired with Soar lip pencil. Bargain at £5.49 also!

MAC 'Creme In Your Coffee' Lipstick - This color is so so similar to Whirl, you definitely don't need to own the 2 of these they are that similar! Whirl is more of a brown whereas Creme In Your Coffee is more pink-brown however Whirl is a matte and CIYC is a cremesheen so adds a slight glossy look to the lips.

MAC 'Faux' Lipstick - Faux is a gorgeous pinky nude. I usually team this with MAC Soar lip pencil and a pinky gloss and it always looks so nice!

MAC 'Brave' Lipstick - Brave is a gorgeous pink-beige, I always pair this with Soar lip pencil and it looks gorgeous.

MAC 'Viva Glam II' - Again, a bit of a love/hate with this one. It looks absolutely STUNNING on other people but sometimes just not as stunning on me, haha. I still enjoy it though and wear it anyway.

GLOSSES
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L-R - Nars 'Chelsea Girls', Nars 'Sweet Revenge', Urban Decay 'Nooner' & Urban Decay 'Liar'

Nars 'Chelsea Girls' Lip Gloss - I absolutely LOVE Nars lip glosses, the consistency, the applicator, EVERYTHING. This is a gorgeous pink shade with slight bits of shimmer throughout. So gorgeous. Modesty, Soar lip pencil and this lip gloss is LIFE.

Nars 'Sweet Revenge' Lip Gloss -  Sweet Revenge has been my favorite for years and this is like the 3rd tube of it I've bought which just shows how much I love it as I don't tend to love lip gloss or really run out of any cause I barely use them! Such a gorgeous peachy-nude shade. Really pigmented so could easily be worn on its own for a nice natural glossy look.

Urban Decay Naked 'Nooner' Lipgloss - Gorgeous browny-nude lip gloss. So pigmented so you can definitely wear this color on its own however I usually team it with a nude lipstick such as Velvet Teddy.

Urban Decay Naked 'Liar' Lipgloss - Gorgeous mauvey-pink shade, probably only about 1 or 2 shades darker than 'Chelsea Girls' so purchasing both probably isnt necessary. Same as Nooner this gloss is super pigmented to wear on its own.

Probably should have called this post "My everyday MAC lip collection' but however... What are your favorite nudes? I'd love to find out - as you can see I do love a nudeyyy.

Lots of Love,

X o