Mary Lou Manizer highlighter | The Balm

Hello Angels

I heart highlighters. They form an essential part of my makeup routine. Its like swirling a magic wand...adds that perfect touch to your look. So this weekend when i came across the well known The Balm cosmetics, their Mary Lou Manizer highlighter had ME written all over it!!

Ladies, this stuff does some serious awesome job! 

The texture is fine and smooth, not too powdery plus very well pigmented. It blends beautifully onto skin without much effort and you can always go light or heavy with this product.

You know when one has to swirl the brush hard to get some product out? Well it ain't gonna happen with this product ever! Dab gently and you end up with the right amount. Few of my favorite highlighters before discovering Mary Lou was MACs cream in pearl and NARS Devotee.

I prefer Mary Lou over both at this point. MACs pearl though does an equally fab job, the texture being creamy is not very friendly with Dubai summers. When compared to Nars, Mary Lou is more yellow toned and Devotee is on the pale pink side. But in terms of texture and pigmentation Mary Lou scores. Another good but bronze toned highlighter is Watt's Up by Benefits. But the same again is creamy and am not exceedingly happy with how it appears on my skin.

(look at the difference in one swatch pigmentation)

This one product has upped by curiosity around this brand, so i may try few other well known items. Let me know if you have a favorite. I've done quite a detailed review here, hope it helped lovelies!

Which is your current favorite highlighter?

Love

  

Caudalie, Giorgio Armani & Kiehl's | Review Desk

Hello Angels

I decided to try a slightly different format for product review. I love the way magazines have 1 or 2 pages of quick snippet review on several products. It basically gives you a quick insight about products without having to read too much! So am gonna follow something similar but of course if the product demands detailing i will post dedicated reviews. 

So here are a few hits and misses for the month of April 

Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream

I dare not step out EVER without a hand cream. Especially since the Dubai summers are back in full fledge. Caudalie products rarely let you down and this one is no exception. Smooth texture, non greasy, good moisturizer and smells divine ( of orange Pulp). That pretty much ticks all check boxes for a decent hand cream. Moisturizes your skin for a decent  2 - 3 hours. And if you are a non middle east resident am sure it will last way longer for you.

Price $25 for 75ml

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk

I always wanted to try the much raved about Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk. The beauty world went all gaga about it and i evidently did fall for it too. The texture is ah - mazing. Waayyyy smoother and velvety compared to YSL Youth Liberator.

This foundation though reads Luminous silk, doesn't give a tooo dewy look. Which i really like at the moment. Just my kind. Best described it appears like skin. My skin looks very natural but better and brighter.

Offering medium to low coverage. It lasts decently long. No smearing around the eyes or lids. Packaging is lush, the kind worthy of displaying on your dresser! The product is expensive but in line with peers like Chanel, YSL, Dior. Price $68

Kiehl's Skin Rescuer

I had high expectation for this moisturizer from Kiehl's. Gave it a good 2 weeks to show some kinda miracle! The product promises to banish any signs of fatigue or stress plus redness! Promising but fail to impress.

It did absolutely nothing to reduce my dry patches or redness around my nose. And my face looked pretty much the same every morning. The major downside being the texture. Greasy all the way. My skin felt extremely sticky after application. Yuck!

Used this product before?? Let me know if as worked otherwise for you....

Price $40

Let me know if you like the new format and would love to see more of it....

Am holding a giveaway on my Instagram - 6 month free subscription to Glam Box (UAE & KSA residents only) 

Love

Guerlain Terracotta Sheer Light Bronzer | Review

Hello Angels

Product of the week - Guerlain Teracotta sheer light bronzer.

Love bronzer? blush? highlighter? What if you get a combination of all 3 in 1 product? Dream come true for girls like me. Guerlain Terracotta light sheer bronzer is one such invention. A mosaic of 5 beautiful shades. 

The bronzer beautifully blends shades of sunny brown, pink and hint of shimmer. I love the subtle glow and sun kissed look it leaves behind. Not overdone at any point and looks very natural. You can blend all colors together or adjust towards a more pinker or brownish look as per taste (I love it when products offer flexibility!)

For a more natural look or no makeup look i use this product alone with no extra blush on top. Alternatively, use them on eyelids as eye shadow or for highlight. Available in 4 combinations, variation being in the intensity of brown and pink, making it usable for both blondes and brunettes. 

A product i reach for almost everyday now and equals ranking with NARS Lauguna. That being said, the 2 products don't really fall into the same bucket. Lauguna is a hard core bronzer whereas this one does a 'lil bit of all (bronzing, highlighting and blush).

Though may look slightly orangy in the pic above, it is not so in real. I picked for myself the lightest shade in 02 blondes. Cost $50

Packaging is lush. The mosaic pattern inside makes me happy every time i look at it. So pretty!!

Give them a swatch next time you pass by a Guerlain counter and tell me how you like them....

What's your favorite go to bronzer? 

Love