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Ilia The Necessary Eyeshadow Palette Review + Swatches

February 10, 2020 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Ilia Beauty is a brand of makeup and skincare that I’ve been investigating lately. I really love their concept of delivering clean beauty with high-impact colors. Their products have been hitting Instagram and so far, I’ve only heard and seen really good things about their stuff.

I was particularly interested in their clean eyeshadow palettes because I really love the cohesiveness of the colors in each of the compacts even though so far, they’ve only released two eyeshadow palettes which cater to those with warm or cool skin undertones. Also, clean eyeshadows are very important especially for those who tend to react or are sensitive to non-clean ones. However, most of the clean eyeshadows I’ve tried in the past tend to lack good pigments and staying power.

These Ilia eyeshadows are talc-free, sulfate-free, SLS/SLES-free, paraben-free, formaldehyde-free, cruelty-free, etc. Also, they are vegan and their packaging is recyclable. The texture of each shade is quite velvety because it contains Jojoba Seed oil. Each compact contains six shades that are a mixture of nude and neutral tones together with deeply pigmented colors, while the finishes are a mix of mattes to mildly shimmery ones.

The Necessary Eyeshadow Palette (0.05 oz: 38 USD)

Cool Nude – This may be made for those with cool skin undertones, but anyone with neutral or warm undertone can pull this off as well.

Warm Nude – The shades of these remind me a lot of Urban Decay’s Naked Heat, but with cleaner ingredients.

I definitely think that these Ilia eyeshadows are not your typical basic neutral eyeshadows. They may be on the neutral side but their colors are definitely dramatic and highly-pigmented. Their lasting power is really good considering that they’re made of clean ingredients, and on top of that, there is no fallout. So far, I’m very impressed with these.

I happen to have a sample of Ilia’s Liquid Light Serum Highlighter in Nova (0.5 oz: 42 USD) which is a soft gold shimmer. There is a lot of buzz about this gel highlighter lately and that’s because this highlighter is really wonderful and totally versatile. The consistency of this is actually quite creamy, thus, making this very easy to blend on the skin. There are a lot of ways you can use this highlighter. First, you can use this as a basic all-around highlighter where you can highlight the high-points of your face. Second, you can mix this with your favorite foundation and customize your glow. Third, you can use this as a lid topper, and last but not the least, you can use this on the collarbone, shoulder, and everywhere on the upper body for maximum highlighting effect. What I also love about this highlighter is its lasting power and its good adherence to the skin which can pretty much last the whole day. On top of that, this highlighter is also made of clean ingredients.

The Ilia brand of beauty and skincare has very good high-quality products that don’t compromise color impact and saturation while being made of clean and natural ingredients. I find this brand to be very promising and I hope they will keep making more exciting clean beauty and skincare products soon.

Have you tried this brand already? What are your favorite clean beauty brands?

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Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Stick in Gold + Champagne Flash Review + Swatches

May 28, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Happy Monday Everybody. Since I was almost running out of my favorite highlighters, including the sticks which are so practical to use for me especially when I’m on the go, I got these two new beautiful Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Sticks (0.21 oz for $42) that I recently scored at a discounted price at Sephora during their last VIB Sale weeks ago. As a fanatic of Highlighters, I’ve always wanted to get my hands on these because I seem to always have positive experiences with Hourglass products.

You know how some Highlighters or Highlighter Sticks tend to be to too sheer or not blinding enough? well, this Hourglass one is the complete opposite. With just one swipe, you’ll get a ton of shimmers compared to some other facial strobing products. The shimmers of these Vanish Flash Highlighting Sticks are soft focus, natural, non-sticky and non-oily, yet they reflect. I love that you can layer the intensity of the glow – from a slight subtle shimmer to a super-blinding one.

When it comes to its pigments, I find that the Gold Flash and Champagne Flash shades (seen below) can look quite similar to each other, although the Champagne Flash looks a bit more natural and more suited to my skintone because of its peachy undertone. The Gold Flash can be so blinding if you’re not careful with the application, but other than that, they’re both beautiful high-quality shimmers for fair, light, light/medium, and warm medium skintones, not to mention that they really highlight the high points of the face.

Gold Flash – A golden soft focus easy to layer shimmer that reflects light and highlights the face very well. It’s super packed with shimmer and overall super pigmented that it’s better to be light-handed when applying this, or else it can be too much.

Champagne Flash – A peachy shimmer that can look a bit like the Gold Flash above but with a more peachy undertone. It’s can also be very blinding, but its effects can be more subtle compared to the Gold Flash due to its peachy undertone being closer to most skintones. I love this as an everyday face illuminator with or without makeup.

I noticed that these Highlighters are really lightweight on the skin, given the fact that they’re the stick type of Highlighters. And most stick Highlighters can be oily or a bit sticky, and they tend to slide off the face after a few hours, not to mention that they can disrupt the foundation. These Hourglass Highlighters, on the other hand, don’t exhibit any of those potential issues. Aside from being lightweight and non-sticky, they’re also very long lasting. I’d use mine in the morning, and they’re still on at night. My face may get oily but these highlighters are still on point. I love that they’re so easy to use with just a swipe and go, and I could use them with any kind of foundation. I also like the fact that they’re so pigmented, so one swipe will do the job and if I want more drama, I’d just swipe a bit more then blend. Speaking of blending, the texture of these Highlighting sticks are soft and a bit creamy yet not overly so, and they set well on the face. I love its packaging and its twist-type release, which makes for an easy on-the-go use. There’s also no discernible scent and there’s enough product in its decent-sized chubby triangular container.

Overall, these Vanish Flash Highlighting Sticks are true to what they’re described to be. They live up to Hourglass’s quality and sleek luxurious packaging of products. The Highlighting you’d get out of this is not only beautiful and breathtaking but also very customizable depending on your application. That is why I consider this as one of the best Highlighters I’ve ever tried, and for me, this has the best formula for a Highlighter Stick.

The Hourglass Vanish Flash Highlighting Sticks are available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods, Neiman Marcus, Net-A-Porter, SpaceNK, and Selfridges

Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate Glow Stick (Sunstruck) Review + Swatches

March 8, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Tom Ford’s latest beauty release is not only a sight to behold but also one that has been much-anticipated. Finally, feast your eyes with the TF Shade & Illuminate Glow Stick ($55).

It’s a dual-ended cheek and highlighter stick that is housed in a luxurious easy to apply packaging. It is absolutely stunning to look at. So far there is only one shade that is being released and it’s called Sunstruck. The two colors have a very summery vibe to them, with the rose gold highlighter being a dewy creamy lit from within glow and the bold coral blush as also being creamy and vibrant.

The highlighter may seem a bit too dark or brownish on the outside, but once applied and blended, it becomes a nice easy to wear rose-gold highlighter that could work very well on any skin tone. Also, this is a very creamy highlighter which makes it very easy to blend around the high points of the face without disrupting the foundation, and it also has a dewy shimmery effect. It isn’t super blinding that the extraterrestrials might come down here on earth, the effect is subtle and quite natural, kinda like a healthy beach glow. On the other hand, the hot coral blush was a bit of a shock for me at the beginning, that’s because it seems extremely pigmented and bright to look at even just at one swipe, and I was a bit worried that it might be too harsh on the cheeks. While it’s true that it’s super creamy and very pigmented, the technique is basically to just dab a small amount on the apples of the cheeks for that nice coral flush, kinda like sun-kissed.

The Glow Stick doesn’t have any scent and it can be pricey. Yet given its luxe packaging, size, and the substantial amount of product in it, it’s definitely worth the splurge. You can use either a sponge or your fingers to apply the product, and it’s pretty much a quick dab and go application.

Overall, I really like the effect that it does on my skin. I definitely look like I just came from frolicking on the beach complete with my with piña coladas and sunblock spray. Oh my, this product is gonna be so overused. I hope TF will also release more shades of this glow stick soon enough.

Is this on your radar lately? I have a feeling that this is gonna be sold out pretty soon.

The Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate Glow Stick is currently available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, & JCPenney