ELF & MAC Highlighter Reviews

Hey lovlies!

How do you feel about highlighters? ...face highlighters that is :) Personally I love them. Find the right one and they picture beautifully, and give the perfect amount of "twinkle" to your face without making you look cullen-esque. My current 3 faves are ELF Blush in Glow, ELF Bronzer in Luminous and MAC in Star Dusk.

How do I use highlighters?
I apply them lightly with a fan brush over these areas:
- bridge of nose
- top of cheekbones
- above eyebrows (focusing on the center of forehead)

I was going to attempt to draw the area of which I apply but I found this pic on google images that perfectly describes it :)

I cant stress enough how you have to apply highlighters LIGHTLY. Better to do it lightly and build it up rather than packing it on and looking like a tranny...unless that is of course the look you are going for :P 

Anyhoo, on to my fave highlighters....

ELF Blush in Glow, $3

This is currently my fave highlighter. I've heard this is comparable to NARS Albatross but IMO, this is better because its not animal tested :). Glow is a creamy white color with gold glitter. The glitter isnt chunky, but its definitely noticeable which is why this is the most versatile highlighter of mine. I use this for Daytime and Nighttime Looks

 I purposely didnt clean the compact to show how messy these things get!

ELF Bronzer in Luminous, $1

Yes ladies, its only a buck! This highlighter is a light beige color with a very finely milled shimmer to it. All skin tones would look great with this. Since this highlighter has more of a sheen to it as opposed to a glittery finish, I would only use this during the day. This would be a great product to buy if you want to try highlighting your face for the first time.

Looks like the surface of the moon huh? hehe

MAC Loose Powder in Silver Dusk, $22

This is definitely a nighttime only highlighter, and the messiest of them all. Rarely do I use this powder on my face. I use this more of a body shimmer for dusting on my chest and shoulders. This glittery pink powder does come with a high price tag but judging on how much product you get, I see it well worth it.

Side by Side Comparison...

I didnt realize until after I started taking pics how difficult it was to try and capture the "essence" of a good face highlighter, so sorry if the color is difficult to see but Im sure you get the picture. As a general rule, the detail of face highlighters are best seen in person anyway

So to sum it all up, highlighters are great for capturing light and accentuating your facial features. Furthermore, if you're unsatisfied with your nose like I am, running it along the bridge of your nose will make your nose appear thinner. The only con I can think of with these is that they can and will get messy...but either than that, I cant live without em :)

What are your fave highlighters?

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How thin is too thin?

If you're like me, then you're one of the millions of women out there struggling to lose weight. So many factors go into losing weight aside from exercise and eating right. You need to be mentally prepared and you need time and you need money. The healthiest food seem to be the ones that perish easy and take effort to cook. It gets harder also when you live with someone who isn't on a diet or if you have a lifestyle where food must be a convenience that you can just grab and go.

My biggest challenge in the battle of the bulge is the mental aspect of it. I always catch myself saying, "I want to be skinny..." instead of saying, "I want to be healthy..." I find myself idolizing women who are obviously unhealthy and setting my own body weight goals to theirs. For example, I don't know if you guys watch the E! channel but they have this new show called Married to Rock about how it is to be a Rock Star wife. This has quickly become a guilty pleasure of mine, I've made no secret of how I like the big hair, porn makeup look on women and this show is chalk full of it. One of the prettiest girls on the show IMO is Josie Stevens, the wife that guitarist for Billy Idol. Naturally I wanted to look her up and I came across this picture taken from her facebook page:

At first thought, I was like, "OMG she's gorgeous, I want her body!" Then I took a deeper look and quickly retracted that thought. Aside from her tig ol bitties, she literally looks like skin a bones! I asked myself, "Do I really want a body like hers? She's so skinny it looks like her knee is sagging" Now I really don't mean to hate, she really is beautiful, but one cant possible believe that she is healthy right? Maybe she is, but is just dis-porprtioned...What do you guys think?

I started to ask myself, why would I even think to want to be that skinny in the first place? I came to the conclusion that I only wanted to be that skinny because I am so over fighting with my weight if I was that skinny the fight would be over because obviously you cant get any skinnier than that. Then I realized its not about being skinny, its about being healthy. I know some of you may think, "duh! you shoulda realized that long ago" but its hard differentiating "skinny" with "healthy" when society clouds your mind with these images. Too often you see pics/videos/shows of beautiful women in tight dresses or bikinis partying it up. Rarely will you see them grocery shopping for fruits and vegetables and working out or denying a cheeseburger for a salad.

Im seriously going to start working on real goal to lose weight, maybe Ill start with not watching TV lol. Everyday is a challenge and this will NOT be easy nor will it be fast. Im going to take small and reachable goals, first of which will be to lose 10 pounds by new years. This is more than enough time but hopefully can be met despite the holidays coming up. This challenge is open to whoever else wants the join with me! :)

I would love to hear some weight lost success stories, or any input you have on weight loss if you guys have any, and I would like to put it as a feature on my blog. This includes if you're just starting a journey, ending one, or loving the weight you are already whatever weight you may be. I want to hear from a regular gal and hopefully your piece will serve as an inspiration to NOT be skinny, but be HEALTHY. Please comment below or email me at theroyalblush@gmail.com. Here are some questions I would love for you to answer, but feel free to write about anything.

What made you decide to lose, gain, or remain the same weight?

What was the hardest challenge you faced and how did you get over it?

What were/are your goals and how long did it take you to reach them?

What are the best tips for motivation?

Again, I would love to hear your input and feature it on my blog (with your permission of course) so please share! Thanks loves!

♥ Leah

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