How to Highlight your face! + Swatches of ALL of my products!

 Hey Everyone! While I was browsing my blogger dashboard at all of the new postings, I came across a new post from Kandee Johnson that was titled "How to Highlight Cheekbones like a Pro". I thought I already knew how to highlight my face.. but once I read her post.. I had actually learned a lot! I just started using her method and it's been working great. I thought I had to share with you guys..

Kandee's method for highlighting is applying a cream highlighter with your fingers on top of your cheekbones after all of your makeup is finished. Then, SET your cream highlighter with a powder highlighter! She mentions the best brush to use is a Duo-Fiber brush (such as the MAC 130 or 131) because it doesn't pick up very much color. By using a regular blush brush.. you will end up with too much product on your brush. (I've done this way too often and looked like I was punched with a bag of glitter. Lol!) You can also use a fan brush.. it's designed to not pick up as much product and it's shaped perfectly so when you pat the brush down on your skin, it will apply the product in a thin line (on top of your cheekbones). 

*Why is this news to me?? I never thought about applying a cream and powder. Yes I do this for blush sometimes and I of course do this for my foundation. But It never crossed my mind to do it for my highlight as well. Also, I don't use a highlight often.. but I now know that you only need the thiniest bit. As I watched Kandee apply her highlight.. it was like an AHA moment. She did so little work and her cheekbones looked amazing! And, even though her makeup was matte looking.. her highlight made her face appear dewy and fresh. I always knew how to apply highlighter and where to apply it.. but I didn't know how much and where to stop, blend, etc. You only need to pat it in a small area above your cheekbones (the highest point of your cheek that sticks out) so in certain lighting, the light will catch your cheekbones and make them look more defined. 

You can view her tutorial written in her blog post along with her favorite products by clicking here. But! I highly suggest you to WATCH the video! Click here to watch the video.

Also, I included swatches of all of my highlighting products for you guys!

 Swatches from Left to Right: Yves Saint Laurent Touche D'or Golden Touch for the Face (LE). This has been released on a few different occasions with the last release for the Holiday 2010. It's a liquid highlighter pen with a brush applicator (just like Touche Eclat). It has a thin creamy consistency and gives a nice glow to the skin. The color is a pearly, shimmery golden pink. Product info here.

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat #1 Radiant Touch. A liquid highlighter pen with a brush applicator. A creamy liquid consistency that is a luminous peachy pink with no pearl or shimmer. Product info here.

Yves Saint Laurent Eclat D'or Face & Body Highlighter. Gel textured with lots of gold pearl and iridescence. I've had this for a while.. I'm not sure if it is Limited Edition or if it was discontinued. I can't find any information on it.

Benefit High Beam. A pearly light pink liquid highlighter with a nail polish-like wand applicator. Product info here.

Swatches from Left to Right: NARS Albatross Blush. A powder blush that appears white in the pan, but applies as a finely milled golden sheen. Product info here.

ELF Gotta Glow Studio Blush. A dupe for NARS Albatross. The products are pretty identical in color.. but the consistency of the ELF blush is more powdery (lower quality). Product info here.

MAC Vanilla Pigment. A soft white pigment with a golden yellow pearl. It is similar to both NARS Albatross and ELF Gotta Glow.. but it is more intense and the white color is more prominent. Product info here.

Swatches from Left to Right: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Medium/Natural and Shimmer (LE). A duo powder compact with one side as a setting powder and the other side is a highlighter. The highlighter is a frosty pinky peach.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish New Vegas (LE). A frosty yellow gold powder with gold shimmer veining. This shade has not been re-launched by MAC since the original launch in 2007.

MAC Honour Powder Blush. A subtle golden peach sheen with slight gold shimmer. I love using this all over my cheeks because it isn't very intense. Makes for a great highlighter, esp for darker/tan skin tones. Product info here.

Swatches from Left to Right: Stila Rose Gold Illuminating Finishing Powder. A sheer, frosty pinkish peach baked powder. I can't find any information on this powder. It may be discontinued? 

Hard Candy Honeymoon Blush Crush Baked Blush. A frosted peachy pink baked powder. Available at Walmart.

MAC Natural Flare Beauty Powder. A frosty peachy pink shimmer powder with fine glittery golden reflects. This was a limited edition product at MAC.. I believe it may be available at MAC Pro. I'm not 100%.

I love all of my highlighters and use them all from time to time. I'm not sure if I can pick out a favorite. I am interested now in purchasing MAC Hush or Shell cream colour bases. 

I hope you found this post helpful! Share in the comments what your favorite highlighters are or the technique you use for applying your highlight!

Guerlain Or Imperial Sublime Radiant Powder

Guerlain Or Imperial Sublime Radiant Powder (Face & Body)

Guerlain Or Imperial Sublime Radiant Face & Body Powder is a new iridescent gold copper shade for 2010 and gives subtle reflections on the skin. 

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Guerlain Or Imperial Sublime Radiant Face & Body Powder is silky and ultra-light in texture. Or Imperial is a sparkling powder that subtly illuminates shoulders, arms, back, decollete and hair with a soft violet fragrance.

Guerlain Or Imperial Sublime Radiant Face & Body Powder is housed in an exclusive reinterpreatation of the mythical 'Eau de Cologne Imperiale' (Bee Bottle) with a spray pump dispenser. The bottle is beautiful and elegant, and an overall pretty piece to keep on my vanity.

Like mentioned, the powder is incredibly fine and silky smooth. From the way it moves around in the bottle, it looks like a silica powder.

It applies incredibly sheer, so there's no fear of looking like you just sprayed glitter all over your self. It's so subtle, that it can be worn every day on the decollete without looking over-the-top. So it doesn't fall off your skin, I'd recommend moisturizing your skin with a fragrant lotion/cream and spraying this directly over it.

If you love Guerlain's signature violet scent, you'll love this. You can't smell it much on the skin, but I love picking up the bottle to smell it.

(Guerlain Or Imperial Sublime Radiant Powder applied lightly on my hand)

If you're looking for something very shimmery, this definitely isn't it. I'm happy with the subtleness of it because in my opinion, subtle shimmer is much harder to come across.

Very expensive, but I'm very happy to own it!

YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch Highlighter Review!

 

YSL Touche Eclat #1 Radiant Touch

Item Description: Light, luminosity, radiance. The award winning, must-have, take anywhere instant highlighter that banishes shadows, erases signs of fatigue and leaves your skin looking radiant. Touche Éclat is 8 hours of sleep in a pen - the one item no woman can be without.

Touche Éclat is ideal at any time of the day over bare skin, under or over foundation, crème or powder. Use this best-selling pen-brush around the eye area, the hollow of the chin, the contour of the lips and the sides of the nose. Just slip it into your bag to ensure a brilliant glow, anytime, anywhere. Suitable for all skin types.

Touche Eclat comes in four shades to suit your individual skin tone:

1) Luminous Radiance (for fair/ light/ medium complexions with pink undertones)

2) Luminous Ivory (for fair/ light/ medium complexions with yellow or golden undertones)

3) Light Peach (for warm and golden beige complexions)

4) Luminous Toffee (for deep complexions)

Here are swatches of all of the shades, courtesy of Karla Sugar.

This is an item I've been wanting to try for the longest time. While I was waiting in line to check out, the rack with miscellaneous travel items caught my eye. I immediately picked up the touche eclat and swatched it on my hand. The only shade available at that Sephora location was shade #1 Luminous Radiance, which is a universally flattering light, peachy-pink shade.

It has a very creamy, milky consistency. The brush is actually very soft, and isn't exactly useless like most of the brushes of similar applicators. I use 1-2 clicks and dot it under my eyes after I've already applied concealer and foundation, and smooth it out with a small concealer brush or I pat it in my skin lightly with my ring finger until it's blended.

I also like to run it down the bridge of my nose and under the arch of my brows for a subtle highlight.

Some people argue this is not a concealer, but it does conceal a bit. The coverage is very minimal, so if you have severe darkness, it should be used in conjunction with a concealer. It's like a light concealer and highlighter all-in-one. In contrast to Benefit High Beam which is also a pearly pink highlighter, Benefit only highlights, it doesn't conceal, and its also a lot more luminescent than the Touche Eclat. Touch Eclat is a lot more natural.

It really does make me look more awake and it does an awesome job brightening so no darkness shows through. I was looking at a tutorial on the YSL site which was very helpful. You can also apply this around your lips to make them more defined.

Overall, great product. I'd love to try shades 2 and 3 as well.

Price: $40, 0.1 oz.