BECCA HIGHLIGHTER DUPES

So unless this is your very first time here, y’all know 2 things about me for certain; I love a good highlighter, and I LOVE a good dupe!

When it comes to dupes, I’m super particular. I want color, formula, application, performance, all of it. It really needs to tick all the boxes for me. And if it doesn’t, I don’t share it with you guys because, well, that would make me a liar. And I’m here to bring you real, honest reviews and opinions – no bullsh*t here!

I also prefer something with a natural luminosity vs. something that’s super glittery – you know the kind I mean, the ones that sit on top of the skin and emphasize texture and leave behind noticeable chunks of glitter. I love a good, finely milled, creamy, pearly finish that looks like you’re glowing from within. Like you’ve been eating your fruits and veggies.

But that’s just my personal preference – if you want to glow to the heaven’s, do you, boo!! If you can rock it then by all means, rock it! I’m just too old to do that anymore! But in my day….girrrlllll….

So I pulled a bunch of my favorite Becca highlighters, and a bunch of my favorite affordable/drugstore highlighters, and got to swatchin’!

So….are you ready? I’m ready! Let’s do this!


BECCA SHIMMERING SKIN PERFECTOR PRESSED – MOONSTONE vs. MARY-LOU MANIZER by THE BALM 

I remember the first time I swatched Moonstone – it was the most pigmented, creamy, buttery, amazing highlight I’d ever laid eyes on. But then I got a glimpse at the price tag – $38! As a broke single mom taking care of HER mom and working part time at Ulta, it was just not in the budget. But I was in love. And I set out on a quest to find a suitable dupe.

Enter Mary-Lou. Just as soft, smooth, pigmented, and gorgeous as Moonstone. I’ve managed to track down the Mary-Lou Manizer for $12 on Amazon – and while both offer a generous amount of product, considering how little it takes for such AMAZING payoff, The Balm gives you 8.5g of product, while Becca gives you 8g. Not a huge difference, but notable when you take into account that it’s a near perfect dupe – just look at the swatches!

L: Moonstone R: Mary-Lou Manizer


BECCA SHIMMERING SKIN PERFECTOR PRESSED – OPAL vs. WET N’ WILD MEGAGLO HIGHLIGHTING POWDER – PRECIOUS PETALS

Originally, when I pulled the Wet N’ Wild shade out of my collection, I was thinking “I think I may have finally found a dupe for Champagne Pop!” (another beautiful shade by Becca x Jaclyn Hill) – it had that same peachy sheen that CP has – but what about the formula?

You see, the Wet N’ Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powders are notoriously hit or miss depending on the shade you grab – some are gorgeous and smooth and just….yum, while others are chalky, chunky, glittery, and patchy. So I was initially hesitant, as I’d kind of set it aside in my collection and never really picked it up again. But when I swatched it next to Champagne Pop, I noticed that it was identical in formula (yay!) but just slightly off in color…..hmm…..wait a minute…..this look JUST like……

OPAL!

So I swatched THOSE side by side, and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t exactly the same! Glides on the same, blends out the same, not chalky or chunky or streaky! Look at the swatches and see for yourself! Then save yourself the $$$’s and go buy MORE makeup! Ha! At 5.4g of product, yeah, you’re getting less than you are with Becca, but since a little goes a long way, will you REALLY miss it?

L: Opal R: Precious Petals


BECCA SHIMMERING SKIN PERFECTOR POURED – OPAL vs. BENEFIT WATT’S UP! vs. COLOURPOP SUPER SHOCK CHEEK – WISP

When I was pulling together a list of potential dupes, this was one of those last minute discoveries as I was sifting through drawers (GOD I sound like a hoarder, don’t I?). And I realized that almost every highlighter dupe post I’ve ever seen seems to exclusively mention powder highlights – not many people incorporate cream highlighters.

Well I had a couple deluxe sample size ones floating around of the Becca Poured in Opal (2.5g mini, 5.4g full size) – I got them for free when I worked at Ulta, and just kind of tossed them into my kit and never looked back. And then I realized it’s striking similarity to both the Benefit Watt’s Up! (9.4g) and the Colourpop Super Shock in Wisp (4.2g). At least in color – let me explain.

The Becca product is VERY creamy, which is great on someone with dry skin or maybe even mature skin. I think I never used it because I can tend to be very oily and was worried about it just sliding right off.

The Benefit product is slightly drier, comes in a cream stick, and has a little more staying power. The Colourpop one, if you’ve ever used them, has that sort of cream-to-powder kind of formula that stays put on the skin, blends out really nicely, and has a beautiful smooth finish.

Now while they’re all SLIGHTLY different in formula (remember I said we had some pretty close dupes?), the shades themselves are pretty much spot on – they all have that slight peachy golden shift, with very fine shimmers that are minimally detectable on the skin.

L to R: Opal, Watts Up!, Wisp


BECCA SHIMMERING SKIN PERFECTOR PRESSED – PEARL vs. ESSENCE MONO EYESHADOW – SNOWFLAKE

This may be one of my favorite Becca dupes of all time, but I really hesitated when it came to incorporating this particular one…..BECAUSE I CAN’T FIND IT ANYWHERE!

I’ve searched Amazon, eBay, Ulta, even the Essence website, and I can’t find ‘Snowflake’ anywhere – now to be fair, I purchased this a few years ago, and I know, I know; brands cycle through things all the time. So this is one of those instances where, if you’re lucky enough to have this one in your collection, hold onto it!

I’d forgotten about it, de-potted it and stuck it in a palette, because it truly is a beautiful highlight, and while I was “gathering” for this particular post, had an “AH-HAH!” moment and remembered this little treasure.

Yes, “little”; it’s a freakin’ eyeshadow! But it’s so incredibly pigmented that the smallest amount creates the most beautiful glow, it will likely last for ages (mine has – at LEAST 3-4 years now!). They swatch the same, blend the same, neither emphasizes any texture on the face – they’re both beautiful! Look!

L: Pearl R: Snowflake



BECCA SHIMMERING SKIN PERFECTOR PRESSED – ROSE GOLD vs. NYX BAKED BLUSH – CHIFFON

Some may consider Rose Gold a highlight – personally I think it’s more of a blush topper – depends on your skin tone. Nonetheless it’s gorgeous. Warm rose pink with a gorgeous golden shift – who wouldn’t love this shade?

But I think this may be the one that I get the LEAST amount of use out of – *insert sad face*.

But that got me thinking – for something you don’t use often (mine is actually in the Becca x Chrissy Teigen palette) this is the PERFECT occasion for a dupe! And my mind immediately went to the NYX Baked Blush in the shade Chiffon – the consistency is noticeably different. But the color is pretty damn close! I would say that the NYX blush is every so slightly pinker that the Becca. But it’s one of those difference that’s virtually undetectable! Take a look at the swatches for yourself!

L: Rose Gold R: Chiffon


Have you tried any of these? Do you have any favorites? Leave a comment and let me know!

And as always, feel free to follow me on social media!

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XOXO,

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EASIEST NEUTRAL SMOKY EYE & WINGED LINER TUTORIAL

Hey guys!

This is a totally impromptu, unplanned tutorial, but this morning I woke up really wanting to do a full face of makeup, and I knew I wanted a smoky eye and winged liner. By the time I was done, I really loved the way it came out, so I figured I would share with you how I achieved the look! It was super easy to do, and there’s no false lashes involved (unless you want to, of course! Do you, boo!).

If you want to see how I got this look, keep on reading!


Starting with MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW20, I’m using this to prime my lids for shadow. It evens out any discoloration on the lids, and creates a tacky surface for your shadows to stick to, and it won’t crease. I applied this all the way from lash line to brow bone before going in with my first shadow.

Next, I used a Morphe M330 to pick up a little bit of ‘Cupcake‘ by Makeup Geek, which is a gorgeous dusty rose shade, and worked that into the crease. Just keep buffing it until there are no harsh lines, and feel free to build it to your desired intensity.

Now, with the same brush I picked up ‘Creme Brûlée‘, also by Makeup Geek, because I wanted to bring back some warmth, and working with pinks alone can be tricky; if you’re not careful, you can end up looking like you have pink eye. I applied this shade right over ‘Cupcake’ using the same buffing motion.

Grabbing a smaller pencil brush like a Morphe M169, I picked up a little bit of MAC ‘Swiss Chocolate‘ and worked that into the outer V of the eye, and dragged it a little bit through the crease for some dimension. If you find that it’s not blending enough, you can buff it out with your fluffier brush like I did.

Taking my Morphe M160 1/8 Angled Liner Brush, and my Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner in ‘Blackest Black’, I created a semi-thin line across the upper lash line, and then a rather dramatic wing (at least for me). If you’re someone who struggles with their winged liner, check out my tutorial by clicking here! Once my wings were even, I applied a couple coats of Maybelline Volum’ Express The Falsies Mascara in ‘Blackest Black’ to my top lashes, and filled in my brows (click here for my brow routine).

Once I have my face makeup in place (you know, foundation, concealer, powder, etc.), I’m going to pick up some more of the ‘Swiss Chocolate’ by MAC on a Morphe M432 (any flat definer brush will work just fine), and press that into my lower lash line from outer corner to inner corner, and then buff it out with ‘Creme Brûlée’ by Makeup Geek on my pencil brush. Then I applied mascara to my bottom lashes, and popped some BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in ‘Opal’ under my brows and on the inner corner of my eyes with a Morphe E36.


And that’s it! If you want to see everything I used on the rest of my face, click here to jump to my MOTD post linked to this one!

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ST. PATTY’S DAY MAKEUP TUTORIAL #2

Hey guys!

So while, I have another St. Patty’s Day makeup tutorial coming your way, I thought to myself “why not share the slightly different look that I wore to the parade yesterday?!”

Yesterday, my husband, my son, and myself went to the annual St. Patricks Day parade in New Haven (Connecticut) and had a great time! But the couple days leading up to the parade, I knew I wasn’t the type of person to wear the funny hats, and dress in head-to-toe green; but I knew I would try to create a killer green smokey eye!
Hey, some people dress their body, I dress my face – it is what it is!

In any event, I was actually really impressed with how the look turned out (despite being crazy rushed in the morning – I’m a mom before all else, and well, baby needs to be ready first!) and I wanted to share with you how I achieved my parade-ready look!
SIDE NOTE * It was quite warm out for March, with a touch of humidity, and my makeup did…not…budge!*

If you want to see how I created this look, then just keep reading!


 Working with more pigmented, shimmery shadows than usual, I knew I wanted to do my eyes first. So I started by priming my eyes using the Urban Decay Primer Potion (still working off my little Sephora VIB sample), and then went over my lids and slightly into my crease with my NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in ‘Milk’, and blended that out with my finger.

 

 First, I wanted a warm transition shade, so I mixed ‘Beaches and Cream‘ and ‘Peach Smoothie‘, both by Makeup Geek, and dusted that back and forth sloppily into my crease using a Morphe M441 brush.

 

 They shadows I’m using are samples of Urban Decay singles, I believe, that I received with an ULTA order sometime last year, and never really got around to playing with. So, I started with the shade ‘Mildew‘, which is a shimmery, mossy green shade with the slightest gold reflect. I tried using a Morphe M167 dampened with some MUFE Mist & Fix, but because they’re carded samples, I was having trouble picking up enough pigment, so I ended up packing it on with my finger, from the inner corner, to about halfway across my lid.

Next, I used my Morphe M433 brush to pick up some of the shade ‘YDK‘, which is a shimmery, golden/champagne-y/brown shade, and dusted that lightly over my crease where I laid down my transition shade, and running it just over the edge of the green shadow to soften the line. Then, using a Morphe M169 brush, I carefully started working in the shade ‘Blackout‘ into the outer V, and blending it out with a tapered Morphe M330 brush. You can build on that black color as much or as little as you want – I didn’t want it too dark, but I didn’t want it too light, either. Once I had almost no product left on my brush, I started to very, very lightly drag it over the green in the crease, keeping it very low – #hoodedeyeproblems.

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Maybelline EyeStudio Gel Liner in Blackest Black

Taking a baby wipe (I ran out of makeup remover wipes), I removed any fallout from under my eyes (and fair warning, there’s gonna be A LOT!) and also sharpen up the edges of the shadow, and then apply some winged liner using my Maybelline EyeStudio Gel Liner in ‘Blackest Black’ (yes, I finally replaced it!) and a Morphe M160 1/8 brush. Click here for my winged liner tutorial!

 

 Next I applied my foundation. I mixed Revlon ColorStay Foundation for Oily/Combo skin in the shade ‘Nude’ with a pump of the L’Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer on the back of  my hand, and applied it with a Sigma F80 brush spritzed with MUFE Mist & Fix.

 

 For concealer, I’ve been trying out a sample of the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW15, which I applied with my ring finger in a V shape, and blended out with a damp Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. Then, using ‘Lyric’ from the Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette, I set the concealer under my eyes, and in the center of my face (forehead, nose, chin, etc) with a Morphe M438 brush.

 

 Back to the eyes – taking a Morphe M432 flat definer brush, I picked up a little bit of ‘Blackout’ and worked that really tightly up against my bottom lashes, matching it up to my winged liner and stopping about halfway. Then, using that M169 pencil brush again, I smoked it out using ‘Mildew’, all along the lower lash line. Finally, I just applied some Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara in ‘Black’ to my top and bottom lashes, and popped on some Kiss Blooming Lashes in the style ‘Tulip’.

img_9564I filled in my brows using the NYX Micro Brow Pencil in ‘Ash Brown’, and set them in place with my Anastasia of Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel.

 

 I used Physician’s Formula Argan Wear Bronzer and a Morphe M527 brush to warm up the skin, and then applied a light contour to my cheekbones, forehead, nose, and jawline using Makeup Geek Contour Powder in ‘Breakup’ and a NARS ITA brush. For blush, I wanted to keep it kind of low key, so as not to compete with the eyes and make myself look too overdone, so I chose Milani Baked Blush in ‘Luminoso’ on an angled blush brush (mine is from Walgreens) and used my Morphe M501 to apply BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in ‘Opal’ to my cheekbones, cupids bow, and the tip of my nose.

 

 Finally, for the lips, I chose Almay Smart Shade Butter Kiss Lipstick in ‘Nude Light/Medium’, and gave myself a bath in MUFE Mist & Fix. And voila! All done!


 And there you have it! My completed St. Patty’s Day parade look!
Sure, I could have just slapped on some green eyeshadow and walked out the door, but what kind of fun would that have been?! This look would be great if you’re headed out with your friends to a local pub (if you’re old enough!) or if you just feel like being a little extra festive that day!

Most importantly, have fun with it – make it your own! Makeup is supposed to be fun!! And if you recreate this look, tag me on Instagram (@dlynnesposito) so I can see it, too!

Come follow me around social media!
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And feel free to reblog this post and share my social media with your friends! Your support means so much!

LOTS OF LOVE!!
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UPDATED FOUNDATION ROUTINE – SPRING 2016

 If you’ve been with me here awhile now, most of you know that my skin isn’t specific to one type; it’s seasonally temperamental. No, it’s downright sassy.
In the winter, I’m dry and flakey; in the summer, I look like a greased chicken – and in the spring and fall, I tend to relate best to the combination category. I swear, there’s no happy medium!

With the fluctuating temperatures that accompany New England living in the late winter and early spring, my dry winter skin is starting to produce more oil by the day, specifically in the t-zone. So naturally, I’ve had to adjust my foundation routine to accommodate it, and that’s what I’ll be sharing with you today!

This tutorial is for those of you with skin similar to mine, or oilier even, that want a medium to full coverage, but still want a natural look and lightweight feel!

So if you want to know what I use and how I achieve this look, keep on reading!


First things first, as always, you want to start with freshly cleansed and moisturized skin. I have had to adjust my skin care routine, and if you want an updated skin care routine, don’t worry! It’s coming!
Once your skin is clean and hydrated, you’ll want to apply a primer. I have larger pores and some deep, pitted acne scarring to cover, so what I do is use Fruit of the Earth 100% Aloe Vera Gel ($4) all over my skin first, to hydrate more, control my oil, and tighten my pores, and also sooth any sort of redness I have going on. Once that’s sunken into my skin, I apply my trusty Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer ($14) to any areas that I want to smooth, which is primarily the pores in my t-zone and immediately on either side of my nose. Let that absorb for a minute or two.

 

 Next I go in with my foundation, and lately I’ve been loving the L’Oreal Infallible Pro Matte Foundation ($13). It’s long wearing, medium to full coverage, and a nice, natural looking, demi matte finish. The best part is that it doesn’t break apart on me during the day, and any oil that makes it through my primer doesn’t make me look oily, just dewy and glowing (come back tomorrow for the full review!!). I fall in between shades 101 and 102 (Classic Ivory and Shell Beige) so I tend to mix 2 parts Classic Ivory to one part Shell Beige, and it matches me perfectly. I don’t self tan in the winter, and my neck is pretty pale, so I always match my foundation to my neck.
After mixing, I dot the foundation on my face starting in the center, where I tend to need the most coverage, and stipple it all over with a Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush ($24) (dampened with a little spritz of the MUFE Mist & Fix ($30)) before buffing in circular motions and blending it out from the center of my face.

 

 Because the foundation is so high coverage, I find I need very minimal concealer. I do have a lot of darkness on the inner corners of my eyes, so for that I really love the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer ($29) (I wear the shade Vanilla) because it’s brightening, light reflecting, and full coverage. I dab a little on the inner corners, drag it down the side of my nose, and feather it out in an upside down triangle shape under my eyes, making sure to extend it up towards my temples to give a lifted appearance to the face. Then I blend it out with a damp sponge like the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge ($7), making sure to tap it out really, really well. To balance the highlighted under eye area, I usually put a little in the center of my forehead, down the center of my nose, on either side of my nose, the cupids bow, and the chin, as well as any blemishes I may have to cover.

 

 Then I immediately set all of my concealer with a yellow powder and a Morphe M438 ($10) brush; I go back and forth between ‘Banana’ from the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit ($40) and ‘Lyric’ from the Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette ($46). (If you’re looking for a good yellow powder but don’t want to (or can’t afford to) buy a whole kit, the ‘Banana’ shade is sold in refill pans here for just $14!) When I set my under eye area, I always make sure to tap the powder in back and forth motions to make sure I’m not setting any creases in my concealer. I mean, I’m turning 30 this year, so it happens.

 

 Now you can go ahead and set the rest of your face with any translucent setting powder (I use the Mary Kay Translucent Loose Powder ($16)) and a fluffy brush. Because you’re likely going to apply bronzer, blush, contour, and highlight, I find that all of those products (presuming you’re using powders like me) blend much more smoothly over powder. If you don’t set your foundation and go over it with your bronzer and blush, it can look very patchy.

Now that my foundation is on and set, it’s time for bronzer, because we need that warmth and dimension back to our skin. I’ve been reaching a lot for my Rimmel Natural Bronzer ($5) in ‘Sun Light’, which is a totally matte bronzer that has a little warmth, but nothing overwhelming on my pale skin, and applying it with a big, fluffy Morphe M140 ($13) brush – and when I say big, I mean big! This thing is literally the size of my face! I like to focus the bronzer on the perimeter of my face, and keep the center where I highlighted nice and bright.

And of course, the final touches – blush, contour, and highlight, because well….I can’t do anything minimally! For blush, I’ve been loving the L’Oreal True Match Blush ($9) in ‘Innocent Flush’ on the Real Techniques Blush Brush ($9), and applying it just behind the apples of my cheeks – I feel doing it this way makes my face look slimmer and more lifted.
For my contour, I’ve been crazy about the Makeup Geek Contour Powders ($10) in ‘Breakup’ and ‘Infidelity’ with a NARS ITA ($55) brush, mixing the two shades for the perfect natural ‘shadow’, and applied just under my cheekbones, the temples, the sides of the forehead, under the jawline, and a little tiny bit down either side of my nose.
And finally, taking my Morphe M501($8), I apply a little bit of the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed ($38) in ‘Opal’ to the tops of my cheekbones, the bridge and tip of my nose, and the cupids bow. Finally, I set everything with a light layer of Urban Decay Chill Makeup Setting Spray ($30).
And that’s it, all done!

 


From here you can literally take your look anywhere. This is just the base; you can add a smokey eye, a red lip, a bold winged liner, or a touch of mascara and some gloss, it’s all up to you! But this is my current, everyday, go-to foundation routine! I hope you enjoyed it!

What kind of products are you loving lately? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Come follow me around social media!
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And feel free to reblog this post and share my social media with your friends! Your support means so much!

LOTS OF LOVE!!
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MY FAVORITE DRUGSTORE HIGHLIGHTERS

Thanks to Kim Kardashian and many other celebs, there has been a spike in the trend of highlighting and contouring. We all know that contouring is essentially carving out areas of your face and creating shadows in order to look more sculpted and create a more desirable face shape. But then what about highlighting?

Ahh, highlighting. This is a technique used to bring LIGHT back to the face. To make you look dewey, like you’re glowing from within. It can be as simple as a little placed at the high points of your face, like the tops of the cheek bones or under the brow, to ‘strobing’, which is just highlighting anywhere and everywhere and skipping contouring altogether.

You DO NOT need super expensive products to achieve this look. I’ve rounded up some of my absolute favorite drugstore options that quite frankly I don’t think I could live without. Ranging from primers to powders to creams and liquids, these highlighters will work on ANY skin tone, guaranteed! Let’s get started!


HARD CANDY SO BAKED BRONZER in TIKI ($9/Walmart)

  I know, bronzer. You may be thinking ‘I thought we were here for HIGHLIGHTERS?’ but this shade in particular, as far as I can tell, has NO bronzing power to it whatsoever. It’s a beautiful peach/gold highlight that its so versatile, I find myself using it just about everywhere – cheeks, cupids bow, the inner corner of my eyes, the brow bone, you name it. BECAUSE it’s got that warmer undertone to it, though, I tend to use this more in the late spring and through the summer when I’ve already got a little color going on in my face. It just enhances that summer glow, making you look like a beaming, glowy, bronzed goddess. It’s a staple in my collection, and one I reach for the most frequently.

WET N WILD COLOR ICON BRONZER in RESERVE YOUR CABANA ($4/Walgreens)

  Another bronzer? Technically, yes. Again, this is far too light to be considered a bronzer, in my opinion. However after seeing it compared to Mary-Lou Manizer by theBalm, and mentioned with great affection by YouTube’s Jessica Braun (jambeauty89 – go check her out – she’s awesome!) I finally went out and picked one up. It’s not quite as….shiny?….as the typical highligher, but it does have just enough punch to give a fresh, dewey effect that makes you look healthy. I was hesitant because I haven’t had much luck with Wet n Wild products in the past, but I have to say, they’ve really stepped up their game from being that cheap, poor quality middle/high school brand I remember! I’m definitely impressed with this one!

L’OREAL MAGIC LUMI LIGHT INFUSING PRIMER ($10/Walmart)

  This is a great product for those with dry skin and a dull complexion. On someone with oily skin, like me, I would strongly advise that you use with caution. This, as with any other primer, goes on BEFORE your foundation, unlike all the other highlighters in this post. This product, however, will probably be the one that give the most NATURAL looking highlight. Here’s a tip for my combo or oily-skinned girls who are interested in trying this product out : MULTI-PRIME. It’s the same concept as multi-masking, but here you would use say, an oil control primer where you tend to get oily, like the t zone, and then the Magic Lumi primer in places that you want to look dewey, like maybe the tops of the cheek bones, or to brighten the area under your eyes.

PHYSICIAN’S FORMULA MINERAL GLOW PEARLS in BEIGE PEARL ($13/Target)

  Physicians Formula makes some pretty amazing products. I’m the proud owner of many, and while they’re on the higher priced end of the drugstore beauty spectrum, they really are worth the buy. Something about this product though, when it touches the skin, literally almost takes my breath away. It’s a very neutral highlight – not too white, gold, pink, peach – just beautiful. It almost reminds me the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal. I don’t own the Becca product, so I couldn’t justifiably call it a dupe, but in pictures and swatches that I’ve seen, it looks strikingly similar to me.

e.l.f. SHIMMERING FACIAL WHIP in LILAC PETAL and SPOTLIGHT ($1/eyeslipsface.com)

  Both of these are great options on any skin tone. They can be a tad on the pigmented side, so less is more, but considering they’re only $1 (yup, you read that right!) they literally last forever! They come in several shades, but if I were to pick two faves, and two that would work on any skin tone, these would be it. Lilac Petal is just what it sounds like – a very subtle lilac undertone, great on pale skin. And while I’ve yet to try it myself, is said to be a spot on dupe for Benefit High Beam, for so much less! Spotlight is a bright, frosty, snow white shade, also suitable for anyone, but really pops on medium to darker skin tones. They even have a shade called ‘Toasted’ which I haven’t tried yet, but looks to be a very neutral undertone, somewhere between gold and pink, like if they had a little dewey, shimmery baby. I’ll be tossing a few of those into my next e.l.f. order for sure! They have great lasting power for a $1 product (I know I didn’t expect much but was SUPER impressed!) and I happily recommend them to anyone!

REVLON HIGHLIGHTING PALETTE in ROSE GLOW and BRONZE GLOW ($12/ULTA)

  Each of these palettes contains 5 individual shades, and in my eyes these are TOTAL dupes for the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks. You definitely get the rose and bronze tones from these, but they’re still very versatile and wearable on every skin tone. I even like to multitask with the Bronze Glow palette and use some of those shades as eyeshadows in the warmer months. These are probably a little more powdery than some of the other powder highlighting products mentioned about, but you don’t lose a TON of product when tapping of your brush. I would recommend a light handed application and then build on it to your desired intensity.


There are endless highlighting products out there on the market now, and more popping up every day! What are some that YOU guys love? Have you tried any of the ones I’ve mentioned above? Any new suggestions to expand my collection? Leave me comments below!

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LOTS OF SHIMMERY LOVE!

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