Under-Eye Concealers

Under eye concealers have only been a recent thing for me. I first discovered how much of a difference they make only last year, and since then, I've been using them incessantly. They do what I've always thought was lacking-- brighten in just the right places. These four under-eye concealers have been superb and I would like to recommend them to you. In no particular order, they are some of my favorites.

The luxe of them is the Burberry Sheer Concealer No.02. Like the name suggests, it is sheer in that it is watery but it definitely has enough pigmentation to make the dark circles disappear. The shade that I have is a pinky-salmon color that cancels out the blueish dark circles. It is also hydrating in that even after hours, it won't crack or crease under your eyes. I'm sure we all look for that in under-eye concealers, right? The packaging is lovely in that its in a form of a pen, and you just need to click to have enough come through the brush.

If you aren't too particular about packaging, you may resort to more affordable options that are just as marvelous. The first one I'd recommend is the Maybelline Dream Lumi-Touch Concealer. There are several shades offered, but I again looked for the salmon colored one called "radiant". It should fit for all shades, as long as you blend it out well. It is such an instant highlighter, and it very long-lasting. I've gone through two of these already. Another Maybelline concealer that's pretty amazing is the Dark-Circle Eraser Concealer that I've blogged about here, before.

The two others are from my recent trip to London. One is available here in the States: Rimmel Wake me Up Concealer in the shade soft beige. It a little less long-lasting than the other concealers, and it is the creamiest. However, I still love it because days when my skin feels really dry and cracked(?), I love using this concealer in particular because it's so creamy. It helps the dryness around my eyes, and hydrates that area the best. The color isn't too salmon, but it does a good job highlighting.

Lastly, Collection 2000 is from the UK drugstore, and I doubt you can get that here in the States. I know this is a favorite of all the UK bloggers I know of, and I can see why. It is like water, and it is really instant. You can put a bunch of it on your eyes, but it'll pat perfectly and have a skin-like finish. Again this color isn't all-too salmon, but it helps brighten the areas: under-eyes, bridge of the nose, between eyebrows and the like.

So far, I use them in rotation. Tell me what some of your favorites are! x

Leave a Comment burberry, collection 2000, concealer, concealers, highlighter, maybelline, rimmel, swatches, under eye

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Charlotte Tilbury's Makeup, Part I. Bronzer & Glow Duo

My mind was set on picking up some Charlotte Tilbury makeup when I went to the UK. I was in London for about four days, and on the third day, I went to Selfridges to check them out. I was so thrilled to finally go to Selfridges that I even took a picture of the Charlotte Tilbury section! 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet Charlotte Tilbury herself but I absolutely adore her and watch most of her videos on Youtube. Anyway, there was so many things to check out and because the products are on the pricer bit, I knew I couldn't get everything I wanted. What I ended up buying was three products: The Filmstar Bronze & Glow, Full Fat Lashes Mascara, and Eyeshadow Pencil in Smokey Emerald. Today, I'm going to be talking to you about the The FilmStar Bronze & Glow bronzer and highlighter duo. 

As a start, let me put it out there that this gets a full fat FIVE OUT OF FIVE. Six stars, if I could. 

The Packaging: 

Charlotte Tilbury got it right on the mark. As someone who is so passionate about makeup, you can only assume that she'd do everything just right when it comes to packaging. The duo bronzer and highlighter comes in this luxurious gold sleek packaging. Right in the middle is her logo CT, which is ever so elegant. You do feel like a Filmstar goddess with this in your hands. The size and look of the packaging is en pointe and just so beautiful!

The Actual:

On the left is the bronzer and on the right is the highlighter. 

The Bronzer:
The color doesn't look as scary as say the Nars Laguna bronzer, and so I thought it might be too "un-dramatic" for what I look for in bronzers. I wasn't first to use this product. I had put it off, but while I did, my sisters took a share in trying out this duo. They raved so much about it, that I finally decided to see for myself. After washing my brushes clean, I took a gentle sweep of the bronzer and swept it lightly on my face. Let me tell you, it was a WOWza kind of effect. It was prominent and there, but it definitely wasn't an unnatural look. It instantly shaded in your face like a natural shadow, but it also sculpted the face in such an easy way! 

I wanted to do a swatch for you to see the color, but the pictures didn't come out true to the color, and I want to really say that what you swatch and how it actually looks on your face is very different. Swatching the bronzer, I didn't think it looks as prominent as it did on my face. 

The Highlighter:
The highlighter was also a WOWza. It's just so easy to use and you don't have to be afraid to use it relentlessly. It's so finely milled that when you sweep it down your nose, on the top of checks, and wherever else, the glow looks so natural and so you. The glow, even in the harshest truest sunlight, does not look like cake on the skin. It sits so peacefully on the skin and makes you look radiant without looking glittery or forced. It's natural and it gives you a true GLOW. 

Unfortunately, you can't get them in the US yet. But I'm sure with such a huge fan-base and the amazing reviews that are pouring out, Charlotte Tilbury will soon launch worldwide. At least I'm waiting for that day! Meanwhile, if you're ever heading to London anytime soon, make sure you head over to Selfridges and check them out!

2 comments bronzer, charlotte tilbury, filmstar, highlighter, london, selfridges

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Soft and Gentle⎪MAC Mineralize SkinFinish

Another great highlighter discovery! All three of the highlighters I have had experience with and loved were all different textures and compositions. One was the Benefit WattsUp Highlighter and the second was the Estee Lauder Gelee Bronze Goddess Illuminator. And finally, the third is this really well-known MAC Mineralize SkinFinish in "Soft and Gentle". The Benefit is a creamy-stick highlighter. The Estee Lauder is a gelée formula which gives this wet sheen look, even though it is basically powder. This MAC skinfinish highlighter is a powder that is the most quintessential highlighter of them all! It's a powder with intense pigmentation and the color is perfect!

As nicely as it illuminates, it also blurs the areas applied in a way. The color is a gold-champagne but nothing empowering of each. The shimmer is truly gentle and it gives this subtle glow to the face that I have loved wearing! It adds to the healthy glow anyone would like to have.

Here are the swatches. As I often mention with the swatches, the pictures don't always do the justice! The swatches are done with a single swipe across the pan. It is super pigmented and the shimmer/sparkles do not look flakey or unnatural. 

What are your thoughts on this highlighter? Any others that you preferably enjoy? :)

Leave a Comment highlighter, illuminator, MAC, mineral, mineralize skinfinish, soft and gentle

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MAC Extra Dimension Blush

I featured this blush in my MAC haul video a few months back. Since then, I've been working myself slowly through the bunch of new blushes I had purchased that time around. Recently, I have been unable to stop wearing this blush. Once I get hooked on a certain blush, it takes me a lot of mind control to put it down and take on another blush. But hey, why the rush? I might just take my time with this love until I get sick and tired of it!

I'm talking about MAC's Extra Dimension Blush. It's a limited edition and when I bought this blush, it had just come up. A truly "new arrival" line because I got to this stand when the MAC ladies were bringing the boxes out and putting them on display. Happily, I took the pleasure of swatching all of the perfectly new blushes at the stand!

I ended up with the shade Blazing Haute which is a medium-light orange. The thing about the Extra Dimension Blushes is that they have pigment but they also have a highlighting effect. I find that when I use this blush I don't have to wear a highlighter. Just like their name, they give extra dimension to the face, catching the light to your natural contour. I found that some of their shades were literally just highlighters because the colors were so slight or so close to one's actual skin color.

The shade Blazing Haute is such a pretty shade. I find that when I use a darker orange, or a true vivid orange, I end up looking quite tan. For those who like that look, I guess it's fine. But since I like to look more fresh than tan, I found that this orange was just that right shade for that fresh yet contoured look. I highly recommend this blush.

One downfall though. Why do MAC products create these small oil dots? I don't know if you can see it in the pictures, but those little bubbles were made with a fresh clean brush, even before that brush touched my face. Just swirling a brush makes that blush catch and make these oil rolly balls! Yuck. Does anyone else have that problem?

Oh, and by the way this blush came with such a beautiful swirl and MAC imprints all over the blush! Too bad I've used almost all of them up.

Leave a Comment blush, extra dimension blush, highlighter, limited edition, MAC, MAC blushes, orange

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Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Illuminating Powder Gelée

This product has been approved by my sisters who are now literally obsessed with it. 

Bronze Goddess Illuminating Powder Gelée

I am growing my Estee Lauder collection because they are that worth it. Everything I've tried from them so far has been impeccably satisfying, all in its content, packaging, pigmentation, and results. Now, I don't have too many of their products because I'm late on the bandwagon but now that I've had a test with a few of them, I know there might be more bits and pieces being added to my collection. 

without flash.

One of my favorite products from their brand is their "Gelée" line. I don't know the whole science behind them, but what I do know is their gelée line is this powder product that transfers like metallic gel on the skin. It gives you this wet-look effect because of the high metallic-shine and pigmentation. Their bronze sand eye palette I bought last year is amazing. Following that, I bought this illuminator/highlighter.

This is a really really small amount!

I've been "digging" (do people still use this word?) highlighters recently. It adds "youth" and "radiance" to just the right places, making you look so perked up and "put together". I love it. 

under a harsh light

When I swatched this illuminator at the store, I thought-WOW. Their gelee technology enables just the slightest amount of product to transfer triple that amount. Meaning, it is effective and deeply pigmented. The finish of these powders are just amazing. It's not sparkly shimmery shine. It's rather a metallic sheen finish. It gives you this dewiness without looking cakey or too powdery. 

Although the color looks "brown" and can be found under the "bronzer" category on their website, (on top of that, is called "bronze goddess"), it is nothing of a dark bronzer. It is a highlighter, and it isn't dark at all. The color is a barely-there on the face. What you see, though, is the effect of that top-notch shine. The color, I would describe, is an icy-gold, whereas my Benefit Watts-up highlighter is a champagne gold. 

It comes with their little sponge that really packs on that product on the face. At first I was scared to use that because I thought it'd pack on way too much, and this product already being so super pigmented, I was sure I didn't want to beam like a sun everywhere. So, I had used a fluffy brush to apply this. But, when I found that in fact, I didn't have enough on my face, I tried this sponge and found out that this actually did the best job! Take this sponge and add product and sweep it on the tops of your cheeks and under your brow bones! So pretty!

nice packaging huh? :) $40

If you're on the search for a new edition illuminator to your collection, check this one out! My sisters reach for this all the time, and when my sisters approve of it this much, I know I've done a good job finding the "it" product :)

Leave a Comment bronze goddess, estee lauder, highlighter, illuminator, summer

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Burberry Fresh Glow

Ever since I've been wearing the Benefit Watts-up highlighter, I've been really "digging" highlighting and glowing products. If you didn't know about this already, I truly love the NARS sheer glow. It just has this perfect 1-2-3 that makes it so lovable. However, there are days though that I really would like a FLAWLESS coverage. So, I've been going for my Estee Lauder Maximum Coverage Foundation ever since I bought it. I'll write in detail my foundation routine post, but point is, this Burberry Fresh Glow makeup base gives me that glow that Nars Sheer glow gives, but somehow in its own special way.

When I picked this up at Saks, the lady who sold it to us told us that when this product launched, beauty editors picked up 5-10 boxes of this at a time. It was sold out for quite some time and it's come back into stock. Supposedly we were lucky to get our hands on it. But hey, regardless of the advertising/convincing/selling superficiality of it all, it really seems to be that good. The lady at the Burberry counter mixed this Fresh Glow with their foundation and applied it on my sister (I always push people to experiment with something before I have it on my face ^^). Anyway, the result? Her skin looked BEAUTIFUL!

So, I decided to give myself a try. As I reviewed with the Burberry Glow Blushes something about Burberry makes everything seem natural and "from within". I love that whole look about one's visage. It's never a bad choice to look "radiant" from "within" or rather, "naturally". So, I really love the name of this makeup base.

Completely blended it!

I tried mixing this in with my Estee Lauder foundation. LOVED IT! It softens and liquifies any foundation so it is easier to apply. Then you get this all over, all very natural glow on the face. You see these pearls in the product. It does look scarier, especially since I took these pictures with flash so you'll see the pearls more. But really on the skin, it isn't anything like IN YOUR FACE SHINE. It's, again I say, a natural fresh glow!

It is pricey ($48). It's Burberry. But if you're on the search for a really luxurious glowing product and you need something to mix in with your perhaps all-too-matte foundation (or doesn't even have to be) this would be great. The lady at the counter said this is best mixed in with your foundation. But maybe you want to apply it as a base first and then apply your foundation, or maybe you would just like to have this product on to give this shine to your already flawless face! Whatever your preference, this really is lovely. However, I do recommend using it with a foundation!

Have you tried this? What are your thoughts on it?

Leave a Comment burberry, fresh glow, glow, highlighter, makeup base, saks fifth avenue

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Watt's Up?!

If you have oily skin, the idea of "highlighting" will be all too strange. Why add shine when you've got shine that you want to get rid of?! Well, I'm there with you on that. But for two reasons, I started applying highlighters. First reason is, I've been going regularly to my skincare spa. It's helped clear up my skin so much! Second reason is because if applied right in the right places, it'll look like a "glow" and not the kind of oily shine we all hate so much.

Benefit "Watt's Up" is a gorgeous champagne highlighter that is a double-ended stick. One side has the highlighter and the other side has a small rounded sponge that you can work to blend out the highlighter. I saw Tanya Burr wear it in her videos and although she raves so much about Dior amber diamond highlighters, I could never see the effects of the glow as much as I saw it when she wore this Benefit Watt's Up! Wowza! It was gorgeous.

So, on a trip to Sephora I went and tried it on. It has a smooth consistency and goes on so well. After I dapped it on the tops of my cheeks and right under my brow, I went seriously considering buying it. I heard so many compliments that day, people asking what was on my cheeks. They adored the glow, the shine, and etc.,! That was mission accomplished! It actually had a "highlighting" effect and not a oily shine effect :)

This is the only highlighter I use. I still only use it on special days. Highlighters are still a bit of a new concept for me, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. Again, this product reconfirms my love and respect for Benefit cosmetics for their fast, efficient, and fun products. Also, you gotta love the name. Watt's Up?! :)

Absolutely love! xx

2 comments benefit, face, highlighter, oily skin, tanya burr, watts up

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