Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige | Review and Swatches
Cue all the heart eye emojis. Bobbi Brown is a brand that I don’t own too much from, but so many of their products have reached cult status in the blogging world. I had been drooling over this highlighter for the longest time so I decided to put it on my christmas list, and my mum was nice enough to get it for me! Keep on reading to find out my thoughts…
The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige (£32.50) contains five strips of shimmery colour ranging from a soft white to a deep bronze. When swirled together, it is a beautiful golden beige, a perfect highlighter for when I’m slightly more tanned. What is great about the shimmer bricks is that they’re really customisable – you can focus your brush on either end of the product depending if you want a lighter or darker payoff.
Surprisingly, even though it looks intensely shimmery in the pan, it doesn’t come off too glittery on the skin. It isn’t the most natural looking highlighter, but it definitely isn’t garish or reminiscent of a disco ball. Currently I love using the Sigma E40 Tapered Blending Brush for highlight as it gives really precise application. I put it on the tops of my cheekbones, tip and bridge of the nose, in between the brows, cupids bow and chin (everywhere, really). If you love glowy skin, you will love this.
I also think this highlight captures the light beautifully in photography. This is definitely a splurge item, but if you feel like treating yourself or putting it on your wishlist, then I would highly recommend it. Would you pay this much for a highlighter?
–RachelElizabeth
FOTD | Go-to Night Out Makeup
If you’re at university, or you have been, you’ll understand the feeling that you may not have that much time to do your makeup before a ‘spontaneous’ night out. Or maybe you’re not one to spend hours getting ready. Recently I have found my favourite look for a night out that I can throw together pretty quickly, and as an added bonus, it looks really nice in photography. So if you’re into the bold lips, lashes and brows, keep on reading…
I’m always one to focus most of my time on my base. When it comes to a night out, I rarely skip using the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer as it keeps my makeup in place better than any other product I’ve tried. For foundation lately, my favourite has to be L’Oreal True Match – this is a great budget alternative for my beloved Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk (check out my full review here). I add the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer anywhere I may need some extra coverage, and I also take a shade lighter under my eyes and on the high points of my face to highlight. I set everything in place with a powder, either the Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural or the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light. I also found it important to add colour and definition to the cheeks or your face can look pretty flat in pictures. I bronze up the skin with Nars Laguna Bronzing Powder, and have been loving the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit to add shadows under the cheekbones and on the temples, and I also like using the lighter shades to set my under eye concealer and any highlighting I have done. I’ll top the look off with a little powder highlighter – my favourite recently has been the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige. I add some to the tops of my cheeks, the tip of the nose, the cupids bow and the chin.
This eye makeup is incredible simple and easy to achieve. I start by defining the crease, and I do this by building up different shades of orangey-browns, increasingly getting darker to achieve a blended and blown out look. Any matte browns will work for this, but I tend to reach for my Makeup Geek Eyeshadows, in particular Peach Smoothie, Creme Brulee and Cocoa Bear. I will then pack a shimmery shade all over the lid, and my absolute favourite for this is Mac Tan Pigment. It catches the light beautifully and is amazing for any warm-toned look. I then create a winged out eyeliner with the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper, apply lashings of mascara, and then a pair of false lashes. These will help your eyes really pop and add instant glamour to any look. The pair I’ve used in this look are the Eylure no. 121 which are thick, fluffy and are longer on the outer corner, which help to emphasise the winged-out shape of this look. I’ll then run some of the shades I used in my crease along the lower lash line to balance out the look. To finish off the eyes, I filled in my brows with the Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade in Blonde, going for quite a strong brow which I think works well with this look.
Finally, the star of the show, the bold lip. I find that I can wear any colour with this look, but my favourite shade to wear by far is a bright pink. I’m definitely a lipstick addict, so I have several favourites, but the shade I went for in this look is Mac Viva Glam Miley Cyrus which I have a full post on here. With a bright lip, you tend to need a little added colour on the cheeks, so for blush my go to is Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed as it is a no-brainer shade that goes with any look.
I hope you enjoyed this look, and perhaps if you’re not so into bold lips this may have inspired you to give one a go? I think they are so flattering and will also reduce your getting ready time as the eyes really don’t need as much work. Let me know your go-to look for a night out below!
–RachelElizabeth
February 2015 Favourites | Makeup, Skincare, Haircare & Body
When I was considering writing a favourites post for this month, I honestly didn’t think that there would be many products worth mentioning. It wasn’t until I sat at my dressing table and was looking through my drawers that I realised that this month was a great beauty month for me – I even got more into hair products! Who would have thought? This month’s favourites is a nice mix of all things makeup, skincare, haircare and bodycare…
I had a bit of a rediscovery this month in the form of the Bourjous 123 Perfect CC Cream which I actually have a full post on here. This has been collecting dust in my collection and I forgot how much I love it. Despite it being a CC cream, the coverage is incredible and I love this for days when I’m in a hurry as this blends seamlessly and quickly. I’ve also been loving a glowy cheek this month, and two products that stand out are the Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso and the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige. The blush is a gorgeous peachy coral shade (can you tell I’m excited for summer) and surprising the Shimmer Brick is not the most shimmery highlighter I own – it gives a stunning glowy highlight without looking like a disco ball. Love. The final makeup products I want to share today are all to do with eyes. If you read my last post, you’ll know that I recently got the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette and this has been my go-to for eyeshadow recently. It’s great for the more natural everyday looks I want to achieve and also has some smokey and colourful shades to take me through to the night. Finally, the Mac Tan Pigment had to get a mention. If I had a perfect eyeshadow colour, this would be it. It is a highly shimmery, rose gold-esque shade, and it is beautiful.
Hair
Usually when it comes to hair, I don’t really bother doing much with it. I have naturally straight hair and while I don’t love the flatness of it, it looks good enough for me to get away with its natural texture. A product I used to use all the time was the Charles Worthington Volume and Bounce Body Booster Mousse (post on the whole line here) and since I have recently been craving some more volume in my hair, I pulled this out of my stash and started using it again. I have been using this every time I blow dry my hair and I have fallen back in love with it. It provides a lift at the roots but doesn’t leave my hair feeling gunked up with product which is something that I hate when it comes to mousses. This is some great, and affordable, stuff. I have also got into using the Phillip Kingsley Elasticizer as a hair mask about once a week. This leaves my hair looking so full and healthy, and my hair honestly looks at its best just after I have used this on it.
Skincare/Body
This month seems to be filled with rediscoveries – I recently repurchased the balance Me Radiance Face Oil (full review here) and it has been doing my skin wonders. For those of you who have oily/blemish-prone skin and are scared of putting oils on the skin, don’t be. This really helps to clear any blemishes I have without drying them out. It nourishes and balances my skin and is overall a great product. For the body, I have been loving the Rituals Fortune Scrub. It is a really effective exfoliator without been too harsh and scratchy on the skin. It has a citrus scent which is very invigorating and fresh in the shower which I love. A rather random favourite this month has been the LaVanilla The Healthy Deodorant in Pure Vanilla. I picked this up while I was in New York as I was looking for a more natural deodorant and I have to say this stuff actually works wonders. It keeps my underarms dry all day and it smells really sweet but isn’t so strong that it competes with your perfume. Speaking of, my favourite scent of the month has definitely been Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium. I received this a christmas present and it is one of the most unique and interesting perfumes I own. It has a combination of vanilla and coffee notes which results in a sweet, rich yet dark and sultry scent.
I feel like favourites posts are meant to be fairly text heavy, so I hope you find these mini reviews useful! I didn’t include any lip products in this post as I always have so many favourites that this may have turned into a dissertation… Let me know your current favourite products below!
–RachelElizabeth
This month seems to be filled with rediscoveries – I recently repurchased the balance Me Radiance Face Oil (full review here) and it has been doing my skin wonders. For those of you who have oily/blemish-prone skin and are scared of putting oils on the skin, don’t be. This really helps to clear any blemishes I have without drying them out. It nourishes and balances my skin and is overall a great product. For the body, I have been loving the Rituals Fortune Scrub. It is a really effective exfoliator without been too harsh and scratchy on the skin. It has a citrus scent which is very invigorating and fresh in the shower which I love. A rather random favourite this month has been the LaVanilla The Healthy Deodorant in Pure Vanilla. I picked this up while I was in New York as I was looking for a more natural deodorant and I have to say this stuff actually works wonders. It keeps my underarms dry all day and it smells really sweet but isn’t so strong that it competes with your perfume. Speaking of, my favourite scent of the month has definitely been Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium. I received this a christmas present and it is one of the most unique and interesting perfumes I own. It has a combination of vanilla and coffee notes which results in a sweet, rich yet dark and sultry scent.
I feel like favourites posts are meant to be fairly text heavy, so I hope you find these mini reviews useful! I didn’t include any lip products in this post as I always have so many favourites that this may have turned into a dissertation… Let me know your current favourite products below!
–RachelElizabeth