Powder Vs Liquid Vs Paint Pot Highlighters…Illamasqua Vs Benefit Vs MAC

I thought I’d do a bit of a different kind of blog, reviewing a few products in one blog. I’m going to be reviewing Illamasqua’s ‘Beyond Powder,’ Benefit’s ‘High Beam’ and MAC’s Bare Study Pro Longwear.’

Who doesn’t love a good ol’ highlighter? I’ve been using them for years, on an evening or night out. I love them so much I have three! I use whichever one according to my mood, which look I want to do, and how much time I have. Here’s my review of them…

Beyond Powder- Illamasqua

I bought this one on a trip to Liverpool when I was doing a make up course. I loved the Illamasqua store. It was so glittery and glam. This highlighter stood out with its sleek black casing, big mirror and iridescent highlighter. It literally gleams in the light!

So once you’ve got your base, bronzer, brows done, eyeshadow, liner, mascara and blush it’s time to highlight! I tend to highlight my brow bones, top of my cheek bones and inner corners of my eyes.

This highlighter is really quick and easy to apply. Probably the quickest one to apply, if you’re in a rush doing your makeup. You can use a brush or finger tips. I find it’s best applied with finger tips to pick up more pigment, and I swish it along my brow bones and cheek bones. The feel of it is soft and velvety. There is great pigmentation and it leaves a subtle champagne shimmer which you can see, especially when it catches the light. It is probably the most subtle of the three.

I can’t believe how much this is at £34, but I think when I bought it I got some cheeky discount. It will last you ages though.

High Beam- Benefit

This highlighter for a long time used to be hailed as one of the most popular highlighters, and everyone had one. I still have mine and love using it. This is a liquid highlighter that comes in a cute little bottle with an applicator. You don’t need to use much of it as a little really does go a long way.

Simply dot it on your brow and cheek bones, let it dry a little then use a beauty blender to blend it in. It gives a lovely shimmer with a pink ish tinge. The result? Glow Power! You can also mix it in with your moisturiser or put it on before your foundation to make your skin look oh so glowy.

It’s lasted me ages too. You can buy it online for around £21.50

Bare Study Pro Longwear Paint Pot- MAC

I looove the MAC paint pots. I have another one too which is great to use as an eyeshadow base/primer. This one is a primer/eyeshadow base but I like using it as a highlighter!

As the name suggests it really is like a little pot of paint, and is brilliantly pigmented. You do need a little brush to apply it as it’s quite messy. There is no drying time which is a bonus, so much quicker than the Benefit one, but it gives a little more impact than the Illamasqua one. It gives a lovely creamy sheen, that polishes off your finished makeup look. (Just don’t use tooo much unless you want to look like a disco ball!) It has a lovely smooth, creamy texture too so feels really nice on your skin.

If I’m honest this is probably my favourite out of the three highlighters, as it’s so easy to use with maximum impact .

This little one comes in at £22.

Builder Gel Nails

I really love having long nails, but ones that are of a natural length, and that look natural. Usually I’ve gone for the acrylics with gel polish on top, because my natural nails grow to a certain length then just break.

At one of the nail salons I go to, I recently found out they do builder gel, which I’ve been intrigued to try for a while. I would prefer to have naturally long nails, so this is the next best thing.

For those that don’t know, builder gel is used for creating length, strength and thickness to the natural nail. It is a really strong polish and thicker than a normal gel polish. It is applied like a polish with a few coats, and then ‘cured’ under a UV light. The coloured gel polish is then applied on top.

The nails last 2-3 weeks before needing to be infilled. Mine have lasted really well so far- for two weeks. My nails are really strong and haven’t broken, chipped or flaked. Only a tiny bit on a couple of nails and all I needed to do was to file them a little to stop them chipping.

I am now tempted to buy a builder gel polish and do it myself from home which would be a lot cheaper. Getting it done at a salon is £25 for the first set then £22 for infills, which is the same amount I’ve paid for getting acrylics.

If you’re a fan of having long nails, I would definitely recommend trying builder gel if you want to grow your nails naturally 😊.

Pros: Naturally long nails. Strengthens and thickens nails

Cons: Upkeep and cost.

Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun Kissed Glow Bronzer

This is a new make up product I’m in love with, and it goes perfectly with the Flawless Filter I’ve also bought with my voucher. I chose it online and opted for the medium shade, which was a bit of a risk as I didn’t know if it would be too dark for my skin. My other bronzer is a medium shade too, which is how I made my decision.

When it arrived I was impressed by the big gold palette and big mirror. It is different to the other bronzers I’ve used before, as it is a lovely sandy shade, rather than a warmer browny shade. It is also a cream bronzer, rather than a powder one, which I haven’t tried before, but I’m all for trying out different and new types of make up.

I used a big powder brush to apply the bronzer to my skin, and on top of the Flawless Filter it worked like a dream. The shade is just right for my skin, and looks like I have a natural bronze glow rather than being too heavy. I would definitely recommend you try it. Obviously price point isn’t the best but I did get 5% off in a duo with the Flawless Filter for £79. Alone it costs £45 but I’m hoping it will last a long time!

Pros: Dreamy, cream bronzer giving a natural bronzed look

Cons: Pricey

Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter

I haven’t blogged in a long time but have been meaning to. Then I bought two new makeup products the other week, and really love them so was excited to blog about them.

I received a gift voucher for Charlotte Tilbury for Christmas from my brother and his girlfriend, so was excited to spend it.

The first make up product is Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter, which was recommended to me by Jai, my cousins partner.

I was a bit dubious about the product when I received it, as it looks quite orange-y, and thought it would be too dark for my skin tone. I’d been to two Charlotte Tilbury counters to match me with the right shade, before buying online. One customer service advisor advised me a pale number 2, and another advised me a medium number 4. So then I went on the website to choose. The website offers you a service to match your skin to the correct shade of Flawless Filter, by asking you a few questions with photos, then asking you to take a photo of your face, to match you to the right shade. I was matched to a number 3 so I thought I’d get it, as it was straight down the middle between the 2 and the 4 in terms of what I was advised.

Anyway, as I was saying the Flawless Filter was indeed orange when I first put it on my skin. But as I blended it in the orange-ness faded, and simply gave my skin a fresh glowy touch of colour, similar to that of a tinted moisturiser. What I love about it is it gives your skin some colour and coverage, without being as heavy as a foundation. This will be great to use in summer particularly, when I don’t want to wear a full face of foundation, and just want some colour and a touch of glow.

Charlotte Tilbury make up definitely isn’t cheap. This Flawless Filter was £79 including together with the bronzer with 5% off, but alone costs £39. The benefit of buying online is you get a couple of testers which is a little added bonus!

Pros: Great product, giving your skin colour and glow and is not as heavy as foundation

Cons: Too pricey

UK Lash

I’d seen loads of advertisements on Facebook for lash growth serums and some were highly rated, with lots of good reviews so I decided to give one a go, (UK Lash) as I thought I’d like to improve the length and thickness of my lashes. I’ve tried lash extensions before, but they fall out quickly and have to be re done often, and you lose a lot of your own lashes in the process, so I’d prefer to grow my lashes longer naturally.

UK lash comes in a thin black tube with a long applicator, which has a tiny brush at the end. All you have to do is remove any eye makeup with a cleanser then apply one stroke of UK lash to the root of the upper lashes, every night.

At first I was doubtful whether I would see any difference in my lashes, but I continued to apply the serum every night, then after about 6 weeks I did start to notice a difference. My lashes were visibly thicker, and a little longer, and was definitely more noticeable with mascara. My Mum commented on how she’d seen a difference in them, so I bought another one for her birthday, as she wants one on the back of seeing a difference in my lashes.

The only real downside is you have to keep using the serum, because your lashes naturally fall out at the end of every cycle, so you need to keep ‘feeding’ your new lashes so they grow just as long and thick. I’ve only just found this out, so I’ve started using the serum again. So I guess it could be quite costly if you keep buying the serum.

UK Lash costs about £37.99 on their website but discounts are available.

Pros: Naturally longer, thicker lashes

Cons: You have to keep to keep using the serum to have longer thicker lashes, which is costly

50th Blog Post! Temple Spa- Toning Essence

Well this is my 50th blog post! I never thought I’d write this many blog posts or indeed keep writing them for three years, so it is quite an achievement. For this blog post I am going to review Temple Spa’s Toning Essence.

Here is another beauty product I’m totally in love with. It is the scent of it that I absolutely adore. It’s quite a familiar scent, as I’ve noticed that it has the same smell as a moisturiser I’ve tried a long time ago. It has lots of fruits in the ingredients which give it this lush smell. These include tomato, lemon, orange, melon, mandarin and lime. It also doesn’t contain any alcohol which is good, as alcohol strips the skin.

I use this toner after my cleanser and usually spray it about five times onto my face, (although you can use a cotton pad and wipe over the skin, which also removes any traces of cleanser and dirt) which feels amazing, and leaves my skin feeling nice and refreshed. Then I apply my night cream (Repose) and feel ready to fall asleep.

Price wise you can get it from the Temple Spa website for £20, in store in Harrods etc or get a deal from your local Temple Spa consultant.

Pros: Great toner, lovely smell. The best toner I have tried.

Cons: Pricey.

Empties- No7 Radiance Daily Energising Exfoliating Cleanser

I was given this No7 cleanser in a No7 set from my boyfriend for Christmas 2021. I have really enjoyed using it, but it has now unfortunately run out.

This is an exfoliating cleanser as it uses natural apricot seeds to gently buff away dirt and dead skin.

It goes on like an orange gel, then on contact with water it turns into a creamy lather. It has a lovely, zesty, refreshing orange scent. I particularly like using it on a morning as it really wakes you up.

The only downside is sometimes the gel can feel a little sticky at first.

The cleanser leaves your skin feeling fresh and squeaky clean and your skin looks to have a natural glow.

You can get a 100ml tube from Boots for just £12.95 which is great value.

Pros: Lovely zesty cleanser

Cons: Few that I can see but the gel can sometimes feel a little sticky

Estée Lauder Daywear Multi Protection Anti-Oxidant Sheer Tint Release Moisturiser

I was given Estée Lauder Daywear for Christmas 2021 from my cousin, Suzy. I loved it so when it ran out I repurchased it. Now this one is running out quickly too!

This is a great alternative to foundation, as it is a very slightly tinted moisturiser, so not as heavy as foundation. I like to mix it up, some days wearing this on a normal day time, and then if I’m going out for the evening for a meal or drinks or whatever, I’ll wear foundation.

The moisturiser goes on like a cream then when it’s brushed into your skin, you can see the tinted colouring on your skin- clever! I use a foundation brush to apply it. The moisturiser feels nice on your skin and you have a lovely healthy glow look to your skin.

What’s great about this product is it has an SPF 15, so you have sun protection factor in there too and you’re looking after your skin. SPF is the best anti ageing product you can wear on your skin, to help with reducing fine lines and wrinkles.

Now you’ll want to know how much it costs. When I bought it I got a bit of a discount so I paid around £30 for it but you can actually get it much cheaper online which I later found out ! ASOS sell it for £10-bargain!

Pros: Lovely tinted moisturiser

Cons: Can be pricey

Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette

I have already reviewed another Urban Decay Naked palette which was the Naked 2 palette. I bought this one because I wanted to do darker smoky eye looks. The palette definitely lived up to my expectations.

This palette has 12 delightful shades. It comes with a double ended brush, though I prefer to use one of my other brushes. It also comes with a little booklet showing different smoky eye looks which is very useful.

The shades are a mixture of matte, neutral, satin and sparkly shades. The pigment quality is so great, and there is such variety of shades with these Urban Decay palettes, so you definitely get what you pay for.

I like to use a MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot base in ‘Soft Ochre’ all over my eyelid to even out my skin tone. Then I use ‘Password’ or ‘Whiskey’, two brown/taupe shades in my crease. Then a glittery shade such as ‘Dirty Sweet’ or ‘Radar’ on my lid. ‘High’ is great in the corners of my eyes to make my eyes pop.

Sometimes I’ll do a black/grey smoky look and use ‘Password’ or ‘Smolder’ in my crease. If I’m feeling adventurous I’ll use a little ‘Black Market’ in the outer corners of my eyes. Then use a glittery shade such as ‘Armor’ on my lid and ‘High’ in the corners of my eyes.

There are all sorts of combinations of shades you can use though. Which Urban Decay palette do you have, or which is your favourite?

These palettes don’t come in cheap. I got mine for around £35. You can get them online or in a store such as House of Fraser

Pros: Lots of shades to choose from and great pigment quality

Cons: Pricey

Maybelline Hyper Precise All Day Liquid Eyeliner

I’ve used this eyeliner for quite a while now, and re purchased it each time it runs out. I was recommended it by a make up artist, when I was doing some make up artistry work experience at a photographic studio. I’ve used it ever since.

I love it because it has a really fine precise tip, which enables you to draw a really neat and fine line, which you can build up if needs be. It’s also really good for drawing a winged eyeliner flick. It lasts all day too and doesn’t smudge. The pen also lasts ages, and I used mine for a long time before re purchasing.

In terms of price it’s fairly cheap, which is great because it just shows that it’s not just the high end products that deliver the best result. This one in fact is better than some pricier high end eyeliners I have tried. You can pick one up in Boots for around a fiver. Bargain.

Pros: Great eyeliner, lasts all day and the pen lasts a long time and doesn’t dry out

Cons: Not any that I can see