I have to say, I felt as though I was channeling my inner Mrs. Kravitz this morning!
I need to get out of the house more often because I am turning into Mrs. Kravitz–the iconic nosy neighbor!
Chippy ran to the front window barking like crazy and then I spotted lights. Lights from a police car and lights from a fire engine. They were parked in front of the empty townhouse across the street.
Not a scene that is familiar to my eyes–so you can just imagine what was going on in that imaginative mind of mine!
Naturally, my stress and anxiety levels were getting the better of me as I opened up the slots from the upstairs blinds to keep watch of what was going on. But it was too much for me, I had to go outside to find out what the commotion was about.
My curiosity was piqued!
So out to the tundra, without a coat and slipping and sliding on the ice only to yell in my Long Island accent to the police “Hey!!! What’s goin’ on?” “Is there a murderer or robber somewhere around here?”. My voice carries so three cops came running over to me to quickly explain that the alarm went off due to a water pipe that had burst. They assured me that everything was okay and that the owner was on his way.
Hey–I never said I was discreet. Luckily it wasn’t a murderer nor was it a robber. It was a busted water pipe. Beware the winter!
And all day the empty townhouse has been full of activity with plumbers and the owner and God-only-knows who else.
You would think that excitement would be the highlight of my day. It wasn’t.
Instead, I was asking myself “Which highlighter will I use today?”
I know. I know. I’m sure many of you are wondering just why a woman with a wrinkled, soon-to-be-63-years-old face would make an attempt to highlight and draw attention to any area of an aging visage. Hold on. Highlighters aren’t our enemy!
They can actually give us a luminous glow if used properly.
Let’s discuss. Pictured below are five highlighters that I use. Each serves a particular purpose.
From top left clockwise. Wet n’ Wild Megaglo Illuminating Palette; Fenty Beauty Trophy Wife; NARS Albatross, NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick; Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter.
And here’s what they look like opened.
Now–although I’m not a fan of powders because they tend to make my skin look drier than it is, the powdered highlighters aren’t ashy nor do they have a drying effect. I’m pretty sure that is because they are applied with an extremely light touch!
I use this fan brush by Morphe. It is $5.00 on their website and I got it in a brush set. It’s an okay brush–not the greatest and not the worst!
On my arm. Bottom to Top. Wet ‘n Wild Megaglo; Fenty Beauty Trophy Wife; NARS Albatross; NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick; Revolution’s Highlighter
As you can see, the differences are obvious in the colors and the illumination with NYX and Revolution’s highlighters coming in very similar.
Wet ‘n Wild’s Megaglo. As a highlighter, the color came across on my arm dark. When applied with a brush, the product gives a lighter glow. Personally, I like using this during the summer as a shimmery under-the-brow bone shadow. It doesn’t show up that much on the cheeks but still, it isn’t bad. At $4.99 it is a very good value if you want a very subtle highlight.
Blended all together or swiped with a brush separately to be used as eye shadow, this product does come off best as a shadow. However, if you are looking for the most subtle hint of color on the cheekbones, this is still a great value.
Fenty Beauty Trophy Wife: Beware. This is not for the faint of heart. I love Trophy Wife and on evenings out with Bonaparte, I’ll also apply to my eyes as a shadow. The golden color is beautiful. But–I think it is more beautiful on darker complexions and when you have a tan. A little bit of this goes a long, long, long, way–use sparingly! Retailing at $34, it may seem pricey but when you take into consideration how long it will last–it’s very affordable!
If you want a super golden glow, then Trophy Wife is your product.
Look up high on my cheekbone and you’ll see the golden glow from Trophy Wife. I’m sorry that the lighting sucked and I was unable to get better pics.
I also have an extremely light application of Trophy Wife on my nose and Cupid’s bow.
NARS Albatross: This has been around for quite some time. Although white in color, when applied correctly, it gives a gentle shimmer. At $30, the cost is less than Trophy Wife but this works well with fair skin tones. I like this a lot and use it more in the winter than the summer.
The shelf life says 24 months and I’m coming up on that time, but this is still in great shape and there’s plenty left.
Ugh. I wish I was successful enough as a blogger that I had a photographer. But I’m not so you’ll have to bear with me–lol!! I’m wearing Albatross in this photo. It is illuminating but I think from the angle and with the lighting it looks really bright. But–the great thing is it doesn’t dry out my already dry skin. It really does give a nice sheen!
NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick in Lavender Lust. A creamy and absolutely beautiful illuminating highlighter, this is, hands down, my absolute favorite! At $8.00 this is the best value and the product doesn’t fail. I wear this almost every day. This stays put, it blends in beautifully with blush and really gives the most natural glow to the face! I love this!!
The stick looks more pink in this photo but really is a true lavender IRL. I can’t say enough about this because it is my favorite. I’m a big fan of creams and this doesn’t fail!
I had to play around with the angles but from straight on, you can’t even tell that I have this highlighter on my nose–it shows up when I bend my head down. It doesn’t look lavender either. You can also see a bit of this creamy sheen on my cheekbone!
Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter. Retailing at $6.00, I think I paid three dollars on clearance. This comes in second to the NYX for me. The color goes on very similar to the NYX, but I do prefer the cream–it’s more blendable. But still, this isn’t a bad highlighter and the pale color is very all-tone friendly.
Revolution’s Vivid Highlighter. It’s not bad at all. I’m wondering how this will work out during the summer months with a tan. When the humidity is high and the face sweats, sometimes the powders are a better choice!
Revolution’s Vivid Highlighter. So subtle you can’t even tell I’m wearing it. But the difference between this and the NYX is that I prefer the cream.
I honestly can’t recall ever using highlighter with the exception of Revlon’s Face Gleamer–I remember having this in high school and using it as a blush. And I also remember that I loved it. Why did Revlon ever discontinue it?
It’s Lauren Hutton!!!!!!! Revlon needs to reissue this Face Gleamer!
As we age, it’s fun to be opened to products that can give us that glow we used to have. Not a moon glow, and not that “special” glow we get after too much wine. Just a subtle natural glow and highlighting gives that back to us. We just need to know how to apply it to best suit our needs!
Here’s a great video from Wayne Goss–if you haven’t watched his videos yet, start now. He’s addictive. I love this guy!
