Zahra's Lipstick

Is not the weather. In fact the weather sucks a lot. I have been sitting in my apartment since 6 PM waiting for the rain to stop and now that it finally has (I think), it's 1 AM. I seriously blame the lack of nice weather on my hiatus from blogging, I can't think when the weather is crap. I keep on having all these great ideas, I get to my computer, and before I know it I've spent three hours googling English only jobs in Puerto Rico. I have had a lot of great finds though that I want to share with my friends so (per usual) I am back to discuss (if you care to listen). One exciting find this summer has been highlighters! Contouring is the new rage and although bronzer is an important component of contouring, many forget to highlight as well. If you see the below contouring map, you can see that a lot of area requires highlighter, and for that I have found you three to-die-for products, all by one of my favorite makeup lines, MAC! (Weather status update: it's raining again.)

In my initial endeavor to find a highlighter, I found MAC's Prep + Prime highlighters. Although I was hoping to purchase "Light Boost" it seems as though it was sold out everywhere. I purchased the other two that were available, "Bright Forecast" and "Radiant Rose". What I like most about these highlighters is that there is no sparkle or too much iridescence. I had initially only used Benefit's "High Beam" which was very dramatic and went on my skin very pearly, which can be difficult on problem skin (which I run into a lot, but I'll save those details for my next blog post). The Prep+Prime I am able to wear every day and it goes on beautifully, the Radiant Rose is much more noticeable whereas the Bright Forecast blends into my skin a lot more for a subtler look. See below for an (awkward face) picture after my first Prep+Prime use! My only complaint is that for about $24/pop I feel like I may run out of these rather quickly. (Weather update: Monsoon has hit)

The second product I found when browsing through makeup artist's YouTube videos. CarliBel has the best contouring video, but in one of her non contouring videos she actually discussed a highlighter she uses for the inner of her eyes to make them appear larger. I decided to purchase the highlighter, MAC's Mineralize SkinFinish in Soft and Gentle. This is a powder highlighter that in addition to my initial reason for purchasing I am also able to quickly swipe over my cheekbones, browbone, nose and chin in the morning when I finish my bronzer and want to quickly highlight and get that gorgeous dewy look. I know a lot of my friends who read are not huge make up users and are looking for simple tips, so for you I recommend this as a gateway drug! (Weather update: flooding)

Lastly, and my most recent purchase today is MAC's Cream Colour Base in "Luna". I had been searching for a pure white highlighter to use when I want to do a dramatic night time look. Of the three highlighters I purchased, this was not only the cheapest, but potentially the longest lasting. It does have a slightly pearlescent aspect, but not nearly as shiny as other products (namely the famous High Beam that I mentioned earlier) and it goes on easily. I also had put it on top of my makeup right after work and had noticed that only a little bit of it was needed and it totally revived my whole face, which is such a time saver when you have to run somewhere after work but don't have time to re do your makeup! This product also achieves that dewy look I mentioned the Mineralize SkinFish provides. (Weather update: my power is completely out. Just kidding, I started lying at about the second update)

Highlighting is my new favorite step in doing my makeup and I really encourage all you girls out there to try it as we enter into the summer with our sensational tans! Hopefully this summer I will get a bit better at updating this blog, and in the 5% chance that I do actually do that, hopefully I can keep you updated on other highlighters I get to try!