Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills x Carli Bybel

I am willing to bet that the team at Anastasia Beverly Hills has been clocking some major OT hours lately because it seems the past several months have been just dominated by ABH releases. The most recent of these is the ABH x Carli Bybel collaboration palette.

Honestly speaking, when I first saw the palette, I wasn't intrigued. The color story felt underwhelming and didn't speak much to my warm-tone-loving heart. Also, I've never been familiar with Carli Bybel, so I wasn't seeing the broader aesthetic. (I have read in many reviews by long-time followers of hers, though, that the color story is very much in line with her style.) I've been collecting ABH's palettes since Modern Renaissance, and realized this may be the first one I will skip.

I happened to stumble across the palette unexpectedly at Nordstrom ahead of my local Sephora's launch, and obviously, I had to touch it. Upon doing so, I went from not interested at all to 100% interested because the swatches were just beautiful! The mattes felt creamy and the metallics were beautifully opaque and shiny. 

I went straight to check out, and was pumped to come home and pull together some looks to review the palette. I'm disappointed to say that's precisely where the excitement ended.

I did a few separate looks with this palette, two of which are pictured here:

Chai in the crease, Boie in the outer corner, Bybel on the lid with
Mandala on top, Boli in the inner corner.

Cindy in the crease, Stev in the outer corner, Jode in the middle of the lid,
OA on the inner third, Boli in the inner corner.

While the palette swatched beautifully, from first application on the eyes, I realized the formula was very unusual, and unlike the typical reliable ABH formula. In the first look, you will see that both the crease and the outer corner are not blended well because the more I tried to blend the shades, the more they would fade away. When I tried to blend the edges, the color would get muddy and would almost feel like the shadow was just fading way to nothing. No matter how much I tried to build up Boie, I just could not get it to the depth you see the pan. It felt like the shadow gets to 40% capacity on the lid, and just does not build up from there. I did enjoy Mandala as a topper, but as you can see, there was transfer, even though I used a glitter glue.

The second look was disappointing in that Stev was one of the colors I was most excited for, but similar to Boie, it just would not build up to full color saturation. I went into the pan and onto the eye at least 5 times to get the color to the brightness you see in the pan, but it was just not happening. Further, you will see that it's impossible to see any difference between Jode and OA,and that OA also transferred, despite my using a glitter glue under it. Not only did I have transfer, but I also had glitter fallout all over my face as the day went on, as well as major creasing a few hours in. (I normally never have trouble with ABH shimmers like this.)

As I mentioned earlier, I've happily collected every ABH palette since Modern Rensaissance, and have been genuinely pleased with the quality of each (yes, even Subculture). As such, I am very familiar with the traditional ABH formula, and while it has always been more powdery than most, I find that the soft formula contributes to easy and seamless blending, and regardless of being powdery, the colors always build up easily, to full pigment, and they last until removal. In this case, the softness seems to be the result of missing some essential ingredients, and makes for very weak shadows. I'm disappointed to say this is the first and only ABH palette I have ever had to return!

I am not an ingredients expert by any means, but it almost feels like there's not enough binder in these shadows. Oddly enough, this palette reminds me a lot of the ABH x Mario palette in that I found the shadows in the Mario palette to be unusually "thin" and soft, too. The difference, though, is that with the Mario palette, the whole color story is neutral, and so you can get away with a lighter, diffused application using just 1-2 shades. Given the ABH x Carli Bybel palette has so many bright and deep colors, however, I feel there's no room for weak application. I think the Carli Bybel palette might be somewhat workable for someone aiming to do very simple looks only with one or two shadows at a time, but if you like incorporating a lot of different shades and blending colors together for depth, this may be a frustrating palette for you.

PROS:

• The packaging is beautiful and super unique. The sequins on the top look 3D, and while they are not actual sequins, they have a texture and reflectivity to them that is super eye-catching and beautiful to look at. The white packaging is new for ABH, too, and is just beautiful in my opinion.

• The color story is very unique and diverse. You can get a lot of differing looks out of this color story, and there's a nice mix of cool tones. (I know there are a lot of people out there wishing for more cool toned palettes.)

• As I mentioned earlier, based on reviews by her followers, it appears this color story is very much on-brand for Carli, which I am sure is very appealing for anyone who is looking to emulate Carli's style.

CONS:

• The formula is just shockingly lacking. The mattes leave a lot to be desired, and the metallics fade easily and transfer way too easily. 

• The shades Jode and OA are nearly identical. Seriously. It's like someone accidentally sprinkled some glitter in Jode, and decided to call it OA. I see no need for two shades that are this close in color and finish to be in the same palette. (OA is advertised as being a duochrome, but I don't see it.)

• The two deepest colors in the palette (Bybel and Boie) don't quite build up to the level I was expecting to deepen or smoke out looks. Again, I am not sure if this diffused look is what Carli usually goes for, but I found that neither of these shades were successful in giving my looks any depth. 

The Carli Bybel Palette retails for $45 USD, and is available on the Anastasia Beverly Hills website, online and and in-store at Sephora, Ulta, and Nordstrom.

Overall rating:

C

Review: Huda Beauty Rose Gold Edition Eyeshadow Palette

I have a confession: I have an addiction to eyeshadow. Of all of the many products that fall under the big, beautiful umbrella of makeup, eyeshadow has always been the most appealing to me. Throw a bunch of said eyeshadows into one collective palette, and ding, ding, ding, you have my attention!

That's right - I am a self-diagnosed palette junkie, and love to hear about new releases, which, let's be serious, is basically every other week. Most of them end up seeming like more of the same to me ("What's that? Another brand releasing another neutral palette? How riveting."), but sometimes, guys, sometimes, a certain palette comes out that I truly feel is a game changer. The Huda Beauty Palette is one of these rockstar palettes. 

When I first heard that Huda was launching her very own palette, I was waiting, brushes in hand. I was not head-over-heels for the Lip Countours she released earlier in the year (read my review here), but the Liquid Matte lipsticks that followed were a huge home run for me, and have quickly become my number 1 favorite liquid lipstick. As such, I was excited to see what the eyeshadow palette would hold, as every new product release seemed to be getting more and more amazing.

The palette was said to launch on Sept. 28, but due to some major server issues, not only did the palette not go live, but the whole shophudabeauty.com website was deactivated for a period of time. The next day, I saw the site was back up and running, and with a strong internet connection, some patience, and about 100 screen refreshes, I was able to get my hands on the palette!

This was my second time ordering from the website, and while this second time was a lot more work to actually get the order processed, both experiences have been phenomenal in terms of shipping. My first order of the liquid mattes (in July) came via FedEx, and the palette came via DHL. Both times, I received the product within 2-3 business days. Read: Dubai to the USA in 2-3 business days. I have had domestic orders from US-based companies take much longer than that!

Here's the gorgeous prize for all of those screen refreshes: 

The color selection alone makes this palette a perfect palette for me. It has literally everything I would want for any occasion - soft daytime looks, smokey, dramatic night time looks, high impact sparkly looks, mattes, shimmers, transition shades; seriously, this is everything I would ever want in one palette. This will likely be the one palette I take with me when traveling, because everything I'd need is housed nicely in just one sleek palette.

Here's a closer look at the shades:

Huda Beauty Rose Gold Edition Eyeshadow Palette

Huda Beauty Rose Gold Edition Eyeshadow Palette - Left side of the palette

The main selling point of this palette is the introduction of what Huda is calling "3-d pigments", which are the first 5 shades in the palette: Dubai, Fling, 24k, Rose Gold, and Trust Fund. These are high shine and high impact pressed pigments which are supposed to give the eye a dimensional foiled look. Angelic and #Blessed are pearls, and the rest of the palette is matte. 

I used this palette exclusively this week, and here are some of the looks I came up with:

Sandalwood and a touch of Maneater in the crease, Coco in the outer corner, Rose Gold pigment on the lid.

Sandalwood in the crease, Henna in the outer corner, Trust Fund pigment on the lid

Flamingo in the crease, Maneater in the outer corner, Angelic on the lid.

PROS

• As I mentioned earlier, this palette is a complete package for me - I could easily use this palette exclusively for weeks, and not feel as though I am missing anything. The shade range is a huge plus for this palette.
  
• The mattes in this palette are the truest matte shadows I have ever used. As such, they feel particularly dry (more on that in the cons), but once applied, they are so, so beautifully matte that they look unlike any other matte shadows I have. I am a huge fan of matte shadows, and hate when something is advertised as "matte" but ends up being more of a satin.
  
• All of the shadows blend together beautifully, both in the palette on and on the eye. Overall, it's just a very cohesive palette, and it shows in every look that results from this arragement.
  
• The pigments do. not. crease. AT ALL. I was shocked to see that the pressed pigments lasted literally all day, and until I removed them. I have tried foiled shadows, Paint Pots by Mac, ColourPop metallic shadows, metallic shadow sticks, and no matter what, the product always creases on me. The pigments in this palette do not budge whatsoever, until I remove them.
  
• The pigments truly are something special. I have never used any eyeshadow that is as eye-catching and shiny as these.
  
• Not only are the pigments long-lasting, but the mattes are, too! Every look I have done has looked perfect until I have removed it at the end of the day.
  
• The mattes have almost zero fallout. I was shocked to see that the product barely moved when I dipped my brush in, and I had no fallout during blending, either.

CONS:

• The packaging of this palette leaves so, so much to be desired. I was genuinely disappointed when I held it for the first time because it feels extremely light and flimsy. It's a cardboard casing with a clear, plastic top. I am fine with the see-through top and even the fact that it's cardboard, but honestly, there's other cardboard palettes out there that still feel sturdy and substantial (Hi, Kat Von D!). I don't even care that there is no mirror, as I never use palette mirrors, but honestly, the packaging is so light and flimsy, that it takes a lot away from the $65 price tag. Because the material is so light, my palette arrived with slightly scrunched up corners, which, again, for $65, should not be happening. I have NYX palettes that cost a fraction of this Rose Gold Edition Palette, and their packaging blows this one out of the water.
  
• The  pigments took up a lot of my pros list above, but they're also not perfect. The main issue with them is that they are best applied with fingers; brushes do them zero justice. Huda made this point clear before the launch, and the instructions on the box also indicate as such. For me, that's not a huge issue, but the main problem comes when you really want to blend them into the crease or inner corner--can't do that well or neatly with fingers. As such, I have to apply it roughly where I want it, and blend the edges out with a matte shade.
  
• The pigments leave a toooon of glitter fallout upon removal. My face looked like a disco ball all this week as I used this palette, because the glitter in the pigment just got everywhere upon removal.
  
• While I really love how the matte shadows looked after application, getting some of them them on the eye is tough because they are very dry. These certainly are not the best mattes I have ever used. The shades Flamingo, Shy, Bae and Sandalwood were the toughest to blend; tough - definitely not impossible - but took some work. Again, this is a $65 palette, so I expect a near-perfect experience, and some of the mattes are just a little to stubborn to deliver that. (To be fair, though, other shades like Bossy, Maneater, and Henna applied with no issues.)
  

SPECIAL TIP TO APPLY THE PIGMENTS:

A lot of reviewers have commented on how difficult it is to apply the pigments, even with fingers. I think I may have found a good way! Rub your finger gently on the pigment (not much pressure is needed), and tap it onto your eyes for a few seconds so as to warm it up. Then, gently glide it over your eye, patting once again at the end to get it to set. Doing this made application extremely easy for me, and also helped to blend the product evenly. Once applied, they look like melted foil, which to me, is well worth the effort.

Overall Thoughts:

While my list of cons is pretty substantial, and although even one of those could easily have been a deal breaker for me on any other palette, I have to say, cons aside, I really, really like this palette. A lot. No, it is not perfect, and no, I can't use this palette in a rush (extra and careful time is needed to blend some of the mattes, and to apply the unique pigments), but, BUT, once I put the time in, the end look is always amazing for me. I absolutely love the final look, and end up being amazed at how nicely every shade melts together to create one, awesome look. 

The pigments, albeit stubborn and with their own imperfections, are like actual lights on the eyes - super sparkly, and the perfect companion to any special occasion look. The mattes are the most matte shadows I have ever used, and this translates to a really cool, multi-dimensional look when paired with the shiny pigments. As I mentioned above, this is a total package palette for me, and I look forward to bringing it on my next trip with the peace of mind that I have every shadow I might need to get an awesome eye-look

This palette will be available on Sephora.com on Tuesday, November 1 for $65 and is limited edition.

Final Rating:

A - 

Thank you for stopping my! Please feel free to reach out with any questions, or your own thoughts on the Huda Beauty Rose Gold Edition Palette!

Review: Huda Lip Contour Matte Pencils

Beauty trends in 2015 and 2016 have been all about precise definition of facial features, achieved through some of the years' most popular trends: highlighting, contouring, and LIP PRODUCTS. Lips have been having their major time in the sun for quite a while now, which is why the stage was set perfectly for the latest launch by Huda Beauty: Lip Contour Matte Pencils.

Hudda Kattan, the gorgeous and internationally known Dubai-based beauty blogger has gained international fame primarily for her stunning false lash collection. When she announced that she'd be adding makeup to her brand, the beauty world immediately began counting down.

Source: @hudabeauty on Instagram

Earlier this year, Huda announced her Lip Contour Matte Pencils, which she proposed could be used to take the hottest trend of contouring straight to your lips. The pencils could be used to shade/lighten the contours of your lips to dramatically enhance the shape, while still looking natural and believable. 

Source: Huda Beauty and http://www.glamour.com/story/huda-beauty-lip-contour-review-sephora 

My initial reaction to news of this launch was simple -- "Sooooo...it's basically just a lip pencil?" I am intrigued by the idea of using different light/dark shades to manipulate the shape of your lips. For the most part, the life of the lip liner has been reduced to just defining the lips, and, for the more makeup-obsessed, pairing different liners with different lipsticks to transform colors. But when you take out all of the information about this pencil's technique, use, and potential, and look at it solely for what it is, it is just another lip pencil. 

This is not to say that I was not still curious as to what sets this product apart, what makes it more than just a lip pencil, and most importantly, what validates the $19 for .042 oz. 

When the product launched on Sephora.com, I picked the two shades that I thought were most unique to the collection, and also the most wearable for my day-to-day use: Trendsetter and Bombshell:

Left: Trendsetter, right: Bombshell

Packaging:

The lip contours come in a simple but elegant matte black box with the signature white and hot pink Huda Beauty logo. The pencils themselves are very simple -- matte black casing with the bottom tip indicating the color of the pencil.

When I swatched each pencil, my initial reaction was that I was very impressed with how smooth the product was. Traditional lip pencils have a reputation of being dry and patchy. This Lip Contour literally flows like a smooth pen onto the lips, and completely effortlessly lines and fills the lips. Overall, the formula reminded me of my favorite lip pencil, the Pro Longwear pencils by Mac. 

As for the color payoff, it's smooth and pigmented, and true to swatches I had seen in the promo pictures. On my skin, Trendsetter is a medium brown with very subtle caramel undertones. Bombshell is a light peach with subtle pink undertones.

  Top: Trendsetter. Bottom: Bombshell

PROS

• As I mentioned, these pencils are extremely smooth and a pleasure to use. There's no dryness or dragging, and the smooth texture makes it easy to shade/contour.

• The pencils are truly mate  and transfer-proof without being dry. I've gotten 6 hours of wear without transfer or fading.

• These Lip Contours come in 9 colors, which does not seem like a lot, but the 9 colors that do exist are a beautiful range of nude, pinks, reds, and even a burgandy and a deep, vampy brown color.  

CONS

• Availability is an issue simply because the product has so much hype. For US customers, the product is available online only at Sephora.com, but has been sold out for several weeks. To be fair, Huda did announce at the launch in April that there would not be another restock until July, but one of my biggest pet peeves is when products are hyped to the skies without consistent production. Could it be a marketing tactic? Maybe. Probably? I was an English major, so couldn't tell you, but for anyone wanting to test these out, not only will you have to buy without trying, first, but you'll also need to wait for another hyped launch.

• My biggest turnoff for this product, interestingly enough, is also the best part of this product (hello, moral dilemma!): the creaminess. These pencils are so, so smooth, but the downside of that perk is that it yields one-use-per-sharpen (technical terms ftw!). For anyone with bigger lips, or those choosing to over-line, it would likely be even less than that. Since the product is so creamy, you lose a lot of it per use, which means more frequent sharpening, which means more frequent need to re-purchase. I mentioned above that these pencils remind me a lot of the Pro Longwear pencils by Mac in the sense that both have very similar textures and longevity. The Mac pencils are equally creamy and long-wearing, but a have a less frequent need to be sharpened. To be fair, the Mac pencils are also two dollars more expensive for the same amount of product (.04 oz), but I would rather pay the $2 and have the pencil last longer, than have to re-purchase the whole thing over and over.

Overall, the Huda Beauty Lip Contour pencils are nice. They are fun and easy to use, and come in some pretty colors. But, at the end of the day, they don't do anything more than any other creamy lip pencil. The biggest selling point here is that yes, you can use them in different shades to contour your lips, but you can do that with any lip pencil. While Huda deserves major credit for bringing the concept of lip contouring to such a big stage, I think the product itself is not worth the hype. Maybe if the "lip contour" was a pre-made kit that came with a contour shade, another pencil in a lighter highlight shade, and maybe a blending brush, etc, the overall product and concept would stand a little more independently, but for what it is, I don't think it's anything unique. 

Overall rating: 

B+

Have you tried the Huda Beauty Lip Contours? Are you waiting for the July re-launch to pick some of them up? Let me know your thoughts! :-)



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Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills -- The Modern Renaissance Palette

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but it certainly bears constant repetition -- Anastasia eyeshadows (singles and palette form) are quickly becoming one of my favorite eyeshadows. Their latest palette release cements this fact even more.

Behold, the latest and greatest from Anastasia Beverly Hills, The Modern Renaissance Palette:

Still in awe? I understand. I can wait. 

I know, I know. 

To say this palette is a stunner is a major understatement. At first glance, attention is immediately drawn to the gorgeous red, burgundy, and orange shades, all three of which have been very much on-trend lately. Carefully positioned against those show-stoppers are some stunning golds, browns, and some versatile transitional beiges. All of these combined make an extremely impressive and multi-look palette that can give you everything from a basic neutral eye to dramatic, eye-catching looks.

Perhaps what I enjoy most about this palette is the dominance of matte shades. Of the fourteen total shadows, three are metallic (Vermeer, Primavera, and Antique Bronze), and eleven of them come in my favorite ABH formula, ultra matte. Given that most of these colors are very rich and saturated, the fact that they are matte allows them to be used anywhere on the eye (crease, transition, outer V, or lid). Had the deeper burgundy shades been shimmery, for me, that would have drastically decreased the versatility of this palette. 

PROS:

• This is an extremely cohesive arrangement of shadows. The colors just naturally fit together, and for me, evoke feelings of vibrant, multidimensional, and truly regal eyeshadow looks. 

• In true ABH fashion, I found each shade to be smooth, extremely blendable, and very pigmented; even the deeper burgundy shades. This blendable formula takes a lot of the fear out of this palette because knowing you can control the intensity of the brighter and deeper shades helps to dip into them more frequently. 

• This is the first ABH palette that is permanent! There's usually a mad-dash to snatch up these palettes when they come out because up until now, ABH palette releases have been limited edition. So, if you're not sure about it yet, you have plenty of time to test it out in-store, and decide whether you want it. (Spoiler alert, you do.)

CONS:

• While all of the shades are really pigmented and easy to apply, I noticed the more metallic shades (Primavera and Vermeer) lost intensity on the eye as the day went on, even with primer. This can be easily remedied with a more tacky primer, or even a glitter glue, but overall, the fading was disappointing.

• This palette is shockingly powdery. Seriously. Even the lightest dip of the most gentle brush kicks up a ton of of product. Not only does this waste product, but it also makes it easier for the palette to get dirty....which takes me to my biggest con:

• I hate the packaging -- more so than any other palette I have ever used. While the exterior color is a gorgeous, soft lilac color, the material is a weird velvet/felt hybrid that reminds me of a weird couch you'd find in your grandma's basement.

In this case, however, for me, the pros greatly outweigh the cons. While the packaging and powdery texture aren't my favorite, overall, what matters is how the shadows apply and perform, and the Modern Renaissance Palette is truly a home run. It stands out and shines bright in an endless sea of neutral palettes, and is certainly a worthy addition to anyone's collection.

The Modern Renaissance Palette retails for $42, and is available on the Anastasia Beverly Hills website, and online and and in-store at Sephora and Ulta.

Overall rating:

A

What are your thoughts on this palette? Yay? Nay? May-bay? :-)

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May 2016 Favorites!

Hey, 2016 -- what's the rush? It's already MAY?! Half-way through May, in fact. So, it looks like it's high time to review my April Favorites!

I really enjoy the concept of Monthly Favorites for a lot of different reasons. It's fun to think back over the last few weeks and think of the products that have found their way to front stage of my collection. Doing this also helps to really dive into determining what I like and don't like about certain products, and also gets me thinking about other products that would pair well with my favorites! Most importantly, I love the opportunity to share my favorites with you all because, let's be honest, it's an eternal black hole of makeup out there (#notcomplaining), and it's always fun to share favorites with one another to help draw attention to things we may not have given a second thought to. Also, more often than not in my case, favorites reviews help me make a decision on high-attention products that I'm not sure about!

My first favorite for April is not really an April Favorite. It's a life favorite. Seriously. This has been my all-time favorite, and signature scent for about 8-9 years. It's Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana.

This perfume has everything I look for in a perfume: light, fresh, and long-wearing. While I can appreciate a floral or even muskier winter scent, "clean" scents are undoubtedly my favorite, and Light Blue is the best one I have ever encountered. What I like most about this perfume is that the scent stays true from morning until night. Some perfumes have a tendency to wear down as the day goes in, and in doing so, transform the scent. Not with Light Blue. I can put this on at 6:00 AM and still get compliments that night. Perhaps another reason I am forever in-love with Light Blue as it always marks the beginning of my Spring/Summer! I've made it a tradition to get a bottle as soon as the weather starts getting warm (April, in this case), and it's the only perfume I wear until the fall. I guess over the years, I've come to associate this scent with a lot of happy summer memories!

Next up, we have some Anastasia goodies that I can't seem to put down. Anastasia Beverly Hills has been K-I-L-L-I-N-G the makeup game lately; so much so that's it's hard to remember that it was an eyebrow product-only brand for quite a while! There are a few ABH products I have been loving this month. The first of these are two ABH eye shadows, Blazing and Peacock:

Top: Anastasia Beverly Hills Single Eyeshadow: "Blazing"

Bottom: Anastasia Beverly Hills Single Eyeshadow: "Peacock"

Peacock is a teal satin/shimmer mix that pulls green or blue depending on the lighting (much like a true peacock!). Blazing is quite possibly one of my top 10 (dare I say 5?!) favorite. shadows. ever. It's described as a brick red on the ABH website, but it is so, so much more. What I enjoy most about this shadow is that it's so versatile -- it completely transforms depending on the shadows you pair it with. Depending on the look you are going for, it can look orange, brown, pink, or peach! This is exactly why it has made its way somewhere into almost every eyeshadow look I've done since I got it. If you love a really multidimensional crease color, give Blazing a try ASAP.

Top: ABH Peacock

Bottom: ABH Blazing

(Both swatched on bare skin without primer)

As far as formula is concerned, Blazing definitely wins between these two. It's a "ultra-matte" matte shadow and usually, eye shadows that are this truly matte tend to be chalky, streaky, and very patchy on the eye. I am not sure what magic is thrown in this pan but it is buttery smooth, crazy pigmented, and blends like a DREAM. It's really easy to build it up or diffuse it out lightly to get the look you are going for. As for Peacock, the formula is metallic, and I have to say, it's not the best metallic formula I've used. It's a little temperamental, and can tend to be a bit patchy. The color payoff upon application is not what I was going for but, with a little patience (and in my case, Fix+by Mac), the color you get is a gorgeous teal leaning blue leaning green (that's a real color name, I swear).


Keeping on the theme of eyeshadow, my next April favorite is something I had heard about for years, and never thought to try it! I am kicking myself over all of the time lost where I could have been enjoying the most amazing eye primer I have used to date: Milani Eyeshadow Primer.





Over the years, I have tried a lot of different primers -- Urban Decay, Too Faced, Nars -- the list goes on. And this little $7 primer blows all of those out of the water. Similar to the UD Primer Potion or the Too Faced Shadow insurance, this primer has a tan, beige look out of the tube, and blends out completely on the eye. Not only does this primer keep my shadow on and un-creased all. day. long, but it also does something that the others were ever able to do -- keep my shadow from skidding! One of my biggest pet peeves is when shadow sticks to primer and "skids" on the eye, thereby making blending so much longer and so much more frustrating. This Milani primer has been the best-performing eyeshadow primer I have ever used, and I don't think I'll soon be using anything else!

My next favorites touch on a topic that has taken the makeup world by complete and utter storm in the recent past: highlighting! There's countless products on the market right now, and with the constant releases, well, I have enough highlighter to strobe through my 90th birthday. In the past month, my absolute favorite highlighters have been the Moonstone by Becca (pressed) and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in That Glow.

Keeping with the ABH theme, let's take a moment to fall into a loving trance as we admire the beauty that is the Glow Kit:











Honestly speaking, by the time these kits came out, I was already working through the relatively large (and 100% unnecessary) collection of highlighters I had accumulated, and saw zero need for another KIT dedicated to highlighters. And then....AND THEN I saw swatches (damn you, Instagram), and was sold. These highlighters are like any of the others I have tried -- even better than the other form by ABH, the pressed Illuminators. The formula in this Glow Kit is smooth and silky, and my favorite part, the shimmer is very undetectable on the skin. All you're left with is a beautiful glow that doesn't look so obviously manufactured by product.

Left to right: Sunburst, Golden Bronze, Bubble, Dripping in Gold) 

I've heard some reviews say that the Glow Kits are only good for in-your-face highlighting, and not so much for a softer touch, and I disagree. While it's very easy to go from zero to JLo in .5 seconds with this kit, a softer hand can definitely be used to get a lighter, more subtle effect.

Becca's Moonstone (pressed) has been another favorite for me in April because of it's unique color. I feel like gold is the standard shade for so many highlighters out there, and Moonstone definitely has gold undertones, but on my skin tone, it's more of a white gold.

Becca Moonstone -- with flash 

Becca "Moonstone" -- swatched on bare skin without primer

On the skin, it gives a gorgeous pearlescent sheen that reflect gold, but only as an undertone. I highly, highly recommend Moonstone for any medium skin tones out there who found Becca Pearl too light, and want a similar effect.

Well, that's it for my April Favorites! What were yours?? :-) Tell me in the comments below!


Hope you all are having a great May -- see you soon with June Favorites!

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