MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter

Jeez Louise, this product review has been a long time coming! I originally bought this product wayyy back when I was supposed to be on a spending ban I think in January or February? In the past year or so I have become increasingly interested in highlighters, contouring, and basically how make up can be used to enhance your natural face shape. Enter the MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter..

Packaging wise - it's not bad. I prefer MUA's white products over the older products that come in black packaging but when it comes down to it you're paying less than £5 for something that comes in a plastic container, you're not going to be fussy right? But I do like this simple, plain packaging with the clear lid that lets the product do the talking. 

How pretty is this?! I have read a lot of other bloggers criticising MUA for copying MAC in the design of this highlighter - as someone who has never used a MAC product in their life I wouldn't know. All I do know is that this is a really pretty and gentle looking highlighter that I reckon most girls would struggle not to pop in their basket in Superdrug.

It's a very fine, powdered highlighter with glitter particles in it (as you can see below more clearly). It really is a beautiful product both in the pan and on the skin, and you don't have to use a lot to get a pretty nice definition on your face. However my main issue with this product is that it doesn't stick around long enough - after maybe four hours' wear it's all but disappeared from my face! This is the same problem I had with the highlighter which came in the MUA Artiste Palette (review HERE).

Overall I do really like this product, and it would have made it into my daily make up routine if it lasted a little bit longer! Perhaps I'm expecting too much for the price bracket, after all this does retail for a mere £3 but in my opinion this doesn't match up to the amazing quality of MUA's eyeshadows. You can buy the MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter from MUA direct online HERE, or from Superdrug in store or online HERE.

Have you tried this product before? What is your favourite highlighter?

xx

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MUA Artiste Collection Palette

WOW this post has been waiting a long time to get written! I acquired the MUA Artiste Collection palette a good few months ago - possibly as far back as pre-Christmas but for whatever reason I haven't gotten around to reviewing it until now! It was a free gift with an order I made, but retails for £6.

This is the first palette I've owned that isn't just eyeshadows - the Artiste Collection features 6 'merged' eyeshadows, 2 blushes, 1 bronzer and 1 highlighter. When I first received it I was quite excited at the prospect of one palette that would cover 4 different needs - I thought I would be able to cut out a lot of my make up when packing for visits home to Leeds or visiting friends.

The names of the eyeshadows L>R are:

Pistachio  Mocha  Ice  Grape  Chocolate  Cookie

The two blushes L>R are:

Pink Sparkle  Primrose

The bronzer is:

Bronzed

The highlighter is:

Shimmer Kiss

These are the eyeshadows swatched L>R in the same order listed above. It was hard to get a photograph which showed Pistachio and Mocha clearly as they are by far the lightest shades. On the lid, Pistachio is a creamy white, whereas Mocha is a beautiful cappuchino colour.

Here are the eyeshadows swatched in the opposite order to the photo above (not very helpful, sorry!)  I tend to wear Pistachio with black eyeliner as it makes the colour stand out, whereas Mocha is great for neutral days when I'm wearing a thicker brown eyeliner. I haven't worn the blue (Ice) yet as I don't really wear colour on my eyes.

Again, these are swatched in the opposite direction as shown above. I haven't tried Grape yet, but Chocolate (middle) is a fantastic shimmer brown which is useful in many different ways and Cookie (far left) is a nice warm peachy brown and excellent for a subtle smokey eye.

The quality of MUA eyeshadows is absolutely fantastic, especially in comparison to similar priced drugstore brands. I already own the Undressed eyeshadow palette by MUA (you can read my review HERE) and love it. The quality is consistently good with excellent colour payoff, fantastic lasting power and they don't crease! What more could you want?!

Here are the blushes Pink Sparkle and Primrose top > bottom. I didn't use these for a while after getting the palette, but once I did I fell in love! They're both really nice subtle colours which add a bit of flush to my especially pasty winter face! The lasting power is good, but not excellent - i.e. after 12-14 hours' wear there isn't much left. However having them within the palette is good for travel and I do like the colours.

Here is the bronzer and the highligher swatched. I did try to use this bronzer as a contour colour but as you can probably tell, it is way too dark for me! Even with a light hand and a soft brush it just makes my skin look bruised - not quite the look I was going for! The highlighter on the other hand is a stunning shimmer white shade and I absolutely adore it. It's one of the only pressed powder highlighters I own and I really love it and have used it a lot. It's easy to apply as a highlight all over your face but I use it most on my cheekbones and inner eye. The big downside is the total lack of longevity - I think this lasts a few hours maximum which is so disappointing as I would use it everyday it it lasted a bit longer.

Overall for £6 I think this is a good palette to have in your make up collection, especially if like me you're often visiting friends and family and need a compact everyday make up item to help you pack light! I do use a couple of the eyeshadows on a daily basis and the quality of them is outstanding. The blushers are also good, and I love the highlighter although the lack of longevity of these has, in my opinion, let the palette down on the whole. It would be brilliant if the bronzer was the right shade for my skin tone, but you can't win them all - I reckon if you have a warmer skintone you might be able to use that too. 

You can buy the Artiste Palette from MUA online HERE, or at Superdrug  instore or online HERE (free delivery until 2 April!).

Do you own this palette? What do you think of it?

xx

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2012: a few of my favourite things (beauty)

Today was my first day back at work after having a week off over New Year (although I had to work on the 27 & 28 December so haven't had a super jammy festive period!) I am EXHAUSTED already! Oh dear... but on with the show.

I hope you read and enjoyed my 2012 favourites post on fashion. Today I'm sharing some of my favourite beauty products of 2012

My most loved beauty purchase of 2012 definitely has to be the Ciate Mini Mani Month advent calendar! I posted every day up to December 24 sharing what was hiding behind each door, and it made my December that little bit more exciting. Read my post about it HERE.

Although I only bought this in November, I have used it every day since and really rate the Glow All Out highlighter from Soap & Glory. Read all about it HERE.

Another Soap & Glory product that was a firm fixture in my 2012 make up bag was the Thick & Fast mascara. Although I've recently changed mascaras and didn't repurchase this, at the time I was using it I loved it, and it was the best mascara I'd used! Read my review HERE. 

My favourite nail look of 2012 has to be these cute strawberry nails, which are actually super easy to do and maintain! Read about them HERE.

Last but certainly not least is another S&G product, the Pulp Friction body scrub. This product sat in my shower all year; it's a brilliant exfoliant to use as it creates such a lovely lather and feels a little less abrasive on the skin, whilst still doing a great job shifting dead skin cells! Read my post on Pulp Friction HERE.

It seems I really loved Soap & Glory in 2012! I don't think that's about to change anytime soon, especially as I received dozens of new products for Christmas & have some gift sets I purchased in the sales to try too - watch this space for reviews!

What have been your favourite beauty products of 2012?

xx

Soap & Glory Glow All Out Highlighting Powder

After suffering a few break outs when using my usual highlighter, the No7 Skin Illuminator, I decided it was time for a change. I had a look around the blogosphere and settled on the offering from Soap & Glory, as I'm obviously a massive fan and have gotten on well with their cosmetics in the past. 

As I use a mineral powder foundation and finishing powder, I decided to try a pressed powder highlighter. I'd read lots of good reviews of Glow All Out and once I'd made up my mind rushed out to buy it from Boots.

As always, I was impressed with the packaging. Glow All Out comes in a cardboard compact, which sounds cheap but it actually is very nicely and securely packaged, with the trademark S&G retro pink style that we know and love. The compact also comes with a mirror which is handy if you plan on travelling with this product, or keeping it in your handbag. It closes magnetically. keeping the powder secure and safe in transit.

I love the S&G motif pressed into the powder - again, it makes this feel like a high end product. As this retails for £11, I expected it to feel more substantial than other cheaper products I've tried and I wasn't disappointed. I think in general S&G have done very well with the packaging on their cosmetics.

I have been using the highlighter on top of my usual foundation, applied with my kabuki brush prior to using blush. I lightly brush it over my cheekbones, nose and forehead, paying most attention to my cheekbones. I find this gives a really subtle, healthy glow to my face which is ideal for winter when my skin perhaps isn't looking its best. I have very pale/porcelain skin and so it's important for me to add colour and glow to my face to avoid looking like a corpse! This is where this product performs better than perhaps more translucent highlighters.

After applying this at half past 7 in the morning, I can still see it on my face 12-13 hours later, which is very good longevity by any measure. It's so subtle that I don't feel it's obvious I'm wearing it (unlike other highlighters I've used) as it just adds extra depth and definition to my face and bone structure. It's not so glittery that you can't wear it for work, but equally I imagine you could build up a good amount of shimmer with repeat applications for a high impact look if you're going out.

Overall I am very happy with my purchase, and recommend trying this highlighter if you're looking for something that feels light and soft on your skin but still gives you that fresh healthy glow that many of us need in the winter months!

xx

E.L.F. mega haul #1 - shimmering facial whip

When E.L.F. (eyeslipsface) recently gave customers a code offering them a whopping 50% off the entire website, I couldn't resist! As my followers on Twitter will know, I ended up spending £31.50, qualifying for free shipping too! This is what £63 will get you at E.L.F.:

Obviously too many products to cover in just one post! So for the next few weeks I'll do a post every weekend on a different group of products, ensuring I'm thorough with my reviews and don't bore you endlessly with one mega review! Today's post is on the Shimmering Facial Whip - I already had this in two shades but one of them exploded in my bag (sadface) and the other just doesn't match my skintone. So I purchased the whip in Spotlight and Lilac Petal...

This is Spotlight. It's the lightest shade of the whip and I thought it would be useful as a highlighter on nights out. In real life, the tone is much more subtle than I expected but it still gives a gorgeous light-reflecting shimmer. As with all the whips, you only need a small amount and it blends into the skin easily. It also smells lovely - the facial whips have a tasty citrus scent to them which is luckily not too overpowering!

This is Lilac Petal. I have been using this as a highlighter every day since it arrived - I adore it! You can see the brilliant shimmer effect it gives on the skin which is perfect for a nice natural make up look in the summer. I will probably use Spotlight for a more subtle look when I start work and the winter starts creeping in.

Overall a fantastic product, definitely recommended. The whips are sold HERE for £1.50 each, I'd recommend purchasing a couple of shades to ensure you end up with one that matches your skin. I can't hype this product up enough, I actually prefer it over Benefit High Beam as a highlighter! And as I got mine for 75p I am one happy bunny!

xx