highlighter

Anastasia Beverly Hills Sun Dipped Glow Kit Review + Swatches

August 24, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

If you’re looking for a palette full of well-crafted highlighters with different tones, well, look no further because this Glow Kit from Anastasia Beverly Hills ($40) might just be the answer you’re looking for, especially if you’re crazy over highlighters nowadays.

I’ve reviewed several highlighters here in the blog, some of them are in kits or palettes, while some are in one single compact. Some are even in liquid or stick forms which I will be comparing with this ABH Glow Kit later on this post. While it’s nice to have everything in one single compact that contains a blush, a contour, and a highlighter shade, this Anastasia Glow Kit is quite different. It has 4 highlighters in one single kit or palette, which I think is made especially for those who just can’t get enough of highlighters and for those who need a highlighter that truly matches their complexion.

Depending on your skin tone, some highlighters may overemphasize or underemphasize your features. Some may even make you glow too much like a flashlight. There are even some shades that just don’t show up on your skin. So with 4 highlighters in one palette? I’m all up for it.

Bronzed – This is a shimmery bronze-gold that can work as a bronzer or as a golden highlighter for different skin tones, but I think this is specially meant for medium to dark skin tones as well. This is really shimmery and if you wanna look super gilded like the queen of the Nile, then this one’s for you.

Summer – A pearly-gold shimmer for those with lighter complexions. This really highlights your cheekbones and all the bony prominences of your face.

Tourmaline – A rosy shimmer that’s a bit similar to Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal. I love this shade because it’s not too bright and not dark for a highlighter. A great complement to any light-medium skin tones.

Moonstone – This is a blend of peachy-pearl-golden shimmer that appeared to be very similar to the Summer shade once applied on my light-medium skin. In fact, it’s hard for me to tell the difference between the two. The difference between them is very subtle, but this is for sure a better option for those with light to medium complexion if you’re looking to level up your highlighter shade but doesn’t want a pure pearly shimmer on your face.

These highlighters are well-pigmented and they’re really shimmery. You can layer them for sure, but I find that just a single swipe of a fan brush or a finger will already give an instant glow. They’re easy to blend, so that’s a big plus, but I find that they’re a bit more shimmery when compared to Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfectors (reviewed HERE), yet they’re also as finely-milled and soft.

I definitely like all the four shades in this ABH Sun Dipped Glow Kit and I noticed that there’s really not a lot of fallouts, and if there is, it’s almost unnoticeable. Compared to some other popular highlighting palettes out there, like the Becca x Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette (reviewed HERE), well, even though that’s a different kind of story because that’s more like an all-in-one highlight/contour/blush palette, I feel like this is such a contender. This is great for traveling or just something to have around that’s easy to reach all the time, and with 4 choices of shades, you can’t really go wrong. When it comes to stick or liquid highlighters, well, there’s a lot of good stick highlighters out there that delivers smooth natural highlighting effects like Benefit’s Watt’s Up!, Trestique’s Highlight & Perfect Multipurpose Stick (seen HERE), or Nudestix Nudies All Over Face Color Bronze + Glow (reviewed HERE), but still this ABH Glow Kit in Sun Dipped is very practical, convenient, and worth the money. Overall, the formulation is superb, the shades are wearable, versatile, and they make you glow beautifully.

The ABH Sun Dipped Glow Kit is available at Sephora, Ulta, Macy’s, and Dillard’s

It’s almost weekend, Yey!

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Maybelline Master Strobing Stick Review

June 28, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Lookie Lookie, look what I got today! It’s been a while since I featured some drugstore beauty finds, but something caught my eye when I was at my local pharmacy a few days ago. I saw these two cute-looking highlighter sticks from Maybelline and I couldn’t resist. With all the highlighter buzz and trends nowadays which are mostly pricey, who couldn’t resist the cheap drugstore Maybelline Master Strobing (0.67 oz: $9.99) Illuminating Highlighter? Let’s take a look at how they compare to other high-end and big name highlighter brands nowadays.

At first glance, I seem to love the shades of these highlighters even if there’s only two shades released. One is a pearly shimmer and the other one is more of a golden nude. Not sure how they applied or what the texture is because you can’t really try them in the store, unlike Sephora or Ulta. They sorta look dry and powdery but NOPE, they’re not. They’re actually super creamy and they apply smoothly.

The shimmer of these Maybelline Master Strobing Sticks is very subtle or natural but also very buildable. They’re non-drying and there’s no fallout. They’re so creamy that they’re actually better than some other highlighter sticks out there. In fact, I was really impressed at the quality of the formula. To be honest, they feel like high-end highlighters. I love it.

Judging from the aisle scenario where I spotted these strobing products, it looks like people seem to love these strobing sticks because mine were practically the last ones left. Hmmm, I also saw the Maybelline Master Strobing Liquid, which may be reviewed here soon. And hmmm, I really need to do another serious exploration of my local drugstore from now on, for sure.

Bottom line, I LOVE these highlighter sticks and I highly recommend them, you better grab one now because the quality is unbeatable, the shimmer is great, and they beat the popular brands, on top of that, they’re pretty much easy to use and easy to find. The only problem is good luck finding them in stock and if you find one, you’re gonna wish them in hundred different shades. Because honestly, you can only wonder why are these so cheap?

The Maybelline Master Strobing stick is available at Target, Walgreens, Amazon, Ulta, plus some other drugstores nationwide.

Song of the day: Sia, Cheap Thrills.

Happy Wednesday!

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treStiQue Mini Contour Travel Set Review

June 20, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

What’s Up Friends! I fell in love with Trèstique’s beauty products the moment I tried their Maldives Luminescent Highlighter that came with last month’s Sephora Play! I thought it has a nice smooth shimmer that naturally illuminates the curves of your face. Well, since then, I wanted to try other Trèstique products and I stumble into their Mini Contour Travel Set (0.04 oz $28), which has a blush, a bronzer and the same highlighter that I love in it, but in minis which are great for traveling.

I noticed that most Trèstique products are aimed towards being practical. They’re pretty much easy to use, energy-saving and almost eliminates the need for a brush. Lord knows it can be quite draining to create the perfect makeup du jour, you know. Most of their products are pen style or have dual ends wherein the other end has a brush or smudger attached to it. I love that. Don’t we all?

Back to the Trèstique Mini Contour Travel Set, each stick is about 3.5 inches long but there’s only about 0.5 inches of product in it. So there’s not a lot, but it’s good enough especially if you only use it for traveling. Also, for its price, it’s hard to complain. The formula of these mini sticks are not really creamy, I think they’re somewhat chalky and sort of dry, but they glide on the skin well enough. They aren’t very pigmented either, but they’re very buildable, so a couple more strokes on the face will do the job. They also don’t have any fragrance and they didn’t irritate my skin.

Brazilian Bronze (Bronzer) – A matte bronzer that appears to be light brown upon first swipe, but it can be layered to create a deeper tone, adding more depth to the face. Personally, I find that I have to put 3-4 deep strokes on my face to create that natural-looking contour.

Bora Bora Coral (Blush) – A coral-pink blush that also seems really light at first application, yet it’s buildable and it blends quite well. The nice thing is there’s no shimmer on this blush, so it creates a natural flush on the cheeks, which is nice, even though it requires a few more swipes.

Maldives Luminescent (Highlighter) – As what I’ve said in my previous Sephora Play! review (found HERE), this is a well-done pearly highlighter that gives a discreet soft shimmer on the face. It’s great for everyday use and it blends smoothly. It’s also very long-lasting and since it has a sheer coverage, I love that it doesn’t overwhelm the face with too much glitter.

This is indeed a great trio set for traveling, and it even comes in a mini round bag which is a great add-on. I just wish that these sticks were slightly more pigmented and that there’s enough product on each of them. Other than that, the Mini Contour Travel Set by Trèstique is practical to use, easy to blend, affordable and time-saving. You might as well have one for your next sojourn.