The Sunday Post: Summer Shimmer

Matte has been my mate through the years but with the sun shining I thought I'd mix things up and add some shimmer to my everyday look. Dewy, radiant skin is what we all crave during the Summer months and these are few products I've been coveting lately...

Special mention goes out to the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector, applied under my foundation or mixed up together this stuff gives my skin such a lovely healthy sheen. Old time buddies include MAC All That Glitters a subtle golden bronze that finishes off my look with a simple sweep over the lids, and of course MAC Soft & Gentle which is perhaps my all time favourite highlight.

I've also been playing around with Benefit's Fine One One*, an all in one brightening color for cheeks and lips which illuminates the skin. I love multi-purpose products and so this is great product to keep in your bag for on the go touch ups.  I'm a huge fan of the Origins GinZing Range which refreshes my dull skin giving it a new lease of life, so I was really excited to test out the GinZing makeup range. Look out for reviews on their Brightening Cream Eye Shadows, the look gorgeous in the pan but do they live up to the heights of the GinZing Moisturiser and eyecream, the jury is still out on that one...

I love a coral lip in Summer, heck I would wear a coral lip all year round if I could so Revlon's Juicy Papaya Lip Butter is on regular rotation in my makeup bag. I also have a soft spot for my Estèe Lauder Pure Color High Gloss* which started off my conversion to lip glosses with it's lightweight feel and non sticky formula. I love to whack this on when I'm sporting a more natural look or a heavier eye.

I couldn't put up this post without mentioning the Urban Decay Naked 2, my absolute favourite palette for adding a touch of shimmer. My personal favourites have to be Half Baked, Chopper, Suspect and YDK.

What are your go to shimmer shades?

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benefit wishlist

001. b.right! Radiant Skincare 6 Piece Intro Kit £10 - 002. they're real! mascara £18.50 - 003. the POREfessional £23.50 - 004. watt's up! £24.50 - 005. girl meets pearl £24.50 - 006. erase paste £19.50 - 007. CORALista Blush £23.50 - 008. hervana blush £23.50

As you can see I don't want much from Benefit's range of cosmetics ;) 

Altogether for these eight little beauties I would have to fork over a whopping £144 - wishful thinking for an unemployed student like myself, however, I do hope to add to my benefit makeup collection piece by piece whenever I can and these are my top eight choices.
I particularly want to get my hands on the limited edition radiant skincare kit which is currently out of stock but for a cheap and cheerful £10 where can you go wrong?
I have samples of both the porefessional, which I absolutely adore, thanks to Glamour, and girl meets pearl which adds a much needed luminosity to my skin. As for the blushes I already own Dandelion, a pale rosy pink much more suited to paler skin tones as I believe it is not pigmented enough to show up on darker skintones, and bella bamba which is highly similar to NARS Orgasm and slightly too pink for me.

And isn't the packaging just super cute, I'm a sucker for good packaging!

Are you dying to get hold of any of the Benefit line or do you have any personal favourites?

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want: high end make up bag

001 NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Siberia £29.50 - 002. NARS Miss Liberty Highlighting Blush Powder £21.00 - 003. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler £20.00 - 004. MAC Naked Lunch Eyeshadow (also lusting after Ricepaper, Shroom, Woodwined, and Coppering) £12 - 005. Benefit Porefessional Primer £19.58 (Usually £23.50) - 006. NARS Bolero Velvet Matte Lip Pencil £17.50 - 007. Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit in Ivory £23.50

Being a student I often have to budget my spending and so my current makeup bag consists mostly of cheaper drugstore brands, most of which I find work wonders for their less expensive price tag but nonetheless I want to venture out and try some of the more high end products out there. I do own quite a few MAC Lipsticks since first wandering in there last Christmas armed with gift money but as of yet I have not tried any other brands of high end lipstick and have been also lusting after a YSL Lipstick just for the gorgeous packaging it comes in as well as testing out NARS lipsticks as I find their blushes to be my favourites since first receiving NARS Orgasm Blush for my birthday; the pigmentation is unbeatable and I can't wait to get hold of Miss Liberty Highlighter!

What are your favourite high end treats? Or have you found any dupes for some of the more lusted after high end products?

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