Review: Highlighters: My Hits and Misses!

 Hi Everyone! ^^

      This is my take on several products for highlighting that I've tried over the past few years.

I am a HUGE fan of looking glowy and radiant throughout all seasons because I think it makes a person look healthy and refreshed, as well as its ability to make a persons face look more 3-dimensional (especially for people like me with no prominent cheekbones :$). Do keep in mind that I have dry/normal skin year-round and the slightest bit of an oily T-zone in the summer. If you do have oily skin, keeping your face matte is important, but if your oiliness can be controlled and isn't severe, highlighters are nothing to be afraid of! (just learn to apply it on the areas you need it!)

The Hits

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer- Radiance - 50 ml - $32

  For an all-over glow, this has been my fav product to use lately! Rather than applying it under my foundation, I like to mix the two together. This method not only makes my skin look AMAZING, but it makes my foundation a breeze to blend into my skin. You don't need to use a lot of product either! The colour is beige, almost golden in the tube and sheerer in colour when blended. It really compliments the yellow-undertones in my skin. As for scent, it doesn't smell that great..but it's not unbearable either. I find that Laura Mercier doesn't really pay attention to the scent of their products very much.
Texture: The main ingredient is water, so it doesn't feel like the typical silicone primer. It blends like a dream on the skin, but it doesn't dry quickly during application. This primer leaves a supple feeling on the skin, so I think this primer would be best in the winter or for dry/normal skin types.

The Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer - 8.5g - $30

Left: swatch. Right: blended

     I have nothing but good things to say about this product. It's finely-milled, shimmery, and VERY pigmented. The packaging is adorable and it's such a multi-purpose product. It gives you a gorgeous highlight.
LOVE. LOVE. LOVEM.A.C's Strobe Liquid Lotion - 50 mL- $31

This product is for a lighter, more subtle glow. I recommend the lotion formula for oily skin because the strobe cream is a lot thicker. Rather than applying it underneath foundation, mix it with your foundation or just apply it to the high points of your face after. Underneath your foundation, you really can't see it. This product doesn't have chunks of glitter either. It's an iridescent pigment. It is just sheer and glowy like the Laura Mercier primer mentioned above. Under the light, it can almost look like a light pink. As for smell, this smells similar to the Laura Mercier Primer..not good but not bothersome either.


Sephora's Harmony Trio Bronzer - Rose Pink - 3g - $7 (got at Sephora sale)
   

furthest up is all 3 colors blended.

This stuff is very BA-BAM on the skin. It's pigmented and finely-milled. With a light hand, I can use it as a blush that's not too overly shiny..but I do prefer using this as a highlight more. All 3 colours blended together is too pink (you can use these colours as eyeshadows, it's lovely.) though, so I like to just selectively mix the lighter 2 colours together for my highlight :). This isn't going to be a natural glowy look but it is definitely a beautiful highlight if you use the right amount!

The Misses:

Hard Candy - Glow all the way - 76.5g - $10

pinker in person!

I REALLLLY don't like this product. Not only is this stuff thick, but it is very pink. The shimmers are very noticeable. The main issue I have with this product was how pink it was under the light. I just..I just couldn't like it.

 Stila - One Step Primecolor - Kitten - 0.33 fl.oz. - $10

after multiple applications

    As a primer, I could barely see the highlighting/illuminating effects at all. This product felt very silicone-like out of all the highlighters. It had the smoothest texture out of the other highlighting products. Even when I tried applying this product overtop of my foundation around the cheekbones, it wasn't noticeable at all. You have to use a lot of this product to see any effects. I was quite disappointed with this, because 'kitten' is my favourite colour from Stila.


     This is my first blog post. I tried to make it short but I guess I wasn't very successful with that.. nonetheless, thank you so much for visiting my blog and taking the time to read this! Much love, cnteablog  ^^ !! <3