Bronzers and highlighters are probably one of those makeup products I can never have enough of. It's the two products I almost always use whenever I do makeup on myself. Bronzer gives my face dimension and color that makes me look alive. You'll know what I'm talking about, if you're on the pale spectrum as well. I have heard only great things of Maybelline City Bronzer and I finally decided to get a shade to see how it goes.

I have heard a lot of good reviews of Maybelline Fit Me! Matte + Poreless foundation and although I also heard some saying it's not matte, I still got it because of the shade. It was one of those rare really light drugstore foundations. Sadly, this has really disappointed me. 

I have about NC15 skin tone in the winter and in the summer I can be around NC25. My skin tone is warm yellow light, but it also has very obvious olive undertone that gets even more noticeable in summer, if I catch some tan. Finding light foundation shades that have enough yellow undertone is hard enough, but then finding those that have olive undertone is even harder. I've heard that EX1 foundations have olive undertone and I wanted to try it out.

EX1 Invisiwear Liquid Foundation comes in a plastic transparent packaging with metallic copper pump and top. I like the packaging, because I love the metallic copper details and the fact that it's a pump. You can also see through the packaging and you see how much product is left in it as the pump moves up. 

In it is 30 ml of foundation and it costs around 12€ on Lookfantastic. 

Here is the comparison with most of my foundations. I didn't include every foundation, just the ones that I wear the most. 

Max Factor Healthy Skin Harmony Miracle Foundation in 45 Warm Almond is obviously a lot darker and dries down very orange toned. Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 51 Light Vanilla is light warm shade that has just a bit more of a peach undertone to it. It's also a shade darker. L.O.V. EXTRAordinary Perfecting Fluid Foundation in 025 Sand Sophistication is again one of those a lot darker shades with orange warm base. Catrice HD Liquid Coverage Foundation in 010 Light Beige is light warm to neutral shade. It actually looks more neutral compared to EX1 and even almost olive toned. Revlon Colorstay Foundation Combination/Oily in 150 Buff is light yellow warm neutral shade, which is again a bit more neutral compared and even lighter. The Ordinary Colours Coverage Foundation in 1.1N is also a light warm yellow shade and it's the most similar to EX1. I find it to be a bit lighter and more white based looking. It also doesn't dry down as dark as EX1. 

I also wanted to show you that this shade is by far the closest I have ever come to my natural skin tone. It's like a half shade too dark for me, but has enough of that yellow undertone in it to match my natural skin tone. It only lacks a bit of that olive tone to it.  

Highlighting trends have changed a bit and it has become more popular to have a natural glow instead of high shine metallic stripe. You can still rock anything you like, but I kind of dig this lighter version of highlighting every now and then. Probably much more now that hotter days are coming. I tend to quickly look too greasy as it's warmer outside. Today's Makeup Revolution Strobe Highlighter is yet another one of those products that gives you lovely sheen, but doesn't look too metallic.

It has a wavy imprint and in the pan it looks like a slightly yellow toned white shade. It feels like a baked formula as it has that dry texture to it. Because it's so dry, it has a lot of fallout. It's dusty once you touch it with a brush.

Pigmentation is good. If you apply it with a fluffier brush it gives more of shimmer and less of white base. If you swatch it with finger, it looks more white based and more pigmented. 

Ever Glow Lights is cool toned white. In the pan it looks slightly yellow toned, but it actually looks pretty much white on the skin. It does have more of a cool undertone instead of warm, but it's not that prominent. The white base is quite pigmented, but all in all looks like a more sheer highlighter. You can see small shimmer in it, but it doesn't look as intense or as metallic as with most of my other highlighters. The shimmer is very fine. Shade is perfect for pale skin tones, because the base is so white. I can still wear it, even though I'm not as pale. 

I also compared it to some of my other highlighters. Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Moonstone is yellow gold and has brighter and more shiny shimmer in it. Essence Soo Glow! in 10 Look On The Bright Side is slightly yellow toned compared to Ever Glow Lights. It has the same white base, but the shimmer in it gives it a more intense sheen and looks more golden white. theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer is the darkest of these and has more of a peachy golden tone. It's also more glowy like Moonstone and looks more obvious. 

If you apply it really lightly, you get more of those tiny shimmers and a little bit of white base. It looks sheerer on the skin and can look a bit more sparkly under the sunlight. The more you build it up, the more intense it looks. The base becomes even whiter and it gives more intense sheen. Under direct sunlight you can also spot shimmers sparkling here and there, but it looks more sheeny than shimmery in general. Which means it does looks more natural in that strobing kind of way. 

On the bottom photos I show you how my skin looks without the strobe highlighter, with light application and with heavier applications (from left to right).

It wears nicely. I still have it on my skin at the end of the day, but it does fade just a bit. It becomes less intense. On my skin this has a long wear time. 

I love highlighters and I love a good glow. As much as I love my metallic highlighters, I've grown to love this one just as much. It's for those days when you don't want highlighter to overpower your makeup or when you want your skin to look just a bit more natural. I like sheerer formula, but a pigmented base that still gives you that highlight. Shimmer is tiny and it looks somewhat more natural in that strobe way. Formula is dry, well pigmented and it lasts well on the skin. If you're sick of super shimmery metallic looking highlighters, but you still want it to have a glow on the skin, then this just might be for you. 

I got Maybelline Master Contour V-Shape Duo Stick Contour & Highlight in 01 Light a long time ago, somewhere in June. I've never owned a cream contour products and I wanted to see if it was easier to use and less obvious. 

Stick comes in a plastic  packaging with transparent lid. My lid already cracked, because the plastic is thin.

In it is 7 grams of product and it costs 7.99€. Because it's a cream product for contour and highlight, you'll no doubt go through this quickly, so I'm not sure if it's worth the price. If this was a blush, which I don't use as much and not all over the face, I would be fine with that.  

I love to use it under my cheekbone, around hair line and on my jaw. It also works good on the nose, but I would apply it with a small blending brush instead of going in straight from the bullet. If you're nose is straight, you can do it straight from the bullet, but mine needs more precision. 

Hey Beauties!

I've already expressed my love for H&M Pure Radiance Powder Blusher in the shade Brown Sugar. It has become one of my favorite blushes. I adored luminous finish of it. Because I liked it so much, I had to get two more shades. One is this pretty Apricot shade that I'll present today.

H&M blushes come in a plastic gold and black packaging in the shape of a honey comb. I adore how thin and small they are, because they're great to travel with. In each is 5 grams of product and the price is 7.99€, but this one was on sale for only 3€. 

Blush has a very finely milled texture to it. It almost feels a bit wet, which means it has a nice pigmentation, but the shade itself is very light. I love their luminous finish, because it has a bit of sheen to it (very tiny shimmer) and doesn't look dead matte on the skin. It gives a natural flush of color with a healthy doze of sheen. I find that kind of finish more flattering than straight up matte blushes. They call it sheer and this Apricot shade definitely has some transparency to it, but you still have to be careful not to apply to much. 

It applies like a dream and it stays on my cheeks for pretty much the whole day. H&M blushes have one of the best staying power out of all the blushes that I own. 

Apricot shade is a very light muted pinkier peach shade. It doesn't look like an inside of an apricot, it looks more like a ripe side of the apricot, which turns a bit pinkier. I find the shade unique, because you can't say it's pink and it's also not an orange based peach shade. On my warm skin tone this looks like a warm muted mix of pink and peach, but I assume it would look more pink and cooler on cool skin tones. I love the fact that it's the lightest shade of blush that I own and that it has that lovely luminous finish, which looks really natural.

I compared Apricot with some other blushes and found out that it's the lightest shade of the blushes that I own and it has the most unique mix of pink and peach. Brown Sugar, also from H&M, is like a brownish peach variation. Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso is the most orange peach shade and also has a distinct yellow undertone. MAC Pinch Me is a more redish brownish peach shade and is in fact the darkest of these. Catrice Defining Blush in 030 Love & Peach is the most vibrant and the most coral shade (a mix of pink and orange). 

There's nothing I wouldn't like about this blush. Shade Apricot is the lightest and prettiest mix of pink and peach, but still looks very warm on my skin tone. I love luminous finish, which gives you a very subtle sheen, but you can't see any shimmer in it whatsoever. The packaging is cute, small and easy to carry around. Blush has an amazing staying power and the price isn't that bad either. Apricot has been on my cheeks for pretty much all my makeup looks these days. It's juts such a versatile shade. If you haven't tried any H&M blushes yet, but you like muted kind of shades, I highly recommend you to check these out.

Kvina also talked about Apricot shade here. 

Hey Beauties!

Avon is one of those companies that is constantly coming out with new products, which is actually commendable. If you are their costumer and you get new catalog every three weeks, it can get a bit boring and the same, so new products are refreshing. Their Nutra Effects line started with various face creams with "cleaner" looking ingredients list. I love their Hydration Daily Cream (it's my staple) as well as the Gel version for summer. When I saw they came out with BB cream in this line, I was really hopeful that it would impress me just as much.