My Favourite Highlighting & Glowy Eyeshadows

I have quite a few eyeshadows that I like to reach for when highlighting and creating more glowy makeup looks so thought I'd share some of my favourites.

From left to right:

1st row: K by Beverley Knight 04, Barry M Dazzle Dust 39 Tan, Barry M Dazzle Dust 8 Silver Iridescent.
2nd row: Illamasqua Furore, MAC All That Glitters, MAC Shadestick Butternutty.
3rd row: NARS Nepal, NYX Champagne, Everyday Minerals On the Phone.
4th row: Rouge Bunny Rouge Firetailed Sunbird, Urban Decay Virgin & Sin from the Naked Palette, NYX Sahara.

K by Beverley Knight Eyeshadow - 04

Unfortunately this range is no longer available (although I have spotted a few bits reduced online).

This is a lovely peach shade that has a very smooth and nicely pigmented texture (unfortunately my pic doesn't quite do it justice). It has a satiny/slight shimmer sheen to the finish. A versatile shade that definitely gives a glowy feel to the lids.

Barry M Dazzle Dust - 39 Tan

A beautiful warm tan shade full of shimmer. I am a fan of the Dazzle Dusts and even though many of them are quite full-on, as the texture/shimmer pigment is fine I can blend them out or use with other shades for more wearable looks. I like using Tan mostly on the inner corner to add a nice glowy highlight or a sheer wash all over the lid.

Barry M Dazzle Dust - 8 Silver Iridescent

A silvery white shimmer shade that initially I thought would look a bit disco ball but I only use a very small amount on the inner corner and it adds a very pretty hint of pale shimmer. As this is not too densely packed I can get away with a sheer wash of colour.

Illamasqua Pure Pigment - Furore

I think this is one of Illamasqua's must-have pigments. In real life it looks similar to Barry M Tan but this is lighter and has a bit of depth that gives it quite a rich feel. Texture is very fine and wonderfully pigmented. Again this one looks more amazing in real life then in my swatch pic.

MAC Eyeshadow - All That Glitters

One of my favourite shadows by MAC. It's a warm and frosty golden tan shade that has a good level of pigment.

MAC Shadestick - Butternutty

This was a limited edition shade but I think this is being repromoted in one of the upcoming collections. This is a pale golden shade that I like to use to line the waterline and also in the inner corner.

NARS Eyeshadow - Nepal

This was my first NARS eyeshadow and is my favourite of theirs. It is an unusual warm tan with a slight dusky pink tone. If I'm in a hurry and not sure what to use, this is one I can quickly use all over the lid and it just adds a soft, natural glow to the lid. On my NC40/42ish colouring, and as my lids are a little bit darker then my face, this works as a subtle highlight on the inner corner. 

NYX Eyeshadow - Champagne

When I want something a little more refined then All That Glitters, I like reaching for this as it has a decent level of pigment and still gives a nice golden sheen to the lids. 

Everyday Minerals Eyeshadow - On the Phone

An unusual pale, dusky, mauvey sort of colour that has very fine shimmer that looks quite subtle when applied. I like the shimmer in mineral eyeshadows as they have a wonderful depth that is not glittery.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Long Lasting Eyeshadow - Fire-tailed Sunbird

I have reviewed this shade before here. It is one of the slightly more unique shades as it has an interesting and very pretty mix of pink and peach. As with all RBR's eyeshadows, it's beautifully soft and well pigmented.

Urban Decay Virgin & Sin from the Naked Palette

Virgin is quite a pale, cool toned shade that has a very subtle iridescent sheen to it. This one I use slightly on the inner corner or layered on top of other shades as I think it is a bit pale on it's own for my colouring. Sin is a slightly frosty pale pinky toned champagne sort of shade that is richly pigmented and smooth.

NYX Eyeshadow - Sahara

Sahara is a warm, creamy shade that has a satin matte finish. This is one I like to as a inner corner highlight.

L-R:

1- NYX Sahara, 2- NYX Champagne, 3- Everyday Minerals On the Phone, 4- MAC Butternutty, 5- RBR Firetailed Sunbird, 6- MAC All That Glitters, 7- Illamasqua Furore, 8- Barry M Tan, 9- Barry M Silver Iridescent, 10- UD Virgin, 11- UD Sin, 12- Beverley Knight 04.

Apologies for the long post, I couldn't quite narrow down the selection as I love them all!

Revlon Facets of Fuschia Nail Polish

Revlon Facets of Fuschia (095)

Facets of Fuschia (095) is one of Revlon's new shades out for autumn and it's something a little different then the formulas they normally offer.

When I look at this in the bottle, it reminds me of Deborah Lippmann's Bad Romance which I think is very similar (although I don't have this to compare with). This has an interesting mixture of small round and medium hexagonal purple glitter particles in a semi-sheer black base.

On the nails this doesn't look super-sparkly as the black mutes the glitter a bit. I like it, has a depth that gives it a slightly more sophisticated feel then some glitter polishes. I've used three coats to get complete coverage as even though two were ok, it wasn't quite opaque enough for me.

I bought this in Boots.

Ellis Red Lip FOTD & W3LL People Narcissist Foundation applied

It's not often that I sport a red lip, but I do have a few shades that I really like and Ellis Faas Milky Lips L201 is one of them. Here I have taken a little bit and patted it into the lips to get more of a lighter stain finish.

I am also wearing the W3LL People Narcissist foundation (no.5) all over with a little bit under the eyes. I have used some MakeUp Forever HD powder ontop just to give a slightly more matte finish. As you can see there are a few spots still a little visible, but this doesn't bother me so much as overall the finish gives a more naturally even look to the skin, and also rather importantly seems to match better to the neck area without making my face look pale.

Eyes:
Famous by Sue Moxley Trio Eyeshadow - Mocha Latte (the mid shade on inner half, the darker shade on outer half of lid)
Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner - to line upper lash line
Max Factor False Lash Effect Fusion* - upper lashes
Chanel Crayon Sourcils - 60 Noir Cendre - a little on brow arch

*PR sample

W3LL People Narcissist Supernatural Foundation

W3LL People Narcissist Supernatural Foundation

I am increasingly trying to find more natural base alternatives with the hope of if I keep everything as pure as possible, it might help bring some harmony to my acne-prone skin. I do find this tough because apart from mineral makeup, I haven't come across a good alternative for a cream/liquid foundation from a natural brand.

After seeing this post on London MakeUp Girl, it drew my attention to a promising sounding product by a brand I've not heard of before - W3LL People and their Narcissist Supernatural Foundation. I am quite fond of stick foundations (takes me back to the Maybelline 3 in 1 which was one of my first foundations), although not a great deal of brands produce them. Laura Mercier did an excellent one but unfortunately it's been discontinued.

I recently made a trip to Content Beauty in London so I could test this in person. It's been a while since I've visited the store so I had a good browse in the Aladdin's cave of natural beauty.

W3LL People Narcissist Supernatural Foundation No.5

I bought the No.5 shade which is a perfect match for my NC40/42ish skin as it has a good base of yellow tones and doesn't look orange.

Natural Light

Flash

Natural light. Blended into skin

Flash. Blended into skin

As you can see it blends in very nicely and the foundation is not discernible on my skin looking completely natural.

The texture of this is interesting as it's creamy but not in an emollient way, rather slightly drier cream but not hard and waxy. It's quite deceptive as initially you might think it will look cakey but it doesn't, it's just blends seamlessly into the skin leaving a natural soft finish that is not dewy. This doesn't require any powdering but as I do get shine breakthrough on the t-zone I do use some translucent powder to finish. The coverage of this is buildable from sheer to medium. It evens out the skin tone nicely and offers some coverage of blemishes but I find some of my more deeper coloured marks it doesn't cover completely. It feels comfortable on the skin and I haven't experienced any adverse effects.

I use my fingers or a flat synthetic brush (like my Shu No.10) to apply as anything softer and I can't pick up enough product to get the medium coverage I prefer.

The staying power is very good as it lasts the whole day (I used this on a recent hot day and it held up well), and the colour stays true. I find I don't need to keep doing powder touch-ups as I don't get as oily on the t-zone, today I didn't bother and I was only a little shiny by the end of the day.

It's great to see a natural formula that works as well (if not better) then a more chemical based one as it's been easier for me to find this in skincare, but not so much in makeup. W3LL People has definitely changed this.

Ingredients:

Sunflower oil* infused with green tea,** reishi mushroom,*** and wild harvested bayberry; castor oil, beeswax,**** silica, essential oils, safflower oil, pomegranate extract, tocopherol [+/- titanium dioxide, iron oxides, mica].
*certified organic, stellar; **certified organic, qai; ***certified organic, oregon tilth; ****certified organic, kosher keunen.

This is £28 from Content

Naturally Soft Hands: Lanolips Rose Balm Everyday

I've recently whittled down all my hand creams to just one, and it's a good'un.

Lanolips Rose Balm Everyday is a lovely light pink cream that really leaves the skin feeling very natural, kind of like if you haven't applied anything but your hands are more softer and nourished then before.

This is absorbed very quickly and goes invisible on the skin, with no residue or greasy feel at all. Sometimes with other hand creams if you apply too much and you rub your skin the cream kind of balls up/flakes off but this doesn't have any of that nonsense, it really is brilliant. There is an intense version which would be great for applying at night or if you need extra nourishment as the Everyday has a light consistency that gives enough hydration for regular day use.

Quite a generous 120ml size which is a little big for my handbag, but I can easily transfer some into a smaller tube for travel.

Ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Lanolin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Cetearth-20, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Acetic Acid, Rosa Damascena (Rose Otto) Flower Oil, Parfum, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Citronellol, Coumarin, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellol, Hydroxymethylpentylcyclohexenecarboxaldehyde (out of curiosity I looked this up and it's a type of synthetic fragrance), Linalool, CI 16255.

Back in Time: MAC Phosphor Nail polish

MAC Phosphor Nail Polish

MAC Phosphor was released in summer 2008 as part of MAC's Neo Sci-Fi collection. It's a beautifully bright, electric deep yellow that is a frost finish. Shown with 2 coats. I initially thought that the YSL polish released this summer was similar but that is a lighter yellow golden shade and doesn't have quite the kick this does. 

I know this was limited edition, but it is one of my favourite polishes and stands out as one of my favourite MAC purchases. It is a polish that attracts attention and I do get comments on it when I wear it. If it is ever repromoted in the future, I'd thoroughly recommend it.

It's definitely a colour that never fails to make my day just a little brighter:)