Drugstore Highlighter Round up

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The Instagram wanted a highlighter round up so here I am, doing a highlighter round up. I have rounded up all my drugstore powder highlighters (because I’m going to do a cream post later on) for you. There are not many standards I have for a highlighters as I basically like all of them. Metallic, glossy, satin, subtle you name it.

Maybelline

The Maybelline master chrome highlighter is one of the most beautiful highlighters I have ever experienced. Period. Not just “for drugstore”. It can be applied with a brush or with a finger and if its blended into the skin it can give a less metallic look. Its creamy and buildable. I think that if you want a highlighter that has the same popping metallic sheen (not glittery) as Champagne pop this is the highlighter for you.  

Covergirl

The Covergirl highlighter palette in “It’s Lit”.  This is a beautiful palette. The highlighters aren’t quite as bright as the Maybelline but they are buildable. They colours are all great for my skin tone and they do have a darker palette. I really like this. It is more on the powdery side but I find on the skin it doesn’t come across as that “powdery” cakey look.

Joe Fresh

This highlighter is the most beautiful subtle light champagne shade. It does kick up quite a bit of powder, but on the skin it gives a nice inner glow vibe. The drawback is there is only two shades. This highlighter gives off a subtle glow so if you are a beginner with highlight this is a good one to go with.

Essence

Similar to the Joe Fresh highlighter this one gives a nice sheen as well. It’s more of a subtle nude highlighter but on the cheek gives a nice glow without being glittery. I would say this highlighter has almost a peachy undertone to it and gives a nice “nude glow” as the name might suggest. This is also only $5 so is a steal!

Annabelle

The Annabelle perfect glow highlighters are the hidden gems of the Canadian drugstore. These are smooth and buttery and look beautiful on the skin. It gives a nice glow without being chunky and rivals some of its higher end counterparts.

ELF pressed highlighter in starlight glow

This highlighter is a beautiful. It gives a nice subtle sheen and can be built up to be a popping highlight. There are a ton of shades and the formula is smooth and easy to work with.

Wet n wild

Perhaps the most chunky highlight of the bunch. Don’t get me wrong – this is a great highlighter but of all of them this is the most high shine metallic one that has that initial chunky application. However, personally this isn’t a highlighter that I don’t gravitate towards as much as others, however it is a nice formula and I recommend this if you want a super high shine highlighter.

ELF baked highlighter

I have recently rediscovered this highlighter. I love that it gives a nice subtle glow. It has a beautiful sheen without being glittery. 

What is the main difference that I see between high end and drugstore highlighters? The lasting power. Some of these – like th ELF baked highlighter fad quite quickly despite using a setting spray. However, the covergirl and maybelline I find have the best lasting power (at least on my skin) of all the highlighters I mentioned.

Products on the chopping block

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I have seen Andrea Matillano do this video a few times, and she was talking about products she had on the chopping block and I thought what a great idea. I have so many impulse, drugstore purchases that I just don’t reach for anymore or products that I thought were great and then discovered better alternatives. I thought I would give these products one last test for two weeks to see if they really have value in my collection. I would also like to say, these products (mostly not the Burt’s Bees foundation) are good products, but for me it’s like when you have been wearing more inexpensive running clothes, then you discover lululemon pants and just can’t go back. If these are your favourite items yay! More for you! But for me these are products I’m on the fence about and just don’t know if I will keep.

Flat lay chopping block
When putting this post together the first two  are two foundations. The Wet n wild photo focus foundation and the Burt’s Bees Goodness Glows foundation. The Wet n Wild foundation is okay, but it smells like paint thinner and while it looks gorgeous when you first put it on, it doesn’t wear nicely throughout the day. Again, we all know I reviewed the Burt’s Bees foundation – I’m going to give it another go and have since before writing this post, but again I just can’t make this work. My experience with this foundation was it clung to weird patches on my skin that aren’t normally dry.

foundation

Next are some more wet n wild products. I am by no means trying to slam this brand – they are a great affordable drugstore brand and some of the best products are from the brand. Their cream blushes in rose and peach. I originally bought to test out for a post i never ended up doing so they’ve gotten lost in my collection. I found that these disappeared as soon as I put them on so alas I’ll give these another try, if I use these in combination with a powder blush they do last well, but again if I’m going to use a cream blush I don’t want to set it.  The ELF baked bronzer. Frankly, I should just declutter this because it doesn’t show up on my skin. I’ve scraped off the top and it still doesn’t show up at all. I will try it again but alas it might be time for it to go.

The ELF Baked highlighter in blushed gems. This is a beautiful highlighter – but I have more that I like better than this. This was one of my first highlighters and at the time I really liked it but I just never reach for it anymore. I have worn it for the past few days and it is a beautiful more subtle highlighter which is sometimes what I want on certain days. I will update you in two weeks if this is staying or going.

open cheek products.png

The Rimmel contour face palette in Golden Sands. This is actually a beautiful palette but it is very powdery and has that classic drugstore powder smell. The bronzer in this palette is really nice which is what I will try to use over the course of this two week test.  I have such an affinity for face palettes, with all the bases covered but  I find myself using this one sporadically. I have a few other face palettes I love but since this one has pretty delicate powders I can see myself possibly adding this to a project pan in the near future and attempt to hit pan on the blush and bronzer shades!

cheek products on chopping block

The other face palette is the ELF contouring blush and bronzer duo in Fiji matte. This was $3 at Loblaws so I bought it on impulse. I don’t know why because I literally never wear matte blushes and the bronzer isn’t the best formula wise but I will test it a few times to see if I want to keep it around.

wet n wild eye shadow.png

Finally, the Wet n Wild comfort zone palette. This is the old one, there is a new one now with a new formula, but I bought this when I first started watching Youtube in 2016 and of course, it is beautiful but after trying more and more eye shadows I find myself not reaching for it. I tried to pan it in my first project pan roulette and didn’t have much luck progress wise. I probably should just declutter it right now because I haven’t used it since that project. I might try and use it again but I swear, even with a primer these eye shadows fade quite quickly on me even with an eye primer.

What products are you on the fence about?

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Blune Day 7: New bits and bobs

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Recently I have received from my birthday and treated myself to a few makeup bits that I have been curious about. A few of these have already been discussed on here but I wanted to show  a few things I’ve worked into my collection!

First, my wonderful best friend got me the Hourglass bronzer in diffused bronze light. It is amazing. I love how buildable and glowy it is. It is in heavy packaging making it feel even more luxurious. Another hourglass product that has weaseled its way in is their blush in Incandescent Electra which is a beautiful peach shade. I love the sheer buildable colour of both these products. They just make you glow “naturally” and you get a lot of product for you money.

Hourglass Ambient lighting bronzer and

nyx-dose-of-dew

The NYX dose of Dew highlighter and the Elf Shimmer Highlight powder in Starlight glow. Two newer highlighters to my obscene collection. The Elf one took my storm. It performs like a high end highlighter and lasts all day. It is a beautiful gold champagne shade that isn’t too gold for my liking. The NYX dose of dew was a purchase on a whim that was inspired by Jessica Braun. She is such a fabulous YouTuber and is always raving about this. I can see why, its a dewy stick that isn’t sticky and gives a beautiful glow to the skin without being metallic or glittery.

Elf Starlight

butter-bronzer

The Physicians Formula Butter bronzer in sunkissed, again a Youtube  made me buy it. Mariah Leonard was talking about this and it was on my birthday, so I thought I may as well as well pick it up.  It of course smells like a tropical vacation and is a beautiful shade for that sun kissed look we all enjoy.

Joe Fresh lipstick cushion

Joe Fresh Eyeshadow Caramel

The cream of the crop, the Joe Fresh Matte Cushion lipstick. The most unique formula of lipstick I have seen in my makeup life. It comes in a tube, and the colour is in the cap and you push the cushion into it to saturate the sponge with the colour. It goes on kind of sticky but remains a beautiful non drying formula throughout the day. It only comes in a few shades (which I am restraining myself from buying) but I would love them to come out with a nice peachy nude shade. Another Joe Fresh find is the eyeshadow in caramel. It’s a cool toned caramel, which is refreshing because most of my eyeshadows are warm toned, and it is a beautiful sheer wash of colour on the eyes. I wouldn’t mind a few more shades in my arsenal!  

Have you tried anything new or anything new to you?

Underrated Drugstore products

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Essence prismatic highlighter: I bought this on a whim in good old shoppers drug mart. What a great place, it takes all your money. I bought this because I thought this might be a dupe for the Nudestix illuminaughty highlighter, but alas its not. BUT I really like this, I wear it almost daily mixed with other highlighters (the ones in my project pan). It has a blue/pink duochrome shift, and isn’t sticky at all.

essence prismatic highlighter

Essence matte bronzer: I bought this bronzer last summer because my Physicians Formula butter bronzer was too light to give me any of that sun kissed warmth I was seeking. It smells exactly like the butter bronzer and while a bit more warm, it’s not so ridiculous that you like you have had a bad tanning experience. It’s also extremely affordable.

Essence bronzer and Milani earthy elements

Milani eyeshadow palettes: I have the Milani earthy elements palette, its BEAUTIFUL. If you are looking for a cruelty free palette, at a drugstore price that actually has good matte shades, these palettes are for you. Now, I only can attest to the earthy elements one but it’s BEAUTIFUL. Now, because of my embarrassing amount of palettes I don’t use this as often now a days, but the shades are unique (trust me they don’t dupe the naked heat palette but they give a similar effect), are easy to blend and last all day! They are also pigmented even if you don’t use a primer which is a bonus.

Elf studio blushes

Elf studio blushes: I was raiding my collection and was thinking: what blush do I have that isn’t talked about at length in the beauty community. I came across my Elf Studio Blushes. These are so underrated, they are pigmented but no so pigmented that you are startled when you slap it on to your cheeks. They come in several different shades and again, like most things in this post, is affordable.

Wet n wild oaks on you cream “contour stick”: I first saw this on Youtube but it wasn’t very well liked. It wasn’t hyped at all, I only saw on YouTuber use it and it looked amazing. Of course I bought it cause I was curious. If you are not wanting to spend the money on Nudestix Bondi Bae or the Milk Makeup bronzer stick I’d say this one has you covered. I like to apply it buy swirling a flat kabuki brush and then swirling it on all the bronzer places.

Pixi Tinted lip balm

Pixi tinted lip balms: I really like these lip balms. I find they actually moisturize my lips, they smell good and are all beautifully pigmented, but not too pigmented which is what I like in a tinted lip balm (hence the name). These come in a few shades and every time I wear them I get a compliment on my lip colour.

What are your favourite drugstore products?