Sephora Favorites: Glow For It Review + Swatches

Didn't I say I had a thing for value sets in one of my previous posts? Yassssssssssss, it's the season for amazing value sets, especially the Sephora Favorites. Unfortunately though, this set is currently sold out on Sephora, so fingers crossed they bring it back before the holiday season! 

Lately, I've been obsessing over highlighters, so once I saw that Sephora was releasing a value set of highlighters, I snatched it up real quick. I actually purchased all my value sets the day it was released, but I just haven't found the time to photograph them and blog about them. To be honest, this is more of a first impression, than a review, since I haven't tried out the products on my face. Since I don't have a first impression category on my blog, it's going to stay under beauty reviews, because I will be doing a mini review/first impression on the products, so bare with me!

Cover FX Custom Infusion Drops (deluxe size) - $12.4 value

I was never a fan of using anything oily on my face because I always felt that adding oil to oil will make things worse. These infusion drops are to be used with your beauty routine. You mix these drops into anything liquid; such as your primer, foundation, moisturizer etc. This specific one is suppose to provide a radiant complexion. The lemongrass helps tone the skin while the vitamin C helps brighten your complexion while protecting against damaging free radicals. I'm very hesitant when it comes to adding oils to my face, but I've heard wonderful things about Cover FX as a brand, so I'll definitely be adding this to my morning routine.   

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in "Moonstone" (deluxe size) - $20 value

 I personally am not the biggest fan of Moonstone, because I feel it's rather light on me. With the shimmering skin perfector liquids, they work great on their own as a highlighter, or even mixed with your favourite foundation, to provide you with a gorgeous glow. The colour is very pretty, but in my opinion, too light and too yellow/gold for me. 

Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in "Incandescent" (deluxe size) - $14.67 value

I've been a big fan of Hourglass and their ambient blushes and lighting powders, so this was a nice way for me to try their strobe lighting powders.

  Incandescent is a very pretty pale white. I would personally use this all over, as it may come off too white on my medium complexion. To enhance the glow, the powder could be used with a wet brush to get a brighter intensity. 

Lancome Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter in "Glowing Lights" (full size) - $39.37

This is my favourite product in the set, and I'm so disappointed it's not available on Sephora in Canada. The texture is quite similar to Colourpop eyeshadows (which are amazing by the way), and it just feels so amazing to the touch. It's silky, smooth and cushion like. The colour payoff is wonderful and the shade can be described as a warm golden bronze.

Benefit Watts Up! Cream to Powder Highlighter (deluxe size) - $9.75 value

I've tried Watts Up in the past and I did enjoy the shade. I love that it's not overly shimmery and the colour is quite gorgeous. It's more on the drying side when you apply it, though it does say it's cream to powder. It tugs more than I would like even though it's a cream highlighter at first. 

Milk Makeup Sunshine Oil (deluxe size) - $9.97 value

This is actually the second item that can't be purchased on Sephora Canada, what the heck! A bit disappointing that they're offering stuff in the Sephora Favorites boxes that we can't even purchase here. Anyways, this sunshine oil smells like lemons, one of my favourites scents. It comes with a rollerball applicator, that helps keep your skin moisturized. I'm honestly not that excited to try this, because again, it's another oil, and it's main goal is to keep your skin hydrated.

All the swatches. Super pretty. 

The one thing I would change about this Sephora Favorites set, is the oils. I find that it's more of a skincare product than a highlighting product. Yes, when you think "glow" you also think glowing skin, but I find that if it had two more highlighters instead of two oils, it would be an amazing set. I'm still super happy with this Sephora Favorites though! The set was still worth way more, considering the Lancome highlighter itself was more than the price of the set.

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Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette Review + Swatches

I'm sure many make-up hoarders out there will understand my situation. You forget that you have a vast amount of make-up hidden away in your make-up drawer, that sometimes you may neglect some products. This was one of them -_-.

Today I will be reviewing the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette.

Now, many people have mistaken these as highlighters, (they can be if you want) but their main purpose is to be a finishing powder. These finishing powders are suppose to help soften and diffuse the way light reflects on your skin. Sounds strange doesn't it? 

The finely milled powders are used to help refine the appearance of your complexion, and is suppose to basically make your skin look glowy and flawless. 

I found the palette to be on the pricey side ($67 CAD), but a little does go a long way. You don't need much of the product to apply all over your face, unless you want to look like a powdery mess. 

I love using dim light all over my face, though it appears to be way light for me. It blends out quite nicely and works great with my favourite setting powder. I don't highlight my face much, but when I do, incandescent light works great above my cheekbones. Radiant light is pretty tan/orange for some, but for me, it works wonderfully for adding dimension to my bronzer, when I feel it's looking a bit flat. 

Are you a fan of Hourglass products? 

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Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette Review

This is going to be one of my first beauty reviews where I focus on one product only! Todays review will be on the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette.

What makes "ambient lighting blushes" so much more special than regular blush, is that Hourglass uses something called photo-luminescent technology, which are micron-sized, colour correcting particles, to alter the appearance of your skin. What this does is it refracts favourable light, which creates a soft focus on your skin, minimizes wrinkles, imperfections, and basically keeps your skin looking flawless.

Behold, one of the most beautiful blush palettes I've ever seen:

 I can't get over how pretty it is. If you're in the market for a good blush palette, this is calling your name.

The packaging: 

 Hourglass has the most simple, exquisite, sleek packaging design. They definitely know how to make their products look extremely expensive (which some may suggest they are).

 You get three blushes in this palette for $67 CAN, which is well worth it considering a full sized one is $41. Luminous flush and mood exposure are two colours in their permanent line of ambient lighting blushes, and incandescent electra is the limited edition shade made for this palette.

If you own the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette, you will notice its the exact same packaging except this one is gold and not brown. 

What's inside:

 From left to right: Luminous Flush - described as a champagne rose colour

Incandescent Electra - a cool peach

Mood Exposure - a soft plum colour

 What amazes me about Hourglass blushes, is that extra step they took to make their blushes more radiant and formulated well for everyone's skin. Instead of a flat colour, their photo-luminescent technology brings out depth and dimension on your face. 

 I don't know if people are applying this wrong, but the people who say that these colours don't show up on their face must not be using it right. Let me tell you this; a little goes a LONG way. These blushes are EXTREMELY pigmented. I gently swept my blush brush on the top of the blush, tapped off the excess and there was still so much pigment when I applied it on. Trust me when I say, apply with a very, very light hand. 

Swatches: (With bright lighting)

 Look at the beauty and variety of the shades you get. This is the perfect palette to get someone as a gift, or even to treat yourself to. I have a new found love for blushes and this blush palette just takes the cake. Its stunning, vibrant, and it works. 

Swatches: (less lighting)

My favourite would have to be luminous flush. It's such a bright pink, so you definitely don't need much to complete your look. When you apply it right, it gives you nice rosy cheeks.

Comparison: 

 Here is the Ambient Lighting Palette and the Ambient Lighting Blush Palette side by side. 

Hourglass has got it all figured out with their products. Their finely milled lighting powder and lighting blushes are products I would recommend to anyone. Their formulas are amazing and these products are worth every penny. 

If you're in the market for good quality blushes, give it a try. This palette is worth the value you pay for, and the product is of high quality. I'm considering picking up the other shades of blushes in the Hourglass line, because I absolutely love all the colours in this palette. 

Are you a fan of any Hourglass products? 

Shop the post:

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush ($41 each)

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette ($67)

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette ($67)

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My Top 5 Favourite Highlighters

Highlighters and Illuminators. Whats the point of them? If I have an oily face, why would I want my face to look shiny? Today I'm going to be talking about my top 5 favourite highlighters/illuminators and how you use them.

What is the point of using highlighters?
Well, highlighters are used to give you glowing skin and a dewy look. If you prefer to look matte then this is probably not the blog post for you! Highlighters add dimension and glow to your matte and contoured face. Rather than being flat with no dimension or shine.

Where do I apply my highlighter?
The main areas to apply your highlighter are:

• On your cheekbones/temples - Basically the point of highlighter is to emphasize the parts of your face where natural light would shine usually. You're going to apply the highlighter on the highest point of your cheekbones, and bring it up to your temples. You must remember to blend well because we don't want to look to glittery or shiny, the result should be a nice glowing sheen. We want the attention to be on our nice cheekbones and not on the shadows we contoured on our face. If you're interested in seeing my top favourite bronzers, click here!
• Eyes - Highlighter on your brow bone looks awesome because it can make your eyes appear bigger, and make your brows look a little lifted.
• Lip and Nose - Before applying your lipstick, it is also nice to apply a little highlight on your cupids bow and the center of your bottom lip. This helps enhance your lipstick colour and make your lips look fuller and juicy. Applying highlight on your nose isn't always necessary unless you want to make your nose appear slimmer, but make sure to just apply to the bridge and don't go all the way to the tip of your nose.

My Top 5 Highlighters

 Here is an overview of my top 5 favourite highlighters. I don't have a particular favourite order but yeah here they are!

Elizabeth Mott Pop! Goes the Shadow in "Champagne"

This is as you can see, an eyeshadow but it works great as a highlighter. I got this from my Ipsy bag so its nice to see that it is getting some use! 

"Champagne"

It looks extremely copper and goldish here but it definitely is a beautiful champagne colour which you will see in the swatch at the bottom of the post. This one is great for the brow bone, or even in your inner corner of your eye.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

This is the highlighter/illuminating powder that everyone wanted before. The Hourglass ambient lighting powders aren't originally made to be highlighters, because they are actually finishing powders. The shades in it are absolutely gorgeous though and they are quite shimmery enough to be highlighters.

From left to right: Dim Light, Incandescent Light, Radiant Light

My favourite to use is dim light and radiant light. I love to use radiant light all over my face to give myself a tanned glowy look. These are perfect for an all over shimmer look.

NARS Illuminator in "Copacabana"

This is only a sample size of it but oh my gosh this colour is absolutely gorgeous! I am definitely going to purchase a full size once I complete this sample. Its perfect for your brow bone and cheeks. I think this one may be number one on my favourites.

Benefit Watts Up Highlighter

One of the first highlighters I have ever used was this Benefit sample of the Watts Up highlight. I actually got this from Sephora's birthday gifts a few years ago haha. It glides on smooth and is a very pigmented champagne shimmer.

RiRi for Mac in "Diamonds"

Unfortunately this highlighter cannot be purchased from Mac anymore because it was limited edition. I know it looks super bronzy and dark in the packaging but trust me it is a gorgeous gold/bronze metallic highlight.

Very deceiving in the package right? Thats why I like to swatch in person before buying. When you buy online you never know how it is going to look! 

Swatches:

The three lightest would be the three on the further left, great for people with fair skin tones. Radiant light by Hourglass is good for people with a medium complexion. It would be a good all over powder, or even a bronzer for fair skinned people. Nars Copacabana has a very pink undertone, so it would look best on fair skin people, but honestly its so pretty I think it would look great on anyone. Benefit Watts Up is very gold and shimmery, great for highlighting your brow bone or if you're going for the summer glow with a very dark bronzing contour , this would make a great highlight. Similar with Diamonds, it looks more bronze than gold and would make an amazing summer highlight.

What are your favourite highlights/illuminators? 

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