MAKE UP FOR EVER Pro Light Fusion Highlighter 01 Golden Pink Review

It's almost NYE, so what better way to start the New Year than with a pretty badass highlighter on yo face? That's my plan anyway.

I'll be spending my NYE at an outside (freezing) location for Canada 150 celebrations. Woo! So, no fancy dresses, so high-heels I can't walk in - no, I'll be sporting my thickest, puffy coat, a tuque, and the new winter boots I was gifted for Christmas. We ain't joking around in this part of the country.

What I CAN sport however in frigid weather, is a lovely highlighter. In fact, because my eyes stream as the tiniest amount of wind, I'll be highlighter and waterproof mascara for me. Oh, Canada.

MAKE UP FOR EVER's Pro Light Fusion Highlighters have made quite the splash around social media. Temptalia even put it in her top 20 of the year!

I have to say, I'm not the kind of person who puts highlighter on every day, but this product is so lovely, I've been seen slathering it on for work.

MAKE UP FOR EVER's Pro Light Fusion has a smooth, buttery texture. I find the texture of the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed a bit too soft, and it has a tendency to crumble. I find I can easily apply too much because the texture is so soft. The Pro Light Fusion's texture is just right for me. Smooth and buttery when applied, but it doesn't crumble, and it's a lot more buildable. There's no risk of applying too much, especially with a fluffier brush.

And I mean, I just get happy opening the damn product. Look at that pattern!

I received the shade 01 Golden Pink for consideration and it's a stunning shade. At first, I thought it might be a bit too pink, but it doesn't register as pink on the skin. It's a light frosty cool toned ivory-pink. It's simply lovely. The shimmer is fine and contains no chunky glitter. It actually looks pretty natural on the skin.

I've taken a few picture of a heavy swatch of the product on my hand in warmer light, and in brighter cooler light. As you can see, it still looks quite ivory-pink. Sephora lists this highlighter as "for light to medium skintones" and I would tend to agree with them. The second shade, 02 Golden, also looks absolutely stunning. Have you tried it?

I have to say, unlike a lot of bloggers out there, I've never gotten on the highlighter bandwagon, simply because I have oilier skin. But this highlighter is the BOMB. It's very lovely and shimmery on the skin, without being too much for me. I 100% this product if you're looking for a similar shade of highlighter - I'm pretty sure BECCA don't make a similar shade (Opal is a lot more ivory than pink). However, if you're looking to BLIND someone with your highlighter, I'd suggest you move along to BECCA products. At $48 CAN, this highlighter is not cheap, but I personally would purchase it in a heartbeat - it's worth the investment.

* I have received this product for consideration, but my opinions are always my own. I am not being compensated for this review and I always strive to review products with honesty.

Zoeva Makeup Brush Review - 231, 226, 234 and 114

As a treat to myself a few weeks ago, I made a naughty purchase - I bought some makeup brushes from Zoeva. Ok, I actually bought these about a year ago, and this review sat on the back burner for quite a while. But hey, now you're just getting a better review because I've been testing them for so long!

While some other bloggers/youtubers claim Zoeva brushes are an "affordable" brush option, for us Canadians, they are not really that affordable. With about C$20 in shipping, averaging each brush around $15, the prices of the brushes itself are just ok. Definitely not a crazy bargain.

My purchases?

- 231 Luxe Petit Crease
- 226 Smudger
- 234 Luxe Smoky Shader
- 114 Luxe Face Focus

The brushes themselves are of excellent quality. The handles are solid and I haven't had any shedding problems with the brushes. I'd say the quality is comparable to my MAC brushes - however, the glossy finish on the handle does make them seem less luxurious - although that's simply my opinion. I prefer a matte finish such as my MAC brushes, or my NARS brushes.

The 231 Luxe Petit Crease is a brush that was missing in my arsenal. The tip of the brush is more precise than a MAC 217 and smaller. It's very useful for applying eyeshadow precisely in the crease, or the outer crease. I was initially apprehensive about the stiffness of the brush thinking it would not blend eyeshadow properly, but in fact, it works like a charm. It applies the shadow right where I want it, but also blended it softly. This brush is a must if you lack something similar in your repertoire.

The 226 Smudger brush was also something I was missing in my collection. I don't often put eyeshadow on my lower lashline - all my brushes are a bit too big for the job. I find shadow on my lower lashes can also make me look a bit tired - I just don't have a lot of space to work with. This Smudger brush, however, does the job amazingly. Not only does it apply shadow on my bottom lashline very close to my lashline, but it also smudges it out easily. However, my favorite way to use this brush is to smudge out liner on my upper lashline to add a bit of smokiness to an every day look. A must in any collection.

I'm going to be honest, I bought the 234 Luxe Smoky Shader brush simply because I wanted a dupe for my MAC 239, and I think I found it! While this brush is a tad (seriously just a bit) less dense, it performs just as well as my 239. In fact, I have a hard time finding differences between the two when I can't see the handles.

My intention for the 114 Face Focus was to use it as a highlighting brush. When I received it though, it was way smaller than I thought it would be. Still, it's not comparable to anything else I own, and applies highlighter smoothly and beautifully. I like that it deposits highlighter in more specific areas of my face (I'm not one to highlight a ton) and it blends the highlight easily.

As I said, the quality of these brushes is excellent. I've used them for about a year now, washed them numerous times, and they're still in great shape. They haven't frayed at the edges, and they haven't stained.

If you're looking to invest in a good set of brushes, but not "invest" in pricier classic brushes such as MAC, I highly recommend Zoeva brushes. I'm very happy with the quality of my purchase and they definitely measure up to other high quality brushes such as MAC. A+!

INGLOT 10 Pan Palette Review & Swatches

As a beauty blogger, it's safe to say that I've tested a LOT of products. And in time, I've become pickier and pickier about the products I hold on to. I've returned or gotten rid of palettes that are beloved by beauty addicts such as the Naked 2 and the Too Faced Chocolate palette. I can't help it, my tastes have evolved! That's why the Inglot make your own palette option is kind of perfect for me.

During a 20% off sale (they do happen, there is hope!) I purchased 8 shades (I already owned 2 I really liked) and a 10 pan palette.

Just look at this neutral goodness. All shades I can use on a daily basis, with a good mix of matte shades and shimmers.

As you can see, I totally nicked one of my older shadows. Oh well. That's my one complaint with the packaging - it's super easy to nick shadows are they are quite hard to remove from the pan.

The swatches below indicate the shadows, and their finish.

Matte 328 (M328), Shine 154, Pearl 406 (P406), Pearl 409 (P409) Pearl 397 (P397), Matte 337 (M337), Matte 360 (M360), and the shadows I already owned, Pearl 402 (P402) and Pearl 422 (P422).

While I thought my favorite shades would be the Shine finishes, I actually absolutely love the Pearl finishes. I already loved 402, but 397 is a better and improved MAC All That Glitters. It's absolutely perfect for a quick every day eye with a bit of Matte 337 and 360 in the crease. The Matte shadows are of amazing quality. I had heard reviews that described them as being powdery - I tend to agree that they are on the more powdery side, but I think that's what makes a matte shadow really blendable and easy to work with. And this is true here - the shades are buttery soft and incredibly easy to blend. I felt like the Matte shadows in the Too Faced Chocolate palette were way more powdery. Pearl 406 is a bit too orange for me, so I wear this shade less often. I love Matte 328 to prime my lids (after a my trusty Urban Decay Lid Primer of course). It doesn't appear on my skin, but it makes my shadow last even longer. The Shine 154 and 153 are gorgeous, but they really are quite ... shiny! While I thought these would be everyday shadows, I find them quite intense. Still though, they're absolutely stunning and the finish reminds me of the very shimmery Anastasia shadows that recently released.

I do regret not including a dark brown in this palette. In fact, I might switch one of them out for a deep brown. Silly me, I was swayed by all the beautiful shimmery options, I didn't include a dark brown. Other than for that omission, this palette is pretty much the perfect neutral palette.

As a side note, I do think Inglot could do some work on their website to make the shadows easier to pick out. The only thing available is a color swatch (not a real photo) and the shade name. No description of the shade, and you the different finishes are divided into different categories. It's all very confusing. The websites indicates how much is left in stock, but no shade description. Makes no sense. I feel like a they'd get a lot more purchases if the website was easier to navigate and they included shade descriptions. It was quite the process picking out a shadow and doing tons of googling to see how the shade looks in real life. And that X8 was almost too much. I'm glad I persisted because these shadows are totally worth it. But unless you can get yourself to a store (they do have a few in Canada!) you're in for a treat.

Hope this review was helpful to you. I think that if you have the patience to pick these shadows out, they are 100% worth it. In terms of quality, I'd say they definitely surpass my MAC shadows, and are quite similar in texture to Anastasia shadows I own. They are incredibly long lasting, a quality that's very important to me as I have oily eyelids.

What's in my Z Palette? Swatches Included!

Because I've spent some time building the perfect palette in the past few months, getting rid of shadows I don't use, and re-purchasing shadows I'd used up, I thought it would be fun to do a post on what's in my Z-Palette.

So, without further ado, let's get to the pictures and swatches!

Some favorites include MAC's Satin Taupe, Wedge and Woodwinked. Other favorites include Anastasia Beverly Hills Chiffon, Make Up For Ever ME-644 (this shadow is seriously stunning), and Rouge Bunny Rouge's Bohemian Waxwing.

Hope you had fun looking into my Z-Palette. If you have any questions about these shadows, don't hesitate to leave your questions below! I'd be happy to answer!

Milani Everyday Eyes Eyeshadow Palette 05 Earthy Elements Review

After seeing this palette appear on Tati's Youtube Channel I was secretly praying that they would appear in Canada. As us Canadians beauty lovers know, not everything the US has in terms of drugstore makeup makes it across the border.

I found my palette at my local Lawtons (Rexall, I believe for other provinces) and waited a couple weeks to finally find it on sale. Score!

I bought the 05 Earthy Elements palette to review which contains 6 shades.

Palette in the shade.

And because I was working with sun that day, palette in the sun.

The shadows are of surprising quality. They are quite buttery without being powdery and blend extremely easily on the lid. The only "meh" shade is the first shade of the palette which is quite hard in texture and difficult to pick up with a brush (and with fingers). However, all the other shades are quite amazing. The shadows lasted on my oily eyelids (with primer) all day, no problem.

Left to right in the palette, in the shade.

Left to right in the palette, in direct sunlight. You can see here that the first shade is a glittery chunky mess.

The second shade from the left in this palette is the perfect crease color. It's so easy to blend, and it's the perfect warm, but not too warm, buttery crease color. It reminds me a lot of MAC's Wedge. The orange shade (third from the left) is so pigmented and bright! It's a bit too bright for my tastes, but it blends wonderfully. These two matte shades are of excellent quality - and we know drugstore matte shades tend to be duds. The last shade of the palette is an excellent dupe of MAC's Sable and is super easy to work with. My favorite is definitely the fourth shade - it's a perfect one and done shadow.

Even if these colors are dupeable, this palette would be very useful to travel with as the packaging is quite sturdy. For a palette that's less than C$15, you definitely get your money's worth out of the 5 shades that are of excellent quality. Plus, the warm tones are gorgeous for anyone with blue/green eyes! B+