Nik the Makeup Junkie: Highlight

April 17, 2017

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit Aurora | Review & Swatches

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kits are some of my favorites and Moonchild completely changed the highlight game for me. Then, ABH released Aurora and my head almost exploded. Once I got that under control, I ordered it and now that I've had it all over my face, pretty much every day since I got it, I'm ready to share my thoughts with you.

When I first heard Aurora was being released, I was excited but apprehensive. When I first saw it, I thought it was going to be way too dark for me and the other colors would be too similar to the shades in Moonchild. Fortunately, I was wrong on both accounts.

When I received it, I immediately fell in love with the packaging. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's also the same size & set up as Moonchild.

Aurora has 6 gorgeous highlight shades that can actually be applied subtly or intensely, depending on how much you want to channel your inner unicorn. I like to look like a unicorn on a daily basis, so I layer it a bit, usually multiple shades because I can. The six shades are:

Eclipse : Described as pink champagne pearl with peach reflect
Luna : described as mother of pearl with icy orchid reflect
Spectra : described as sparkling lilac pearl with iridescent blue-green reflect (this one shows up as lavender with pink reflects on me)
Helia : described as yellow gold pearl with turqoise reflect
Orion : described as blue pearl with purple amethyst reflect
Lyra : described as rose gold pearl with champagne orchid reflect

The shades in Aurora are actually softer than Moonchild, it's like the pastel sister. While they look intense in the pan, especially Lyra, Orion, and Spectra, that's not the case. They don't show up as dark as they appear. That being said, these will work across a wide range of skin tones. swatches (left to right, top to bottom) Eclipse, Luna, Spectra, Helia, Orion, Lyra)

The powders are super soft and blendable. They're smooth and really meld into the skin; they look more wet and metallic, which is what I prefer. There is some glitter in a couple of shades, but I don't find that it actually sticks to your face, it just falls off of your brush if you tap it off.

swatches (left to right, top to bottom) Eclipse, Luna, Spectra, Helia, Orion, Lyra)

If you love Moonchild, you'll love Aurora. It's definitely worth the $40 and I'll definitely be using it often. I've taken pictures of them side by side so you can see how truly different they are.

Anastasia Aurora and Moonchild Comparison

I'll also link my review of Moonchild so you can see swatches of it as well, in case you're interested. It will be available in Sephora soon. Overall, I'm in love with Aurora, but I think that's obvious. I love a good duochrome highlight, and this palette is no exception. I'm still obsessed with Moonchild, so I love having them both to work with. They'll be Spring & Summer staples for me. You can find it on Anastasia's website. What do you think of the palette? Thanks for reading!

February 15, 2017

Makeup Geek Duochrome Highlighter Moon Phase | Review & Swatches

September 19, 2016

Colourpop Super Shock Cheek Highlighter | Hippo

August 02, 2016

Youngblood Cosmetics Lunar Dust | Twilight

July 27, 2016

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit | Moonchild

July 13, 2016

Nyx Born To Glow Liquid Illuminator | Sunbeam

The obsession with highlighting has been taken to a whole new level. There are so many new products released every day and it's difficult to try them all, but I'm giving it a shot. We've reached a point where the majority of us have a common goal, to blind our enemies with our highlight. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that and if you can't see me from space, I didn't try hard enough. Today I'm going to share another product with you to help you on your journey to do the same.

The Nyx Born to Glow Liquid Illuminator is not a really new product, but it's new to me. I always passed over it and assumed it wasn't for me, until my most recent Ulta trip. I decided to go ahead and swatch them in store and I was kind of blown away. I'm always weary of liquid products, but decided to bring one home with me and I am so glad that I did.
I picked up the lightest shade available, Sunbeam. It's a gorgeous pearl-toned color, just wait until you see the swatch.

This is very liquid-y as the name suggests, and I've applied it a couple of different ways. I've mixed it with my foundation to make my foundation even more glow-y, which worked wonderfully. I've applied it over my foundation with a beauty blender and also over powder with a beauty blender and no matter how I applied it, it looked gorgeous. It didn't cake up or pick up my foundation, it blended well and sat perfectly on top of the powder. The pigmentation is insane so you'll only need the tiniest amount.
If you're trying to get a super intense highlight, you need this. You can even put a highlight powder on top for even more intensity and it's insanely gorgeous. Not to mention, it's super inexpensive and comes in other shades if the pearly glow isn't for you. It also comes in Gleam, a golden peach tone, Pure gold, a gold tone, and Sun Goddess, a bronze tone. I definitely think I'll try Gleam next!
As I mentioned, you can find these at Ulta for $7.50. You can also get them on Nyx Cosmetics website.
Thanks for reading! xx

July 01, 2016

Marc Jacobs Glow Stick Glistening Illuminator

June 08, 2016

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit Gleam

I have put off buying any highlight powders recently because there are just so many, I couldn't decide which one I wanted to pick up. I finally caved and used the gift card I've had for Macy's since Christmas to grab the Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in the shade Gleam.

I almost grabbed That Glow instead, but I thought it looked a little dark and I already have a few gold/warm toned highlight powders, so I chose Gleam instead.

As you may know, each Glow Kit contains four powder shades. The colors included in Gleam are:

Hard Candy : a golden peach/pink duo chrome.
Mimosa : Golden peach
Starburst : Cool toned pink, reflects silvery
Crushed Pearl : Pink toned silver

When I first received this palette in the mail, I contemplated returning it. Granted, this was before swatching it. When I first opened it, it looked so dark. Hard Candy and Starburst looked like they could be blushes to me and Mimosa looked SO gold. I thought there was no way I could use these colors. But I went ahead and swatched them and I'm so glad that I did.

Upon swatching them I realized that they aren't dark at all, and they're super metallic and reflective. I love a strong, dramatic highlight and these can achieve that with little effort. I like to layer them with a cream highlight to make them even more intense. That's not to say you can't have a light, sheer highlight with these colors, because they're super easy to blend and sheer out.

The quality of the powders is really nice. They're soft but not so soft that it kicks up too much and makes a mess. They aren't chunky and the aren't glittery, just metallic and gorgeous. Plus you get 4 pans for the price you'd pay for one shade from some other brands, such as Becca.

Overall, I don't think I could be happier with this palette. I absolutely love it. I'm trying to refrain from picking up another one in That Glow, but it's so hard not to buy it! On that same note, I'm also trying to avoid the Jeffree Star Skin Frosts but Ice Cold is speaking to me. I need help.

You can pick up the Gleam Kit for $40 at Macy's, Ulta or the Anastasia Beverly Hills website. It's truly a steal.

August 21, 2015

IT Cosmetics Hello Light Anti Aging Creme Illuminizer

*This product was sent to me, free of charge for review consideration. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.*

I just posted about a new contour palette from IT Cosmetics, but if you're not into contouring, maybe you'll prefer "strobing".

IT Cosmetics Hello Light Anti Aging Creme Illuminizer

Really, all that strobing is is a fancy word for highlighting. So today, I'm going to share a product with you that you can use for that purpose!
The IT Cosmetics Hello Light Anti-Aging Creme Illuminizer is the perfect highlighting/strobing product. This will give you a beautiful, natural glow that isn't too much.

This highlight is a very beautiful, universal shade. It's fairly neutral in tone and just gives a gorgeous, natural sheen. This has a pink tone with a slightly light gold sheen. It's really hard to explain but really gorgeous when applied.
It's of course infused with skin hydrating and anti-aging ingredients such as Peptides, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Collagen, real Silk and antioxidants. Together, these ingredients hydrate and give you a gorgeous "lit from within" glow.
It's of course free of Parabens, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Synthetic Fragrance and Phthalates.
As the title suggests, this is a creme highlight, which not only looks more natural but diffuses the appearance of pores and fine lines. It's easy to apply with just your fingers, and doesn't seem to move your foundation around when you apply it.

This is the perfect product to place on the tops of your cheek bones, brow bone, inner corner, cupid's bow, right above brows and down the center of your nose. It's very natural, and if you're looking for something with more of an "in your face" shine, I recommend layering a highlight powder over it for maximum pop. My current favorite it the lightest shade in the Ombre Bronzer and it pairs nicely with this highlight.
If you're looking for the perfect creme highlighter, this is one I recommend trying! It's just so pretty!
You can find it here.
Thanks for reading! xx