In Glow vs. Glow, I’m pitting two known glow-givers against each other. It all started when I noticed that the Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Tinted Complexe is THE SAME PRODUCT as the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector—or is it? At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss them both as liquid highlighters, but it’s not quite the end of that story.
I don’t really post a lot of PR posts here anymore, so I guess it’s kind of telling just how excited I am for this new release from Ellis Faas. Glow Up is a new line from their complexion products—a range of highlighters set to be released on December 1, aka tomorrow. I just thought I’d give you a heads up! Highlighter is something I’ll always be drawn to, despite having numerous types in various textures, shades, and finishes. Light is a major player in makeup transformation, emphasizing shape and glow. Glow Up incorporates the soft focus properties of reflective pearls to attract light to your face, providing radiance with a soft subtle shimmer. Ellis Faas Glow Up is a facial powder illuminator that’s available in three shades: S501 (Porcelain Glow), S502 (Satin Glow), S503 (Deep Glow), each shade growing progressively darker in order to match a wide spectrum of skintones and their glow. If you’re not familiar with highlighter, you apply the product to parts of the skin on which light falls first: your …
Steadily becoming one of my favorite Korean brands, Too Cool for School’s initial and long-standing hook for me was their Dinoplatz range. Designed by an American studio with commissioned illustrations from Hatori Sando, the Dinoplatz line is fun, fresh, quirky, and really, really cute. I was a goner, basically, so please forgive me if this review runs a little long. In 2013, I bought bath salts (?) and an illuminator from TCFS as part of my test run of the brand. I never ventured into their color cosmetics until I got samples from Too Cool for School PH (review) and until I went to several Too Cool for School branches in Korea and tried my hardest to resist. I came home with some Dinoplatz items: 3 chubby eye crayons (1 is for my sister!) and a cream glitter shadow. Sidenote Dinoplatz means “dino ground” or “dino space.” Their branding has “Dino,” a crossed-out “spiel,” and “platz.” Spielplatz is German for “playground.” The more you know. Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Eye Krrrayon Stick in #3 …
Not too long ago, I received an email from StrawberryNET, asking if I wanted to try out this product by Fusion Beauty. I hadn't heard of this brand before, but I figured that I had nothing to lose if I gave it a shot. I was expecting a random product, but it turns out that this brand used to be carried in Sephora, before the founders sold it off and it basically faded into oblivion. It got a few glowing reviews from people like Charleston Girl of Best Things in Beauty. The Shinebox is a highlight and shimmer collection. “Now every angle is your angle. Day or night. Let no surface go unlit,” my box says. As you can see, there are 3 tiers of compartments, and all of them house a highlight of some sort. They all kind of swivel out, like a spiral staircase. The first tier has the “enhancer,” and is confusingly stamped with the word anyplace on the packaging. It's a powder highlight that gives a pretty warm glow. This is …
I was incredibly surprised at how much people wanted to find out what I thought about this product. I had posted a picture of it on Instagram and briefly mentioned it in my Highlighter/Illuminator Inventory way back when. The item in question is none other than the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal. Product Description: “A water-based moisturiser with an SPF of 20+ and light-diffusing particles of shimmer that creates instant radiance and vitality and reduces imperfections.” This sort-of cream is a kind of a lightly burnt bronze-y color with a lot of shimmery particles. Supposedly, this is the key to a natural glow. I think it was buzzed about for a while in the beauty community because of Lisa Eldridge. I don’t know what particular video that was, but if you know this product, chances are, it was because of her. So. How do you use these? You can mix them into a liquid base product like a foundation, a tinted moisturizer, or a BB Cream. This is my preferred method of applying it, …
If you’re looking for a product to add a lit-from-within glow to your makeup base, this might be the answer! Or one of, anyway. The Dinoplatz Pearl Bay Invasion in #1 Mother of Pearl by too cool for school is a liquid illuminator that you can mix with your face base or use to highlight certain points. Product Description: “Radiant skin that seems like 100 of fluorescent lights turned on.” — Creates three-dimensional & natural skin through pearls by reflection & curve of light. — 7 ingredients that contain high moisture keep moisturizing skin for hours. — adheres to skin tightly and leaves smooth and refreshing feeling. I don’t know about the rest of its claims—I didn’t particularly feel like this moisturized my skin or refreshed it—but I can vouch for it creating a natural-looking dewiness. I only ever use this mixed in with my face base (1:2, illuminator:BB cream ratio) because the pump dispenses too much product for me to just use it on isolated parts of my face. I’m tempted to depot just …
When I purchased my first NARS Eyeshadow Trio (Ramatuelle) and my favoritest lipstick (Vendanges), the SA gave me a bunch of samples, one of which was a “re-potted” bit of their Illuminator in Orgasm. I’m a big fan of the blush version, and I shied away from the Multiple pretty much because of intimidation, but I did not even consider the Illuminator until that sample. The NARS Orgasm Illuminator is categorized as a “multi-use” product. NARS claims that it acts as a highlighter, applied all over the face, or mixed with foundation. It is “deceptively sheer” and “decidedly luminous.” Reading that, I feel like it’s something designed to make me glow. NARS Orgasm Illuminator swatches. L: unblended, R: blended Orgasm is a peachy pink with a lot of shimmer. The blush version is practically everyone’s favorite blush, with but a few naysayers who dislike it because of all the shimmer (and the hype, I suppose). When I first saw the Illuminator, I was so intimidated by the glitter. It was so gold, I ended up …
Softly Sometimes 