Hi there!
Confessional time: I've recently become a bit of a YouTube junkie. This may have something to do with the fact that I have a lot of time on my hands, as I'm 3000 miles from friends, family, and my job. On a whim, I started watching some basic make-up tutorials, and now I can't stop! So addictive.
I've always played around with make-up, but was more focused on fashion and photography until very recently when I discovered all the wonderful beauty gurus of the fabulous world wide web. Having spent my fair share of time in places like Sephora, Nordstrom, and Ulta, I was familiar with several different brands, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. It has only been within the last few months that I actually started doing more with my face than just mascara, tinted moisturizer, and lip balm.
Confession #2: I'm getting old (gasp!). In my teens and early 20's, I had very oily, problem skin. It wasn't until around 29 that I stopped breaking out randomly, and I still get an occasional spot here and there (I'm 32 now). My skin is much more combination at this point, and I even have weirdly random dry areas, which is totally foreign to me...
Anyway, this has been a long ramble. My point is two-fold:
1) I like make-up! I love trying new things, and YouTube has been so entertaining and full of (mostly) useful information. It's also been introducing me to products that I wouldn't have normally heard about and tried.
2) I need (well, maybe want is a better word) make-up. My skin being less prone to breakouts has really opened my (cosmetic) world to a new set of possibilities. Aging gracefully is absolutely something I'm trying to do, and exploring products and options has allowed me to feel more comfortable doing so.
On to today's wishlist/review items, then! Highlighters and bronzers are things that I had never really experimented with, but in watching all of the make-up tutorials, I decided that I wanted to give them a shot. I would have never dreamed of using a highlighter in my younger days, as I was plenty shiny already, but I can absolutely use one now. As for bronzer, I have always been curious about them, but felt I might be too pale to pull them off. There was a brand that caught my attention while watching several videos from one particular YouTuber (Jaclyn Hill - go check her out. She's seriously brilliant with the make-up) called The Balm. I put their highlighter and bronzer set on my wishlist, and I just went out and grabbed them about a week ago.
First, the bronzer. It's called Betty Lou-Manizer and has some seriously adorable packaging:
I should point out, this is a bronzer with shimmer in it, so I won't be using it to contour.
It is a beautiful tan with lots of gold, and adds a really nice, natural color to the skin. I have to use it very lightly since I'm so pale, but I love it. I'm not sure how much I'll use it over winter, but it's a lovely way to stay healthy and glowing looking through fall.
Next up, the highlighter. Called Mary Lou-Manizer, it has equally cute packaging:
This product is absolutely stunning. I'm very much enamored with it.
It's just a wonderful golden highlight, with TONS of color payoff. I think I will be using this product through winter, just with a very light hand.
As you can see, both products are quite pigmented. They are velvety smooth, and extremely blendable.
I have a pretty neutral skin tone, so the gold works for me, but for very cool tones, I'm not sure how well this would work. It looks incredible on warm tones.
I am so happy with this purchase! The fantastic thing about both of these products is that they can be used in several different ways - they both look lovely as eyeshadows. I highly recommend both of these, but if I had to choose one, I would have no trouble picking Mary Lou-Manizer (the highlighter). It's simply gorgeous. You can purchase these from The Balm's website, and they are also carried at Kohl's (who knew?). They retail for around $24.00 each, but I snagged them in a two-pack from Kohl's for $29.00. Great deal.
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