Laura Mercier - Secret Brightening Powder

Hey lovelies!
This has been one of the products I've been meaning to review for such a long time. I picked this little beauty up on my trip to Florida as one of the many things i splurged on in Sephora, but luckily this is actually available in the UK! I've been using this without fail every time I've worn makeup to set my undereye concealer since October, so it really does deserve a full review!

As far as I'm aware Secret Brightening Powder only comes in two shades, 01 the shade i own, which is translucent with an extremely fine (not detectable on the skin) shimmer and 02 which is more yellow based. I've not explored the world of Laura Mercier too much since its one of the pricier brands available, but i do have a love/hate relationship with their tinted moisturiser.

My main reason for picking this up is that no matter what i use, my under eye concealer creases constantly. Its one of my little bug bears of makeup and something i really wanted to change. I'm pleased to say, since picking this up late September.... absolutely no creasing! I apply it with a 217 style fluffy brush and it works wonders on setting my concealer and on a lazy occasion, most of my face.

I'm not 100% sure why this is so much better than regular loose translucent powders, but at a guess I'd say it is much more finely milled. It is a little pricey at £18.50 here in the UK, but considering I've been using near on every day since October and I'm not even close to being half way through i think its doing well! I wouldn't be surprised if it lasts me an entire year!

I can honestly say, i don't think I'll ever look for another under eye setting powder again and I'll continue to repurchase this as long as they make it! Its gone from a product i didn't really see the point in to something i wouldn't live without. If i lost all my makeup, this would be one of the first things I'd rush out to pick up!

Have you tried this product?

Whats your Laura Mercier favourites? Let me know in the comments!

xox

My Top 5 Blushes

 

I love blush.
After foundation, its at the top of my lust list at any given time. As a serial over sleeper a lot of the time i only have a few minutes to slap my face on for the day, i generally don't bother with eyeshadow in a rush so using blush to put some colour back into my face is really important to me. I have a fair few blushes so it was really hard to pick just five, but i gave it a good go! But please excuse the grubby pictures, my blushes get thrown in handbags quite a lot, so they've been well used and some look a bit battered. So, on to my top five!

Sleek Pomegranate is probably my "go to" winter shade, this is my second one of these since i managed to smash up the first one on a night out, oops! It looks pretty scary in the pan, its a deep burgundy pink that gives me that wintery Snow White cheek when used with a light hand. Like all Sleek blushes its extremely pigmented and you run the risk of looking like a clown if you're too heavy handed. Yep, I've done it... more than once. I'm actually looking forward to cracking this one back out for the winter months, its a beaut!

Everyone has their favourite Benefit boxed blush and Bella Bamba is definitely mine. Back in my teen years i was a Thrrrob kinda gal, but after getting through two of those i fancied a change. Bella Bamba is a gorgeous watermelon pink with fine silver shimmer. Since i purchased this last summer I've gone through phases of wearing it constantly for weeks, then forgetting about it again, only the rediscover it a few weeks later. Its so flattering on my skin tone and gives the cheek a real healthy flush. Perfect all year round! But it wouldn't be me if i didn't have my eye on another one... Coralista will be mine!

If you watch any of the American beauty Youtuber's theres a good chance you would of spotted a Milani product or two. These blushes kept popping up and i just had to have one. So i searched eBay for a while until i found this shade for around £8 including shipping which isn't half bad! This is my only real orangey coral blush and i have to fight my Mother to use it since she's pinched it for her dressing table. Its a really lovely orangey coral with silver glitter. Yep, glitter. That is my only gripe with this blush is that i wish the glitter wasn't so obvious, but if we ignore that, it really is a beautiful blush. Its not available in the UK so if you have the chance to get one, do it! I plan to get my hands on a couple more shades in the near future.

Frat Boy... the best thing to ever come out of a beauty box. I ended my subscriptions with beauty boxes quite a few months ago because they just weren't working out for me. But in Carmine's (if i remember rightly) first box appeared this little beauty. Its my one and only theBalm product, but i absolutely love it. Its peachy-pink, nearly matte perfection! I've not seen these in stores but theBalm can be found online on websites such as Feelunique.com.

 

Its cliche, but i really do love it. Orgasm is the most worn blush for nights out for me, if i don't know what to put on i generally reach for this. Its been in my handbag almost constantly for the last year. Now i won't waffle on about it because I'm sure you've heard faaar too much online about it already. Its peachy-pinkness really works with my skin tone and i actually really love the gold shimmer in it as its finely milled and doubles as a highlight! Lovely! At around the £20 mark the price isn't so great, but if you're near a Nars counter go have a little swatch!

Pomegranate - Bella Bamba - Corallina - Frat Boy - Orgasm


What is your favourite blush? Comment below!

xox